Back in Spring 2011, I bought a shiny i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge) for my gaming PC… and never looked back. I’ve never had to touch this sturdy, unrelenting CPU. I never even bothered figuring out how to overclock it (which maybe contributed to its longevity); it just always worked great, and kept on going and going and going.

However, when I realized my DDR3 RAM was no longer one but two generations out of date… I had to admit it was time to upgrade.

Obviously, Intel has earned my loyalty with the i5-2500k, and I’m not seriously looking at other CPU brands. I have my eye on a sexy little i5-13600KF with a nice new LGA1700 motherboard, and I fully expect that combo to last me another decade.

However, I’ve been out of this game for a long, long time. I seek your advice. Would I be a fool to buy now? When will the next generation be out? Is the next generation going to be leaps and bounds ahead of the current gen, or just an incremental improvement? Eight or nine years from now, am I going to feel like a chump for grabbing Raptor Lake when I could have waited a few more months for Arrow Lake?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

  • OfficialHavik@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Nearly 13 years on the same CPU!? Upgrade today my man. If you live near a Microcenter they’ve got some killer deals right now. I’m seeing the 14700k bundle that includes a good board and 32GB of RAM for $500. I’d jump on that and not look back.

    • Tosan25@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I have an Ivy laptop that is still doing well. It’s had some upgrades, but surprisingly well for a 2013 machine.

    • Euphoric_Campaign691@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      i upgraded from a 2500 to a 7600x this year it really feels like another universe when i click on an icon and it opens instantly without me closing every background task