Best upgrade for the money?

[RaymondSWalters]

hi tomshardware community!

Ive changed my mind on AMD and want to upgrade to intel

My current system:
crosshair v formula z
fx 6300 oc (corsair h110 cooling)
8b 1600mhz
R9 280x oc (thermaltake 3.0 pro cooling)
antec HCG 900w

i'm lokking at the MSI Z97 Gaming 7 mobo
with either the i5 4690k or i7 4790k cpu
(I will be upgrading my gpu to nvidia soon as I get the money)
my only questions are:

1. is that mobo the best for its price or is there better for the same price? (must be ATX and LGA 1150)

2. Is the mentioned i7 worth it over the i5 (best possible fps in gaming)

3. will overclocking the cpus greatly improve gaming performance, if not should I rather get the cheaper non-k versions

4. will my RAM need an upgrade?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Brighttail]

1. MSI z97 Gaming 7 is a good motherboard you can also go with the Asus Z97 Hero VII
2. I7 is much better and speedier than the i5 in multithreaded applications, you will get speed boots and more performance in gaming.
3. This is a tough one, sometimes you will get a chip that can go from 3.4Ghz to 4.6 with no issues, other times you'll be lucky to hit 4.0. Unfortunately there is no way to tell what chip you will get in the chip lottery. Supposedly the newer Refresh CPUs have a better chance at being able to be over clocked consistently.
4 - So long as you have DDR 3 Ram you don't need to upgrade.

 

[HertzKnight]

1)Now the Gaming 7 is a nice motherboard, but I don't think its the best bang for your buck. I think the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer might be the best bang for the buck right now. I ahven't used ASRock yet, but I heard great things.
2)If this is a gaming rig, you should stick to the i5 4690K as you won't see any benefit of an i7.
3)Not by signicficantly large amount and only if you are overclocking.
4)Your RAM should be fine (however, please check to see if the RAM is 1.5V or under.)

Tom's did a review of motherboard recent. Here is the article

Though I would honestly say wait on building a new pc as yours should be able to handle almost everything and your GPU is still pretty good.

 

[Math Geek]

you can save a few dollars with an msi gaming 5 instead of the 7. only differnce is 2 more sata slots and a couple more usb 3.0 ports 4 vs 8. unless you need 8 usb 3.0 ports it's about a $25 difference.

the i7 is considered overkill for gaming unless you plan to use it for video/audio work or graphics design as most games see much of an improvement. (going by all the reviews and benchmarks around) the 4690k is the sweet spot for gaming and is considered the best bang for the buck right now for gaming. but if you have the budget and can afford it the i7 can't hurt your system.

overclocking can offer worthwhile improvement in your games if you're lucky and get a cpu that will overclock well. make sure you have good cooling and case airflow if you plan on doing this as it will produce a lot of heat and this will need to be moved out of the case. a good air cooler or even water cooling is a MUST if you plan on doing and serious overclocking.

i am using a 4690k on the msi gaming 5 with a hyper evo 212 cooler and have a modest overclock of 4.0 ghz (stock is 3.5 ghz) and have no issues with temps of the cpu or case (monster HAF XB case which has great airflow). i won't go any higher with this cooler but it's more than enough for me.

 

[nucolos]

1. if price is an issue then i wouldnt recommend the gaming 7 mobo, i have the gaming 5 and its great.
2. With the i7 you will have better fps in some games, but not that many. its not worth it if you are just going to be gaming.
3. If you already have the H110, you should definetly buy the K version of whatever cpu you buy.
4. No, faster ram doesnt make a difference.

 

[RaymondSWalters]

Thanks to all for your great answers
They really helped!