Should I upgrade to i7-4790K - Battlefield 5 bottlenecking?

[SkScotchegg]

Hi there, I was speaking to my friend at work and he said I should buy i7-4790K because it's the best CPU I can buy for my motherboard which is socket 1150. The reason I was thinking about an upgrade is because I recently bought RTX 2080 CPU and installed it in my PC which is quite old and I wasn't getting the performance I was expecting in Battlefield 5.

I installed MSI afterburner and Rivatuner and in-game it's only using 50-60% GPU but all my CPU cores on my intel i5 4690k shows 100% in use. They often go down to 92% but then keep switching like this:

88% 92% 96% 100% 100% 100% 94% 100% 92% 100% 100% 92% 96% 100% 100% 100% 92% 100%

that's an example of what I see on my screen with the stats for all 4 cores during a battleifled 5 game.

So I believe that my CPU is bottlenecking. My CPU runs at base clocks speeds of 3.5ghz because I don't know how to overclock and I don't have the correct cooling on my CPU to overclock.

So do you think I should buy the i7-4790K and it will make a big difference?

EDIT: My full specs are

Asus Maximus VII Ranger Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor
Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB (4x4GB) PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit
Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gbs - Windows 10 installed on here.
Samsung 970 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive - Battlefield 5 installed on here.
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8192MB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Thanks in advance.

 

[Quartz]

I installed MSI afterburner and Rivatuner and in-game it's only using 50-60% GPU but all my CPU cores on my intel i5 4690k shows 100% in use. They often go down to 92% but then keep switching like this:

Yup, your CPU is the bottleneck. Which motherboard do you have? Unless it's a Z-series you won't be able to overclock. That said, you mention cooling. You are quite right to do so because your CPU may be throttling itself because it's getting too hot. What CPU temperatures are you getting?

People say that AMD are due to be releasing new CPUs sometime soon, so it might be worth waiting.

 

[SkScotchegg]

Yup, your CPU is the bottleneck. Which motherboard do you have? Unless it's a Z-series you won't be able to overclock. That said, you mention cooling. You are quite right to do so because your CPU may be throttling itself because it's getting too hot. What CPU temperatures are you getting?

People say that AMD are due to be releasing new CPUs sometime soon, so it might be worth waiting.

Hey mate, thanks for quick reply, my motherboard is "Asus Maximus VII Ranger Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard" and does allow overclocking. I'm not sure of my CPU temp right now but it's always been kept cool by my current cooler. I'm just on my way out the door with my daughter to bowling but I'll check CPU temp in bios when I get back for you.

I was thinking maybe the 4790k would be a good option because it's i7 and it runs at 4ghz so thought it would make a big difference. Plus you can buy that CPU for £110 2nd hand. Do you think it would solve my issue?

 

[Quartz]

Okay, you have a Z-series motherboard so you can overclock. To overclock you're going to want a decent CPU cooler so as to keep temperatures down. Something like a Noctua D15 or a be Quiet Dark Rock Pro

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler= £73.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-D15 Dual Radiator Quiet CPU Cooler with two NH-A15 Fans= £84.95

Total: £158.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)​

​

Check that they'll fit before purchase!

I don't 'do' overclocking myself but there are many here who do, and I'm sure they'll be glad to guide you.

However, I've been reading up on BF5 core / thread usage and have read that while you will see a significant improvement from getting a 4790k, BF5 will use even more cores, and Guru3D found that 6 cores running 6 threads (i.e. hyperthreading off) is the sweet spot, though they didn't test with even more cores. So you may want to consider a more modern CPU after all. A new CPU will mean a new motherboard and new RAM and possibly a new CPU cooler.

 

[SkScotchegg]

Okay, you have a Z-series motherboard so you can overclock. To overclock you're going to want a decent CPU cooler so as to keep temperatures down. Something like a Noctua D15 or a be Quiet Dark Rock Pro

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 CPU Cooler= £73.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-D15 Dual Radiator Quiet CPU Cooler with two NH-A15 Fans= £84.95

​

Thanks for your help so far mate, I just checked to see which one I'm using and it's called "OcUK Tech Labs - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.C "Overclocker Edition" which cost me £52.97 from Overclockers.

I just checked my CPU temp with "Core Temp" software and it says my CPU idles at 38° and under load I get all 4 cores going to 48°.

I'm really not sure what to do because the reason I never got into overclocking is because I thought it was complicated and my cousin told me I would need to buy a liquid cooler like Corsair H110 or Corsair H100i etc. And then I would have to take off my current cooling system and install a new one and learn how to overclock.

Where as I thought if I just bought a 4790k that would do the job, but I've been reading other post online by other gamers that play Battlefield 5 and they said they get 100% usage with their 4790k as well. They said it is a big upgrade over 4690k for all other games but for Battlefield 5 it's still not enough to avoid bottlenecking.

So I guess this leaves me with three options, either I buy a new CPU cooler and learn to overclock my i5 4690k or I buy 4790k or I buy a whole new motherboard/CPU/ram bundle from overclockers.

What would you guys do if you were me in this situation?

 

[Space Monkey]

If those are indeed your CPU temps then they are really good, overclocking should still see your temps quite low, can you Google for overclocking guides or YouTube is sometimes very handy for these things?

 

[~>Dg<~]

battlefield you want 6 cores atleast ideally with high core speed. 4 does hinder performance it has for a few years in battlefield games.

 

[Quartz]

Thanks for your help so far mate, I just checked to see which one I'm using and it's called "OcUK Tech Labs - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.C "Overclocker Edition" which cost me £52.97 from Overclockers.

That looks like a decent cooler which should be able to cope with modest overclocking.

So I guess this leaves me with three options, either I buy a new CPU cooler and learn to overclock my i5 4690k or I buy 4790k or I buy a whole new motherboard/CPU/ram bundle from overclockers.

I would split the difference if you can afford it. Buy the 4790k now and modestly overclock as a stop-gap solution, then wait for the new AMD CPUs. If they turn out good, buy a bundle from OCUK with a good CPU cooler. Indeed, you might add a new PSU and roomier case so you end up with two PCs.

 

[MissChief]

No one mentioned an upgrade to 16GB RAM? 8GB will give poor performance these days. Need to find it cheap though. Its not wasted cash, but you don't want to pay hundreds of pounds either.

 

[koooowweeee]

If those are indeed your CPU temps then they are really good, overclocking should still see your temps quite low, can you Google for overclocking guides or YouTube is sometimes very handy for these things?

This is what I do when I get a new rig. Then start tweaking it yourself to get a little more out of it.

 

[Orange Nexus]

Just save some more and find a new house for your new GPU.

 

[pastymuncher]

The problem with a 4790K is that they are still going for silly prices on Ebay, often £200+. I think that money would be better invested in a up to date platform such as AMD's Ryzen. The trouble with that is that AMD's Zen2 is coming along very soon so you would need to soldier on with your current cpu for the time being.

 

[Quartz]

The problem with a 4790K is that they are still going for silly prices on Ebay, often £200+.

Agreed. At that price it's just not worth it; £100 is a different matter.

 

[SkScotchegg]

No one mentioned an upgrade to 16GB RAM? 8GB will give poor performance these days. Need to find it cheap though. Its not wasted cash, but you don't want to pay hundreds of pounds either.

Oh I've just updated my OP to reflect that it's 16GB now as I upgraded later down the line. I've done a lot of upgrades to this PC over last 5 years with the latest addition being the RTX 2080 that arrived on Friday.

Well I've listened to everyones comments and I appretiate all your advice. I think I have decided to just stick with my current setup for now because other games like Metro, Far Cry 5, Doom, Resident Evil 7, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and my VR games all run great and don't use as much CPU. So seems pointless spending more money right now for just one game.

Plus Battlefield 5 actually runs really good, when I play Squad mode or domination I'm getting 100-140fps with a mixture of ultra/high settings and when I play conquest with 64 players I get 70-80fps and it feels smooth and looks great so I guess I shouldn't worry about it.

I just thought because my CPU was running at 100% it was a problem but I guess i'll just ignore it for now.

EDIT: Also just to let you know guys, I tried that Ray Tracing but I don't think I will use it for multiplayer in Battlefiled because I only get 60fps with ray tracing set to low in DX12 so not worth it for me. I like to have high as possible fps.

So I think I will only use Ray Tracing for single player games like Metro Exodus.

Overall I am happy with the new card, I've been messing with Overclocking it using Precision X1 which I really don't know what I am doing but it seems to work.

I'll just wait another 6 months+ and then maybe think about upgrading CPU/motherboard/ram.

BTW out of curiosity how come you guys talk so much about AMD Ryzen CPU's? Are intel not the best anymore?

 

[SkScotchegg]

Update, been playing Metro Exodus last few hours with DX12, DLSS, Ray Tracing set to high and ultra settings and I've been getting 80% CPU usage with 65% GPU usage, game runs butter smooth and looks beautiful so I'm happy with the RTX 2080 performance.

 

[Orange Nexus]

Update, been playing Metro Exodus last few hours with DX12, DLSS, Ray Tracing set to high and ultra settings and I've been getting 80% CPU usage with 65% GPU usage, game runs butter smooth and looks beautiful so I'm happy with the RTX 2080 performance.

Cool. Just wait a few more weeks or get an i9 9900K.

https://i.imgur.com/zH8kQy2.jpg

 

[Kirby Wurm]

Overclocking will help but you'll still be limited in BF1. At 4.7GHz my old 4690K held back a 980 Ti quite considerably.

 

[MaXxBoulton]

Overclocking will help but you'll still be limited in BF1. At 4.7GHz my old 4690K held back a 980 Ti quite considerably.

he will be fine, you was held back because i5. he as i7 and will be ok. overclocking it would be good. my 6700 at stock speeds runs at about 65% ingame

 

[Phixsator]

The i7 4790k i had which i oced to 4,8 was still holding the 1080ti, i had at the time, back in battlefield and other cpu hungry games. Usually not by a lot but still a bottleneck was there. I saw it pegged in the high 80 low 90 a lot.. This was multiplayer of course as singleplayer was not an issue at all.

 

[mc6415]

Thanks for your help so far mate, I just checked to see which one I'm using and it's called "OcUK Tech Labs - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.C "Overclocker Edition" which cost me £52.97 from Overclockers.

I just checked my CPU temp with "Core Temp" software and it says my CPU idles at 38° and under load I get all 4 cores going to 48°.

I'm really not sure what to do because the reason I never got into overclocking is because I thought it was complicated and my cousin told me I would need to buy a liquid cooler like Corsair H110 or Corsair H100i etc. And then I would have to take off my current cooling system and install a new one and learn how to overclock.

Where as I thought if I just bought a 4790k that would do the job, but I've been reading other post online by other gamers that play Battlefield 5 and they said they get 100% usage with their 4790k as well. They said it is a big upgrade over 4690k for all other games but for Battlefield 5 it's still not enough to avoid bottlenecking.

So I guess this leaves me with three options, either I buy a new CPU cooler and learn to overclock my i5 4690k or I buy 4790k or I buy a whole new motherboard/CPU/ram bundle from overclockers.

What would you guys do if you were me in this situation?

I was you in your position with a 4690k in fact in only February of this year, I just went with a new CPU, Motherboard and Memory jumping to a Ryzen 2600. If I were you I'd either wait for AMD's announcement at Computex next week or if you're absolutely desperate there are some amazing deals floating around on old Ryzen 1000 chips that I honestly can't see going much lower at this point even after Zen2 releases.

Both my suggestions are AMD because really I can't think of a decent Intel alternative right now, there's the 9400f I suppose but that's locked down while all the Ryzen chips are able to be overclocked and like someone above said it's not all that hard to do and people would be happy to help you out!