Absolute best CPU I can afford for my 1150 mobo?

[turtleinacatsuit]

Sorry, I made a similar thread an hour or two ago but didn't really phrase my question properly.

I'm just looking to get the most out of my GTX-770 on any modern game.
I really would prefer to not spend much more than ~250$.

Again, I have a GTX 770 and an ASRock H97M Anniversary LGA 1150

What I'm looking at:

[i5-4440](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116942)

[i5-4590](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116991)

[i5-4690K](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117372)

[i5-4570](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116896)

[i5-4670](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116898)

[i5-4670K](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899)

[i7-4770](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116900)

[Xeon E3-1241](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117315&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=)

etc. etc. etc. I feel like there are a thousand different options, and I'm just looking to boil them down to what would be most beneficial given my setup / expectations.

I've been told that the Xeon is the best I could do, as well as a handful of others, I'm just looking for a bit more input before I place my order.

 

[turtleinacatsuit]

dont get a xeon for gaming lol the 4790K is the best 1150 chip out there. besides, an 8320(not saying you have an 8320) could fully utilize a 770... instead of upgrading your cpu, upgrade your GPU to a 970 or 980.

I thought it was a BUDGET issue since the i7-4790K is about $300. He mentioned it later so not sure where he stands.

Note that I screwed up with the i5-4690K running at 4.4GHz. It doesn't. The i7-4790K however MAY be able to run at 4.4GHz though he'd contact Asrock on that.

To be clear (now) the choices come down something like THIS:

#1 - i7-4790K -> only if 4.4GHz is supported

#2 - the XEON linked -> same as i7 if the i7 only runs at 3.9GHz (plus some missing GPU features)

#3 - the i5-4690

These are all compatible. The XEON is the same as the i5-4690 but has hyperthreading which CAN help at times so if the price is similar it's fine.

Sorry again for the confusion.

*so my advice is contact ASROCK about the i7-4790K's ability to run at 4.4GHz. If it doesn't, or the price is too high then I'd get the XEON instead. Again, the XEON linked has hyperthreading but does not have GPU features. Hyperthreading may not help all the time but it can at times. There are only TWO current games I'm aware of that have issues with HT (well they're older ones).

I'm totally prepared to get the i7-4790k, I'm just trying to figure out whether "neweggflash.com" is reputable, or if there's some catch.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

 

[Robertwhyte]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

untrue, it may not be substantial, but try putting a 4690k up against a 4790K in 3D mark firestrike and then compare the physics scores.

 

[turtleinacatsuit]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

This is what I'm talking about. Everytime I think I've reached a verdict someone comes with conflicting information.
Guess I'll let you battle it out with the hoards of people that agree and disagree with you, meanwhile I'll leave feeling I've made the wrong choice...

The i7-4790k is 299$ right now on Tigerdirect. It's in my cart and I'm prepared to check out. If there's something less than 300$ that will offer performance that is comparable, of course I'd rather choose that!

The least money and the most performance possible is what I'm looking for. If I'm paying the extra money for an i7 and the difference is negligible compared to a cheaper i5, of course I'll choose the i5, but I personally have no clue, and the people that seem to have detractors saying the opposite.

:/

 

[Thaisnang]

The best possible price to performance ratio would be the 4590/4690K.
And gains from the 4790K over 4590/4690K is not much. There is no harm in getting a i7 4790K you just won't get the best performance for your money in gaming it is simple as that.

 

[Robertwhyte]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

This is what I'm talking about. Everytime I think I've reached a verdict someone comes with conflicting information.
Guess I'll let you battle it out with the hoards of people that agree and disagree with you, meanwhile I'll leave feeling I've made the wrong choice...

The i7-4790k is 299$ right now on Tigerdirect. It's in my cart and I'm prepared to check out. If there's something less than 300$ that will offer performance that is comparable, of course I'd rather choose that!

The least money and the most performance possible is what I'm looking for. If I'm paying the extra money for an i7 and the difference is negligible compared to a cheaper i5, of course I'll choose the i5, but I personally have no clue, and the people that seem to have detractors saying the opposite.

:/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0HlPN-69ck

this should help, the 4790k vastly outperforms the 4690k

 

[turtleinacatsuit]

The best possible price to performance ratio would be the 4590/4690K.
And gains from the 4790K over 4590/4690K is not much. There is no harm in getting a i7 4790K you just won't get the best performance for your money in gaming it is simple as that.

Really, thanks everyone for your input.
So I guess it's boiled down to 4590 vs 4690k.
I'm leaning towards the 4690k simply by virtue of the possibility of overclocking, worst case scenario I wasted 20$.
Sorry for coming off as a dullard guys I'm just trying to get to the bottom of all this.

If I feel the need to upgrade to an i7 later on, I will, but in the meantime, I'm just happy to get rid of this fm2+ shit. :lol:

 

[GRUxTSAR]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

This is what I'm talking about. Everytime I think I've reached a verdict someone comes with conflicting information.
Guess I'll let you battle it out with the hoards of people that agree and disagree with you, meanwhile I'll leave feeling I've made the wrong choice...

The i7-4790k is 299$ right now on Tigerdirect. It's in my cart and I'm prepared to check out. If there's something less than 300$ that will offer performance that is comparable, of course I'd rather choose that!

The least money and the most performance possible is what I'm looking for. If I'm paying the extra money for an i7 and the difference is negligible compared to a cheaper i5, of course I'll choose the i5, but I personally have no clue, and the people that seem to have detractors saying the opposite.

:/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0HlPN-69ck

this should help, the 4790k vastly outperforms the 4690k

That proves nothing. That is a very unrealistic benchmark. NOBODY will take an $800 780ti and start playing at 720p

 

[GRUxTSAR]

You're aware that i7s and Xeons have ZERO benefits for gaming right? i5s are the way to go

untrue, it may not be substantial, but try putting a 4690k up against a 4790K in 3D mark firestrike and then compare the physics scores.

That's a synthetic benchmark, not a realistic gaming situation. Say you have a GPU like a 970 that'll run everything at 1080p 60fps maxed. You take an i5 and i7. Both the CPUs will perform exactly alike. You wont get some huge gain just because it's an i7. i7s are for video editing, streaming, rendering etc, not gaming. That's why i5s exist

 

[GRUxTSAR]

The best possible price to performance ratio would be the 4590/4690K.
And gains from the 4790K over 4590/4690K is not much. There is no harm in getting a i7 4790K you just won't get the best performance for your money in gaming it is simple as that.

Really, thanks everyone for your input.
So I guess it's boiled down to 4590 vs 4690k.
I'm leaning towards the 4690k simply by virtue of the possibility of overclocking, worst case scenario I wasted 20$.
Sorry for coming off as a dullard guys I'm just trying to get to the bottom of all this.

If I feel the need to upgrade to an i7 later on, I will, but in the meantime, I'm just happy to get rid of this fm2+ shit. :lol:

Get an i5-4670 non K. You can't overclock with H97 unless it's Pentium G3258 (Provided your motherboard supports it). You could theoretically overclock an i5 if H97 OCing is supported, but your motherboard wouldn't be able to handle it safe + stable

 

[Mac266]

Lots of conjecture here.

First up, you are getting a H97 board, so no big overclocks for you. So a 4790k or 4690k are kinda pointless (the i7 less so, because of the Turbo speed).

So a locked 4790 becomes the go to high end option. But It's a bit expensive. So a Xeon E3 1241v3, which is basically a I7 clocked a tad lower, is your best bet. Many people will tell you it's a server CPU, so It can't game. Which is false.

And if you wanted to spend less, the i5 4590 is the bang/buck favourite.

 

[nikoli707]

either get the xeon 1241v3, or save your money and get the i5-4460.

that said, many non z board have certain overclock settings unlockable, though its very model specific. if your h97m anniversary is capable, and factor in a $30 cpu cooler, the 4690k would easily be the best for gaming.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

OP just get i5 4590/4670. It's the most sensible choice. Don't get an Xeon or i7. You'll see ZERO difference between an i5 and Xeon/i7 with a GTX 770

 

[Mac266]

OP just get i5 4590/4670. It's the most sensible choice. Don't get an Xeon or i7. You'll see ZERO difference between an i5 and Xeon/i7 with a GTX 770

You're basically right, but when you can get a Xeon with hyperthreading for the same price it becomes the better option.

Newer games are 'meant' to be multithreaded, or are at least going that way. So the Xeon, which has 8 threads will be more "future proof".

 

[nikoli707]

all things said and done, for 1080p gaming(max or near max settings) any sandy bridge or later i5 clocked to 3.2ghz will game just as good as a 4790k@4.5ghz. the fps difference in most cases is 1-3fps with a few cases getting closer to 10fps "peak". the cases where 10fps can be gained are battlefield 4 multiplayer and games that are already running at 100fps+, and again these are peak fps, not average or low. 99th percentile frames in almost every game is 1-3fps difference. if your on a 120/144hz monitor, the extra 5-10fps in certain games could be helpful, but considering the equipment needed to run something like battlefield 4 at above 100fps, then were already talking at least sli/cfx 780s/290s, and one wouldn't skimp on the cpu in this case anyways since you already have a higher end monitor, dual gpus, a nice power supply, and sli/cfx capable motherboard.

for the sake of "easy", just get the cheapest i5 you can get, either the i5-4440/i5-4460, and save yourself some money. or spend your full budget and get the xeon.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

OP just get i5 4590/4670. It's the most sensible choice. Don't get an Xeon or i7. You'll see ZERO difference between an i5 and Xeon/i7 with a GTX 770

You're basically right, but when you can get a Xeon with hyperthreading for the same price it becomes the better option.

Newer games are 'meant' to be multithreaded, or are at least going that way. So the Xeon, which has 8 threads will be more "future proof".

IF they are the same price, get the Xeon because as you said, that will be more future proof.

 

[photonboy]

Short answer is:
BEST PERFORMANCE - i7-4790K
BEST VALUE - XEON (model linked) if similar price to the i5-4690

Based on your comments I recommend the Xeon if it's almost the same price as the i5-4690 otherwise get the i5-4690 (or i5-4690K if the same price as the i5-4690 for some reason).

I wouldn't drop down to a cheaper i5.

LONG ANSWER:
*Okay, I admit I made a mistake with the i5-4690K frequency (confused with the i7) but I want to refresh the choices because some misinformation is STILL being passed on. In terms of PERFORMANCE (not value) the three choices are in order:

#1 - i7-4790K
- can run at 4.4GHz on an H97 board if supported (probably is but can confirm with Asrock)
- has Hyperthreading (theoretically up to 30% faster at same frequency if all threads are used. Helps for video editing and a few games. May help for games in the future vs the i5-4690 especially with the higher clock speed as well)

#2 - XEON (the model linked at top)
- identical to the i7-4790K except for TWO things:
a) runs at 3.9GHz, and
b) has no GPU features (probably don't care)

#3 - i5-4690/i5-4690K
- runs at 3.9GHz
- no hyperthreading capability like the top two
- does have the GPU features

SUMMARY:
For MOST games the i5-4690/i5-4690K will be identical to the top two.

It's hard to predict the FUTURE but the i7-4790K (if running at 4.4GHz) with HT has about 45% theoretical more processing power compared to the i5-4690 at 3.9GHz and no HT. I personally think it will only help a small bit in some games at least over the next two years.

The XEON if similarly priced to the i5-4690 is a good choice if the GPU features aren't needed since it's otherwise identical to the i5-4690 but has hyperthreading which may or may not be used but really doesn't hurt (a few games had issues but I only know of two older ones that still do).

 

[GRUxTSAR]

Guys, the i7 will be far obsolete by time it EVER becomes a bottleneck