[SOLVED] Is i7 4970 good enough for today's standards?

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

OK, so recently my dad was giving me one of his company's computers that he owns (He was the founder). He said majority of them are from late 2009 to early 2014 PCs.
He said to take some before any turn obsolete. I took a more "up to date one" which are the more latest ones. It has a i7 4790, an Asrock Z79 Killer an a R9 280 3gb. I am upgrading to a RX 580 8gb once I've collected enough money.. I am 13 and is a hardware geek, I wanna know if these specs are good. Especially the i7 4790, which Im kinda worried since it has 4 cores and 8 threads. So, bare with me, for video rendering and gaming, are these good enough? Should I upgrade to a i7 4790k? Are these good enough?
Thanks for reading !

 

[sizzling]

It is good enough if you manage expectations. No it’s not going to perform like a modern i7 but it enough to game at 60+ FPS in games and you will need to be patient with rendering times. For a freebie you can’t complain.

Hopefully it has 16GB RAM?

 

[Vyrvelata]

If you're not going to OC 4790K go for the 4970, not gonna feel anything... on that note for now 4790 (K) is fine, but only for now... If you plan on gaming on it this year maybe its gonna be it's last, once games start to utilize 6 -8 cores ( 12 -16 threads) as default, its gonna be a problem, which i expect to happen really noticeable within 5-6 months after PS5 roll out.

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

It is good enough if you manage expectations. No it’s not going to perform like a modern i7 but it enough to game at 60+ FPS in games and you will need to be patient with rendering times. For a freebie you can’t complain.

Hopefully it has 16GB RAM?

ooop 32gb ddr3 brother.

 

[Klinger96]

OK, so recently my dad was giving me one of his company's computers that he owns (He was the founder). He said majority of them are from late 2009 to early 2014 PCs.
He said to take some before any turn obsolete. I took a more "up to date one" which are the more latest ones. It has a i7 4790, an Asrock Z79 Killer an a R9 280 3gb. I am upgrading to a RX 580 8gb once I've collected enough money.. I am 13 and is a hardware geek, I wanna know if these specs are good. Especially the i7 4790, which Im kinda worried since it has 4 cores and 8 threads. So, bare with me, for video rendering and gaming, are these good enough? Should I upgrade to a i7 4790k? Are these good enough?
Thanks for reading !

This combination should be without any bottleneck, you should be fine playing recent game at high FPS without any issue. R9 280 is still capable causal gaming at 1080p, RX 580 is ideal upgrade for you, keep in ming that 16gb ram would be nice to get as well. I would personaly go for 1660 as I like Nvidia more and its a little bit better performing. If you would go to higher range of card there will be bottleneck caused by cpu but both RX 580 and 1660 are quite capable and will be for few years, so consider those two cards as efective maximum for you, you can buy stronger one but you will not be able to use its full potential.

 

[sizzling]

ooop 32gb ddr3 brother.

Ok, more than enough. I see no problem using it as long as you don’t set your expectations too high. It should do an ok job.

Oh just realised. What psu does it have, make and model? You may need to upgrade this before dropping in a new gpu.

 

[sz0ty0l4]

Hey,
I can talk from firt hand experience, i just switched my OC 4790K@4.5ghz, to a fresh 9900K, because the performance as not enough.

In several games my cpu was a severe bottleneck, it was constantly running on 90-100% which caused huge performance loss and bad frametimes.

Compared, the new 9900K performs godlike.
The 4790K was ar eally good CPU, but at this time it is just not powerful enough anymore.

The biggest performance hit was recieved with spectre & meltdown fixes, where my cpu was heavily affected.( Had like 20% performance loss in my games)

So keep that in mind.

As for your info: I was using it with an 1080ti.

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

Ok, more than enough. I see no problem using it as long as you don’t set your expectations too high. It should do an ok job.

Oh just realised. What psu does it have, make and model? You may need to upgrade this before dropping in a new gpu.

is a 630 watt thermaltake good?

edit: its a thermaltake smart se 630 watt, since theres many types.

 

[sizzling]

is a 630 watt thermaltake good?

edit: its a thermaltake smart se 630 watt, since theres many types.

If it’s the Smart model it’s a below average quality psu and if it’s as old as the rest of the system it is probably safest to upgrade before spending money on a new gpu. The risk is a psu that fails can damage any of the connected components.

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

Hey,
I can talk from firt hand experience, i just switched my OC 4790K@4.5ghz, to a fresh 9900K, because the performance as not enough.

In several games my cpu was a severe bottleneck, it was constantly running on 90-100% which caused huge performance loss and bad frametimes.

Compared, the new 9900K performs godlike.
The 4790K was ar eally good CPU, but at this time it is just not powerful enough anymore.

The biggest performance hit was recieved with spectre & meltdown fixes, where my cpu was heavily affected.( Had like 20% performance loss in my games)

So keep that in mind.

As for your info: I was using it with an 1080ti.

problem is that I'm on a budget and my motherboard doesnt support a 9900k because mine is a lga 1150 instead of a lga 1151

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

If it’s the Smart model it’s a below average quality psu and if it’s as old as the rest of the system it is probably safest to upgrade before spending money on a new gpu. The risk is a psu that fails can damage any of the connected components.

recommend any good budget power supply units?

 

[sizzling]

recommend any good budget power supply units?

Usually the Corsair CX550 or 650 are a reasonably priced for a average quality psu. I wouldn’t recommend going lower.

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

Usually the Corsair CX550 or 650 are a reasonably priced for a average quality psu. I wouldn’t recommend going lower.

thanks man

 

[Zerk2012]

If you're not going to OC 4790K go for the 4970, not gonna feel anything... on that note for now 4790 (K) is fine, but only for now... If you plan on gaming on it this year maybe its gonna be it's last, once games start to utilize 6 -8 cores ( 12 -16 threads) as default, its gonna be a problem, which i expect to happen really noticeable within 5-6 months after PS5 roll out.

The cores on a PC and PS4 are completely different you can;t compare them really the PS4 cores are very weak.
Their also different platforms and what a PS4 can use core wise has really nothing to do with PC.

Their not going to suddenly start making games that you need 10/12 cores or more for PC gaming it would be very bad for business since their a ton of people that will buy a game but can't afford to upgrade their PC.

 

[exroofer]

I'll try to keep it simple.
Spending a lot of money on any parts you cannot use in a new build later is a bad idea in my opinion.
New 580? Excellent choice, considering how cheap they are now. And you can use it next year or whatever easily.
New psu for safety? An excellent suggestion from sizzling above. And again, a good psu will last ten years, or more.
A ssd is also one of the best "bang for buck" improvements for any pc.

So those three, be a happy young person, and when your wallet grows, you can reuse what you already bought. Making your next pc cheaper.
I believe any other money spent is a waste of dollars. Since you can build a brand new, complete system for like.. $500 to $600 USD. Take .. what, $180 ish off of that if you already own that 580 and psu. Another $80 to $100 off if you buy a ssd for that system and then reuse it.
Meaning you could build a brand new, 3xxx Ryzen system for $300 to $400 . ( for just the tower. Monitor, keyboard and mouse not included. )

 

[Karadjgne]

A 4790k will be better, as OC can make a difference in some games like CSGO which rely more heavily on clock speeds and IPC than thread count. Not going to make much difference to heavily threaded games like Battlefield 4+ or CoD. But you are talking 5-15fps difference, that may or may not be seen on a 60Hz monitor. It's going to be more on whether the gpu can get those fps onscreen and less on whether the cpu can deliver the fps.

Difference between the 4790 and a 9900k isn't just the IPC and clock speeds, it's also the thread count, where options like physX and hair works etc can drastically affect fps on a lower spec'd cpu. So as long as certain detail levels are kept in check, there won't be much of an issue with playability, only the fps count.

And it's free, so ultimately an extremely good value for the money.

 

[DSzymborski]

The cores on a PC and PS4 are completely different you can;t compare them really the PS4 cores are very weak.
Their also different platforms and what a PS4 can use core wise has really nothing to do with PC.

Their not going to suddenly start making games that you need 10/12 cores or more for PC gaming it would be very bad for business since their a ton of people that will buy a game but can't afford to upgrade their PC.

I remember when people said with a straight face that the AM3+ CPUs were going to steamroll Intel's lineup because the PS4 used an eight-core CPU. It's amusing to look back on now!

 

[Karadjgne]

All you need is a quad core, it's good enough for gaming, or better yet, get the new Pentium G3258 because it's way cheaper and overclocks on a non Z board...

Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but there are occasions where looking back just isn't worth it. Decisions based on what is only needed at the moment are a fools game, instead make decisions based on what can possibly happen tomorrow.

 

[Not-So-Ace-Hardware]

All you need is a quad core, it's good enough for gaming, or better yet, get the new Pentium G3258 because it's way cheaper and overclocks on a non Z board...

Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but there are occasions where looking back just isn't worth it. Decisions based on what is only needed at the moment are a fools game, instead make decisions based on what can possibly happen tomorrow.

question though,I have an Asrock z97 killer. Can it actually effect
the cpu a little bit?

 

[Karadjgne]

Yes. Because that board will allow overclocking. It's therefore built to a heavier grade, better VRM's, better power delivery etc. Which can affect performance. Your Lan port is Killer, which when used with the right software is faster than everyone else's, creating less lag.

Z boards have more bells and whistles, some of which help out, some really don't do much.

Right now, part of the issue is a locked cpu, you are stuck at base clocks, higher clocks can mean higher fps. Not a huge difference, but if you have 3 or 4 bonuses to fps, they add up.

A cpu pre-renders the game code according to IPC and clock speeds. IPC is a set rate, nothing you can do about that, it's lower than New systems. Between that and a locked lower speed, fps will be more limited.

Is the cpu good enough? Realistically yes, it's good enough, as long as you understand it has limitations and aren't expecting miracles. For now. With newer game releases, it will get worse. A lot will depend on exactly how you personally define 'good enough'.