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New CPU dilemma

Amatsubu

Amatsubu

Amatsubu

Soldato
Joined
8 Sep 2012
Posts
4,215
Hi!

I'm considering upgrading my entire setup and I want to start with CPU/mobo. I'm torn between AMD and Intel... I've been rather happy with my OC'd Phenom II 955 BE. It's served me well for a couple of years but it's getting quite rusty now.

I don't really have any preferences when it comes to brands but I'd really like to try going Intel this time around. I've never owned an Intel CPU in my life. Preferably, I'd like to get a somewhat "futureproof" processor (yes, I know it's drivel). Should I stick with AMD and go with an FX 8320/8350 or buy the new 4690k and a decent Z97 board? Is the performance gap really that noticeable? The FX has 8 (rather weak) cores but I'm not sure whether this'll make that much difference in the upcoming 2 years... I'm tempted by 4690k's better single thread gaming performance and power efficiency. Also, going the Z97/4690k route opens up a future upgrade path to Broadwell which I may want to get somewhere down the road. On the other hand, the AMD is slightly cheaper (or significantly cheaper if one opts for the 8320) and is octacore.

I'm currently rocking a 7850 GPU but that'll be swapped out for something more powerful in a couple of months. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a Geforce GTX 770 or even a Radeon r290. The only things I do on my PC is gaming and making music. I don't plan to use SLI/Crossfire or game in resolutions above 1080p. I'd really like this setup to last 2-3 years of gaming on high to ultra settings if possible...

What's your take on this? Thanks for your help in advance.
 
Hi, Personally I'd avoid an old platform and cpu like that and go with the z97 which as you know has future upgradeability (Is that even a word?).

Having said that the AMD option would run games fine for many more years, It's just the issue of being stuck with a dead platform that would also have a minimal resale value when your finished with it. In 2 or 3 years time a Z97 will still have performance leading chips that run on it unlike AMD's that are already behind the curve.
 
Thanks!

Yeah, that makes sense and I'm really leaning towards Intel now. I wonder whether the Z97 will be compatible with Intel's hexa- and octacores when they finally hit the market, though.

There's also one thing that's been bugging me... I have a Thermalright Macho HR-02 rev. 2 which I plan to use with my new CPU/mobo. AFAIK, there was an Intel mount in the package (I have it lying somewehere around the house). Do you think it'll work with Z97 mobos and the 4690k? I couldn't really find any info about it. Sorry if this is a noob question but I'm really inexperienced when it comes to Intel stuff... The cooler is performing nicely with my Phenom and I'd rather stick with it and save money.
 
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Pretty sure 1155 and 1150 share the same mounting holes so the mounting plate should work fine :)

Edit: That's if it's a 1155 mount.
 
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I've been eyeballing the Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3h to go with the CPU. From what I've read, it has a 1150 socket. I'll have to check the info on the packaging of the Macho, I hope it's compatible.

I know it's a hard choice, faceman;p That's why I'll be grateful for every single opinion on the topic, I really don't want to make a bad choice here.
 
I've checked the info on my cooler and apparently it supports 1155. This means it should also be compatible with 1150 if they really do share the same mounting holes, right?
 
Amatsubu said:
Thanks!

Yeah, that makes sense and I'm really leaning towards Intel now. I wonder whether the Z97 will be compatible with Intel's hexa- and octacores when they finally hit the market, though.

There's also one thing that's been bugging me... I have a Thermalright Macho HR-02 rev. 2 which I plan to use with my new CPU/mobo. AFAIK, there was an Intel mount in the package (I have it lying somewehere around the house). Do you think it'll work with Z97 mobos and the 4690k? I couldn't really find any info about it. Sorry if this is a noob question but I'm really inexperienced when it comes to Intel stuff... The cooler is performing nicely with my Phenom and I'd rather stick with it and save money.
Click to expand...

Does the Broadwell range have 6 or 8 core cpu's then? If not you will only get quad cores for Z97. It's not really a problem though, The i7's are unbeatable unless you go with an extreme cpu model which are on the Z79 and Z99 platforms. Regardless of how multi-threaded games become the 8 core AMD cpu's will never outperform the i7's thanks to there hyperthreading.
As for the graphics card, From those two options you should definitely get the 290 (non-reference) over the 770 if you can, You'll get a lot more performance. I had a 4gb MSI 770 last year and it was a great card which ran 1920 x 1080 with no problems but being able to add an extra 10 or so frames on top with the 290 is the way to make it last as long as possible. If you do go with a 770 make sure to get a 4gb model just to make sure the ram isn't an issue, But as I said your much better of with a 290 or even a 780 if you can find one in your price range.
 
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I will add a small spanner to think about. If you are going for AMD on your next GPU choice bear in mind mantle (and supported titles) will take off some of the CPU overhead. Further down the line DX may have the same impact (with nVidia) so sometimes having the top of the line CPU may not be the be all and end all factor when selecting your new build.

:)
 
wazza300 said:
^^ yep same holes

1155/1156/1150 all same cooler/mounting holes
Click to expand...

That's good news then;p Thanks for the info:)


Does the Broadwell range have 6 or 8 core cpu's then? If not you will only get quad cores for Z97. It's not really a problem though, The i7's are unbeatable unless you go with an extreme cpu model which are on the Z79 and Z99 platforms. Regardless of how multi-threaded games become the 8 core AMD cpu's will never outperform the i7's thanks to there hyperthreading.
As for the graphics card, From those two options you should definitely get the 290 (non-reference) over the 770 if you can, You'll get a lot more performance. I had a 4gb MSI 770 last year and it was a great card which ran 1920 x 1080 with no problems but being able to add an extra 10 or so frames on top with the 290 is the way to make it last as long as possible. If you do go with a 770 make sure to get a 4gb model just to make sure the ram isn't an issue, But as I said your much better of with a 290 or even a 780 if you can find one in your price range.
Click to expand...

AFAIK, the main difference between Haswell and Broadwell will be the 14 nm architecture of the latter. It seems that lga 1150 will be phased out somewhere around the release of Skylake. There's little chance that we'll see a consumer hexa- or octacore on the Z97 chipset, which is unfortunate. All I can do is hope that an overclocked 4690k will last me 3 years without any major performance hiccups. As for the GPU, I'll definitely try to get an R290 or a GTX 780. Hopefully, their price will have gone down a bit by autumn.

I will add a small spanner to think about. If you are going for AMD on your next GPU choice bear in mind mantle (and supported titles) will take off some of the CPU overhead. Further down the line DX may have the same impact (with nVidia) so sometimes having the top of the line CPU may not be the be all and end all factor when selecting your new build.
Click to expand...

Hi! Yes, I've already taken Mantle and the like into consideration and I know that gaming-wise a strong GPU is more important than a top-of-the-range CPU. I just hope the 4690k won't bottleneck any single GPU for quite some time. I really can't afford anything better at this point in time and I think the Z97 platform is probably as close to being "future-proof" as it gets.
 
Will I be ok with one of these boards?

Gigabyte Z97-HD3 DDR3

Gigabyte Z97-D3H DDR3

MSI Z97 Gaming 3 DDR3

I plan to overclock but I don't necessarily have to push the CPU to its utmost limits. There's also the Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3 DDR3 but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to stretch to that one... The difference in price is rather small but I'm quite tight on money ATM.
 
Thanks for the reply! I have a Gigabyte ATM, never had any problems with it. UK based RMA service is definitely a nice thing but I'm from Poland, so that'll be of no benefit to me;p I'm quite tempted to try out the MSI Gaming 3. Looks a tad gimmicky to me but it might actually be worth looking into. Have you had any experience with MSI boards?
 
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I've been pondering over this for a bit and I might be able to up my budget to get an i7 4790k (it isn't as expensive as I thought). The question is, would I see any long-term improvement going this route? As I've already mentioned, I use my PC exclusively for making music and gaming. I know that 90% of people would advise against getting an i7 for gaming alone but wouldn't it outlive the i5 with its monstruous 4 ghz base clock/4,4 ghz turbo and HT? If it can deliver satisfactory performance with light OC (or with no OC at all) for about 4 years then I think it's worth it. I really need your help on this, I feel like I'm about to make a ridiculous choice here;p It might be the case that when games finally start to utilise more threads this CPU will already be somewhat obsolete... Sorry for bugging you so much.
 
Amatsubu said:
I've been pondering over this for a bit and I might be able to up my budget to get an i7 4790k (it isn't as expensive as I thought). The question is, would I see any long-term improvement going this route? As I've already mentioned, I use my PC exclusively for making music and gaming. I know that 90% of people would advise against getting an i7 for gaming alone but wouldn't it outlive the i5 with its monstruous 4 ghz base clock/4,4 ghz turbo and HT? If it can deliver satisfactory performance with light OC (or with no OC at all) for about 4 years then I think it's worth it. I really need your help on this, I feel like I'm about to make a ridiculous choice here;p It might be the case that when games finally start to utilise more threads this CPU will already be somewhat obsolete... Sorry for bugging you so much.
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If you are using your PC to make music then that alone should justify a reason to get an 4790k.
 
get the 4790k if you can afford it, its top of the range just now so it will last longer, and ofc if the programmes be it games or for music benefit from hyper threading either now or in the future it will have been worth the extra.
 
Thanks! I'll really have to think about it, jumping from a 955 BE to a top-of-the-range i7 is defintely tempting. I guess I'll be happy regardless of whichever I choose. In the worst case scenario, I'll splash out a bit and get a virtually nonexistent performance boost in return;p What would be the cheapest decent Z97 board for the i7? I don't necessarily have to push the CPU, relatively light OC should be enough. I most probably won't SLI/Crossfire and I don't really feel like I need all the gimmicky gaming-related feautures like MSI's Audio Boost etc. Are there any brands I should definitely avoid?
 
You will have a huge increase from the 955 BE i still have one in my media pc lol

heres the cpu and board im not biased but i have had 3 gigabyte boards and a few asus and both manufacturers have performed just as good as each other.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4790K 4.00GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £103.99
Total : £383.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).




What ram are you putting in it?
 
Thanks! I've never had a Gigabyte fail on me, seems like a solid choice. I can get the MSI Gaming 3 a bit cheaper, would it also do well? I've heard positive opinions about it. As for the RAM, I have two leftover 2GB DDR3 (1333MHz) sticks which will probably be replaced sometime this year. But first I have to decide which CPU to go with;p
 
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