Advice for MOBO + CPU upgrade

[jonathan1107]

Hi you'll find my SPECS at the BOTTOM of this post

I'm interested in upgrading my setup for better performance overall but especially in video games. I use my PC mostly for gaming, movie watching and listening to music. Lots of multi-tab web browsing as well...

Lots of video games are often VERY cpu bound. Even though I have an i7 CPU, I often feel like the next thing to upgrade in my build is the CPU. What do you guys think?


Processor: I7 875k @4ghz (more like 3.8ghz now, 4ghz wasn't stable enough)
Motherboard: Sabertooth 55i
Cooling: Coolit ECO (CPU watercooler)
Memory: Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s): Asus Directcu ii GTX 670 2GB (+145CC +260 Mem)
Hard Disk(s): 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesterDigital RAID 0
Optical Drive: Lite On BluRay Read/Write
LCD/CRT Model: Asus 24" ve248h 1920x1080
Case: NZXT Phantom
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply: Antec TPQ 1200w
Software: Windows 7 (64 bit)

 

[Hellfire]

What sort of budget do you have?

 

[Jetster]

Z97 Gigabyte
i7 4790K

 

[jonathan1107]

Budget = 600$

 

[Hellfire]

hunt around (I am uk so using only US site I know)


Asus Sabertooth Mk1 & Intel 4790K
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132124
http://www.newegg.com/global/uk/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

Less than $600 (by a few $) but both are amazing kits, I swear by Asus and the CPU is a beaut

 

[Pehla]

may i just say that you actualy dont get much(in most cases any) performance over i5 cpu with that i7 as it comes to gaming ofcourse!!
you can google it and find your self...i5 4690k and your good to go
------------------------
http://www.ncix.com/detail/intel-core-i5-4690k-unlocked-c2-97889-1286.htm
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http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-z97-gaming-5-atx-4d-97043-1360.htm
----
=426$ for the rest buy something else!!more ram??

 

[jonathan1107]

Well my i7 does help with other things other than gaming. Hyperthreading is nice when it comes to multi taking and data transfers and indexing...

But yeah, gaming, multi tabs Web browsing and movies are the main things I do on my pc.

Thank you very much for the suggestions.

 

[eidairaman1]

Honestly a 4670K will be fine

 

[andrewsmc]

^ +1

 

[jonathan1107]

I agree that an i5 would be more than suitable for gaming only. But I do appreciate the benefits of an i7 for multi-tasking, data transfers and indexing...

Do the benefits brought on by the i7 hurt the gaming performance at all?

 

[jonathan1107]

may i just say that you actualy dont get much(in most cases any) performance over i5 cpu with that i7 as it comes to gaming ofcourse!!
you can google it and find your self...i5 4690k and your good to go
------------------------
http://www.ncix.com/detail/intel-core-i5-4690k-unlocked-c2-97889-1286.htm
------------------------
http://www.ncix.com/detail/msi-z97-gaming-5-atx-4d-97043-1360.htm
----
=426$ for the rest buy something else!!more ram??

What's the difference between the MSI z97 "gaming 3" "gaming 5" and "gaming 7" mobos ???

 

[jonathan1107]

Another question I have has to do with my cooling setup (for overclocking)
From what I've read on the web, the newer generations of intel processors overclock way better than my actual i7 875k. Apparantly they can reach impressive numbers with only air cooling with the stock cooler...

I'm using a Water Cooler (all in one type of kit) called ECO Coolit (its got a water pump with 2x tubes with enclosed liquid and a single radiator which I use with a push pull config). I was wondering if this would also be a good time to upgrade my water cooler to one that has dual radiators IF that can fit in my case. I'm using an NZXT phantom case (full tower). I don't intend to do any REAL water cooling ... those aquarium type of cooling kits that cost around 300-400$. I love overclocking but not that much... I find that I change parts in my PC too often for me to want to have to spend on water plates everytime or accessories...

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

I would suggest you wait a few more years, in most games that i7 will not be a bottleneck for your 670.

I'd think that you will be able to get a few hundred more MHz on that CPU if you get a dual fan CPU cooler like the H100i

 

[jonathan1107]

I would suggest you wait a few more years, in most games that i7 will not be a bottleneck for your 670.

I'd think that you will be able to get a few hundred more MHz on that CPU if you get a dual fan CPU cooler like the H100i

so... when you look @ my specs. You wouldn't upgrade anything? Or you would consider (like me) the possibility of upgrading the mobo and CPU. I feel like my GPU can run most games just fine (even with most settings maxed). I just lower shadows when I need a little extra stability...
The reasoning behind me wanting to upgrade my CPU and MOBO, is lots of games these days aren't properly optimized to make proper use of the GPU's abilities... therefore often times, I find that some games (or should I call em game ports) make use mostly of the CPU to run the game... That is Where I feel that my CPU sometimes doesn't help as much as If I had an i5 clocked at 4.7ghz...

but then again, I haven't seen all them benchmarks to know exactly how much benefits I'd get from upgrading my setup

 

[Hellfire]

I say go for it, the next gen I7's are not going to be providing much more power, just more power efficient I believe which, if you're like me, isn't a big issue.

If money is a big issue, go for a good i5, however if you want the best, grab a 4970k I've fallen in love with mine and would marry it if I could,

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

so... when you look @ my specs. You wouldn't upgrade anything? Or you would consider (like me) the possibility of upgrading the mobo and CPU. I feel like my GPU can run most games just fine (even with most settings maxed). I just lower shadows when I need a little extra stability...
The reasoning behind me wanting to upgrade my CPU and MOBO, is lots of games these days aren't properly optimized to make proper use of the GPU's abilities... therefore often times, I find that some games (or should I call em game ports) make use mostly of the CPU to run the game... That is Where I feel that my CPU sometimes doesn't help as much as If I had an i5 clocked at 4.7ghz...

but then again, I haven't seen all them benchmarks to know exactly how much benefits I'd get from upgrading my setup

I am in a pretty similar situation ATM. I have run into bottlenecks here and there, but nothing that is hard to work around. I'm holding on for a X99 system around the beginning of next year. Sure, you could go for a Z97 system, it would be a pretty decent upgrade, but I'd still think that either a Z170 or a X99 system would be a better buy.

 

[commission3r]

my 2cents worth..
upgrade your cpu cooler and hold on to your $$
you've not reached a performance deficit yet

 

[Pehla]

holy crap...,web browsing is multitasking 4 you??all those thing you want can be easily done with core 2 duo!!
you dont even know what i7 is made for!!! can anyone that own any of the i5 say that have trouble with this kind of multi tasking??
i dont want to say that i5 is beter then i7..,it does if you do serius graphic desing, audio and video productions.... but you dont!!
as i say it looks like you already made your mind ...,if you "think" i7 is beter for you then just go for it!!

 

[GhostRyder]

Hi you'll find my SPECS at the BOTTOM of this post

I'm interested in upgrading my setup for better performance overall but especially in video games. I use my PC mostly for gaming, movie watching and listening to music. Lots of multi-tab web browsing as well...

Lots of video games are often VERY cpu bound. Even though I have an i7 CPU, I often feel like the next thing to upgrade in my build is the CPU. What do you guys think?


Processor: I7 875k @4ghz (more like 3.8ghz now, 4ghz wasn't stable enough)
Motherboard: Sabertooth 55i
Cooling: Coolit ECO (CPU watercooler)
Memory: Gskill Ripjaws 8gb (2x4gb) 1600mhz 7-8-7-24
Video Card(s): Asus Directcu ii GTX 670 2GB (+145CC +260 Mem)
Hard Disk(s): 1 SSD 64GB (OS) + 2x500GB WesterDigital RAID 0
Optical Drive: Lite On BluRay Read/Write
LCD/CRT Model: Asus 24" ve248h 1920x1080
Case: NZXT Phantom
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX
Power Supply: Antec TPQ 1200w
Software: Windows 7 (64 bit)

If your going to update with a $600 budget, I would say based on what you use this machine for to skip on the i7 processor for this time and do something a bit different.

Go for the following (Just a suggestion):

i5 4690K

Asus Maximus VII Hero

skill RipjawsX 1866 8gb

I think that would provide you an excellent multitasking, gaming, video watching experience for years to come especially if you overclock to 4.7ghz!