I've had my PC for about 7 years, and I'm looking to upgrade a few components soon. My current setup includes an ECS H110M4-C23 motherboard, an i3 7100 CPU, a 1050ti GPU, and 8GB of RAM. I'm planning to upgrade the CPU to an i7 7700, which I believe is the max compatible with my motherboard. I'm currently using a cooler for my i3, the Intel E97379-003, and I'm unsure if I need to upgrade it for the i7. I don't want to spend too much on a cooler, but I've read that the E97379-001 is somewhat better for the i7. I'm not very experienced with PC building, so any advice would be welcome. Thanks!
3 Answers
The stock cooler should be fine for the i7 at stock speeds. My wife’s PC has the i7-6700 and the stock cooler works perfectly without throttling. Just a tip: if you can snag an i7-6700 for cheaper than the 7700, they’re pretty much the same CPU.
You might want to think twice before upgrading. CPUs older than the 8th gen can’t run Windows 11, and Windows 10 reaches end of life soon.
I can’t do a full upgrade right now, so this is what I can manage to extend my PC's life. I’ve been running Windows 11 on my i3 7100 for almost 4 years now, and it works better than Windows 10, so I’m not too worried about that.
Are you getting the i7 7700 or the 7700K? The stock cooler works fine with the regular 7700, but it could get a bit noisy. If it’s the K version, you should definitely look for a better cooler.
It’s the regular one! Appreciate the info!
That’s good to hear! I found the i7 7700 for about $45, which is great since good tech deals are rare here. I’ll definitely try the stock cooler!