I built my PC in 2018 and have only upgraded the graphics card since then. My current processor is an Intel Core i5-6500, installed on an MSI B150M Mortar motherboard. I'm considering a CPU upgrade, but I'm unsure which processors are actually compatible and whether any of them would provide a noticeable improvement. The motherboard documentation mentions support for 6th-generation Intel Core processors on its LGA1151 socket, so I'm also wondering whether newer chips such as 7th-generation CPUs or i9 models would work. Would it make more sense to buy a used CPU for this platform, or should I replace the motherboard and move to a newer platform?
4 Answers
For a substantial improvement, replacing the motherboard and CPU is the better route. A budget AM4 combination such as a Ryzen 5 5600 with an inexpensive A520 or B550 board would be a much larger jump. Your existing DDR4 memory may work, although it is unusually slow, so upgrading the RAM later would be worthwhile.
An i7-6700 would be the most sensible upgrade that is officially supported, while a 6700K only makes sense if it’s priced very cheaply because this motherboard isn’t suited to CPU overclocking. The performance gain would be noticeable in some games and multitasking, but it still wouldn’t be a major modern upgrade.
There isn’t much of an upgrade path on this motherboard. Buying an expensive used processor for it would put money into an obsolete platform, so I’d put that budget toward a newer motherboard and CPU instead. You can try reusing the current RAM initially, then replace it with faster memory if your budget allows.
The socket name alone doesn’t guarantee compatibility. This board officially supports 6th-generation Intel processors, and it generally won’t support 7th-generation chips without the right BIOS support. i9 processors are from much newer platforms and aren’t compatible. Even if you find a supported i7, the improvement over an i5-6500 probably won’t justify spending much money on it.
That’s what was confusing me—the LGA1151 label also appears on later Intel platforms, but they aren’t automatically interchangeable. The motherboard’s chipset and BIOS support matter too.
I’m fine spending more than the cheapest option if it makes the upgrade worthwhile. It’s just frustrating that the old RAM may hold the new system back too.