Gaming CPU upgrade from i3-4330

[Attic]

I'm looking at these:

i5 4570 for roughly $160
Xeon e3-1230 v3 for $250
i7 4790 for $310

The i3-4330 is good enough that i'm not convinced an upgrade is worth it, but there are a few parts in Crysis 3 (desolate New York area with high grass) and Watchdogs leave something to be desired for gaming performance on this CPU.

I can likely get at least $100 for my i3 I think.

I basically want to maintain the ability to keep 60fps minimum 95% of the time in games current and upcoming. So if I can turn down my graphics settings to achieve 60fps mins from my 290x that's what I want. What i'm finding with my current CPU is that it won't get 60fps in too many situations even if I go minimum graphics fidelity. For this situation i'm wondering if the 4570 won't cut it and if I do do an upgrade should I be looking at the xeon or i7? Or am I chasing a dragon here with 60fps min? For me the frame rate drop cuts the immersion like a knife.

Overclocking a K processor is not a great option because i'm running from a cabinet enclosure under my TV and i've got limited breathing room there to keep temps safe. I've got a max 100w i'd like to draw from the CPU, any idea what a 4670k could do with that envolope?

 

[Bubbleawsome]

It looks like you are chasing a dragon for 60fps mins in watchdogs. Your other games would go fine with a 4570. The Xeon will push WDs a bit better, but it might be worth waiting for devils canyon with the 4690k or 4790k, even if you aren't overclocking. Rumor says much higher stock clocks, cooler overclocking, and better undervolting. *shrug.

 

[24601]

You aren't going to get 60 fps minimums without at least 4.5 ghz 3570k, 4.3 ghz 4670k with Nvidia drivers.

And you will not get it even with that with AMD/ATi's drivers.

 

[Attic]

Devils canyon looks interesting. Will have to wait till June 2 to get a better look here.

Had an itchy trigger finger
/holstered

 

[Charlie98]

Had an itchy trigger finger
/holstered

A wise man changes his mind

I'd probably wait and see what shakes out next month...

As far as OC'ing, just because you have a K chip doesn't mean you have to rev it up to 4.5GHz or something... a nice mild OC with an undervolt will keep your temps under control.

 

[Deders]

You will see better framerates with an i5 or i7 as both those games make heavy use of at least 4 cores. If you are definitely not going to overclock, then I'd go for the highest i7 there is (which actually might be Devils canyon in a week or so, but you'll need a z97 board to go with it, and it would be a shame not to overclock it.

 

[Bman123]

Wait for it l the new chips

 

[SlowSpyder]

I haven't used one, but all I hear is that the modern Haswell i3 CPU's are quite good. With that in mind, I'd go for a big upgrade if I were to bother at all, make sure it is a an upgrade you will notice, so my vote would be the i7.

 

[escrow4]

4770 minimum. I have a non K version (I can't be bothered overclocking anymore) and its most playable in Watch Dogs, outlined my specs and experience here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2385101&page=2

I'd take the Hyperthreading + 2MB extra cache over the i5 in 2014 gaming anyday.

 

[SPBHM]

4770 minimum. I have a non K version (I can't be bothered overclocking anymore) and its most playable in Watch Dogs, outlined my specs and experience here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2385101&page=2

I'd take the Hyperthreading + 2MB extra cache over the i5 in 2014 gaming anyday.

HT looks of little use with AMD graphics for this game

overclocking have a huge impact, so 4670K OC is probably the way to go,
but, from an i3 I'm sure even the cheapest i5 (like 4460) would be a very noticeable upgrade

but 60FPS with max details sounds unrealistic

 

[sm625]

You can play with the turbo bins to give yourself a large 1 core boost, but then also reduce max overall power consumpton.

 

[Deders]

You can play with the turbo bins to give yourself a large 1 core boost, but then also reduce max overall power consumpton.

This game seems to use my 4 cores equally

 

[AtenRa]

I'm looking at these:

i5 4570 for roughly $160
Xeon e3-1230 v3 for $250
i7 4790 for $310

The i3-4330 is good enough that i'm not convinced an upgrade is worth it, but there are a few parts in Crysis 3 (desolate New York area with high grass) and Watchdogs leave something to be desired for gaming performance on this CPU.

I can likely get at least $100 for my i3 I think.

I basically want to maintain the ability to keep 60fps minimum 95% of the time in games current and upcoming. So if I can turn down my graphics settings to achieve 60fps mins from my 290x that's what I want. What i'm finding with my current CPU is that it won't get 60fps in too many situations even if I go minimum graphics fidelity. For this situation i'm wondering if the 4570 won't cut it and if I do do an upgrade should I be looking at the xeon or i7? Or am I chasing a dragon here with 60fps min? For me the frame rate drop cuts the immersion like a knife.

Overclocking a K processor is not a great option because i'm running from a cabinet enclosure under my TV and i've got limited breathing room there to keep temps safe. I've got a max 100w i'd like to draw from the CPU, any idea what a 4670k could do with that envolope?

I would go for the Core i7 4790K, it seams to be at 4GHz base after all so you could OC a little bit on default Voltage and keep it under 100W TDP. I will assume you will be able to OC with a good Heat-Sink to 4.2-4.4GHz(all the cores) and be close to 100W TDP.

 

[Attic]

It's overall a tough call, the i3 performs well enough in a large majority of the time to deliver 60fps mins on my game roulette, but where it struggles it struggles BAD.

I hadn't considered the option to undervolt any chip, even my current one, thanks for pointing that out Charlie98.

The i3 43xx is very capable and I got it over an AMD platform (8350 or better) because the i3-4330 was on special for $120 when I got it and showed performance that was great for gaming. So the run up in price for current intel offerings for an upgrade that is worthwhile is severe. The 45xx line would be an upgrade but now that i'm considering, I think i'll need a K chip just to keep options open down the road and I think it will come down to 4690k vs 4790k for me. It's too bad the 4690k doesn't get a 3.8 base with a 4.2 turbo, because it makes the 4790k all the more wortwhile at it's significant premium. I had bought the 4330 with the intent of upgrading on the same platform at some point, didn't think the urge would creep quite this soon...

The 4790k with a base at 4ghz should be a special chip, particularly in my situation where i'll have a shot at 4.4ghz-5ghz on air with an air cooler that is not top of the line (i'm size limited for my case). At that point it pretty much is swatting a fly sized problem with a sledge hammer, but it sounds fun and i'd have options for getting creative on a 290x xfire solution down the road with plenty of CPU grunt to shove at it. Tough call, intels segmentation is a real PITA lately.

 

[Charlie98]

I hadn't considered the option to undervolt any chip, even my current one, thanks for pointing that out Charlie98.

I have my 2500K at 4.1GHz, but -.03v... it's enough to get the temps down where I don't have to worry about it, and it's rock stable the past 2 years. Full voltage put the temps over 90C...