I'm looking for an inexpensive CPU upgrade from my Pentium G630 to use with a GT 630. I mainly play Minecraft and don't plan to upgrade the rest of the system for a while, so I'm trying to avoid spending much. Would the Intel Xeon E3-1230 v2 be a good choice, or is there another compatible processor that offers better value without requiring a new motherboard?
3 Answers
It performs similarly to an older Core i7 and is a much better choice than the G630. Just keep expectations realistic: the GT 630 will still be the biggest gaming limitation. When you’re ready, a used card such as an RX 570/580 or GTX 1060 could provide a much larger improvement, assuming your power supply can handle it.
The Xeon E3-1230 v2 is a solid upgrade over the Pentium G630. It has four cores and eight threads, so it should make the system feel much better in Minecraft and other games. It’s probably one of the best upgrades available without replacing your motherboard, as long as your motherboard’s BIOS supports it.
Unless an i7-3770 is available at nearly the same price, the E3-1230 v2 is usually the better value. The performance difference between them is fairly small for this kind of budget system, and the Xeon should be a major improvement over the dual-core Pentium.
I currently have a non-modular 420W power supply. I’m also moving to another country soon, so I’d prefer a reasonably priced GPU that won’t require upgrading everything before then.