4690k - when should I upgrade?

[Markfw]

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.

I think the 2600x is the way to go. Just make sure to get 3200 or faster ram.

 

[SabaII]

I think the 2600x is the way to go. Just make sure to get 3200 or faster ram.

So when I looked at the processor specs on AMD's website it lists max memory speed 2933mhz so that's what I priced out. Now that you told me this I googled the processor again to make sure I didn't read it wrong and I noticed an article on guru3d that said 3200 is recommended. Maybe it's a bit off topic but how come AMD lists 2933 yet 3200 works that much better? Sort of a noob at memory speeds and timing so I am just trying to learn, thanks.

 

[whm1974]

So when I looked at the processor specs on AMD's website it lists max memory speed 2933mhz so that's what I priced out. Now that you told me this I googled the processor again to make sure I didn't read it wrong and I noticed an article on guru3d that said 3200 is recommended. Maybe it's a bit off topic but how come AMD lists 2933 yet 3200 works that much better? Sort of a noob at memory speeds and timing so I am just trying to learn, thanks.

DDR4-3200 is basically overclocked, and yes the Ryzen 2000 series including the the new APUs can make use of memory at that speed.

 

[Markfw]

So when I looked at the processor specs on AMD's website it lists max memory speed 2933mhz so that's what I priced out. Now that you told me this I googled the processor again to make sure I didn't read it wrong and I noticed an article on guru3d that said 3200 is recommended. Maybe it's a bit off topic but how come AMD lists 2933 yet 3200 works that much better? Sort of a noob at memory speeds and timing so I am just trying to learn, thanks.

The new Ryzen family use Infinity fabric for the cores to talk to each other. Faster, tighter timings (CL14) and subtimings will increase the CPU IPC quite a bit.

Edit: I get 3600 memory and run it at 3466 !

 

[Stuka87]

I too still have a 4690K which I have a 4.5Ghz. So far it still runs everything fine except for specific CPU heavy games like Battlefield multi-player.

Once memory prices come down, I will most likely go with a 2600. I just can't swallow paying $200 bucks for RAM.

 

[moonbogg]

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.

In that case, go with the Ryzen setup. 6 cores, 12 threads, boom win! I didn't expect the upgrade to run anywhere near $500. Jesus, things are expensive these days. The stupid RAM prices probably aren't helping.

 

[SabaII]

In that case, go with the Ryzen setup. 6 cores, 12 threads, boom win! I didn't expect the upgrade to run anywhere near $500. Jesus, things are expensive these days. The stupid RAM prices probably aren't helping.

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my GPU and now looking at the CPU/Mobo/Ram upgrade it is going to be a hard pill to swallow. These companies are making it harder and harder to be a PC enthusiast.

 

[moonbogg]

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my GPU and now looking at the CPU/Mobo/Ram upgrade it is going to be a hard pill to swallow. These companies are making it harder and harder to be a PC enthusiast.

The cost might make you feel sick, but if you have decided to go through with it, you will be rewarded with a modern, beefy CPU that will chew right through any BF game for years to come. It will make your i5 look like a moldy potato. Congrats on the GPU.

 

[Berfs1]

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.

I'd, at this point, for a standard user, recommend Ryzen over 4790K as it isn't affected as much by the 2018 vulnerabilities, that and it has more cores. Although you may want to consider the 2600 if you don't need the extreme overclock (but will still overclock; if not overclocking, 2600X is perfectly fine)! Assuming it is cheaper, it has more bang for buck.

 

[Spjut]

Ouch, yep it looks like Battlefield 5 is going to be even more punishing on older/slower CPUs. i5 8400 and 1060 required drop to high on 1080p to mostly stay a bit above the 60 FPS mark (short performance tests from 9:10).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOLvdPt4ezs

 

[SlowBox]

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.

Not even that man, so long as you have a nice OC on your Rig 16GB RAM and SSD. Your bottleneck will be video card for some time to come.