Upgrade from i7 950 to i7 4790k

[thilanliyan]

Overclocking a $1000 server chip that cost about a tenth that while blowing past the 4790k satisfies my inner cheapskate in ways that surpass the latest chipset sugar coatings.

Wish I had not seen this thread haha....looking at ebay for a xeon and x58 board lol...I REALLY don't need it...MUST resist!!!

 

[Burpo]

There are system vulturators, er, refurbishers based in Canada too.

Here's a 5650 for $80CDN + $15CDN Shipping.

Not everyone is gouging on shipping to Canada: Here's a $97CDN 5660 with sub $15 shipping.

Jeez ClockHound, don't confuse him with facts! For less than $100 (once he sells his chip) he could experience the Xeon Hex-core goodness. He wants to spend big money.. Let him

 

[Blue_Max]

Jeez ClockHound, don't confuse him with facts! For less than $100 (once he sells his chip) he could experience the Xeon Hex-core goodness. He wants to spend big money.. Let him

You're obsessed with the extra cores... what do you say to Anand (and everyone else's benchmarks) that the 4970k has 50-100% more single-threaded performance?

I'm not the idiot you're having fun telling people I am.

 

[Burpo]

Nobody says you're an idiot.. We showed you a way to upgrade for <$100. If that doesn't suit you, buy what you want.. but you won't get it for $100 difference like you said..

 

[tential]

You're obsessed with the extra cores... what do you say to Anand (and everyone else's benchmarks) that the 4970k has 50-100% more single-threaded performance?

I'm not the idiot you're having fun telling people I am.

You were presented with a cheap option to get a ton of performance while you wait for Skylake. If that's not your thing ( and it isn't my thing personally, but the idea is pretty cool), then don't do it. You already know what the 4790k is going to give you, people are simply offering you alternatives. This is an enthusiast forum, not tomshardware, you've been given more than enough information, now you can make your own choice as to what you'd like to do (which clearly seems to be the 4790k).

Personally, we already know most games aren't that CPU dependent(unless you've got a very decent GPU setup), a good OC will leave you ok, I'd take the Xeon upgrade to 4.4Ghz, and if it doesn't work out, it's $50 lost (assuming you can sell your current CPU). If I can't sell it, I go 4790k.

 

[Burpo]

I use my PC for casual gaming (heavy titles though) and some of everything, video converters, photoshop, lightroom, lots of internet, autocad, etc.

The work load you described (other than gaming) is better suited for more cores.. Cinebench is a good indicator of that..

The fastest i7-4790 here..

1. crashtech | i7-4790K | 5.0GHz | 10.97

From this thread where ALL X5650's are above that..
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2361017&highlight=cinebench

 

[tential]

The work load you described (other than gaming) is better suited for more cores.. Cinebench is a good indicator of that..

The fastest i7-4790 here..

1. crashtech | i7-4790K | 5.0GHz | 10.97

From this thread where ALL X5650's are above that..
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2361017&highlight=cinebench

You're confusing the OP with BlueMax. OP is one user who hasn't really been responding. BlueMax is another in the same position, except he probably games and doesn't use those applications.

 

[Burpo]

Oh, you're right.. My bad.. sorry Blue_Max..

 

[tential]

Oh, you're right.. My bad.. sorry Blue_Max..

He's probably better off with the 4790k, but well, that Xeon looks like fun... and if I could do a net upgrade cost of $50, I would for it.

 

[ClockHound]

Is the general consensus that QuickSync still produces inferior quailty encodes compared to doing it on the cpu?

Has this changed?

No, it hasn't. I still see artifacts with QS and other GPU encodes. Ultimately for domestic use, it depends on one's threshold for imperfection. QS isn't ready for broadcast use yet.

 

[Blue_Max]

Oh, you're right.. My bad.. sorry Blue_Max..

No problem, sir. Yeah, my primary use is gaming... very different from the OP. Sorry to hijack the thread... but at least it's a good conversation going in here.

...believe me, it's still super tempting.

 

[Makaveli]

No, it hasn't. I still see artifacts with QS and other GPU encodes. Ultimately for domestic use, it depends on one's threshold for imperfection. QS isn't ready for broadcast use yet.

Thanks for the response.

 

[railven]

Wish I had not seen this thread haha....looking at ebay for a xeon and x58 board lol...I REALLY don't need it...MUST resist!!!

I gave my X58 away to someone who won't even take the time to format their PC to ensure they're using the correct Windows installation.

Sigh...

 

[RussianSensation]

You're obsessed with the extra cores... what do you say to Anand (and everyone else's benchmarks) that the 4970k has 50-100% more single-threaded performance?

I'm not the idiot you're having fun telling people I am.

Ironically gaming is where there will be the least performance gain of 4790K over a 32nm 4.5Ghz X58 Xeon. Going from a stock 2500K to 4790K produced just a 6% gain with the Titan based on BFG's testing. A 4.5Ghz 6-Core Xeon 5650-5670 is faster than a stock 2500K.

If you think 5% more gaming performance is worth spending $400 to get a 4790K over a $50-75 upgrade solution and spending $325-350 on faster/2nd videocard, it's your choice. A Xeon @ 4.5Ghz + 970 SLI / 290 CF would destroy a 4790K with a single 970/290 in 90% of games.

 

[Blue_Max]

Ironically gaming is where there will be the least performance gain of 4790K over a 32nm 4.5Ghz X58 Xeon. Going from a stock 2500K to 4790K produced just a 6% gain with the Titan based on BFG's testing. A 4.5Ghz 6-Core Xeon 5650-5670 is faster than a stock 2500K.

If you think 5% more gaming performance is worth spending $400 to get a 4790K over a $50-75 upgrade solution and spending $325-350 on faster/2nd videocard, it's your choice. A Xeon @ 4.5Ghz + 970 SLI / 290 CF would destroy a 4790K with a single 970/290 in 90% of games.

You know... the more I look into this, the more I see you and Burpo's point...

More importantly, finding the right benchmarks to support your claim. Yeah the new chip gets double the 3DMark score, but that won't equal actual game performance. That 2500 vs 4790 chart never showed more than a 20% gain.

I'll have to double my efforts to get the X5650... and... ugh. Try ebay again. (Bad experience... lost money... vowed "never again"...)

 

[Burpo]

Don't let a bad experience @ ebay spoil the joy.. Ebay has full proof "Money Back" guarantee now.. People losing their $$ just doesn't happen anymore..

You realize if you try this little upgrade & it's not to your liking, that you can sell the all your X58 parts & buy whatever you want. Nothing ventured.. nothing gained..

 

[RussianSensation]

You know... the more I look into this, the more I see you and Burpo's point...

More importantly, finding the right benchmarks to support your claim. Yeah the new chip gets double the 3DMark score, but that won't equal actual game performance. That 2500 vs 4790 chart never showed more than a 20% gain.

I'll have to double my efforts to get the X5650... and... ugh. Try ebay again. (Bad experience... lost money... vowed "never again"...)

I don't know what videocard you have though but the Xeon upgrade means $300+ left over for thr GPU side of getting your gaming rig up to date. If you get the 4790K platform but you have a slower GPU like 270/280/7950, then you'll still have to buy a 970 so another $300+. Sell your existing i7 locally for even $50 and this is a crazy cheap upgrade. If you don't like it, you can carry over the 290/290X/970 videocard and buy Skylake platform and dump the X58 Xeon system in 12 months. As Burpo said you have little to lose. Also, in cases where i7 4790K beats 2500K, it is because the game takes advantage of HT. Since you'll have 6-cores, this isn't an issue for you.

 

[Makaveli]

I gave my X58 away to someone who won't even take the time to format their PC to ensure they're using the correct Windows installation.

Sigh...

Take it back and give them a celeron.

A good system shouldn't be wasted on a noob like that.

 

[thilanliyan]

Would there be any point in going to a X58/Xeon system from a Z87/4670K system? Most intensive thing I do is a bit of gaming. The 4670K I have seems to be a bit of a dud though...4.1GHz @ 1.25v, unless I'm not OCing properly, which is entirely possible.

 

[2is]

Would there be any point in going to a X58/Xeon system from a Z87/4670K system? Most intensive thing I do is a bit of gaming. The 4670K I have seems to be a bit of a dud though...4.1GHz @ 1.25v, unless I'm not OCing properly, which is entirely possible.

Only if your goal is to have an overall slower system that uses more power.

 

[thilanliyan]

Only if your goal is to have an overall slower system that uses more power.

That's what I needed to hear haha...keep my itch in check!!

 

[2is]

That's what I needed to hear haha...keep my itch in check!!

Hey man, I know the feeling. Reading this thread prompted me to do a few ebay searches just to get a cost idea and maybe have a new "toy" to play with. But after thinking about it, the fun will only last as long as it takes for me to put it together, see what overclock I can get out of it and run some comparison benchmarks compared to my existing system. After that's done, which I'd probably do in the course of a weekend, it's just another system taking up living space that will go largely unused since it doesn't really do anything better than what I have, and most things it's worse at. Sometimes I even flirt with the idea of building an AMD 8 core system just to tinker with, but I go through that same thought processes. That money is better spent elsewhere for me, or not spent at all.

 

[dguy6789]

Since your i7 950 is at 4.2Ghz it would be a complete waste of money to upgrade the CPU. I'd only do it if you just want something newer for the sake of wanting new stuff.

 

[scannall]

Would there be any point in going to a X58/Xeon system from a Z87/4670K system? Most intensive thing I do is a bit of gaming. The 4670K I have seems to be a bit of a dud though...4.1GHz @ 1.25v, unless I'm not OCing properly, which is entirely possible.

It's a great upgrade if you already have an X58 system. But it wouldn't make a lot of sense to sell what you have just to build one from scratch. If you do have an X58 system it's a great way to spend the time until Skylake, plus time for DDR4 prices to come down.

 

[Shadowjump]

Well, I am still here

I decided to go the 4790k way. It was A LOT cheaper. The upgrade to the 4790k cost me ~350&#8364; while going for the 5820k would cost me around 800&#8364;.

I can say, the difference is quite extreme. Dragon Age Inquisition now plays perfectly smooth. Whereas with the 950 @ 4.2 wasnt smooth at all.

btw, the 4790k is now running happily @ 4.9 with 1.26V