4690k - when should I upgrade?

[SabaII]

So life has been crazy for me the last 2 years or so and I have not used my PC much until recently. I just had to replace my CPU cooler and my H55 died and went with an MSI core frozr which seems to be working really well. Now that I am getting back into PC gaming and have more time and a little but more money to spend on her I find myself wondering where do I go next? I want to say I built this PC in 2015 and I have been pretty happy other than the SLI woes. As I type this I am getting ready to go pick up an RX580 from Fry's so my GPU should be decent for a couple of years anyhow. I don't think I am going to be able to afford a huge 4k build like I want to do so I just need some direction on which way you all think I should go. My current build is in my signature and I do want to get Battlefield V when it releases and would like to play 1080 at max settings. I just don't know if I'll start bottlenecking from my CPU or memory. Thanks!

 

[formulav8]

Your current CPU should push your new GPU just fine for the most part. I would at least run the GPU with your current setup and see how happy you are. Applying a 4.3ghz/4.4ghz OC to your CPU and possibly adding more ram should do well.

 

[dogen1]

I just don't know if I'll start bottlenecking from my CPU or memory. Thanks!

You probably won't much until next gen consoles.

 

[whm1974]

I would upgrade your memory from 8GB to 16GB and maybe get a new larger SSD as well?

 

[ZGR]

I went from A 4690k to a 5775c to help alleviate my cpu bottleneck in many games. It helped.

But I game above 144hz. If you are at 60hz and do not play AI heavy games, you should be fine.

My 4690k did 4.4 ghz at 1.2v (basically 4790k stock settings). Your 4690k is a very easy cpu to OC.

Upgrading my DDR3 from 1600mhz to 2400mhz with tighter timings really helped too.

We now have 4k60 monitors selling at $200 that make 1080p with max settings look terrible. My 1070 is overkill in many games for 4k60. That GPU is now 2 years old and soon to be replaced.

 

[EXCellR8]

My 4690k did 4.4 ghz at 1.2v (basically 4790k stock settings)

except not really, because the i7's 8 threads...

8-core coffee lake seems to be all the rage if you're sticking with Intel

 

[whm1974]

except not really, because the i7's 8 threads...

8-core coffee lake seems to be all the rage if you're sticking with Intel

Except the Coffee lake 8 core CPU isn't out yet and just rumored to be released soon. Not only that, it remains to be seen if it will require a new motherboard or not.

 

[Iron Woode]

My setup is similar to the OP's.

my 4690K is in an H97 board. 8GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600. 250GB Samsung 850 evo. Gigabyte Windforce 1060 3GB.

I game at 1080P maxed out and it is excellent for me.

I have no need to upgrade at this point. Maybe in another year or 2.

 

[VirtualLarry]

my 4690K is in an H97 board.

Do you want / need a Z97 board (MSI PC Mate)? Make me an offer. (I have an H81 board, that can be flashed with an overclockable BIOS, and a Z97 as mentioned, and I just pulled two G3258 CPUs from the warehouse, to build a couple of rigs with, but if you want a Z97 board, get in touch in the next few days.)

 

[Berfs1]

I went from A 4690k to a 5775c to help alleviate my cpu bottleneck in many games. It helped.

But I game above 144hz. If you are at 60hz and do not play AI heavy games, you should be fine.

My 4690k did 4.4 ghz at 1.2v (basically 4790k stock settings). Your 4690k is a very easy cpu to OC.

Upgrading my DDR3 from 1600mhz to 2400mhz with tighter timings really helped too.

We now have 4k60 monitors selling at $200 that make 1080p with max settings look terrible. My 1070 is overkill in many games for 4k60. That GPU is now 2 years old and soon to be replaced.

From your experience, does the 5775C perform better than the 4690K? (without hyperthreading) I would like to know if it is worth the money.

 

[scannall]

From your experience, does the 5775C perform better than the 4690K? (without hyperthreading) I would like to know if it is worth the money.

The 5775C punched way above it's weight. And they are still pricey.

 

[Iron Woode]

Do you want / need a Z97 board (MSI PC Mate)? Make me an offer. (I have an H81 board, that can be flashed with an overclockable BIOS, and a Z97 as mentioned, and I just pulled two G3258 CPUs from the warehouse, to build a couple of rigs with, but if you want a Z97 board, get in touch in the next few days.)

I don't need a Z97 board at this point. I want to upgrade in a year or so and I will be unloading some Haswell stuff at that point.

My Asrock H97 Pro4 is working great. I might even try some mild overclocking this weekend.

But thanks anyway for thinking of me.

 

[ZGR]

except not really, because the i7's 8 threads...

8-core coffee lake seems to be all the rage if you're sticking with Intel

I am referring to voltage, not hyperthreading! XD

From your experience, does the 5775C perform better than the 4690K? (without hyperthreading) I would like to know if it is worth the money.

The 5775C will be overpriced forever.

 

[Spjut]

The Battlefield games are notorious for its CPU requirements in multiplayer but if you only target 60 FPS I guess you should be fine

 

[moonbogg]

So far, people with i5's are getting absolutely wrecked trying to play the BFV Alpha. 4 threads aren't enough for Battlefield anymore unless your tolerance for low fps and stuttering is high. I'm not being a high FPS snob either. Quad core i5's are having a hard time with BFV so far based on the feedback I've read.

I think an RX580 is fine for 1080p
Replace CPU with an i7
Get 16gb of ram. If you have 8 now, get 8 more. You'll need it.

 

[Berfs1]

The 5775C punched way above it's weight. And they are still pricey.

Do you think it is better than the 4790K?

 

[Berfs1]

So far, people with i5's are getting absolutely wrecked trying to play the BFV Alpha. 4 threads aren't enough for Battlefield anymore unless your tolerance for low fps and stuttering is high. I'm not being a high FPS snob either. Quad core i5's are having a hard time with BFV so far based on the feedback I've read.

I think an RX580 is fine for 1080p
Replace CPU with an i7
Get 16gb of ram. If you have 8 now, get 8 more. You'll need it.

It is true, while 4 cores and 4 threads is really enough for MOST games, it seems in 2018, you need a minimum of 6 threads to be guaranteed optimal performance (4c/8t or 6c/6t minimum).

 

[Berfs1]

I don't need a Z97 board at this point. I want to upgrade in a year or so and I will be unloading some Haswell stuff at that point.

My Asrock H97 Pro4 is working great. I might even try some mild overclocking this weekend.

But thanks anyway for thinking of me.

H97+ overclocking = time wasted because it doesn't support it safely. Note that I said safely.

 

[Chaotic42]

I'd try to hold out as long as you can. I've got a 4790K and while I get frustrated with its slowness from time to time, I haven't found a compelling reason to upgrade. I thought about the 8086K, but it's just not a huge enough jump. Unfortunately Anandtech Bench doesn't really allow any direct comparisons to the 8700K, presumably because the 4000 series are so old. I'm hoping that Intel gets their stuff in gear or that AMD releases a flagship gaming processor within the next 6-9 months.

 

[ZGR]

Do you think it is better than the 4790K?

In games, absolutely. But good luck finding one for a good price.

 

[scannall]

Do you think it is better than the 4790K?

Yes, but only 1 on eBay at over $900..... Not even worth considering.

 

[formulav8]

Do you think it is better than the 4790K?

It is a quick CPU and faster than the 4790k in certain things (It could usually OC > 4.0 ghz or so), I would not buy it. It is like $675 @ Amazon (It was actually around $365 when released, so obvious gouging). A very bad bang for the buck.

Rewview here if your interested: https://www.anandtech.com/show/9320/intel-broadwell-review-i7-5775c-i5-5675c

 

[moonbogg]

That 4790K can OC more though...so there's that to consider. In the battlefield games, the 4790K is a pretty reasonable upgrade over the quad core i5's in multiplayer I'd imagine. Single player it doesn't matter. Those 4 threads are always maxed at 100% and just can't keep up.

 

[ZGR]

That 4790K can OC more though...so there's that to consider. In the battlefield games, the 4790K is a pretty reasonable upgrade over the quad core i5's in multiplayer I'd imagine. Single player it doesn't matter. Those 4 threads are always maxed at 100% and just can't keep up.

Check out overclockers.net Broadwell C owners thread. A lot of neat comparisons of 4790k OC vs 5775c OC.

But it is so stupidly overpriced that the CPU may as well not exist. I should sell mine for a profit.

The 4790k is definitely worth it. It OC's really well and it supports DDR3 speeds past 3000 MHz; which is also becoming hard to find at a reasonable price. 16GB is the new minimum.

 

[SabaII]

Wow, really appreciate all of the responses. Doing some quick ebay research a 4790K and adding 8gb (or buying 16gb) of memory will run me around $450 new or $330 used if I want to take the risk. Or I could go with a 2600x, x470 mobo and 16gb of DDR4 would run me around $500. Kind of seems like a nobrainer but I wanted to check with the experts. It's not going to happen tomorrow and I will probably wait until black Friday / cyber Monday to see if I can save some more coin.