• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Can my system handle an i5 2500k?

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
Hello, I recently won $400 in the lottery and wanted to spend it on my system.

I currently have a pretty old/crappy CPU, and it's been holding back my 5850.

As a long-lasting upgrade, I decided on this CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Tu...

I just need to know if my PSU/mobo can use it!

EDIT: So it doesn't work on my mobo... would I be better off getting a compatible mobo or getting an AMD equivalent?

Thanks,
-matt
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
No, an Intel CPU won't work on an AMD motherboard.
 

MatTheCat

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
883 (0.15/day)
System Name Bitch
Processor Intel i7 2600K @4.6Ghz
Motherboard MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3)
Cooling Noctua nh-u12p se2
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR HD 7970 3GB
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 240GB SSD / 2*320GB WDC RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 226BW 21" 1650*1080
Case Lian Li PC B-25
Audio Device(s) Creative X-FI Professional PCI
Power Supply OCZ PC Power & Cooling 860W
Software Windows 7 x64
Hello, I recently won $400 in the lottery and wanted to spend it on my system.

I currently have a pretty old/crappy CPU, and it's been holding back my 5850.

As a long-lasting upgrade, I decided on this card:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Tu...

I just need to know if my PSU/mobo can use it!

Thanks,
-matt

Where to start?

Ok, that aint exactly a 'card' (graphics card), it is a CPU, (although I does have a really crappy video card built in).

Secondly, all the varieties of chips have a specfic motherboard CPU slot that they fit into. The Sandybridge chips need a mobo with a LGA 1155 socket.

And of course, an intel chip will never work in an AMD motherboard.
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
Where to start?

Ok, that aint exactly a 'card' (graphics card), it is a CPU, (although I does have a really crappy video card built in).

Secondly, all the varieties of chips have a specfic motherboard CPU slot that they fit into. The Sandybridge chips need a mobo with a LGA 1155 socket.

And of course, an intel chip will never work in an AMD motherboard.

Sorry, didn't mean to say card.

So would there be a worthy alternative that would work at a similar price range?

I would like to avoid changing mobo, as it seems pretty complex and I would probably spend some money to have someone do it for me.
 

MatTheCat

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
883 (0.15/day)
System Name Bitch
Processor Intel i7 2600K @4.6Ghz
Motherboard MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3)
Cooling Noctua nh-u12p se2
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR HD 7970 3GB
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 240GB SSD / 2*320GB WDC RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 226BW 21" 1650*1080
Case Lian Li PC B-25
Audio Device(s) Creative X-FI Professional PCI
Power Supply OCZ PC Power & Cooling 860W
Software Windows 7 x64
Sorry, didn't mean to say card.

So would there be a worthy alternative that would work at a similar price range?

I would like to avoid changing mobo, as it seems pretty complex and I would probably spend some money to have someone do it for me.

I would say probs not.

I would say that your mobo is an AM2+ standard motherboard so the best processor around for that would be an AM2 Quad clocked at 3.1 GHz. The performance that you could expect out of that would fall way short of the 2500k.

If you are wanting to upgrade, you are going to have to replace the mobo, the ram, and then of course the CPU. But it really isn't hard. Just like a kind of boring lego set. Dont be put of by all the electrical components and coloured wires, all you are doing is fitting parts togther. No specialist knowledge required.
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
I would say probs not.

I would say that your mobo is an AM2+ standard motherboard so the best processor around for that would be an AM2 Quad clocked at 3.1 GHz. The performance that you could expect out of that would fall way short of the 2500k.

If you are wanting to upgrade, you are going to have to replace the mobo, the ram, and then of course the CPU. But it really isn't hard. Just like a kind of boring lego set. Dont be put of by all the electrical components and coloured wires, all you are doing is fitting parts togther. No specialist knowledge required.

I would have to replace the RAM too?

Are there no options where I could keep the RAM? :confused:

EDIT: Could anyone post a good mobo/psu combo? I'm not sure what to look for.
 
Last edited:

MatTheCat

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
883 (0.15/day)
System Name Bitch
Processor Intel i7 2600K @4.6Ghz
Motherboard MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3)
Cooling Noctua nh-u12p se2
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR HD 7970 3GB
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 240GB SSD / 2*320GB WDC RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 226BW 21" 1650*1080
Case Lian Li PC B-25
Audio Device(s) Creative X-FI Professional PCI
Power Supply OCZ PC Power & Cooling 860W
Software Windows 7 x64
I would have to replace the RAM too?

Are there no options where I could keep the RAM? :confused:

I dont know quite what the score is with the AMD mobos. Quite possibly if your RAM is DDR2, then you can upgrade to a better AMD mobo/CPU that takes DDR2 RAM. But anything remotely modern and decent that you would actually want will be DD3 as standard by now for sure.

Welcome to the world of PC gaming.

Unless you got the money to get something that you are gonna be pleased with and is going to last you the distance, best sticking that dosh in your back hipper and holding onto it a while.

EDIT: I never noticed that you are on DD3. In that case, stick with AMD and you will be able to keep your RAM. Your socket is also more likey to be AM3 than AM2. Therefore you should have a look at the top line AMD CPUs which should fit right into your mobo socket. However, since you seem like you dont know wot u are doing, when you get a new chip, BE SURE TO USE HEAT TRANSFER PASTE ON IT before you attachit to the heatsink.
 
Last edited:

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
I dont know quite what the score is with the AMD mobos. Quite possibly if your RAM is DDR2, then you can upgrade to a better AMD mobo/CPU that takes DDR2 RAM. But anything remotely modern and decent that you would actually want will be DD3 as standard by now for sure.

Welcome to the world of PC gaming.

Unless you got the money to get something that you are gonna be pleased with and is going to last you the distance, best sticking that dosh in your back hipper and holding onto it a while.

Well my specs say the RAM is G-skill 4gb DDR3... I see that everywhere, I would think it would be compatible with a new mobo...
Also, I've been into PC gaming for a while now, just haven't gotten into the mobo/cpu scene yet.

EDIT: ninja'd

EDIT: Could someone help me out by suggesting a good CPU that would work? Again, I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for...
 

MatTheCat

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
883 (0.15/day)
System Name Bitch
Processor Intel i7 2600K @4.6Ghz
Motherboard MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3)
Cooling Noctua nh-u12p se2
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR HD 7970 3GB
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 240GB SSD / 2*320GB WDC RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 226BW 21" 1650*1080
Case Lian Li PC B-25
Audio Device(s) Creative X-FI Professional PCI
Power Supply OCZ PC Power & Cooling 860W
Software Windows 7 x64
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
We will need the model of your AsRock motherboard. Perhaps you need to overclock your current CPU if your motherboard can actually do it.
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
we will need the model of your asrock motherboard. Perhaps you need to overclock your current cpu if your motherboard can actually do it.

m3a770de
 
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
508 (0.11/day)
Location
Upright down-under (Brisbane, Australia)
System Name Frankenstein v7
Processor Intel i7 2600K (@ stock)
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V
Cooling Corsair H100
Memory Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR3 @ 1866MHz
Video Card(s) Gigabyte 7870 WindForce 2GB
Storage Samsung F3 1TB HDD
Display(s) Samsung S24C750
Case Antec P280
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro
Power Supply Corsair HX850
Software Windows 7 Pro - 64-bit
^ +1
You're probably better off getting a 1090T, provided your mobo supports it :)

EDIT: according to the CPU support list, you may need to update your mobo's BIOS, but the 1090T will fit fine then.
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
The motherboard is perfectly capable of overclocking your current CPU. Overclocking your CPU to 3.6ghz plus will make a big difference.
 

MatTheCat

New Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2008
Messages
883 (0.15/day)
System Name Bitch
Processor Intel i7 2600K @4.6Ghz
Motherboard MSI Z68A-GD80 (G3)
Cooling Noctua nh-u12p se2
Memory 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz 9-10-9-27
Video Card(s) POWERCOLOR HD 7970 3GB
Storage OCZ Vertex 2 240GB SSD / 2*320GB WDC RAID 0
Display(s) Samsung 226BW 21" 1650*1080
Case Lian Li PC B-25
Audio Device(s) Creative X-FI Professional PCI
Power Supply OCZ PC Power & Cooling 860W
Software Windows 7 x64

Yup. That will take the very best AMD desktop CPU which will be well within your price range.

Should get a huge performance kick from any Phenon II Quad-Hex core CPU @3.6GHz +
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
The motherboard is perfectly capable of overclocking your current CPU. Overclocking your CPU to 3.6ghz plus will make a big difference.

Yes --pardon my possible idiocy, I don't know what I'm talking about really-- but could my PSU handle it?

EDIT: Also, could you direct me towards on OCing guide? I've never OC'd a CPU before.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
I have no experience with that PSU but if what it claims for wattage is correct then yes it should handle it.
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
I've OC'd my CPU from 2.8 to 3.12GHz (highest stable clock I could get).

At 20% OC (3.36ghz, 240mhz bus speed, 1.35v, Mult 14x) it crashed upon loading my desktop.

I got it to an extremely stable state (3.12ghz, 240mhz, 1.3875v, Mult 13x) by changing voltage and mult levels.

Would you suggest I try to get to 3.3-3.4ghz by changing voltage up a bit and turning up mult levels?
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
for 400 bucks you could buy a mobo/cpu combo and maybe even memory.. look around in the buy sell trade forums.. I found a great deal last week and ended up with 3x2 gb of ddr3 1600, a core i7 960 and a x58 mobo for like 450.00..

As for changing a mobo being complex.. If you have a little patience and a decently steady hand it's really not at all complex.. Square fits in the square hole common sense stuff for the most part and they come with manuals. So if you don't know what goes where you can refer to the manual. Knowing how to do it yourself will save you lots of money in the future. :p
I'm not some rocket scientist, it's not hard to build pc's at all.. seriously..

and what cpu did u up to that speed? the core i5?
id try the cpu multi at 20 "200" and mem multi at 8 with likely no overvolting for 4 ghz.
Pretty sure the i5 multi goes to 20 right? I'm on an i7, not sure, but I think so.
Anything over 200 is going to be more trouble than it's worth more than likely, voltage would be so high you'd want nitro or water cooling as a must and it still likely won't be stable.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
I've OC'd my CPU from 2.8 to 3.12GHz (highest stable clock I could get).

At 20% OC (3.36ghz, 240mhz bus speed, 1.35v, Mult 14x) it crashed upon loading my desktop.

I got it to an extremely stable state (3.12ghz, 240mhz, 1.3875v, Mult 13x) by changing voltage and mult levels.

Would you suggest I try to get to 3.3-3.4ghz by changing voltage up a bit and turning up mult levels?

Watch your HTT and North Bridge frequencies. Thise go up as you increase your bus speed and will need voltage as well.
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
Watch your HTT and North Bridge frequencies. Thise go up as you increase your bus speed and will need voltage as well.

I didn't see anything about "HTT" or North Bridge frequencies... what are they?
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
What CPU are you overclocking and did you see what I posted?
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
Athlon II X4 2.8GHz (630)

Ahh cripes.. disregard what I said.. I must of missed when you mentioned that, my apologies..
Idk a thing about amd processors. XD
 

matteumayo

New Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2011
Messages
172 (0.04/day)
System Name derp
Processor Athlon II X4 2.8GHz
Motherboard ASROCK (exact model number not readily available)
Cooling Lots of fans?
Memory 4gb DDR3 G-Skill
Video Card(s) PowerColor 1gb 5850 hd
Storage 650gb Seagate
Display(s) Westington 19" 1440x900
Case Some Cooler Master case
Power Supply hec ORION 585w
Software Windows 7 64-bit
So should I try to OC higher?
 
Top