Question i5-10400F CPU upgrade advice?

[ibex333]

Please see my sig below. These are my current specs.

Overall, this machine meets all my needs, except Starfield and Diablo 4. The CPU is just not cutting the mustard @ 1440p. 1080p wont work for me.

Without having to build or buy a new rig, is upgrading to an i7-10700/10700F a viable option? It looks like $180 or so spent on a used i7 will just get me over that edge that would mean the difference between poor framerate and excellent framerates as the 3070 is more than adequate for 99% of all 1440p gaming...

I'm thinking an i7 upgrade will make my machine relevant for at least another full year, and then it will make more sense to get a whole new system. Is my reasoning flawed?

 

[SteinFG]

You won't get much benefits from this because the i7 is from the same generation. 11400/11600/11700 would be better. Newer generation, newer architecture.
edit: looked at hardware unboxed sterfield review, and all options look kinda similar, but 11600K enables 60+ fps everywhere. looks like an alright cpu for a 3070

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Main rig: Dell G5000~i7-10700F~32GB DDR4 RAM~RTX3070 OEM

What am I missing? You swapped for a 10400f? Still in the Dell G5000? If so, I doubt you can fully leverage a faster CPU. Probably going to overwork the VRMs. If you have the cheesy stock Dell cooler, that ain't really up to the job either.

If you are an Intel guy build a LGA1700 system. That Dell is a poor platform for further investment IMO.

If this isn't the Dell, I like the 11600K advice.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Please see my sig below. These are my current specs.

Question - Upgrade from i5-10400F ?

I have a Dell G5 5000 Desktop. I'd like to upgrade its CPU to boost the overall performance of the machine. My 10400F is no slouch, but for games and especially emulation sheer speed matters a lot. I'm thinking to upgrade to 11th gen i7 but not sure if there will be power issues given this is...

forums.anandtech.com

Question - Upgrade i5-10400F?

Please see my computer in sig below. I currently have i5-10400F. Its a nice CPU for my needs, but I wonder if its any bottleneck for my video card, and if I will gain much by upgrading to i7-10700kf? Its important to mention I DO NOT intend to upgrade my video card. Not this year and not the...

forums.anandtech.com

This is very confusing. Did you upgrade to the 10700F after all?

So you are gonna upgrade now and save up for a year and get on a Raptor or even Arrow Lake? How about just save the money and put off playing these games until you are able to get a better system? The money for the upgrade going to the new system could enable you to get the latest and greatest in May or June next year.

 

[ibex333]

Main rig: Dell G5000~i7-10700F~32GB DDR4 RAM~RTX3070 OEM

What am I missing? You swapped for a 10400f? Still in the Dell G5000? If so, I doubt you can fully leverage a faster CPU. Probably going to overwork the VRMs. If you have the cheesy stock Dell cooler, that ain't really up to the job either.

If you are an Intel guy build a LGA1700 system. That Dell is a poor platform for further investment IMO.

If this isn't the Dell, I like the 11600K advice.

Question - Upgrade from i5-10400F ?

I have a Dell G5 5000 Desktop. I'd like to upgrade its CPU to boost the overall performance of the machine. My 10400F is no slouch, but for games and especially emulation sheer speed matters a lot. I'm thinking to upgrade to 11th gen i7 but not sure if there will be power issues given this is...

forums.anandtech.com

Question - Upgrade i5-10400F?

Please see my computer in sig below. I currently have i5-10400F. Its a nice CPU for my needs, but I wonder if its any bottleneck for my video card, and if I will gain much by upgrading to i7-10700kf? Its important to mention I DO NOT intend to upgrade my video card. Not this year and not the...

forums.anandtech.com

This is very confusing. Did you upgrade to the 10700F after all?

So you are gonna upgrade now and save up for a year and get on a Raptor or even Arrow Lake? How about just save the money and put off playing these games until you are able to get a better system? The money for the upgrade going to the new system could enable you to get the latest and greatest in May or June next year.

My apologies. My current CPU is an i5-10400F. I "thought" I secured an i7 on ebay and was too quick to update my sig, but that didn't materialize as certain folks started a bidding frenzy.

 

[dullard]

From benchmarks that I've seen, Starfield is more memory speed dependent than CPU dependent (that and hard drive access is a big limitation). If you upgrade your CPU only, you might be sorely disappointed.

Usually I don't think CPU upgrades are worthwhile unless you can get it cheap. The 10700F would get you 10% faster turbo clocks, which you could almost get just by cleaning the dust out of your system and redoing the thermal paste. The two extra cores are nice, but really aren't critical--especially for the games you listed. Considering that new CPUs will be announced next week, this seems like a really bad time to upgrade. If I were you, I personally would wait to grab a new ~14600 system when they are in the ~$700 price range, move over your GPU and be done with it.

That said, it seems like this has been your dream for at least a year. $180 (minus whatever you sell your 10400F for) to follow a dream is cheap. You'll be disappointed, but just do it.

 

[igor_kavinski]

$180 (minus whatever you sell your 10400F for) to follow a dream is cheap. You'll be disappointed, but just do it.

Better to go with the 11600K then.

 

[ibex333]

Better to go with the 11600K then.

this system only supports up to 10th gen i9. That's why I'm trying to squeeze as much out of it as I can before I go for any big upgrades.

 

[igor_kavinski]

BIOS Updates for Intel® 400 Series Chipset and 11th Gen...

How to update BIOS on Intel® Z490 or H470 chipset-based motherboards for compatibility with 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors.

www.intel.com

They don't say it's not supported. Just that a BIOS update may be required for H470 chipset, which is what you have. If you are not sure, check what CPU-Z says in the Mainboard tab.

 

[dullard]

BIOS Updates for Intel® 400 Series Chipset and 11th Gen...

How to update BIOS on Intel® Z490 or H470 chipset-based motherboards for compatibility with 11th Gen Intel® Core™ processors.

www.intel.com

They don't say it's not supported. Just that a BIOS update may be required for H470 chipset, which is what you have. If you are not sure, check what CPU-Z says in the Mainboard tab.

Are you sure the Dell motherboard will be fine with that? I didn't recommend the 11th generation specifically because it was a Dell that officially only supports the 10th gen processors. I honestly don't know if it would work or not. Sure, the chipset is compatible but does Dell lock it down in any other way?

 

[SteinFG]

so looks like dell didn't make an 11th gen firmware for this motherboard... 10700 seems like the best option, but it's kinda meh

 

[igor_kavinski]

Sure, the chipset is compatible but does Dell lock it down in any other way?

Latest BIOS release is dated 12 Sep 2023. It's worth a try if OP has the option to return the CPU.

 

[Shmee]

Latest BIOS release is dated 12 Sep 2023. It's worth a try if OP has the option to return the CPU.

If there are recent BIOS updates, then there might be 11th gen support. I would look into the release notes of the different updates, and see if there is any mention of something like "support new CPUs." If so, I would probably get an 11700.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I have worked on those Dell G5 models. Good luck with the 11700 not being hamstrung. It's your money, do what you want. I would not throw another dime at that thing.

I know you tried to sell it for the last year with no success and now you are in the fudge it I'll keep it phase. But you are falling into the sunk cost fallacy trap. Cut your losses while it is worth anything at all. Then build a new PC that isn't going to struggle sooner rather than later.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I have worked on those Dell G5 models.

Any of those had 11th gen? You may be right about CPU being hamstrung because I think it will be surprising if the RAM runs at anything above 2933 MT/s, especially since Dell BIOS usually don't let you tweak anything and decide on basic settings without any user input.

 

[PTittytty]

Hello,

I also want to upgrade my machine, especially new rams and cpu, as I've heard online that my old 1080 bottlenecks the cpu, which is worse than a video card bottleneck as this causes bigger hitching. What i suggest, from the research i've done is going for a 12gen i5 or i7. They don't eat as many watts and achieve better performances (i.e. a new i5 better than old i7's and on par with i9s)
what i suggest is googling bottleneck calculator and start from there.
Good luck!
Pete