Under $400 would you choose 4690K + OC MOBO or 4790K + regular MOBO?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
7,348
642
121
So much for the "HT is uselezz for gaminz" meme.

I still don't get why anyone would even pay $150+ for mobos with mainstream sockets when that is easily the least important part of a PC for a long time already.

Marketing...
 

RaistlinZ

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2001
7,470
9
91
OP, to answer your question... I would choose the 4790K + regular mobo

Higher Turbo speeds + HT > 4690K + enthusiast mobo any day of the week.
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
So much for the "HT is uselezz for gaminz" meme.
It's $100 more, and there are other things you can spend $100 on. Not useless, but the higher cost is steep, when all you get is HT and 100MHz.

I still don't get why anyone would even pay $150+ for mobos with mainstream sockets when that is easily the least important part of a PC for a long time already.
I got a $60 one, so...
 

Lepton87

Platinum Member
Jul 28, 2009
2,544
9
81
4790K, 4.4GHz isn't so bad, some HW don't even OC higher than that on AIR. Just make sure that your mobo is MCE capable. Also considering all other costs that is MOBO,RAM, Cooler 5820K is in another price bracket so suggesting it instead of 4790K+cheap mobo is like suggesting a 980 to someone who wants to buy a 970. Different price brackets.
 

StrangerGuy

Diamond Member
May 9, 2004
8,443
124
106
It's $100 more, and there are other things you can spend $100 on. Not useless, but the higher cost is steep, when all you get is HT and 100MHz.

Good thing now we have the 4790K. :sneaky:

I got a $60 one, so...

Everything in my rig is more expensive than my current mobo. Even the freaking mITX case is. :D The onboard sound is rather crap but thats what the USB DAC is for (which is cheaper and beats $200+ mobo ones anyway and can be used in another system).
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
16,889
2,208
126
Each to his own, I suppose.

In some other threads -- perhaps in the "Mobo" forum -- I've chronicled my latest self-inflicted SNAFU (that's old army-speak for "situation normal all f***ed up" or something similar). To the point -- I had a budget Z77-A motherboard acquired for at least two pending purposes. So I had a chance to test an HT-capable "K" processor on a budget board.

Shopping for a board, the first thing I want to see is the phase-power design spec. My budget board has 4+1; my sig-rig system has 10+2. The overclock limitations of the former became readily apparent.

So it depends on what you intend to do with the system. For the first-time DIY computer-builder, he's not likely to be so sure what he intends to do. I knew one fellow who got all goosey-goo-gah about overclocking, bought top-end parts, then, at the first sign of trouble (the BSOD or freeze-up) -- he'd get cold feet. His system ran at stock speeds, but he'd tell you he overclocked it -- ready to choose his very imperfect BIOS profile to prove the point, and just as quick to set things back to default.

For the veteran DIY builder, it is probably useful to contemplate one's future plans in detail, separate the grain from the chaff, and pick the parts with great deliberation. If you want to build an inexpensive and reliable system, no reason you couldn't choose a budget motherboard and pair it with any number of processors. You could pair a budget board with a "K" processor. But you'd best be aware of the limitations when you press the "checkout" button.