Am I doing something wrong?

r3v3ng3

Honorable
Aug 21, 2012
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I want to get an i7-4790k for my new build with a H97 board. I don't want to overclock. Although I feel bad for not getting a Z97 board. Is this wrong? Should I feel bad about this?

I was originally going to buy an i5-4690 with the H97 board and get a 500gb SSD, but decided to reduce the SSD to 120gb and use the money saved for the better CPU.
 
Solution
Neither. I would want the i7 4790. If you get the i5 you are going to wish you had hyperthreading to keep that processor relavent as newer faster quad cores become available and quad core becomes the base requirement. If you bought the K when you are replacing this entire system all together you will have wished you had saved the money on your processor, motherboard and potentially power supply and have it ready for your next build because on the horizon a quad core hyperthreaded processor is going to replaced with 6, 8, 12 and 14 cores, they are already here, just becoming more consumer grade.

Save that money on the k variant of the i7, the higher feature motherboard and the higher amperage power supply and get the 980 over the 970...
Also would the i7-4790k be more future-proof for gaming anyway? If games start to use more threads, require higher clock speeds. It would simplify upgrading in the future to where I would just need to change the gpu.
 
I don't think that this is a debate for what processor to get, but whether or not to overclock. Overclocking is not going to put your cpu or gpu in a new class of performance. Just squeeze the most performance out of what you have. It is absolutely unnecessary and requires you to ensure that you have an adequate power supply, motherboard and cooling.

That said, it is fun and awesome and gives you all kinds of wicked awesome bragging rights.
 
Maybe I should ask a different question. In terms of longevity, which CPU would last the longest (not lifespan, but rather compatibility/relevance with software and gaming specs), the i5-4690 or i7-4790k (both at stock)?

And also when it comes time to upgrade, would you rather have a rig with a i5-4690 and gtx980 to upgrade, or an i7-4790k with a gtx970 to upgrade?

These are my two major issues, since the two questions are related, my thoughts are, the i7 will be useful for longer as it has the capacity to take me to a point where games begin using more threads, require higher clock speeds, so when it comes time to upgrade in ~3 years, I will be able to get away with just changing the gpu. Where as the i5 build, might need a new cpu and motherboard, and gpu. Of course this could all be irrelevant if the gaming industry does not utilise the need for more threads and higher clock speeds from a cpu in this time frame.

I guess its really just a gamble cause 3 years could come and the i5 could still be fine and I would still only need a new gpu, in fact I could just skip the i7, stay with an i5 and just get a bigger SSD and keep a gtx970 rather than a gtx980.

Im just trying to future-proof my pc, to minimise costs in the long run. Just confused on which to go with, argh these damn first world problems.
 
Neither. I would want the i7 4790. If you get the i5 you are going to wish you had hyperthreading to keep that processor relavent as newer faster quad cores become available and quad core becomes the base requirement. If you bought the K when you are replacing this entire system all together you will have wished you had saved the money on your processor, motherboard and potentially power supply and have it ready for your next build because on the horizon a quad core hyperthreaded processor is going to replaced with 6, 8, 12 and 14 cores, they are already here, just becoming more consumer grade.

Save that money on the k variant of the i7, the higher feature motherboard and the higher amperage power supply and get the 980 over the 970, performance that you will see that will last.

 
Solution


Ok I see what you're saying. You don't think the extra ~$44 (AUD) is worth the increase base clock speed on the 4790k? Also I can't make enough savings even with the changes to non k i7 to get a 980.
This is the build I've come up with:

CPU - Intel i7-4790 (385)
MB - Asus H97 Pro (139)
HDD - Seagate 2tb SSHD (135)
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO 250Gb (145)
RAM - 16Gb Kit 1600 G-Skill Trident-X (205)
GPU - 4Gb GTX 970 Gigabyte G1 Gaming (519)
PSU - Seasonic G-550 (115)
Case - Phanteks Enthoo Pro (119)
Case Fans - Corsair 4xSP140 (70)
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212x (42)
Optical Drive - Samsung DVD-RW (18)

Total - 1892

Trying to keep things under 2000 AUD.