Overclocking, worth the perf gain?

[Exodus]

Hey, I just signed up and this my first thread so hello everyone.

I'm working on my my first gaming build and I was wondering if I should get a unlocked CPU and a good cooling system or spend more money on the GPU?

I play as much to CPU intensive games than to GPU intensive games and I want a balanced rig. I don't care about heat but silence is an important matter. Also I plan to keep this rig for at least 5 years so my rig has to be futur proof

What's the perfect balance if I can spend around 600$ for the CPU and the GPU considering the fact that I'll be keeping this rig for a long time?

Have a great day.

 

[R00kie]

If youre keeping it for a long while, the overclocking is definitely worthwhile. But it kinda depends on which of the cpu's youre getting, even a pentium can be overclocked.

 

[Dent1]

Hey, I just signed up and this my first thread so hello everyone.

I'm working on my my first gaming build and I was wondering if I should get a unlocked CPU and a good cooling system or spend more money on the GPU?

I play as much to CPU intensive games than to GPU intensive games and I want a balanced rig. I don't care about heat but silence is an important matter. Also I plan to keep this rig for at least 5 years so my rig has to be futur proof

What's the perfect balance if I can spend around 600$ for the CPU and the GPU considering the fact that I'll be keeping this rig for a long time?

Have a great day.

Without knowing the specific CPU or GPU it would be impossible to answer this question.

It's like saying should I spend $600 on a book? Well it depends on the book!

 

[Exodus]

Thanks for your answers.

I'm not really sure yet of which CPU. I wanted to know if I should be getting an unlocked CPU before making my choice lol.

But I'm thinking of getting the i5 4690k with a gtx 770 or a r9 290. I'm not sure because I'm also considering the FX 8320 and the Xeon series since games seems to become more optimized for multi core processors.

 

[Vario]

If you are near a microcenter in the USA the unlocked are usually cheaper.

 

[Devon68]

But I'm thinking of getting the i5 4690k with a gtx 770 or a r9 290. I'm not sure because I'm also considering the FX 8320 and the Xeon series since games seems to become more optimized for multi core processors.

Yes that.
I5 4690k because it costs the same as a 4670k but newer :http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9117372&cm_re=i5_4690k-_-19-117-372-_-Product
gtx 770 4GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125613&cm_re=gtx_770-_-14-125-613-_-Product

 

[Delta6326]

Get these Comes out to be $540 after MIR
Intel Core i5-4690K
and
EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked

 

[X71200]

I'd steer clear of the FX CPU's and I'm not too sure about the refurb GPU.

 

[R00kie]

I'd steer clear of the FX CPU's and I'm not too sure about the refurb GPU.

why so much hate?

 

[Delta6326]

Technically if you want to be 5years I would get 4790k and if you could 780. now also from the sounds of it the GTX 8** will be faster and cheaper, but come possibly late this year.

Also what games you plan on playing?

 

[X71200]

why so much hate?

Not hating on anything. Just pointing out that you get worse processing power for what you get with AMD. And the refurb GPU is sort of a crapshoot.

 

[KingPing]

For a PC to last 5 years i would buy the best possible CPU and buy a mid to high end GPU, then buy a high end GPU in 1 or 2 years.

something like this ($40 more but worth it IMO):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125490

If you go for a high end GPU now go for a GPU with at least 4GB ram.

 

[Vario]

Get these Comes out to be $540 after MIR
Intel Core i5-4690K
and
EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked

This is a good combo. From experience, 1080p ultra should be no problem, 1440 probably be okay too.

Definitely don't get below a 770 or R9 280X if you want things to continue to perform well for a few years.

 

[X71200]

1440 probably be okay too.

Yeah, my single 680 runs most things fine on high with a bit of AA at 1440 since most games are targeted towards consoles. It only struggles in a handful of games like say Crysis 3 where I need the second GPU.

 

[Exodus]

Thanks again for your help.

Also I would like to precise to I change my GPU setup every 1-2 years.

Delta 632: A gtx 780 and a I7 4790k would destroy my budget lol. But I can get the gtx 770 and i5 4690k. As for the games I plan to play, this a thought question because I don't which I would to play in a couple of years and I can't know how they will be optimized. Also I would to be able to everything.

But for now:
BF4, Titanfall, Bioshock 1, 2, 3, Crysis 1, 2, 3, ARMA III,
Assassin's Creed Unity, Skyrim, Thief, Shadow of Mordor,
Rome II, Shogun II, maybe Starcraft and Wildstar


KingPing -> Are you sure a I7 would be necessary? It performs pretty much the same as a i5 4690k with out hyper threading? As for tomorrow's games, maybe the consoles games will more optimized for multi threading because of the jaguar processor, but anyways aren't generally the PC exclusivity that a CPU intensive?

 

[Shambles1980]

i enjoy overclocking. its the most enjoyable thing about owning a pc for me. and i get my moneys worth in entertainment just in the tweaking to get it stable and as fast as possible..
But its not like the old days, you gain a few fps if that in most games, so if you dont like to tinker with settings for hours on end just to get it perfect. then decide to tinker some more.. you may be better of getting the fastest cpu with the most grunt you can.
you would probably want ATLEAST a 3rd gen intel if you are going intel (i see you are thinking newer than that so thats a good thing)
And personally even though i am an ati fan. if i had the money id probably go for a gtx 760/70/80 instead of an ati 290..
the ONLY reason id consider a fx chip is if i was planning on having 3 gpu's and even then i dont really see how it would be that much better than an i7..

so I will vote buy a better gpu. even though i really do enjoy over clocking.

 

[KingPing]

Also I would like to precise to I change my GPU setup every 1-2 years.

No, the problem is that new consoles are out, and current GPUs are based on old tech (same as new consoles but nothing ground breaking like Nvidia 8800s where last gen). IMO a GPU from 2015-2016 should be good for a couple of years, i'm still using a HD5850 (a card from mid 2009 i think) in my second PC.

KingPing -> Are you sure a I7 would be necessary? It performs pretty much the same as a i5 4690k with out hyper threading? As for tomorrow's games, maybe the consoles games will more optimized for multi threading because of the jaguar processor, but anyways aren't generally the PC exclusivity that a CPU intensive?

No i'm not sure, but in my experience a strong CPU last a lot. The problem is that you want a PC to last 5 years. I have no idea what games will require in 4 or 5 years. Are they going to be better optimized? who knows!, just in case buy the best CPU you can.


Or instead of buying high end CPUs & GPUs you can buy a cheap non K i5 or AMD FX6000 or FX8000, a mid range GPU, save money, then in 2 or 3 years buy a mid range CPU & GPU (or high end it depends on what you want). The difference is that in 1 or 2 years we will know for sure what are the minimum specs a PC should have (CPU cores, HT or no HT, RAM, GPU RAM, etc). All we can do know is speculate IMO.

 

[Shambles1980]

i must say that my q6600 outlasted all of my other cpu's so it is logical to assume that more cores/threads = lasts longer..
But like the a fore mentioned 8800, that cpu was a giant leap forward compared to what we already had, and nothing since then has been that much of a single leap forward..
Its been slowly plodding along getting little increments better, but not really something to shout about.. (my i5 2500k is a lot better than my q6600 so it has gotten better lol)
simple things like pci-e 3.0 support vs 2.0 are about the only real "something you will notice" diference between 2nd and 3rd gen intels.. and clock for clock there really isnt much in it. and if you start over clocking them the 40% or so increase in speed you are most likely to achieve really doesnt add up to 40% better performance. but being abe to run twice the threads could be a bigger benefit than 40% faster clock speeds in 2-3 years time..

 

[Exodus]

Thanks for your help guys and don't worry anymore about the FX series as I won't be getting one. You guys convinced me to go Intel. And don't worry about the I5 vs I7 also. I just want to know if OC'ing is worth. This is another debate.

Shambles 1980: I admit overclocking looks pretty fun but I'm scared of fucking up my computer lol. What if I plan of making a crossfire setup or getting a high end gtx 8**, could a oc'ed I5 4690k lower the chances of bottlenecking? Are you sure that in the end it won't save me money by allowing me too use my GPU at they full capacity?


Kingping: I'll think about getting an I7 thank you. It might be a good idea. But in any case you would recommend me of getting an unlocked version? Could you explain me why please?

 

[Easy Rhino]

If this were 2005 I would say overclocking is worth it! But now there are so few applications that take advantage of the truly powerful CPUs/GPUs that it is not.

 

[Exodus]

If this were 2005 I would say overclocking is worth it! But now there are so few applications that take advantage of the truly powerful CPUs/GPUs that it is not.

Thanks for your answer.
I'm just talking about gaming and ''futur proofing'' my computer. Not about photoshoping or any other application. Still not worth?

 

[Toothless]

Not hating on anything. Just pointing out that you get worse processing power for what you get with AMD. And the refurb GPU is sort of a crapshoot.

A 6-core that can be OC'd easily for $120. AMD is all budget and people know that.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Thanks for your answer.
I'm just talking about gaming and ''futur proofing'' my computer. Not about photoshoping or any other application. Still not worth?

It's not necessarily worth it to overclock the cpu now, as @Easy Rhino said, but the whole idea of overclocking originated as a way to compensate for being behind the higher-tiered processors. for this reason, anything today will be left behind somewhat in 5 years. How will you compensate without buying new? Overclocking! For this reason, I say get yourself a K-series (even if you don't overclock now), whether i5 or i7 is your choice. i5 is cheaper, freeing up moremoney for GPU.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Hardware is already so fast that overclocking really isn't needed anymore, I think we do it now-a-days for the fun of it. Also overclocking isn't what it used to be, now anyone can do it if they can navigate a BIOS. I think its up to software now to catch up and take advantage of how fast our hardware is today.

Hell, I had this 4770k at stock for months when I got it, I just couldn't find much of a reason to overclock it. Everything ran as fast as I needed it too already.

 

[Shambles1980]

Thanks for your help guys and don't worry anymore about the FX series as I won't be getting one. You guys convinced me to go Intel. And don't worry about the I5 vs I7 also. I just want to know if OC'ing is worth. This is another debate.

Shambles 1980: I admit overclocking looks pretty fun but I'm scared of fucking up my computer lol. What if I plan of making a crossfire setup or getting a high end gtx 8**, could a oc'ed I5 4690k lower the chances of bottlenecking? Are you sure that in the end it won't save me money by allowing me too use my GPU at they full capacity?


Kingping: I'll think about getting an I7 thank you. It might be a good idea. But in any case you would recommend me of getting an unlocked version? Could you explain me why please?

in all honesty its not possible to tell you what the future will bring, BUT if amd keep the current road map of not making enthusiast cpu's and instead just work on cost effective "well it will do" apu's then i dont see any reason for intel to up their game. intel historically will simply roll out very small increases to their processors in the hope that enthusiasts will upgrade for hundreds of £/$ every so often for marginal gains.
Back when the core 2 duos came out amd were really a power house. and intel were really against the ropes which forced them to play their hand of "well actually we can do this"
as things are now the balance of power is definatly on intels side meaning that all they have to do is keep rolling out slight increases and rake in the money..

Who knows maybe amd will do something that forces them to do something no one expects. but unless that happens i really dont see an i7-3770k being obsoleet in 4-5 years let alone a i7-4790..
gpu's may end up needing more power/cores/threads though with higer resolutions becoming the norm. so i would probably try and get an i7 rather than an i5 if i was thinking of keeping it for 5years.
as for the i5 with sli and so on.. i cant really answer that either. i dont really see it being a bottle neck but its always better to have something and not need it than need it and not have it.