CPU Bottleneck? Help appreciated!

[ksred]

Hey everyone,

I recently upgraded my GPU from a GTX 580 to a 780 and I love it, at times...
In singleplayer games such as Bioshock, Borderlands, BF4 Campaign etc it works beautifully maxing everything out perfectly whilst at 98% or so usage.
In multiplayer games that are more CPU dependent, this changes. BF4, GW2 etc all give me a stuttery experience with FPS drops into the 50s whilst at 50-70% GPU usage. Crysis 3 is an exception to this, where multiplayer runs silky smooth with 98-99% usage.
After looking around I hear that my GPU is clearly good enough for BF4 (my main concern) but my CPU may be bottlenecking it. I don't understand much of the technical stuff when it comes to CPUs so I am seeking your wisdom.

i7 980 @ 3.33Ghz, OCed to 4Ghz, water cooled
Zotac GTX 780 3GB AMP! Edition, (idle temp - 29 degrees, load temp - 66-70 degrees.)
12GB RAM
Windows 7 (going to try W8 soon because I hear it is better optimised for multi-core cpus)
Playing at 1080p single monitor

Any help is appreciated, I just want to play BF4 etc with a good fps.
Let me know if you need anymore info.
Thanks!

 

[Supahos]

That is why people say its useless to build on 2011 socket boards, by the time technology has gone too far for a 4770k to keep up the 6 core $1000 processor wont last much longer.

 

[PatriotZKing]

^^
True, but then again, when is it ever a good time to build a computer? Technology advances super fast

 

[ksred]

Thank you for all the help. I think I'll try and sell my 980 and get an i5 4670k and a good mobo for it. That shouldn't bottleneck it should it? Do you think its capable of handling a second 780 in sli without bottlenecking?

Thanks!

 

[EvgaLover]

it all comes down to your psu. Remember to update your bios aswell

 

[Supahos]

Thank you for all the help. I think I'll try and sell my 980 and get an i5 4670k and a good mobo for it. That shouldn't bottleneck it should it? Do you think its capable of handling a second 780 in sli without bottlenecking?

Thanks!

That cpu won't bottleneck anything though unless you plan to run 3 monitors or try 4k gaming there won't be a need for a second 780. There are no games on the market that the 4670k has enough lower performance than anything on the market to worry about.

 

[ksred]

it all comes down to your psu. Remember to update your bios aswell

I have a 700w PSU. Seems to be in good shape

 

[Supahos]

Do know that it "might" be necessary to get a new PSU... when haswell goes in to idle mode it drops the voltages extremely low and some power supplies can't wake them back up. I'm sure the one you bought wasn't haswell rated when you bought it as haswell wasn't even a thought yet, but I would just try what you have now unless you find somewhere saying it isn't capable at all, and go into it knowing you may have to buy a new one.

 

[ksred]

Do know that it "might" be necessary to get a new PSU... when haswell goes in to idle mode it drops the voltages extremely low and some power supplies can't wake them back up. I'm sure the one you bought wasn't haswell rated when you bought it as haswell wasn't even a thought yet, but I would just try what you have now unless you find somewhere saying it isn't capable at all, and go into it knowing you may have to buy a new one.

Thanks for the heads up, my PSU is an OCZ XStream 700W. If I try a Haswell chip with this PSU and it's not good enough, will it damage the chip/motherboard in any way, or will it just not work properly?

Damn... With all these costs adding up it may just be cheaper to turn to console gaming after my PS4 arrives... -_-

 

[Supahos]

Do know that it "might" be necessary to get a new PSU... when haswell goes in to idle mode it drops the voltages extremely low and some power supplies can't wake them back up. I'm sure the one you bought wasn't haswell rated when you bought it as haswell wasn't even a thought yet, but I would just try what you have now unless you find somewhere saying it isn't capable at all, and go into it knowing you may have to buy a new one.

Thanks for the heads up, my PSU is an OCZ XStream 700W. If I try a Haswell chip with this PSU and it's not good enough, will it damage the chip/motherboard in any way, or will it just not work properly?

Damn... With all these costs adding up it may just be cheaper to turn to console gaming after my PS4 arrives... -_-

Won't hurt anything it will just fail to wake up once you let it go idle, and you'll have to flip the power switch off and back on to get it to wake up.

Yikes the reviews of that PS are vicious... You might have gotten a good one however. Just know that if everything seems fine then it won't wake up, nothing likely died your PS is just not "haswell" ready.

 

[ksred]

Won't hurt anything it will just fail to wake up once you let it go idle, and you'll have to flip the power switch off and back on to get it to wake up.

Yikes the reviews of that PS are vicious... You might have gotten a good one however. Just know that if everything seems fine then it won't wake up, nothing likely died your PS is just not "haswell" ready.

Awesome stuff, thank you so much, you've been an incredible help.

Haha, yup. That PSU was bought as a gift in someways and I had no control in choosing it, but I will definitely pick a better one up when changing.

One very last question. I keep juggling between the i5 4670k and the i7 4770k. I know the i5 is plenty for my gaming needs, however I also record, render and occasionally stream gaming videos. Would the i7 be better suited for this or more future proof etc?

Thank you kindly!

 

[Supahos]

Won't hurt anything it will just fail to wake up once you let it go idle, and you'll have to flip the power switch off and back on to get it to wake up.

Yikes the reviews of that PS are vicious... You might have gotten a good one however. Just know that if everything seems fine then it won't wake up, nothing likely died your PS is just not "haswell" ready.

Awesome stuff, thank you so much, you've been an incredible help.

Haha, yup. That PSU was bought as a gift in someways and I had no control in choosing it, but I will definitely pick a better one up when changing.

One very last question. I keep juggling between the i5 4670k and the i7 4770k. I know the i5 is plenty for my gaming needs, however I also record, render and occasionally stream gaming videos. Would the i7 be better suited for this or more future proof etc?

Thank you kindly!

That is a very tough question. As you see with your current rig it became "slow" about the same time as the regular I7s did the extra threads didn't save its usefulness. I don't know where the future is going it seems to be headed to multicore apps, but all it takes is someone figuring out how to make a quadcore with a 10ghz clockspeed and 3x more IPC to completely change the way things are headed. For just gaming the 4670k is plenty, If you honestly stream a decent amount of time, or do legitimate rendering for more than 5~10 mins right now the 4770k might be more of a help. Just comes down to how much does $100 mean to you vs a few fps or or seconds rendering?

 

[ksred]

Won't hurt anything it will just fail to wake up once you let it go idle, and you'll have to flip the power switch off and back on to get it to wake up.

Yikes the reviews of that PS are vicious... You might have gotten a good one however. Just know that if everything seems fine then it won't wake up, nothing likely died your PS is just not "haswell" ready.

Awesome stuff, thank you so much, you've been an incredible help.

Haha, yup. That PSU was bought as a gift in someways and I had no control in choosing it, but I will definitely pick a better one up when changing.

One very last question. I keep juggling between the i5 4670k and the i7 4770k. I know the i5 is plenty for my gaming needs, however I also record, render and occasionally stream gaming videos. Would the i7 be better suited for this or more future proof etc?

Thank you kindly!

That is a very tough question. As you see with your current rig it became "slow" about the same time as the regular I7s did the extra threads didn't save its usefulness. I don't know where the future is going it seems to be headed to multicore apps, but all it takes is someone figuring out how to make a quadcore with a 10ghz clockspeed and 3x more IPC to completely change the way things are headed. For just gaming the 4670k is plenty, If you honestly stream a decent amount of time, or do legitimate rendering for more than 5~10 mins right now the 4770k might be more of a help. Just comes down to how much does $100 mean to you vs a few fps or or seconds rendering?

I plan on streaming daily as soon as my internet speeds are fixed. Thank you for your help.

Looks like I'm going to have to save for a few months and then I'll buy my new case, motherboard, CPU and PSU all at once. Hopefully the switch-over goes well.

Thanks a bunch for the help!