Doublecheck before I pull trigger on 7700k, a few other questions as well

[PopeCheese]

Current Build:
i5-6600k with CM 212 Evo
gigabyte aorus 1080 ti (not xtreme)
16gb DDR4 2133 RAM
650W corsair RMx gold
MSI z170a Gaming m5
1 24" 1440p 144hz monitor, two side 1080p's

As the title states, I am looking to up my 6600k to a 7700k, and possibly my RAM as well, but I can take or leave the RAM if it won't make much of a difference

I know this jump won't be a huge difference in most games currently, but I just upgraded my 1070 to the 1080TI because I had the itch, and I figure at this point I might as well just spend all my money at once and upgrade to the 7700k so I will have a machine that will last for several years without needing to be upgraded (also I still have the itch). The only reason I think I may want to wait on it would be for the coffee-lake chips. Opinions on that?

I have done my own research, and from what I can see I think I will be fine - but to be on the safe side I figure I'd double check and get some final opinions. I know some of these questions have nothing to do with the CPU but there is no general hardware section from what I can see so I thought it made the most sense to post here.

Questions:

1) I know I will need to flash my mobo to run it with this 7700k. Is it just that simple, nothing I need to be aware of or careful of when doing this?

2) I currently overclock my 6600k only to about 4ghz. I only plan on doing some light OCing on my 7700k (for now) as well, probably not exceeding 4.8. All things considered, should my cooler be able to handle this? Currently it keeps my 6600k below 60 celcius at 4.0. I had it up to 4.2 at one point and it did not exceed 65. I've got a second fan on it because I had a spare and figured why not (only comes with one), not sure how much that is helping.

3) essentially the same question as 2, but for my power supply. Again, from what I've been reading I will be just fine with my 650 with a 1080 TI and a slightly OC'd 7700k, especially since it is a solid gold rated PSU, but I want to be sure. I do not want to skimp on the PSU if it may be an issue as I know how that could result in a worst case scenario.

4) RAM. Worth it to upgrade as well? I'm fairly certain I can't expect higher than 2400 with my mobo? If a mobo upgrade would also be required to get a decent upgrade on my RAM, not sure how worth it that would be.

5) If theres anything else you feel I should be aware of feel free to let me know



Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[jankerson]

Bois flash is really that simple.

Most defiantly get a better cooler than the one you are using, it's just not good enough for the 7700K. Something like an Noctua NH U12S, NH U14S or NH D14 or NH D15 if you really want to push it.

The PSU is fine.

DDR4 3000 is a nice ram speed to have. (Will run at that speed with XMP enabled)

Seems most of the 7700K's will run at 4.8 GHz with no issues just using the BIOS CPU upgrade feature, that's a nice mild OC for the 7700K.

 

[Barty1884]

Coffee Lake is an interesting proposition, as there should be 6 core (no HT) i5's.
http://wccftech.com/intel-coffee-lake-desktop-6-core-4-core-cpu-leaked/

But, with that, the 7700K is still going to give you 4 core/8thread, and the current "king" for gaming due to it's higher clock speeds and IPC.
I think it's a solid upgrade. Some titles can take advantage of it, even now.

1. You should flash your BIOS using a bootable USB for optimal results, but I've never had any issues using the "in Windows" BIOS upgrade utilities. As for supporting the 7700K, it's as simple as that. Update BIOS, replace CPU.

2. A 212 EVO should be ok for a light OC. It's a 180TDP cooler. While 300MHz above the boost clock sounds "light", it all depends on the voltage required to get it stable. I'd suspect the 212EVO should be able to handle 4.7-4.8GHz. Not as cool as a bulkier cooler could do it, but should still be able to do it within "safe" thresholds.

3. 91W CPU + 250W GPU + balance of your components. A quality PSU in the 450W range could likely do it, and the RMx is a solid PSU. Should have no issues there.

4. With an unlocked CPU and a Z board, you can utilize speeds much >2400MHz. 3000+MHz should be achievable.
That being said, there gains are not likely to be wholesale in gaming to justify the cost. While 2133Mhz is a little underwhelming at this point on that platform, I wouldn't bother upgrading.

5. Outside of how excessive a 1080TI is for 1080p gaming? :lol: It sounds great, but even paired with a 7700K, I don't expect you'll be seeing anywhere close to it's full power. I'd suggest a 1440p @ 144Hz monitor upgrade in the (relatively) near future.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

5) If theres anything else you feel I should be aware of feel free to let me know

All of the advice already given is good.

But I would not do the upgrade. The 6600k is a very good gaming chip and will continue to be. I would take the money that I would spend on the CPU and get a good 1440p or 4k monitor with gsync. If you are gaming at 1080p, your bottleneck is not your CPU, it is your monitor. You would see little to no improvement because you should be close to maxing out your monitor refresh rate in every game at 1080p.

When you move to higher resolution, you push the bottleneck even further to the GPU.

 

[PopeCheese]

5) If theres anything else you feel I should be aware of feel free to let me know

All of the advice already given is good.

But I would not do the upgrade. The 6600k is a very good gaming chip and will continue to be. I would take the money that I would spend on the CPU and get a good 1440p or 4k monitor with gsync. If you are gaming at 1080p, your bottleneck is not your CPU, it is your monitor. You would see little to no improvement because you should be close to maxing out your monitor refresh rate in every game at 1080p.

When you move to higher resolution, you push the bottleneck even further to the GPU.

I apologize, I didn't think to mention that I currently do have a 1440p 144hz monitor, as well as two 1080p side monitors. Does that change anything for you?

 

[PopeCheese]

Coffee Lake is an interesting proposition, as there should be 6 core (no HT) i5's.
http://wccftech.com/intel-coffee-lake-desktop-6-core-4-core-cpu-leaked/

But, with that, the 7700K is still going to give you 4 core/8thread, and the current "king" for gaming due to it's higher clock speeds and IPC.
I think it's a solid upgrade. Some titles can take advantage of it, even now.

1. You should flash your BIOS using a bootable USB for optimal results, but I've never had any issues using the "in Windows" BIOS upgrade utilities. As for supporting the 7700K, it's as simple as that. Update BIOS, replace CPU.

2. A 212 EVO should be ok for a light OC. It's a 180TDP cooler. While 300MHz above the boost clock sounds "light", it all depends on the voltage required to get it stable. I'd suspect the 212EVO should be able to handle 4.7-4.8GHz. Not as cool as a bulkier cooler could do it, but should still be able to do it within "safe" thresholds.

3. 91W CPU + 250W GPU + balance of your components. A quality PSU in the 450W range could likely do it, and the RMx is a solid PSU. Should have no issues there.

4. With an unlocked CPU and a Z board, you can utilize speeds much >2400MHz. 3000+MHz should be achievable.
That being said, there gains are not likely to be wholesale in gaming to justify the cost. While 2133Mhz is a little underwhelming at this point on that platform, I wouldn't bother upgrading.

5. Outside of how excessive a 1080TI is for 1080p gaming? :lol: It sounds great, but even paired with a 7700K, I don't expect you'll be seeing anywhere close to it's full power. I'd suggest a 1440p @ 144Hz monitor upgrade in the (relatively) near future.

I actually already do have a 1440p 144, as well as two side 1080's. I should have mentioned it in my original thread and I have updated it.

Also, Could you elaborate a little more on the RAM speeds? I was under the impression I had to OC the RAM seperately from the CPU in order to push it past 2400. I have zero knowledge on RAM OCing.

Using a program like CPU-Z, whatever it reads the speed of the RAM as is what I am currently getting out of the RAM, not what the RAM is capable of, correct?

 

[Barty1884]

If you have a 1440p 144Hz monitor, the only aspect worth upgrading is the CPU. But alot depends on the titles you play and whether they can utilize >4cores/8threads. Saying that, a lot of titles are getting there, and if you want this setup to last a long time, the 7700K is a great chip.

You do "technically" OC it - but if you bought a 2133MHz "kit", chances of them doing more without severely loosening timings or upping voltage, is unlikely.
The "kits" sold as 3000MHz+ etc have an "XMP Profile", which you enable in the BIOS. Yes, technically this is a version of an OC - but it's a one (two?) click deal in the BIOS to obtain.

CPU-z will show half the value of it's current speed (as DDR = Double Data Rate). So double it, and that's what the RAM is currently doing.

Take a look in your BIOS and select "XMP" if there are any profiles in there, try one and see what's being reported. 2133MHz is the JEDEC standard that all DDR4 will run at out of the box. XMP is how you get it to speeds above that (or manual OCing).

 

[feelinfroggy777]

5) If theres anything else you feel I should be aware of feel free to let me know

All of the advice already given is good.

But I would not do the upgrade. The 6600k is a very good gaming chip and will continue to be. I would take the money that I would spend on the CPU and get a good 1440p or 4k monitor with gsync. If you are gaming at 1080p, your bottleneck is not your CPU, it is your monitor. You would see little to no improvement because you should be close to maxing out your monitor refresh rate in every game at 1080p.

When you move to higher resolution, you push the bottleneck even further to the GPU.

I apologize, I didn't think to mention that I currently do have a 1440p 144hz monitor, as well as two 1080p side monitors. Does that change anything for you?

Then go for the 7700k. It is a great chip. I would not change the RAM. With Intel chips RAM speeds have little to no performance increase.

As for clock speeds and cooling, you should be able to get 4.8 with decent temps on the 212 EVO, but that depends a lot on the silicon lottery. I hit 5ghz at 1.34 volts on my 7700k. My temps under load are between 70-80, but I have liquid cooling. With the amount of money you have spent on your rig, you may want to consider a better cooler than the 212. If you like air cooling, you cant go wrong with Noctua as they are the Lexus of air cooling. You can get a good AIO liquid cooler for a $100 if your case can support it.