i5-4690k --- what's a worthwhile upgrade?

[toshibitsu]

This cpu is in a pc I have out in my living room that's mostly used for gaming & watching movies. I was thinking it's about time to upgrade the thing.

Specs currently: i5-4690k, 16gb ddr3, 500gb ssd, 2tb hdd, gtx 1070 ti.

I was thinking about upgrading to an i5-8400 or ryzen 5 2600... but from benchmarks/testing, it doesn't look like either of those would make a worthwile upgrade. Would I have to just spend the extra money and go with an i7-8700k?

 

[Loadedaxe]

I wouldn't upgrade unless your in need. Intel isnt releasing anything earth shattering this year and we know what AMD has released.

Ryzen is a steal for the 2600 at $189 but you wont see that much if any improvement in games currently. Not to mention, DDR4 ram is still currently outrageous.

I would wait until next year.

 

[WildCard999]

Agreed, unless your having performance issues then there's really no reason to upgrade. Have you overclocked that 4690K yet? If not and if you have a Z87/Z97 motherboard with decent cooling I would think around 4.2-4.4 should be achievable.

 

[toshibitsu]

I have not tried overclocking it because it's in an EVGA Hadron Air case. No room in there for a water cooler(unless I remove the HDD bracket & figure out where to put the drives). Supposedly it can fit a Noctua NH-U9S... but will be incredibly cramped.

I did see someone on Craigslist selling brand new NZXT Manta cases for $50. Only downside is I'm in San Diego and the seller is in Los Angeles(that drive sucks).

 

[WildCard999]

I see, yea I had a Hadron Air and it was tough to work in although I think a LP Noctua may be able to squeeze out a decent OC (4.2?). I have seen ppl rig up a 240mm radiator on the top of the case and run the tubing through the back of the case but it's a bit of a project and realistically would probably only give you a few hundred more mhz on the overclock which is probably not worth it.

If you do have a substantial amount of money burning a hole in your pocket then you probably could just go 8700K/Noctua LP/Z370 ITX & 16gb RAM in that Hadron Air.
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4690K/3937vs2432

The multicore performance is much better but single/quad core performance isn't that much of a improvement which IMHO doesn't really make it a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[toshibitsu]

It looks like I checked ebay at the right time. The EVGA Hadron Hydro(same case but with extra room up top for water cooling) is showing as new for $89. That case was around $200 for the longest time. I'm going to order that. Then it's just a matter of what water cooler to go with...

 

[WildCard999]

Will it support a AIO or is it a custom loop?

 

[toshibitsu]

sorry, I was outside working on my mountain bike :0

Looks like EVGA makes their own custom kit. which is out of stock everywhere.. yay

Although according to 'EVGA_JacobF'(admin on the evga forums) it's compatible with "many" aftermarket AIO coolers.


I will say I love my Hadron Air case so definitely going to try out the Hydro.

 

[WildCard999]

If you go for a new build I'd suggest removing the HDD brackets and using a M.2 SSD for storage, this should give you a bit more room for cooling and potential mods. I saw some pics of ppl who drilled holes in the front of the case for airflow and was able to put a 120mm AIO where the HDD cages where. It's a good way of putting water cooling into the case without having to put anything outside of it.

 

[Loadedaxe]

Is there a reason you have to use the EVGA Hadron?

The Fractal ITX case is a decent one with better airflow and room for better coolers, still very small and better cable management.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352062&cm_re=define_nano-_-11-352-062-_-Product

I have that case with my 6600k in it OC to 4.6 Ghz with a Bequiet Shadow Rock LP on it, 2 Noctua 140MM in the front and a Noctua 120mm in the rear, never exceeds 60C under load and very quiet.

 

[toshibitsu]

I've seen that Fractal Design case on display before and didn't really care for it(at least visually). I don't know what it is about the case exactly.... but that Hadron has sort of 'attached' itself to me somehow(if that makes sense). The last "big" case I had was a Cooler Master Cosmos CSX Fallen Angel. I had that thing for so long. I eventually felt it was time to move to a smaller case and got rid of it.