Looking to upgrade

Omaha

Omaha

Omaha

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Joined
4 Sep 2014
Posts
15
Hi,

I am looking to upgrade but unsure of what at the moment

I have a i7 4790k and the Asus Maximus VII Ranger. I only have 8GB of ram however

Should I get a new motherboard, CPU and ram or will the CPU and MOBO last a good bit longer yet?

Many thanks
 
The 4790k (especially if overclocked) will be good enough for at least another couple of years yet. I certainly have no plans to get rid of mine anytime soon. Another 8Gb of memory may be beneficial though if you can pick up a matching kit cheaply.
 
pastymuncher said:
The 4790k (especially if overclocked) will be good enough for at least another couple of years yet. I certainly have no plans to get rid of mine anytime soon. Another 8Gb of memory may be beneficial though if you can pick up a matching kit cheaply.
Click to expand...
Agreed +1

What CPU cooler do you have? Would really be worth overclocking your CPU for a free boost :)
 
Sorry for the delay!

My ram isn't the best. 8gb DDR3 at 2666mhz. I have a Corsair H55 which for CPU cooling. Currently OC'd at 4.3ghz

I will look at replacing the ram with something decent. Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
2666mhz memory is fast for DDR3. The 4790k turbo's to 4.4Ghz on all cores with many motherboards so you have effectively underclocked it at 4.3Ghz. You should manage 4.6Ghz easily enough although you need to keep a eye on your temps.
 
Why replace the RAM? Just add to it. Pasty is absolutely correct - 2666 is already high and not all 4770/4790K can run that memory speed, so you have a good one, at least when it comes to the integrated memory controller.
 
My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £178.68 (includes shipping: £8.70)
​

These sticks run at 2400MHz but have the same timings and same voltage range. You won't notice the frequency difference.

Option 1: buy the 8GB kit and reset the BIOS to default before adding them (you'll need to set your overclock again after). Once BIOS is at default, shut the computer down and remove power, and place the new sticks in the Primary Dual Channel slots (A2 and B2 as in pic below) and move your old sticks to the Secondary Dual Channel slots (A1 and B1). Fire it up and set XMP and it should set all sticks to 2400 and 11-13-13-35. If XMP doesn't want to work, just enter the frequency and timings manually.

Option 2: This was an afterthought upon seeing the price for the full 16GB kit. Since RAM prices are so high, you could try selling the existing 2666MHz sticks for £50, I have seen some 2x4GB DDR3 kits go for that. And just get a full new kit, and you'd be paying the same £60 as for option 1.


7SlN581.png



It's a nice board. I built a system for someone with it. They improved the BIOS for memory compatibility a few times, I recall. So any issues just flash BIOS to latest version.
 
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