4790K in 2018 still viable?

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:15

I have a Core i5 4440 and am looking to upgrade a bit. In light of the 8 series price hike due to shortages I was considering picking up an i7 4790K to put in my board.

The reason I ask is if I were to upgrade to the latest series I would have to get a new board and RAM as well. If I have to upgrade all that I might just wait for Zen 2.

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-8400/2384vs3939

According to this the 8400 isn't much faster than 4790K and I would only be paying around £200 for the 4790K compared to £450 - £500 for 8400 + Mobo + 16GB DDR4.

ChocoViennese · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:22

The intel specs for 4790k (https://ark.intel.com/products/80807/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_40-GHz) and i5 4400 (https://ark.intel.com/products/75038/Intel-Core-i5-4440-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz) show they have the same socket and are the same series (4---). However, you are best to check with you motherboard manufacturer for compatibilty.

If it were me, I would put the £200 towards a ryzen system, whether that is current gen or the next. AMD have given some assurance that they will not make future cpus incompatible with current sockets for quite some time, so thats one reason to go the AMD route.

~>Dg<~ · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:22

that cpu isnt worth 200 100-120 tops.there are far faster cpus for that kinda money. the only reason some cpus fetch more is because its on a dead platform. its a decent cpu still but dont overpay.

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:24

If I go Ryzen I am going to be forking another £200+ on top of CPU price for Motherboard and RAM.

ChocoViennese · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:27

TheLegendOfMart said:
If I go Ryzen I am going to be forking another £200+ on top of CPU price for Motherboard and RAM.

Yes but you are buying into a more future proof platform. Is there any reason you cant save another £230? A decent ryzen CPU, mobo and 16gb ddr4 can be had for ~£430 just now (on Overclockers of course...)

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:30

I'm on a budget, I want to take advantage of Vega 64 price drop to £440.

ChocoViennese · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:35

Here https://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3 and
Here https://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5

Give you some idea of the performance gain going from your 4400 to a 4790k. The 4400 isnt on those charts, but the 4690 is, and yours should be in that ball park. Not worth £200 really.

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:39

Yeah but wont i5 4440 bottleneck the Vega

Quartz · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:41

Which motherboard do you have? Because if it isn't a Z-series, you can't overclock.

Armageus · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:42

ChocoViennese said:
Here https://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/3 and
Here https://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5

Give you some idea of the performance gain going from your 4400 to a 4790k. The 4400 isnt on those charts, but the 4690 is, and yours should be in that ball park. Not worth £200 really.

Those charts are 4 years old though - newer games are better threaded and so an I7 4790k *may* give a worthwhile increase. I personally wouldn't spend £200 on one though.

4790 Non-K potentially is worth a look at £130 imo.

Either that or an unlocked I5 - e.g. 4690k for £100.

TheLegendOfMart said:
Yeah but wont i5 4440 bottleneck the Vega

Does it matter? People worry too much about bottlenecks imo.

Have you already got the Vega or looking to upgrade (if so what from?).

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:44

Haven't got it yet, I am using Intel HD4600 onboard GPU.

subbytna · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:46

Check the members market to see what you can find CPU wise. You might find a good deal there.

DarrenM343 · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:47

Seems a bit of an odd upgrade to me - not far enough ahead. I'd try to go something like 6700K with mid-range mobo. 6700K's are probably worth little more than £120 or so now, used. Should be able to get most to 4.5Ghz.
Do you have a decent PSU to support the vega?

Armageus · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:50

TheLegendOfMart said:
Haven't got it yet, I am using Intel HD4600 onboard GPU.

The question then would be how long would you plan on keeping the Vega? If you're keeping it a while, then does it matter if you leave 10% (or whatever bottleneck) on the table now, knowing that you'd get full performance when you next upgrade your CPU/Mobo/RAM.

TheLegendOfMart · 24 Sep 2018 at 11:52

Armageus said:
The question then would be how long would you plan on keeping the Vega? If you're keeping it a while, then does it matter if you leave 10% (or whatever bottleneck) on the table now, knowing that you'd get full performance when you next upgrade your CPU/Mobo/RAM.

I won't be upgrading Vega for quite a while. I could save the difference and put it towards a CPU, Mobo, RAM upgrade further down the line then.

Thanks!

Armageus · 24 Sep 2018 at 12:02

TheLegendOfMart said:
I won't be upgrading Vega for quite a while. I could save the difference and put it towards a CPU, Mobo, RAM upgrade further down the line then.

I5 4440 is worth about £50-£60, so could always buy a 4790 or 4690k as mentioned above for effectively little cost

~>Dg<~ · 24 Sep 2018 at 14:44

i5 is worth 40-60 i7 about 100. forget the stupid prices on ebay.

shame you cant get on members market as there was a 1800x and mobo for 200. if you on a budget 2nd hand has some great deals. you can get a i7 4790 rig for £200 ish 2nd hand nevermind the cpu.

pandem0nium · 24 Sep 2018 at 15:36

4770K is £155 from a certain computer exchange site. It would be worthwhile and keep your system relevant for longer.

Lokken86 · 24 Sep 2018 at 15:47

If you sold your current cpu, board, ram set up you could get near £200. Add the £200 you were going to spend on top and you can get a 2600 Ryzen 2 system with DDR4 and a B450 motherboard.

easyrider · 24 Sep 2018 at 21:42

Lokken86 said:
If you sold your current cpu, board, ram set up you could get near £200. Add the £200 you were going to spend on top and you can get a 2600 Ryzen 2 system with DDR4 and a B450 motherboard.

Does that include 16gb DDR4 ?

As for the 4790k it all depends on cost...it’s still a very good cpu...I upgraded to 6700k from 4790k and it was a sidegrade at best in real terms.