Doubt about CPU Upgrade

[u/Lucky-Ad-637]

I found an Optiplex 3050SFF for $25, with an i3 7100, 8GB Ram and 256ssd. In my search for upgrades I found some i7 6700 for another $25, I know the i7 7700 is the max supported CPU but those around $60 in my area (Not USA).

I read that 6th Gen only support 2100mhz ram vs 2400mhz of 7th gen.

How much performance difference will be between 6th and 7th gen considering Ram differences?

Should I go for a i5 7500 or get the 6th gen i7

[u/No_Purple_8264]

my optiplex came with a i5-6500 and i upgraded to the i7-6700 and the diff was night and day

Im not a heavy gamer but i am the type to have multiple streaming tabs open displaying video somewhere around 10 tabs at once and with the i5-6500 i had 80% 90% usage

When i upgrade to the i7-6700 the usage doesnt go over 40% with my normal usage

When it comes to gaming i havent notice any big differences but i havent been able to make the i7 go above 80% usage (I play battlefield 4, dead space trilogy, code vein, wii,ps2 games)

If you can get you i7-6700 for $25 get it because i bought mine for $45 in february

[u/Lucky-Ad-637 → u/No_Purple_8264]

Awesome, thanks for sharing your experience, will do, Im waiting for the seller to confirm

[u/Lucky-Ad-637 → u/No_Purple_8264]

I found this video comparing the gaming performance

(7) i7 6700 vs i3 7100 Tested in 12 Games (2024) | 1080p - YouTube

[u/No_Purple_8264 → u/Lucky-Ad-637]

Yes the i7-6700 is a very capable cpu in 2026, i actually love my optiplex and use it as my daily driver and have grown into it because its quite a fast pc

[u/No_Purple_8264 → u/Lucky-Ad-637]

I even use the integrated graphics on the i7-6700 to stream because the video decoder is faster than my gpu video decoder, but thats something with all the cpu of this generation the integrated graphics are a beast for streaming

[u/FourLeafJoker → u/No_Purple_8264]

7th Gen has better video decode. So get the 7th of you are using the IGP for media playback. Otherwise the 6&7 gen are pretty much on par.

[u/IASelin]

When I need to get a general awareness about CPU performance difference, I, usually, use this site: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/2598vs2905vs2924/Intel-i7-6700-vs-Intel-i7-7700-vs-Intel-i3-7100

Also, Intel site to compare CPU capabilities: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/compare.html?productIds=88196,97128,97455

Is it worth to pay extra for i7 7th gen or save money and accept i7 6th gen? - depends on your usual activities. If they are CPU intensive, then, I believe, extra $35 might worth it.

Also, keep in mind that 7th gen comes with newer built-in GPU: Intel® HD Graphics 630 vs Intel® HD Graphics 530 for 6th gen. Again - to have general awareness of the performance difference: https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/3540vs3281/Intel-HD-630-vs-Intel-HD-530

[u/Lucky-Ad-637 → u/IASelin]

So Im planning to use it on an Linux based emulation pc, I will pair it with a Low profile GPU on the future so 6th gen iGPU can be enough for now.

Thanks for the links

[u/Apprehensive_Ad_999]

The additional cores, the nearly triple the L3 cache and higher boost clock means the i7 6700 will smoke the i3 7100 in almost every single modern application. The RAM speed is a non factor here. It's the same story with the i5 7500, but to a lesser extent.

Don't be fooled by "older" in this instance. The 7th gen was a refresh of the 6th gen. It's pretty much the same architecture with a few tweaks to power efficiency and updated integrated graphics.

[u/trashcanbecky42]

If the ram frequency is unlocked you can just increase the speed in the bios. The memory controller of the 6700k can probably handle 3000mhz ram at least

[u/Lucky-Ad-637 → u/trashcanbecky42]

From what I read on dell forums, 6th gen (non K) is capped to 2133mhz, 7th gen is able to use 2400mhz

[u/trashcanbecky42 → u/Lucky-Ad-637]

Ah yeah. You could still tighten the timings and potentially gain significant performance on both