General / Off-Topic Upgrading CPU

Abletudu

Abletudu
Can anyone help answer this for me? I am planning on upgrading my CPU from the present i3-3220 to an i5-3550. My question is since I can't afford to buy the full retail package with CPU and cooler, could I just purchase the CPU and use my existing cooler?
 

jemand123

J
Depends on which cooler you have. Also, overclocking will have the result of heating up the whole thing, which would make a new cooler necessary.
 

Smorboll

S
In most cases, yes, you should upgrade your cooler. If you have an exceptional cooler, you're probably okay, but to be on the safe side, I would say to upgrade it.
 

Sverenja

Sverenja
Normally yes, but you need new thermal paste and I would keep an eye on the temps afterwards, as the i3 3220 has a TDP of 55W and the i5 3550 77W. If it's a bit on the warm side you can still can get a cheap aftermarket cooler like the CoolerMaster Hyper TX3.
All intel stock coolers are basically the same after all.
 

Abletudu

Abletudu
I should have said that my rig is a home built with 5 case fans in addition to the stock cooler with fan that came with the retail version of the i3-3220. My GPU geforce gtx 960 has two fans.
 
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cerealfruitcakes

cerealfruitcakes
Does your motherboard support an i5? Usually when you go up a level from an i3 to i5 or i5 to i7 you typically have to upgrade your motherboard and RAM.

edit: nvm, I looked them both up and they support the same socket, you're good. I'm not sure if you'll see a major difference between the two though. Someone might chime in and correct me, I'm not the most savvy at this stuff.
 
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Abletudu

Abletudu
My mother board will support an i5-3550 or a i7-3770, but the cost of the i7 is totally above what I could afford.
 
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Sverenja

Sverenja
Well, the 5 case fans make it a bit easier for the cooler to get rid of the heat, but it still has to be able to deal with it in the first place. The i5-version of the stock cooler is a bit heavier than the i3-version, but in reality they perform not much different (but both no comparison to even a cheap aftermarket cooler)

Whether the upgrade to the i5 is noticeable depends a bit on the software, because the 3550 is a quad-core, the 3220 only a dual core, but the single-core performance is not much different.
 

Sverenja

Sverenja
Yes, the Pure Rock would work, probably be almost overkill with 150W TDP, but there is never enough cooling ;)
I personally would go with Cooler Master Hyper 212 (on sale on Newegg right now) or maybe even cheaper the Hyper T2.

Used CPU ... well, it depends. Always with good cooling, never overclocked - yes, otherwise no
The Cooler would definitely work. i7 3770 has a surprisingly low TDP of only 77W, so actually the same as the i5 3550
 

Abletudu

Abletudu
Thanks for all your help, I think I know what to get myself as a late Christmas Present.
 
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Abletudu

Abletudu
Never mind instead of upgrading I decided to get a custom built Windows 11 computer, but thanks for all the replays.
 
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