i7-6700k+RX480 vs. i5-6600k+GTX1070 upgrade

[sirmo]

for 1080p I would go for an i7 + rx480.. overall more future proof setup.. it's much easier to upgrade the GPU 3 years down the line and that CPU will last you a long time.

 

[poofyhairguy]

At 1080p 60hz you have to think about minimum frame rates, as both a 480 or a 1070 can max out a 60fps average with at worst a mix of high and ultra settings. So if the 1070 option hits a low minimum speed bump because of a limit of the i5 in say two years it didn't matter you bought the better GPU because the i7 was needed for the smoothest experience period.

Upgrading later or not, at 1080p the name of the game is minimums not maxes that need stupid settings on to get below a 60 fps average.

 

[Zstream]

I wasn't sure if the lesser i5-6600k would hold back the GTX1070 that much, and yes I do plan on mild overclocking. I was leaning towards the GTX1070+i5 combo because for only $60 more for each computer build given my budget options, the GTX 1070 seems to get way higher frame rates than the RX 480 according to the review on the front page of Anandtech. But the recommendations seem evenly split between the two choices, even though the RX480 seems to be way slower.

I won't upgrade or build a new system for AT LEAST 3 years because that's what my wife and I agreed to with our budget (she's not thrilled with the cost of building two new computers), so I really want to make sure I get the most out of my system for 3+ years. My current system is an i7-920 with a HD7950 while my son has an i5-2400 with a GTX680.

I'd honestly get the 1060 or 480. Upgrading every few years in the $200-$250 range always provides a better bang for the buck. I'd go 480 as I think DX12 will play a large impact later this year and next.

 

[frozentundra123456]

It is a difficult choice, but I would also lean toward the i7 and 480, or even 1060 depending on price and availability. If you go 480 though, I would wait for AIB cards, dont get the factory card.

I would go with the i7 because as others have said, you could probably keep it many years with a gpu upgrade, while the i5 could need replacement in 2 or 3 years. Also, if the gpu is limiting, you can turn down some settings to compensate, while if the cpu is limiting, there is not much you can do. It is not a clear cut decision though, because undoubtedly in all but the most cpu demanding games, an i5 plus 1070 will give better performance in most games at the current time.

To be honest though, I think for 1080p either system will be very nice for a long time.

 

[alcoholbob]

Amd cards age better since nvidia stopped supporting their older cards with driver updates.

I don't think it's intentional on AMD's part; it just happens to be they don't really have the money to develop a new architecture so they just keep making minor tweaks of the same one and as a result the driver gains become universal since they've been on GCN since 2011 and Nvidia has been releasing new architectures every other gen. It's also why AMD hasn't seen much architectural gains in power efficiency and instead it's all come from better parts or node changes.

 

[dark zero]

6700K + 480 AIB (non reference)

You can upgrade the GPU and seeing how Intel is extending 14 nm... Skylake will live more time.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

This

he already answered; 1080p/60 and not upgrading anytime soon.

OP: Pull the trigger on the i7 and board now. The free windows 10 upgrade is about to expire on the 29th. You will need it to fully leverage your new hardware with DX12. Needing to buy a copy of 10 adds unnecessary cost to the build. The 480, or instead of 1070, I would suggest 1060, you can order later. When both are available from multiple AIB companies at prices no longer inflated from hype and scarcity.

 

[sm625]

The CPU is going to hold its value much better than the video card 2 years from now. So even if you had to upgrade the CPU in 2 years it is still going to be cheaper overall. But an i5+1070 is still going to faster overall two years from now so it is a moot point. All this magical unicorn talk of how a 480 is going to magically skittle its way past the 1070 at some magical point in the future is just magical thinking. The 1070+i5 is always going to be the better buy.

 

[Headfoot]

I'd do the 6700k and RX480 because that 6700k will last you a long time. Then I'd upgrade the 480 in a year or two when its no longer enough

 

[Keysplayr]

6700k and 480 or 1060.

 

[guachi]

i7 + 480.

Next upgrade, buy a Freesync monitor. You can thank me later. It's cheaper than a Gsync monitor and it'll make all your games smoother.

Then after that you can upgrade the card to a 480 successor.

 

[therealnickdanger]

i7+480 vote here as well.

1. The 8-thread CPU will have much greater longevity than a 4-thread CPU, especially with software getting more and more threaded.

2. GPUs are very easy to place in other PCs, sell, trade, etc. So when the 480 can't cut it anymore, you can just drop in a new GPU, apply a little OC to the 6700K and get another 3-5 years out of it.

 

[ThatBuzzkiller]

The i5 with the GTX 1070 will arguably give you better performance ...

I don't know why many people here are recommending the i7 build when tons of people here were hyping up about DX12 and the performance difference between the two processors in games is at best 5% when comparing clock for clock ...

 

[Keysplayr]

The i5 with the GTX 1070 will arguably give you better performance ...

I don't know why many people here are recommending the i7 build when tons of people here were hyping up about DX12 and the performance difference between the two processors in games is at best 5% when comparing clock for clock ...

Because people tend to upgrade yheir gpus far more frequently than their platforms.might as well go bigger on the cpu then.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I don't know why many people here are recommending the i7 build when tons of people here were hyping up about DX12 and the performance difference between the two processors in games is at best 5% when comparing clock for clock ...

Because 1080p. He doesn't need more performance today. Hell i5 plus 480 would work today at 1080p 60hz. So if he going to spend extra it basically HAS TO be on "future proofing" and the i7 lasting longer is a better bet than the 1070 lasting longer.

 

[avitale]

Thanks for all the replies. Everyone keeps suggesting I go big on the CPU now and upgrade the GPU later, but I think everyone is missing that I said I will absolutely not be changing out any hardware at all for the next 3 years. That was the agreement I made with my wife for her to be OK with spending around $2000 for both computers is that I will not spend any more money for the next several years on computer upgrades.

I've read and can see there is a big shortage of GTX1070's and RX480's but I think by the time October rolls around the shortage will be gone. Also, I assume that in 3 years if I want to upgrade again, I don't think the motherboard I'm buying in 2016 will be compatible with new CPU's coming out in 2019.

So with all that said, for the next 3 years is an i5+GTX1070 for $60 more going to continue to be noticeably better than an i7+RX480? The games we bought recently and want to buy soon don't run well with our current systems (Witcher 3, Doom, and Mirror's Edge Catalyst) but according to Anandtech the GTX1070 is way faster than RX480 with Witcher 3. Would an i5-6600k slow down the GTX1070 that much?

 

[avitale]

The i5 with the GTX 1070 will arguably give you better performance ...

I don't know why many people here are recommending the i7 build when tons of people here were hyping up about DX12 and the performance difference between the two processors in games is at best 5% when comparing clock for clock ...

That is what I've gathered from other websites. There is basically no difference in games between the i5-6600k and i7-6700k. But the difference between the RX480 and GTX1070 on the same CPU is huge! Is the GTX1070 going to be noticeably held back on the i5-6600k to the point where the i7+RX480 will catch it?

 

[Majcric]

The i7 6700k +480.

To answer your question the 1070 won't be noticeably held back by the i5 but GPUs become outdated so fast its better to get the i7 and let that be the backbone of your system.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Thanks for all the replies. Everyone keeps suggesting I go big on the CPU now and upgrade the GPU later, but I think everyone is missing that I said I will absolutely not be changing out any hardware at all for the next 3 years.

Actually that is the crux of the issue.

You obviously keep computers for a long time, as you have stated you have a few systems that are way older than three years. So we are assuming that this computer will not be thrown away in year three. It won't be upgraded until year three, but it still might be used year 4 for example.

Even if you don't upgrade anything until 4 years out, ON THAT EXACT DAY you will NEED to have bought the i7 today. In four years your reasonable upgrade paths will be to replace EVERYTHING if you buy the i5, while with the i7 you could get a new GPU year 4 and keep trucking till like year 8.

It's all about the total cost over life of the computer- THAT is what we are focused on. Say you plan to keep this system 8 years total, but not upgrade for 4 years. Years 1-4 you will still be able to pretty much max out 1080p 60fps with a 480, but then in year four you could buy a 1470 from Nvidia and it wouldn't be bottlenecked. Meanwhile the i5 WILL be bottlenecked by a 1470 four years out. The i5 will be pretty worthless four years out in comparison.

It seems like you want permission to make a foolish decision in the now and not think about the later, but you don't need our permission to do that. Get the i5, get the 1070, turn on every checkbox a game has the next three years and enjoy.

But if you care AT ALL about the potential usefulness of the system in that 4th year when upgrades maybe come back into the budget the i7 is the choice to make. It's a pretty clear cut decision based on your priorities, which we can't tell you.

 

[tonyfreak215]

That is what I've gathered from other websites. There is basically no difference in games between the i5-6600k and i7-6700k. But the difference between the RX480 and GTX1070 on the same CPU is huge! Is the GTX1070 going to be noticeably held back on the i5-6600k to the point where the i7+RX480 will catch it?

That's with current games. What about future ones?

I vote i7 and 480. It'll be a more future proof machine. Look at how well the GCN cards hold up with time.

 

[Bacon1]

Thanks for all the replies. Everyone keeps suggesting I go big on the CPU now and upgrade the GPU later, but I think everyone is missing that I said I will absolutely not be changing out any hardware at all for the next 3 years. That was the agreement I made with my wife for her to be OK with spending around $2000 for both computers is that I will not spend any more money for the next several years on computer upgrades.

I've read and can see there is a big shortage of GTX1070's and RX480's but I think by the time October rolls around the shortage will be gone. Also, I assume that in 3 years if I want to upgrade again, I don't think the motherboard I'm buying in 2016 will be compatible with new CPU's coming out in 2019.

So with all that said, for the next 3 years is an i5+GTX1070 for $60 more going to continue to be noticeably better than an i7+RX480? The games we bought recently and want to buy soon don't run well with our current systems (Witcher 3, Doom, and Mirror's Edge Catalyst) but according to Anandtech the GTX1070 is way faster than RX480 with Witcher 3. Would an i5-6600k slow down the GTX1070 that much?

If you buy the i7 now, you probably won't need to upgrade it in 3 years. The i5 you will more likely have to upgrade.

The 480 does great in Vulkan and DX12 games which is what future games (2-3 years out) will only be. DX11 will be going away for AAA titles.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Is the GTX1070 going to be noticeably held back on the i5-6600k to the point where the i7+RX480 will catch it?

I would estimate that yes at some point the CPU limitation will hold back the GPU. Plus there is a assumption (based on history) that the 480 will get better than it is today.

Basically it comes down to this: the i5 + 1070 is at its best today, its only downhill from here. It will never get better. It kills today, but one day when games need more threads or they expect more Directx 12 hardware it might fall behind.

The i7 + 480 is a bet on the future, a bet it will get better than today due to the fact that more games will be Directx 12 in the future (which the 480 is built for) and games will need more threads (like the consoles have and the i7 has).

The 480 will probably never be an outright faster card than the 1070, even at the very end of year three when the 480 has risen due to Directx 12 and the 1070 has fallen due to Nvidia shifting driver optimizations to the new shiny. BUT there might be a point between now and year three that the CPU will hold back the 1070, and you can't go over 60 fps anyway so most of the advantage the i5+ 1070 has today is wasted.

Hence our advice. Its up to you though, it is your priorities that matter.

 

[RussianSensation]

That is what I've gathered from other websites. There is basically no difference in games between the i5-6600k and i7-6700k. But the difference between the RX480 and GTX1070 on the same CPU is huge! Is the GTX1070 going to be noticeably held back on the i5-6600k to the point where the i7+RX480 will catch it?

Yes, that's why you go for an i5 6600K + GTX1070 and in 3 years you can pick up a used i7 7700K or just get Ice Lake or Coffee Lake in 2019.

While it is absolutely true that i7 6700K is a better CPU over 4-5 years and especially if you play RTS/strategy genre that is very CPU demanding, for 90-95% of the games you'll play over the next 3 years the i5 6600K @ 4.5-4.8Ghz system with a GTX1070 OC will wipe the floor with the i7 6700K and the RX 480.

i5-6400@4.6 vs i7-6700@4.7 in 11 games (980 Ti)

GTX1070 is > 50% faster than the RX 480 at 1080p. HT at best usually gives 20-30% boost and in most games it's less. That means on average, the i5 6600K OC + 1070 system will destroy the i7 6700K OC + 480 system in 90%* of PC games over the next 3 years. There will always be outliers such as Total War Warhammer or Crysis 3 where the i5 6600K is choking under 60 fps but in the other cases the 480 stands no chance against the 1070.

While personally I would spend the extra $80-100 and just buy the i7 6700K and just keep it for 4-5 years, if you plan on upgrading in 3 years, don't worry about it and go for the faster graphics card.

There are still many games where the GPU speed is the primary factor in your overall gaming experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TScpVAGNdcI

One of the best ways to move up to the i7 6700K from the i5 6600K is to save $$ on the mobo. I would look at both of your builds and see if I can save money say on the motherboard and just go for the i7 6700K right off the bat. Most high-end Z170 motherboards aren't even worth the price. For example, if you are buying a $180-200 Z170 board, just buy a $110-120 board and use that $ get yourself closer to the 6700K. I am recommending you exactly what I did. I waited to find a deal on a good board when it went on sale and grabbed it for $117. I used the difference and spent it on the 6700K.

MSI Z170A SLI LGA 1151 Intel Z170 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard = $105

Intel 219-V ethernet = CHECK
Ultra M.2 PCIe 32GB/sec PCIe 3.0 x4 = CHECK
Realtek ALC1150 = CHECK
1 x PS/2 mouse port = CHECK
USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2 = CHECK
DDR4 3200-3600 support = CHECK
SLI / CF support =
3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slots (support x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4 modes) = CHECK

3 year warranty

$105 for all of that

 

[barbe]

A cheap upgrade will work fine for you. i5+480 and wait three+ years for the six cores in mainstream to decide how to proceed (new platform, or used i7 when everyone will be making the upgrade to six). But you have to commit in 1080/60.

 

[nurturedhate]

What I want to know is how there is only a $60 difference between the two systems. The i5 is about $90-100 cheaper than the i7. The 480 is about $190-200 cheaper than the 1070. There should easily be a difference of $100 between the two systems. The question should really be i7+480 or i5+1070 for $100 more.

Frankly, I'd look into what RS said and look for a cheaper mobo then tell the wife you are getting 1070s and the i7 for basically the same cost. Problem solved. Then again if you aren't looking to upgrade until some time in October maybe wait until black friday for a better deal or take a drive to a micro center if it's an option. Also, by that time better AIB's will be available for both cards and we'll probably have more info on vega.