Any sense in upgrading my 4690k system?

mikehhhhhhh · 20 Dec 2017 at 12:34

I use my PC pretty much exclusively for gaming - mostly racing sims with some CSGO as well.

I can't say I've ever felt like it needs more performance since getting the 1080, but I do like to tinker and I have had the upgrade itch recently.

I guess my question is whether there is anything out there worth spending money on at the moment. I guess there's no sense in upgrading for a small performance upgrade, but I'm totally out of touch with PC hardware these days.

Thoughts?

pastymuncher · 20 Dec 2017 at 12:49

You could drop a 4790k in it if you can find one at a reasonable price. The extra threads from having HT would help with games that like more cores. Is your 4690k overclocked? I wouldn't do a new build at the moment as the huge cost just isn't worth it for a small performance gain. There's also the fact that Ryzen 2 is coming along around February and Intels Z370 was dead the moment it launched as there is yet another new chipset (Z390) coming along with the launch of 8 core cpu's around the middle of 2019.

Saffy · 20 Dec 2017 at 21:15

As above, upgrading to a 4790K will give you a leap in performance which would be more than adequate when paired with your GPU. If you take this route, you can get away with upgrading for a couple more years.

mikehhhhhhh · 17 Jul 2018 at 22:07

Has the situation with this changed at all since 8th gen stuff has dropped?

I just found a renewed enthusiasm for my gaming PC, bought it a fresh new case and CPU cooler to replace the OEM. I've subsequently managed to overclock it to 4.6GHz.

I'm trying to talk myself out of something like an 8600k

pastymuncher · 18 Jul 2018 at 09:57

Our advice will still be the same, especially as you have got 4.6Ghz out of your cpu. Save your money and wait until Intel drops it's 8 core cpu's and new chipset or AMD's next generation of Ryzen. I don't reckon that I will be upgrading for a good year or two, maybe longer even. I want a big and worthwhile performance gain for what will be a huge chunk of money not a tiny performance gain that I would get upgrading right now.

EsaT · 18 Jul 2018 at 14:13

mikehhhhhhh said:
Has the situation with this changed at all since 8th gen stuff has dropped?

I just found a renewed enthusiasm for my gaming PC, bought it a fresh new case and CPU cooler to replace the OEM. I've subsequently managed to overclock it to 4.6GHz.

I'm trying to talk myself out of something like an 8600k

Nothing has changed.
Well, except maybe toothpastes under heatspreader's of Intel's 4790K's seem to be starting to get old, with the threads about them running excessively hot.
Because Intel wanted to penny pinch to get every extra profit margin instead of soldering heatspreader.
Along with all the Meltdown/Spectre vulnerabilitities in speculative code execution of Intel CPUs.

While Intel's CPU clock hasn't properly said tick or tock in years, only their CPU socket/motherboard roulette.
So right now just can't see much long term reason for new Intel CPU, if current one is decent.
And you can bet their next actually improved architecture CPU (apparently in late 2019-2020) is going to demand new motherboard.

Unlike AMD supporting current socket to 2020, giving upgrade path to Zen2 improving those areas AMD lacked resources/time to do in Zen"1".
Also AMD, or more precisely foundries used by them, are catching Intel in manufacturing process tech.
So in next winter Intel is likely going to loose their single thread performance lead.

Born2BSlow · 18 Jul 2018 at 14:30

I dropped a **** ton on a new system last year, prior to which I'd got a Xeon chip in my old X58 system overclocked to 4GHz. Using a boggo 3DMark test as benchmark there is virtually no performance gain over my old CPU, the only gain was switching from a 980Ti to a 1080Ti.

Bench what you have, I could have saved myself a few quid if I hadn't been so eager for the new shiny, that said it will last me a few years and I still have the old system as backup. My son is loving it lol.

tamzzy · 18 Jul 2018 at 15:23

#justwait

WantoN · 20 Jul 2018 at 09:15

As above a 4790k would be a great little upgrade for cheap, but I tend to buy on the MM and you don't have access yet.

Otherwise wait. I'm on the same node you are and I reckon it'll be at least 2 years before I upgrade to a new architecture. Now intel's joined the core count race, we'll see games hungry for cores in the next few years (I reckon).

If you're gaming at a higher res there's even less point to upgrade.