Upgrade from 4690k

Recently the 4.5Ghz overclock I've had on my 4690k for over two years has become unstable and I've had to drop down to, at first to 4.4Ghz and now 4.3Ghz in order to keep it stable.

I get the feeling that it's time for a replacement and I've been pondering my upgrade options.

I really like my current motherboard and RAM setup so simply swapping out the i5 for a 4790k is quite appealing.

I don't think the cost of buying a new motherboard, DDR4 RAM and CPU is really worth it considering the performance gains.

I do notice a few odd CPU limits in some games, even with my GTX980.
GTA V frequently pushes the CPU to 100% across all cores for example.

Just interested in what you guys think.
Is the 4790k a good option at this point or do you think I should just put up with the lower clock speed and wait for a full CPU, mobo and RAM upgrade later down the line?

 

How much can you get a 4790k for? If not too expensive, I'd go with it. 2400mhz ram is still nice, extra threads would help.

 

You should probably think about getting a CPU with more cores. X99 and Ryzen comes in mind. Dont go 4690k to 4790k, its not an upgrade and just another quad-core.

I would suggest you wait a Ryzen5 6c/12t CPU's, look at some benchmarks then decide.

 

Going Ryzen or x99 would cost 400/even more. If he wants a cheap boost and mainly games, 4790k at 4.5ghz+ will be better than Ryzen and probably better than 6800k. And it could cost peanuts.

 

I can get a 4790k for around £200 to £220 on eBay. maybe a bit less if I shop around forum sale sections and Facebook etc..

I agree with both of you though. 4790k is far cheaper. £220 is nothing compared to the cost of new RAM, a new motherboard and CPU. However I doubt it will be a massive upgrade and certainty won't bring me any new features.

I have considered Ryzen and I will wait until Ryzen 5 is released but at the moment it looks as if a 4790k will be a better option for games.
I probably should have said in my first post but I pretty much only use this PC for games. I don't do any video work or content creation so the extra power of Ryzen would be wasted on me.

However, I do agree that going from 4 cores to 4 cores is not much of an upgrade. I was quite disappointed when I went from my quad core Q9650 to the 4690k as it wasn't the massive leap up in performance I was lead to believe it was.

 

If you are using your PC strictly for gaming even your current 4690k is enough. At 4.3ghz its fast as 6600k 3.9ghz (stock), thats a still fairly decent gaming chip.

Dont bother yourself with high CPU usage in CPU demanding games, it does not mean your CPU will hold you back. I've seen Watch Dogs 2 pushing 7700k 100% on all 8 threads but it still runs better than on Ryzen 1700 where CPU is only at 50%.

 

Yeah, i5 will be ok for games, unless you play specific games that are CPU heavy and use more threads. A 4790k would help in mmos and racing sims for example. I play a lot of those so I got a 7700k. Also, real time strategy games utilising a lot of units on the screen could take advantage of an i7.

 

Good point. I suppose unless I'm getting any serious CPU bottlenecks it's not really worth it.

I do notice a few times that GPU usage dips below 90% however, and I do have a 1080p 144Hz Gsync monitor so I can make use of the extra frames.

 

Get that 4790k or maaybe 5775c if you find it cheap - but it oc less.

Ht will help and lower overall cpu usage.

 

Funny you should mention the 5775C TJ.
My original plan when I first built this PC was to eventually upgrade to the Broadwell i7 when I needed the upgrade.
However the socket 1150 Broadwells turned out to be a bit disappointing and I never upgraded.
The cheapest 5775c I can find is £330 and I think it's been said before it's not worth the money.

Yeah I'm going to wait for benchmarks of Ryzen 5 to come in before I do anything kastriot. If it beats a 4790k for gaming then I'll consider it.
Even if the performance docent match up, the price of secondhand i7s will probably go down a bit as a result of it's release.

 

And spending even more money on something that will be slower is a good idea why exactly?

 

Come on. There's no need for that.

PCs are very personal things, it's in the name. If they work for the owner that's all that matters at the end of the day. For me, more than 4 cores would be overkill at this juncture.
Yes, further down the line 6 or 8 cores may become a better option for games, but we just don't know. Some people, myself included, are not willing to fork out the extra £££ for the chance that it will.

 

By the time Zen is faster we will already have Zen+ and 6 core i5s.

Architectural weaknesses prevent Zen from being a very good gaming CPU at this time.

OP i recommend you to keep what you have unless you find a really good deal on an i7.

Zen is not a good platform to upgrade to yet due to numerous issues, especially for games.

 

Yes, I think I agree.
I'll stick with what I have for now unless it dies suddenly or I can find a cheep 4790k.

 

Its not so bad by current scenario either, ok only by very poorly coded games for example Fallout4, Hitman, TotalWar (or its highly intel tuned), rest looks good..
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_7_1800X/10.html

Imo the only real weakness is its low clocks, if it OC @ 4.4 - 4.6 ghz instead of 4.0-4.2ghz it would be a lot better for sure

 

It's going to be interesting when the Ryzen 5 range comes out. Surely the 4c/8t chips should reach 4.5GHz fairly easily and the 6c/12t 4.4GHz max?

 

I get it. You having a x5650 makes Ryzen a better gaming cpu than 4790k. Cool story.

 

Those Civ VI results are interesting. I had no idea it was so multi threaded.
I play allot of Civ.

Honestly, if Ryzen could reliably reach 4.5Ghz and support faster memory, I probably would have bought one by now.

 

Op, Have you tried upping the voltage to maintain stability on your 4,5Ghz?

 

Any chance it's your motherboard that is actually giving up the ghost? I can see flailing VRM before the actual CPU gets degradation.