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

[EliteRetard]

I tend to think the 4790K is the way to go, no OC necessary.
I recall HT being an issue for many games back in the P4 days, is that still the case or have they worked that out?

Is there a simple software that can toggle HT in Windows?

And would it even be wise to build a Haswell gaming PC right now?
Has desktop Broadwell ever been confirmed, and/or will it work with current MOBOs?

 

[poohbear]

The 4790k boosts to 4.4ghz @ default, & even regular mobis have the "turbo" or "optimal" setring which runs them @ 4.4ghz 24/7. Ure not gonna notice a difference in the overclock vs non overclock z97 cause these days its a no brainer. U WILL notice a difference between 4690 & 4790k cause HT helps alot with new games like bf4, DA:i. Etc.

 

[Roland00Address]

What Poohbear said.

The most you will consistently get with the i5 is probably 4.6 ghz. You may get more than that but overlocks have a lot of luck in which chip you get and how good you can overclock.

The i7 has the following speeds
4 ghz base
4.2 turbo all 4 cores
4.3 turbo with 3 cores
4.2 turbo with 1 or 2 cores.

Do note that many motherboards by default have an option in the bios that runs the cpu at all 4 cores at 4.4 (the max turbo).

At stock speeds 4.6 is 15.0% more clockspeed than 4.0. 4.6 vs 4.2 is 9.5% faster, 4.6 ghz vs 4.4 is is only 4.5% more clockspeed.

The bonus of hyperthreading and the 2mb extra cache will be more than 4.5% difference in clockspeed.

For comparison the i5 4690k and the i7 4770k which is the older unlocked haswell have the exact same frequency and turbo as each other. Thus any performance lead the i7 has is due to cache and hyperthreading.

As you can see from anandtech bench there is a small size lead with the i7 even though they have small clocks in single thread (probably due to the cache) but in multithread there can be a big jump, up to 75% (key word up to, most multithread is less).

So with the non OC system you get the same or better performance, less like to break the chip, and you do not have to deal with the hassle and time of OC, if you do everything right you probably spend an hour tweaking and OCing, and that assumes no problems during building or later on.

 

[ninaholic37]

Is there a simple software that can toggle HT in Windows?

I think you can set the affinity of each process to only certain "Windows virtual cores" (i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6) by right-clicking on them in Task Manager, which blocks it having two paths to the same real core, or something like that.

 

[ShintaiDK]

The 4790K combo.

And HT is a good thing, dont disable it.

 

[Zorander]

I faced this same dilemma when I was upgrading a few months ago. I chose the 4690K + Z97 combo, for the following reasons:
1) i5 still is adequate for gaming (my main purpose)
2) I can overclock well past the 4790K's 4.4GHz turbo speed
3) The 4790K + H97 combo still cost more

Upgrade to a Haswell if you need to upgrade now. Otherwise, there will always be something better around the corner if you wait.

 

[flexy]

My budget was also under € (!) 400, with the new chips there was just a problem: They are HARDLY to get second hand, let alone "cheap". The 4790k alone would have cost me €300 and I don't think I *ever* (want to...) spent €300 on a CPU alone. With Skylake lurking.....I found spending €300 on a CPU which will be outdated in 12 months extremely silly. (Of course add the costs of a new Z97 board and ram, NO WAY to get such a bundle below €/$400...)

Edit: Broadwell is SUPPOSED to be delayed, and therefore Skylake likely also.
Nevertheless I didn't see it as "wise" to build Haswell right now, UNLESS I build a system on used parts without investing too much, at this point.

 

[ctsoth]

I went with the 4790k because I live close to a microcenter. I got my processor and motherboard for about the same price as just the processor from any other retailer.

 

[tential]

OP, I think it's important to understand what you mean by an "OC mobo".

What OP are you talking about when you say taht?

 

[john3850]

The 4790k is the first cpu in a long time that realy does not require to be oc for good performance.
If your using RealTemp you can just disable C1E in RealTemp setting to max out the turbo.

 

[Headfoot]

10 times out of 10 I will reduce mobo budget to increase processor budget if it means bumping up to a noticeably better model. Get the 4790k

 

[Cerb]

HT: not a problem. There were general bugs, which will exist with any multicore, and there were also a couple P4 bugs. Games used multiple threads before had multiple cores, and those games often relied on their threads being scheduled in the order they made their calls, which broke with x86 SMP (they might use a thread for writing to disk, or handling user inputs, or something like that, for logical separation of duties, rather than performance). If the game was popular enough, you will be able to search and find workarounds, or patches.

If you're looking at an i7 and dinky H81 board, I don't know...
But if it's the i7 and something along the lines of an ASRock H97(M) Pro4, equivalent, or better, i7 all the way. You can beat the performance overclocking, but you are unlikely to get more than 10-15% more, without spending as much on cooling and a Z97 board as the added cost of going with the i7, plus you get HT w/ the i7.

 

[aigomorla]

well i am biased when it comes to cheap boards even tho they are proven good.

To me, i dont feel comfortable unless i spend at least 180 dollars on the board itself, which usually falls under enthusiast class / Overclocking Gamers boards / Enterprise class.

:X

 

[redrider4life4]

I am going to be ordering a bundle from Microcenter shortly, can you guys help me out with which MB bundle I should choose?

I am not going to OC the system right now so just really want to spend as little as possible on the MB, but not get something shitty. My current gigabyte had all sorts of issues with my ATI video card and not recognizing my monitor or booting up properly the last couple years.


http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

 

[PPB]

Considering you can OC the i7 with a $75 mobo nowadays, its no contest.

 

[escrow4]

Considering you can OC the i7 with a $75 mobo nowadays, its no contest.

Waste of time as you'll blow out the dinky 3+1 VRMs on such mobo's. Don't bother overclocking and get a mobo that has MCE so that i7 will ways run at 4.4GHz at load. Stock overclocking. No mess, no fuss. Honestly I'd get a 5820K over a 4790K now though.

 

[PPB]

Waste of time as you'll blow out the dinky 3+1 VRMs on such mobo's. Don't bother overclocking and get a mobo that has MCE so that i7 will ways run at 4.4GHz at load. Stock overclocking. No mess, no fuss. Honestly I'd get a 5820K over a 4790K now though.

If you know where to look, you are then seeing 4+1 mobos. The Gigabyte's B85M-D3H Rev <2.0 is just a H87M-D3H with another name, to name a case.

 

[redrider4life4]

So no suggestions on which mb, just get the cheapest package with the asus mb? for 334?

 

[RussianSensation]

well i am biased when it comes to cheap boards even tho they are proven good.

To me, i dont feel comfortable unless i spend at least 180 dollars on the board itself, which usually falls under enthusiast class / Overclocking Gamers boards / Enterprise class.

:X

Mobos have dramatically improved in the last 5-6 years.

Take a look at this MSI Gaming 3 Z97 board for $110. It has almost everything a single GPU gamer might need. Premium audio, premium components, and can even support 3 digital monitors out of of its many HDMI/DP/DVI ports from Intel integrated graphics. You literally get 90% of the features and 95% of the build quality of MSI Gaming 5/7/9 boards in the budget 3
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/Z97-GAMING-3.html#hero-overview

The same is true for Asus Z97-A vs. Pro and Deluxe models. The main differentiators of mobos now are features not performance or overclocking.

Hands down I would get an MSI Gaming 3 Z97 or similar with a 4790K over the 4690K and a $180 board.

Honestly I'd get a 5820K over a 4790K now though.

That's a good point for those living near MC. 5820K at $300 and Asrock Extreme 4 for $170, a board that's better than 95% of all Z97 boards. If keeping the CPU for 4-5 years, I'd spend a little extra for the 5820K. However, if the OP has a very strict budget and doesn't want to tinker into OC too much which requires a solid $70-100 cooler to max out the 5820K, the 4790K and a $110 mobo is a superior bang for the buck option. For someone who has a Silver Arrow/NH-D14/Corsair H100/105/110 that they can reuse, the 5820K becomes a more attractive option.

 

[escrow4]

^^^^

I have the Asrock X99 Extreme 4 and it has MCE - you can enable it and run the 5820K @ 3.6Ghz across all six cores which is stock overclocking. You don't need to slap it up to 4.5Ghz (if you even can, you can shoot for 4.0Ghz down the track). I'd take 6 threads @ 3.6Ghz over 4 threads @ 4.4GHz (depending on game, but still look at Ryse and Unity and Watch Dogs, 6 real threads will be utilised).

 

[aigomorla]

Hands down I would get an MSI Gaming 3 Z97 or similar with a 4790K over the 4690K and a $180 board.



That's a good point for those living near MC. 5820K at $300 and Asrock Extreme 4 for $170, a board that's better than 95% of all Z97 boards. I

thats a near 180 dollar board!

lol... so yeah i would also go this route as well.. :thumbsup:

 

[PPB]

The gaming 3 is barely better VRM wise than the one I recommended, which actually costs 75 bucks and would fit his $400 budget target.

 

[StrangerGuy]

I faced this same dilemma when I was upgrading a few months ago. I chose the 4690K + Z97 combo, for the following reasons:
1) i5 still is adequate for gaming (my main purpose)
2) I can overclock well past the 4790K's 4.4GHz turbo speed
3) The 4790K + H97 combo still cost more

You didn't thought very hard enough about your buying decisions, didn't you?

Pay at most $100 more for HT, better FPS for HT optimized games now and later, guaranteed 4.4GHz clocks, no need to mess with OC, no need to use OC boards, almost guaranteed better $100 resale value down the road.

Why not? Because an extra $100 over 3 years for all that benefits is awfully expensive?

That's the best case scenario for the 4690K too. If you paid like $200 or more on the mobo and cooling alone you have absolutely zero justification against the 4790K. (This is what I'm seeing all over the place: "Ohhhhhh I can spend $200 on a mobo! $100 on cooling! But the 4790K is so much more expensive than the 4690K...And I can overclock the i5 like 200MHz more!" )

Waste of time as you'll blow out the dinky 3+1 VRMs on such mobo's. Don't bother overclocking and get a mobo that has MCE so that i7 will ways run at 4.4GHz at load. Stock overclocking. No mess, no fuss. Honestly I'd get a 5820K over a 4790K now though.

That's exactly why the 4790K is so worth that extra $100 = You don't have to give a flying shit about that.

 

[SPBHM]

stock 4790K can keep up or even beat 4.6GHz 4690K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vGwz35Hqs

imo saving money and going for the 4690K is fine, but using this money for a more expensive MB makes no sense.

 

[StrangerGuy]

stock 4790K can keep up or even beat 4.6GHz 4690K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8vGwz35Hqs

imo saving money and going for the 4690K is fine, but using this money for a more expensive MB makes no sense.

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.