Core i7 980x for $55 AliExpress too cheap? Not worth it?

LVash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 09:15

Hey all, I'm an old fart looking to come back to gaming and only have a bit of knowledge on computer building.
I just got a Radeon Rx 6600 and performance is decent but want to give it a bit of a fps boost (2k monitor).
I have a old motherboard Asus P6T and current have a core i7 920 and looking to upgrade to core i7 980x. I found this on AliExpress for $55 which I thought is too cheap.

I have two questions.
1) Would I see improvement with fps (No overclock, I have stock cpu fan)
2) any problems buying cpu from AliExpress?

I have 10gb ram and installing games on ssd.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Not looking to spend over $100 for any other alternatives.

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004862275005.html?_t=pvid%…

Computing

Comments

  • vodamerc on 30/07/2023 - 09:35
    +10

    Cheap? Thats a 13 year old processor…

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 09:45

      Thanks for shareing, I don't have much reference but some ebay overseas sellers are selling for over $100.

      • garetz on 30/07/2023 - 10:00
        +3

        Anything computer wise that is over 5 years is old is mostly worthless.

        i have an i7-930 comp that i barely use and this cpu would be a huge upgrade, but in the scheme of things you are much better off building a budget $500 build with modern parts on the low end.

        • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 10:03

          Thanks Garetz, maybe I'll save the money for upgrade

            • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 14:20

              @Kangal: Thanks Kangal, sorry I should have been more specific, want to play single player FPS games.
              I just finished Doom Eternal and it brought back some memories of old school fast pace action!
              So many options these days, thanks for the advice

              • Kangal on 31/07/2023 - 08:51
                -1

                @Vash1984: What is your budget?
                If you're able to, what's like your (min, ave, max) in terms of spending?

                (also don't pay mind to people who are negging me/you, just take the pragmatic approach)

                • Vash1984 on 31/07/2023 - 09:14

                  @Kangal: Hey Kangal, budget was $100 but given some ideas from others, better increase the budget and invest in proper budget gaming rig.
                  My gaming experience is fine at the moment, settings are set medium to high. Ran msi afterburner yesterday and cpu and gpu running about 70% on 2016 game lol.
                  I'm buying cheap games and not buying new release games so maybe I wing it out until my bottle neck reaches 95%

        • cfuse on 31/07/2023 - 23:22

          Whilst you're not wrong, you're making an argument to finances rather than utility. E-waste can get it done.

          I have an ancient cpu too, but I also struggle to find any use case that is actually CPU bound (and this is only magnified by the fact that so few applications are multithreaded). If you're going to put money anywhere these days it's going to be the graphics card (Lord Jesus, so much money).

          I'm not going to be upgrading for the CPU when I do, I'm going to be upgrading for the system buses.

  • Malik Nasser on 30/07/2023 - 09:41

    One sold on eBay at the end of May for $50, according to this listing:
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/134589886941

    You may see a bit of an uplift in performance, but I wouldn't expect too much. That is a really old platform.
    https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-X-980-vs…

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 09:49

      Thanks Malik, I saw that one, could have been a once off though.
      Thanks for the Userbenchmark website, whats a good reference for improvements? Cores, Threads, GHz?

      • Malik Nasser on 30/07/2023 - 09:59
        +2

        An newer platform. Incremental improvements on each new generation adds up, especially over the 13 years since the release of your current computer.
        You cant really just look at cores, threads, GHz, as it does not tell the full story. Only thing I could suggest is to look at reviews (but that takes time).
        In saying that, if you only want to spend less than $100, you don't really have much options other than just upgrading the CPU as you have noted.
        Also, UserBenchmark is pretty average, but it is good for a quick glance, especially if you are only comparing Intel v Intel (they dont like AMD so comparisons are biased).

        • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 10:01

          Thanks Malik, computers much harder to understand these days.

    • Axelstrife on 30/07/2023 - 10:47
      +8

      Dont use that garbage userbenchmark site, youd get more accurate info from those fake benchmark videos on youtube than them.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/07/2023 - 11:43
    +1

    Look around your local area and see if you can snag someone's old AM4 platform for cheap, its going to be a much better upgrade than an ancient 13 years old CPU for not a lot more money. I've seen CPU + RAM + mobo in the 200 range for 3600/5600.

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 11:58

      So for budget friendly gaming systems, Ryzen CPU's are a good choice?

      • scrimshaw on 30/07/2023 - 12:18
        +3

        The AM4 platform itself is solid, most motherboard manufacturers have done a pretty good job at delivering BIOS updates to make them compatible with several generations of Ryzen processors

        However I wouldn't go any older than Ryzen 5000 / 3000 series. There is about a 11% ipc uplift going from Ryzen 3000 to 5000, but Ryzen 2000 is worse off by roughly 25%.

        • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 12:21
          +1

          Thanks bud

  • 7ekn00 on 30/07/2023 - 13:16

    Far better option to get a refurb like: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/786170

    And add your GPU too it ;)

    The above PC will be 3-4x faster than a $100 Core i7 980x

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 13:21

      oh, never knew these could be turned into budget gaming PC. Will GPU fit though?

      • 7ekn00 on 30/07/2023 - 13:23
        +1

        Not sure, I don't know the specs of your GPU ;)

        There are several refurbs that pop up from time to time where the CPUs will run circles around the old Core i7 980x!

        Just wait for one of the PC mid or full tower refurbs to pop up if concerned about space :D

    • scrimshaw on 30/07/2023 - 13:28
      +2

      Please note SFF = Small Form Factor. You will not be able to fit in regular sized graphics cards in there, it's only going to accommodate the tiniest (and weakest) of graphics cards

      The majority of refurbished office computers are either Small Form Factor or Ultra Small Form Factor, with only a few that are using DT or MT (Desktop Tower or Mini Tower). you also need to pay attention to the power supply wattage too. A system running a Radeon 6600 would most likely need 400~450w depending on configuration.

  • FireRunner on 30/07/2023 - 15:54
    +4

    Definitely not worth spending any money on such an old system.
    Even a entry level modern i3 or Ryzen 3 would destroy a 13 year old i7.
    Put the $$$ towards something much newer

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 16:15

      Thanks for the advice.

  • PiratePete1911 on 30/07/2023 - 18:07
    +1

    Keep in mind with that CPU that even if the performance is still acceptable it doesn't support certain features required for modern games and will not run Windows 11 either.

    Many games will simply refuse to launch on that CPU.

    You can get an entry level intel or amd platform with CPU Motherboard and Ram for just over 300 dollars that will absolutely wipe the floor with whatever old stuff you have.

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 18:35

      I did not know that, thanks for the Tip

  • Dtnightmare1 on 30/07/2023 - 18:17

    You'll only see an improvement if your current GPU isn't running at 99-100% utilisation while gaming. To view this while gaming you'd need to download MSI afterburner and set it to show the GPU/CPU utilisation on screen. If you're GPU is at 99-100% utilisation while gaming on your current CPU and your CPU utilisation is somewhere between 0% and 90% then you'll most likely not see any or much of an improvement with the 980x.

    However, if your GPU utilisation is at something lower like 90%/80% etc and your CPU is at 95-100% utilisation.. then you'll most likely get a bit of an FPS bump from the 980x. However this is a very old CPU and is limited to DDR3 ram so getting a new motherboard/CPU/ram would be beneficial but obviously costly.

    The small form factor Dell PC's that people have mentioned above are decent but it is still limited to DDR3 ram and you'd need to take it out of the case and put it in a newer case to fit your GPU in it, I also personally wouldn't trust the power supply that comes with the Dell as it's probably not sufficient for your GPU.

    There are cheap small form factor Dell PC's that have DDR4 ram and newer cpus which will be better but you'd still have to put all the parts into a new PC case and probably get a better power supply.

    As to buying a CPU from AliExpress, it's 50/50.

    I've found that if the store has a high rating and has sold a hell of a lot of items or is a Gold/Silver store then it's probably fine. Avoid unnamed stores like the plague but even some named stores are dodge.

    I'd recommend saving up for a 8th gen or higher system, preferably 12th gen.

    • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 18:41

      Cheers Dtnightmare, good point about MSI afterburner, I will have a check.
      Didnt think about the DDR4
      Seems Consensus is to buy a proper gaming setup to ensure longevity.

      • Dtnightmare1 on 30/07/2023 - 18:43
        +1

        I currently own 4th gen i5 4590, 8th gen and 11th gen gaming PCs, the 4th gen is capable but does struggle a little bit and I prefer to only use it for very light gaming.

        The 8th gen i7 8700k is still very capable and I use it with a triple monitor setup and a GTX 1080, the GPU is the bottle neck but it runs games great.

        My main PC is the 11th gen i5 11400f with a 3070 ti and it has no problems at 2k gaming

        So I'd not recommend anything lower then 8th gen as it's DDR4 and windows 11 compatible and still packs a punch

        • Vash1984 on 30/07/2023 - 18:46

          Lol I don't even know what generation mine computer is. Old gen.

          • Dtnightmare1 on 30/07/2023 - 18:49
            +2

            @Vash1984: It might be 1st gen, I'm not entirely sure as I've actually never heard of a i7 920/980x

            :)

      • dcep on 30/07/2023 - 23:54
        +1

        Seems Consensus is to buy a proper gaming setup to ensure longevity.

        I'm going for the outlier , i would spend that $50 on 980x CPU upgrade alone given your use case and 6600 GPU.

        Just have to make sure the $50 980x CPU is legit working condition.

        Alternatively you can scout for Xeon X5675 which is the same thing as 980x but more abundant / probably cheaper and will work just fine on your motherboard.

        • Vash1984 on 31/07/2023 - 00:10
          +1

          Thanks for sharing, guess $50 not that much. Could be happy with a slight upgrade which can last me 1 or 2 years. If I plan on playing games more, then invest more on proper system.

  • A-mak on 31/07/2023 - 10:58
    +1

    The Asus P6T is a pcie 2.0 x16 motherboard. Your GPU (amd 6600) is a PCIE 4.0 x8 card meaning it is currently running at PCIE 2.0 x8.

    Buying a faster CPU would make minimal difference to gaming as your bottleneck is the PCIE version/lanes.

    I recommend scouring ebay or facebook and getting an AM4 kit of a CPU+Mobo (+ram). If you can't find a kit with ram at a good price even 1x8gb ddr4 would majorly outperform your system. Ideally a 5 series amd.

    My experience? I went from an i7 950 Asus P6T-Pro with 12gb ddr3 in triple channel with an AMD 7890 to an AMD 2600x ASUS PRIME B450M-A (8gb ddr4 2400mhz then 32gb 3600mhz) and eventually AMD 6600XT. I am now looking at upgrading to 7 series AMD to make the jump to PCIE 5.0 as my gpu is limited because it is a pcie 4.0 8x card losing about 15% performance due to motherboard being pcie 3.0.

    I am assuming you are confident in swapping out components as you are looking at a new cpu only.

    • Vash1984 on 31/07/2023 - 18:00

      Thanks A-mak, arhh another detail to think, so many things to consider! Was much easier in the past (I think, don't know, didnt have nearly as much info on the web)
      I think its best have my settings left at Medium, after a year or so when my current setup is unplayable, I'll spend proper time and money to get a new rig.
      Or maybe I'll ask Chatgpt lol

      CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X - A powerful 6-core/12-thread processor with excellent gaming performance.

      GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT - Both are solid options for 1080p gaming and should fit within the budget. Choose whichever is more affordable at the time of purchase.

      Motherboard: A B550 chipset motherboard, such as MSI B550-A PRO, ASUS TUF Gaming B550-PLUS, or Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite. These motherboards offer good features and compatibility for the Ryzen 5 5600X.

      RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz or 3600MHz - Look for reputable brands like Corsair, G.Skill, or Kingston.

      Storage:

      500GB NVMe SSD (e.g., Crucial P2, WD Blue SN550) for your OS and main applications.
      1TB HDD (e.g., Seagate Barracuda) for additional storage.
      Power Supply: 550W to 650W 80+ Bronze or 80+ Gold certified power supply from reputable brands like Corsair, EVGA, or Seasonic.

      Case: A budget-friendly mid-tower case with good airflow and cable management options, such as the Cooler Master NR600 or NZXT H510.

      Optional: If you have some extra budget, you could consider adding an aftermarket CPU cooler for better thermal performance and quieter operation. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO or Noctua NH-U12S are popular options.

      • scrimshaw on 31/07/2023 - 18:21
        +2

        I have a build that is almost exactly like that, except an RTX 3070 instead. The few changes I recommend is

        1. Don't get the Ryzen 5 5600X, but the Ryzen 5 5600 instead. (These CPU's are basically the same, you're just paying a lot more for a single digit performance differences)

        2. The aftermarket CPU cooler is a nice-to-have rather than an essential thing. The stock cooler for a Ryzen 5 processor is more than adequate, and you don't really need to replace it unless your CPU doesn't come with one (Ryzen 7's for example lack a stock cooler)

        3. Don't buy small 500GB NVME drives unless you can find a very good deal on those. a 1TB~2TB NVME ssd is usually better value in terms of $ per GB.

        AMD Ryzen 5 5600 $181 with JAU17 coupon code
        DDR4 16GB 3200mhz kit $46
        Motherboard — buy anything you want. A budget B550 board can be had for roughly $120~150.

        • Vash1984 on 31/07/2023 - 18:23

          thanks Scrimshaw, I just ripped the above from Chatgpt, no intensions of purchasing.
          But given, Chat GPT was pretty close to your system and took me 10 seconds to search, who knows what it will be like in the next year.

          • A-mak on 01/08/2023 - 18:04
            +1

            @Vash1984: I would just recommend checking ebay/facebook market place for second-hand cpu+mobo combo. Your current GPU is better than the chat-gpt but is bottlenecked by your current motherboard+cpu.

            the 2600x+Asus I mentioned I paid $150 for in 2019 to tie me over.

            If you go down the 'upgrade piece by piece' route, I would suggest the next investment being $100 1tb NVME m.2 even if you only have 8gb ddr4. (going from a 550Mb/s ssd to a 2,000Mb/s nvme made a huge difference for me). Just keep in mind older motherboards may not support the newest NVME's so be sure to match up supported versions.

            If you are looking at waiting and getting an entirely new system, if I could hold out I would wait for the AMD 8-series cpu's to drop (next year I think?); hopefully by then pcie 5.0 motherboards would have dropped in price. Unless you like Intel, nfi about their future line-up.

            Best of luck.

            • Vash1984 on 01/08/2023 - 18:41

              @A-mak: Thanks again, I'll probably hold off and wait. With nvme I watch video in the past and it says barely any performance difference vs SATA SSD for gaming. Is that old news? Has nvme improved that quick ?

              • A-mak on 02/08/2023 - 13:11

                @Vash1984: You will notice a huge difference with new games that use DirectStorage (stream textures from the drive) some new games even list nvme as a requirement. Currently, in terms of FPS there is a negligible difference but load times and 'snappy-ness' of windows there is a HUGE difference.

                Games that use the page file/virtual ram would benefit greatly.

                For me, going from PCIE2 to 3 was a noticeable difference, going from 8gb ddr4 2400mhz to 32gb ddr4 3600mhz was barely noticeable and switching from 550Mb/s SATA to 2,000Mb/s nvme was very noticeable. I keep windows + most played/resource-hungry games on the nvme and the older, quick-to-load games on the sata drive.

                There are also even faster NVME's 2,000Mb/s is the lower-end, however more expensive for more speed.

  • wilsondavid93 on 01/08/2023 - 20:08
    +1

    Please don't spend your money on such old setup, it is not worth it. It's better to save up some bucks, and ask here again when you have saved up certain amount of money.

  • samba on 10/08/2023 - 20:14

    Buy an X5690 instead. Same specs as i7-990X, but with better memory speed compatability, and generally ~$30-35 from AliExpress/TaoBao. For 1080P gaming on a budget, your setup would be fine. Can always upgrade later.

  • Vash1984 on 10/08/2023 - 20:29
    +1

    Thanks all, after a lot of comments to invest in newer motherboard and cpu, I bit the bullet and just purchased on from techfast.com.au with B550 upgrade.

    Not getting any younger so might as well, 10+ years since last decent upgrade

    AMD Ryzen 5 5500 RX 6650XT(techfast.com.au): $699 after 5500-6650XT-JULY
    AMD Ryzen5 5500 CPU
    RX 6650 8GB GPU (Gigabyte Gaming OC currently in use)
    AMD A520 Motherboard (B550 Upgrade available)
    16GB RGB 3200MHz
    500GB M.2 NVMe SSD
    550W PSU
    Antec DP301m Case Antec NX200M Case

    I should be able to resell my RX 6600 and motherbother and maybe get back about $200

    • tekisei on 11/08/2023 - 00:13
      +1

      Nice one - pricing 6650XT at about Ozbargain average of $350, the rest of the system at $349 is reasonably good.

      You should be able to get $250 just for the RX6600 itself on eBay (if you have eBay prime Plus, eBay sales fee of 13% is waived if you opt into a promo), or $200 on Gumtree/FB Marketplace.

      The motherboard + CPU between $60-$80 on eBay - I don't think anyone will want to buy these on Gumtree/Marketplace. Sell the DDR3 RAM separately.

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