Can an i7-4790K be my "Kentsfield?"

[notneps]

I have a friend who bought a Kentsfield quad-core seven years ago or so when they had just been released, and it's still running. While it's no monster by present-day standards, it's still useful, and still quite powerful considering its age. It's not on his main rig any more, of course, but he claims it's still as reliable as the day it was made.

Because I like the thought of buying something that lasts (who doesn't), I want my next motherboard-CPU combo to be as future-proof as possible. Will a Z97 board (I have the ASUS Maximus Hero VII in mind) and an i7-4790K last me seven years or more without becoming irrelevant? Or should I wait a bit till DDR3 and DDR4 prices meet halfway and get something that I can't even comprehend at the moment?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Older CPUs still perform well..... many Intel 9xx CPus are still functioning very well playing current games.

The 4790k will last for sure ..... the Hero I'm less enthused with, MSI matches it feature for feature, has better componentry, meets MIL Spec standards (hardened against heat, humidity and is water resistant) and is about $40 cheaper. It also doesn't have the BIOS Clock Freeze Bug.

http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?49989-VII-HERO-Clock-never-changes-hour
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?49904-VII-Hero-Real-Time-Clock-Issues
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?33895-Hero-Time-Clock-Problem
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?46242-Hero-boot-shutdown-time-clock-error

Asus announced two fixes, 1st was released but was only temporary, the 2nd was a BIOS fix.... announced but never released....at least not yet.

It only affects a certain % of boards so you could get lucky ... it seems to depend on whether you overclock and what features you use that trigger it. I'd pair it with a MSI 970 ..... you can read about the construction of the Asus 970 versus MSI 970 here.... pay close attention to the design of the power circuitry, regulation, chokes etc.... much of the design improvements you see in the card carry over into the MoBos .... both are Mil Spec.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/14

On X79 / X99, and on Z87/Z97 from $225 on up, the Asus MoBos are still among the best out there but in the last few years, Gigabyte and MSI have offered better componentry for less cost.

CPUs BTW, generally don't "die" ... I retired a 1986 build Wang APC just 2 years ago and have a Pentium 3 circa 200 still serving .... was a former CAD box, now a file server.

 

[CDdude55]

"Future proofing" is a nonexistent term in regards to computer technology, hardware turns irrelevant in a matter of a little over a year or sometimes in only a few months.

Haswell is a good architecture, though all Intel has really done since Sandy Bridge was lower power consumption and heat output (and also increase GPU power). But i do think it will last you a few years, depending on what you plan to do. Pair that chip with a decent GPU and you should be holding strong for some time.

X99 and DDR4 is irrelevant to people who won't use that kind of bandwidth and power, it's a platform meant for the workstation/server types really. If you're talking about gaming, you'd actually be losing money in that scenario because the power that is bought with those extra dollars wouldn't be warranted.

 

[Tradesman1]

"Future proofing" is a nonexistent term in regards to computer technology, hardware turns irrelevant in a matter of a little over a year or sometimes in only a few months.

Haswell is a good architecture, though all Intel has really done since Sandy Bridge was lower power consumption and heat output (and also increase GPU power). But i do think it will last you a few years, depending on what you plan to do. Pair that chip with a decent GPU and you should be holding strong for some time.

X99 and DDR4 is irrelevant to people who won't use that kind of bandwidth and power, it's a platform meant for the workstation/server types really. If you're talking about gaming, you'd actually be losing money in that scenario because the power that is bought with those extra dollars wouldn't be warranted.

________________

+1

Also would wait on a 970 particularly the MSI, which are plagued with coil whine issues as are some of the other brands, but also arising from their design are some prevalent fan issues, there's a thread here on Tom's and also this, on MSIs forums

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=183618.0

 

[frag06]

"Future proofing" is a nonexistent term in regards to computer technology, hardware turns irrelevant in a matter of a little over a year or sometimes in only a few months.

Haswell is a good architecture, though all Intel has really done since Sandy Bridge was lower power consumption and heat output (and also increase GPU power). But i do think it will last you a few years, depending on what you plan to do. Pair that chip with a decent GPU and you should be holding strong for some time.

X99 and DDR4 is irrelevant to people who won't use that kind of bandwidth and power, it's a platform meant for the workstation/server types really. If you're talking about gaming, you'd actually be losing money in that scenario because the power that is bought with those extra dollars wouldn't be warranted.

________________

+1

Also would wait on a 970 particularly the MSI, which are plagued with coil whine issues as are some of the other brands, but also arising from their design are some prevalent fan issues, there's a thread here on Tom's and also this, on MSIs forums

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=183618.0

Many 970's have coil whine, but with most (from threads I have read) it is very minor and can't be heard unless you have your case open and your head is close to the card.

The fan issue with the MSI 970 was caused by the sticker over the fan IIRC, and they have now removed the sticker on new cards being manufactured. It was only a problem with some cards from what I've read.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Fan issue is outdated news; in the MSI card, it's the only one in which the fans are controlled independently. The problem was when it cooled down, and fans shut down .... one of the fans wouldn't start up in some instances Was fixed after the 1st weekend after release.

 

[Tradesman1]

That and often the lead fan would shut down and the second would keep running and often speed up, which led to many RMAs some multiple, this is what I was saying about the ones sent out for review are hand picked, and find it hard to believe so many went out with these problems...it didn't affect all of them, QC maybe?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The MSI site explains the issue .... the BIOS sets the fan kick up speed which was established by testing. As anyone who has ever used case fan speed control knows, ya need more voltage to overcome inertia and get a fan started than is needed to keep a fan running. While doing the testing with well used engineering samples, and the goal being to set the min fan speed as low as possible, the fan speed at startup was set too low and that some % of new cards with new and unbroken in fan bearings are just a bit to stiff and don't "kick-start". You can confirm this yourself as shown on the MSI site video by given the stuck fan a nudge ... it immediately starts spinning.

Some users report that removing the fan sticker eliminates the problem. However, many users have noted that running the fan speed at 100% for 24 hours using Afterburner has eliminated the problem. This make sense as a new fan / bearing will be a bit stiffer when new and will loosen up a bit after a break-in period. MSI's investigations to date have determined that only certain production runs have been affected and has requested user input to identify which ones are so affected. Once done new BIOSs will be provided for those cards.

The stickers are no longer being applied and new cards have had the issue addressed. MSI also reported that any card which does not have the problem eliminated by the break in period or BIOS update will be replaced.

This is one of the reasons I suggest avoiding the bleeding edge.... while MSI introduced the fan cutoff feature in 2008 which other brands are now starting to incorporate, with the 9xx series, they introduced a new feature which uses several PCB board sensors to detect temps at various points and control the second fan independently from the 1st. Lab testing however doesn't catch everything and now that these are in the field, it's become apparent that the design needs some tweaking so that the voltage is enough to kick start those that are not loose enough and have bearings that need breaking in.