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Worth continuing with my i7 920?

Typhoon

Typhoon

Typhoon

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1 Mar 2007
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615
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London
Bit of a dilemma. Shall I update my i7 [email protected] ( will go to 4.2GHz with more volts) - as per sig with a 250Gig SSD ( only have SATA2 on the MB) and fresh OS install and something like a Gtx 770, or spend an additional £300 for a 4670K new Z87MB and RAM and swap out my i7 kit at the same time.

I don't play FPS type games, mainly RTS and Sim racing. Not played any modern games recently so the current rig has been fine. But I want to get Company of Heros 2 ( heard it pushes the CPU) and Total War Rome 2. Resolution is 1920x 1200 ( just the one screen now). Other than that, just regular home computer stuff, browsing, using MS Office etc...

If I stick with the i7 I will probably build a complete new rig come Skylake. If I go with Haswell now I probably won't.

What do you reccomend?
 
TBH for what your using it for id stick with what you have.
buy s new GPU if you want , everyone like a shiny upgrade after all :)
 
COH Cpu - http://www.techspot.com/review/689-company-of-heroes-2-performance/page4.html

COH Gpu - http://www.techspot.com/review/689-company-of-heroes-2-performance/page2.html


Rome 2 is a total cpu hog :

http://www.overclock.net/t/1426315/gamegpu-total-war-rome-ii-benchmarked


I'd go with the gfx card now as your i7 920 is still a decent cpu.

I would suggest a R9 290 over the 770 though, if you're not too bothered by the higher than average noise / running temps it can exhibit.

If you are & aren't in a hurry for a gpu then wait until the aftermarket 290's are released, which should run a bit cooler and quieter.

If you are & need the gpu now then I'd go for a Gtx 780 as it should last you quite a while.

I don't play Rome 2 or COH2 though so hopefully someone who does will offer their advice.
 
This thread interests me because I have an i7 930 and ARMA III multiplayer made me cry because of low FPS, like 15-20FPS. But it just that one game atm though, BF4 runs great, 60fps with spikes when something large happens.
 
I have been wanting to upgrade my [email protected] for a some time now (mainly to have something new to play with). I also run 2x 7970's with it and it runs BF4 so well still. Amazing cpu and longest I have ever kept. It is a true gem.

I'm thinking of holding off till the intel 9 series chipsets come out (haswell refresh) then I can also do broadwell if I want.

That seems the sensible option I think.
 
Hi, keep the 920 and just upgrade your GPU's to 770, 770 sli or 780 single.

Running Sli 670 stock with a 930:4.0ghz, when games start to struggle l can OC to 4.2ghz and OC the GPU'S if need be.
 
Thanks all, will stick with the i7 as there seems to be little to gain for me by upgrading. Those benhmarks are pretty revealing.

I have ordered a SSD and new storage drive and get those fitted and will get a new GPU after Xmas. Hopefully these will make it feel like a new machine. Will probably get a single card this time, got bored with updating the drivers everytime for new Sli profiles and it seems there are non for COH2 anyway.

4.5 yrs on the same CPU, a record for me! The pace of change certainly seems to be slowing down, overclocking an older chip brings in line pretty much with modern stock CPUs for games.
I think I might hold out for a couple years more and upgrade with Skylake.
 
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Just took the plunge on 4770k today.

As long as I can get it running at 4.2-4.3ish like my 920 then I'll be happy.

I was holding out for so long too. :)
 
I gave in and got me a 4930k a few weeks back ... from a 920 @ 4.2ghz. No regrets ... cpu is @ 4.7ghz wich delivers a noticable improvement for my use (VMs and Games). That's me set for another 4 years!
 
You'll need to really pay attention to notice the difference in most games especially if the 920 is properly overclocked. OCing a 920 to 4.2 Ghz is great and especially given the base clock was 2.66 Ghz (turbo 2.9ish). So massive OC potential compared to the Haswell but lower IPC.
 
OP..yes keep you 920. I'm still running mine and when overclocked the performance increase with the new cpus' is not that great to warrant a full system upgrade

I would argue the 920 is like the Q6600 a true classic.
 
easyrider said:
OP..yes keep you 920. I'm still running mine and when overclocked the performance increase with the new cpus' is not that great to warrant a full system upgrade

I would argue the 920 is like the Q6600 a true classic.
Click to expand...

I'd agree. I think the 3930k is also a classic cpu in the making now around 2 years from from release.
 
Probably been said I came from a 920 to 4770k. The improved sata and usb were worth it also things just run better on my current rig hard to put a finger to it though. In games not that much of a difference though has to be said but the overall bundle just feel right and was worth it to me alone.
 
Haven't seen it mentioned yet so I will point out that SATA3 just like PCI-E 3.0 isn't really that useful yet, HDD's are nowhere near hitting SATA2 limits and while SSD's can hit the MB/s limits with ease that's only important for copying files between SSD's, it's the IOPS of SSD's that is the king factor and so running a SATA3 SSD on a SATA2 port will not really show any perceivable difference so your good to go (unless you spend all day dragging 9GB files around your drives for fun or something).
 
ubersonic said:
Haven't seen it mentioned yet so I will point out that SATA3 just like PCI-E 3.0 isn't really that useful yet, HDD's are nowhere near hitting SATA2 limits and while SSD's can hit the MB/s limits with ease that's only important for copying files between SSD's, it's the IOPS of SSD's that is the king factor and so running a SATA3 SSD on a SATA2 port will not really show any perceivable difference so your good to go (unless you spend all day dragging 9GB files around your drives for fun or something).
Click to expand...

Well I noticed a difference in my SSD performance perhaps the intel controller is just better ?

I mean why would they offer PCIe SSD's ?
 
The biggest reason why people "feel" a new build is faster or smoother in non-taxing stuff is generally as it is a clean install of the OS and usually a new HDD/SSD. Honestly speaking, my Q6700 feels just as fast opening normal applications as does my 8320 as does my 3930k. Even my 7 year old Lenovo V100 laptop with an SSD feels nippy.

For assessing real performance differences, you need to bench. Of course the 4770k will have a higher IPC and in CPU intensive games (e.g. MMOs) you will probably notice. In more GPU-bound games, I doubt it.
 
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