Looking for a CPU upgrade for Gaming

[Anshul_Bains]

Hi! thanks for showing interest in this thread. Please do drop suggestions after going through it.
To begin with below given is my current system specifications followed by my question:

CPU: Phenom II X3 720be
Mobo: M5A78L-M/USB3
RAM: Corsair xms3 8GB DDR3 1333MHz cl9
GPU: Sapphire HD6850
PSU: Corsair GS600

It can be clearly seen that I have an outdated cpu and a weak gpu, yes it is! and I am here for the same reason. I want to upgrade/replace my cpu & gpu and need suggestions/ advice mainly on cpu.
To specify I want to go for a Gtx 970 in gpu and I shall be SLI-ing it in future if i go for a 4k setup (i know, will have to buy a a new psu for that too).
I did some research and I was pretty impressed by the core i5 4690k's single core and overall performance compared to fx8350 on directx11 api but dont know wether 8350 will be able to keep up with or perhaps beat 4690k on directx12 api as 8350 despite having weak has double the no. of cores 4690k has.
As of current i have a amd am3+ board so obviously the most dollar friendly solution for me will be to go for a fx8350 (I am not considering electricity bills). But If I go for a core i5 setup then I will have to buy a z97 board which will increase the overall upgrade cost.
So from pure performance standpoint considering 4k resolution and directx12 what should be my take on cpu upgrade? fx 8350 or i5 4690k.

 

[Sleetz]

I would recommend going with the Intel build.

The i5 4690k with a Z97 motherboard is a great combination for high end gaming and overclocking.

Upgrade to a tier 1/2 power supply and get a good cooler -- I recommend the Noctua series for air or an H80i+ for water cooling.

 

[Anshul_Bains]

I would recommend going with the Intel build.

The i5 4690k with a Z97 motherboard is a great combination for high end gaming and overclocking.

Upgrade to a tier 1/2 power supply and get a good cooler -- I recommend the Noctua series for air or an H80i+ for water cooling.

I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 cpu cooler so maybe i don't need a cooler or will consider one if i find it not upto the mark on my new cpu.
With an intel k series processor there is no point in going with a non z series mobo so if its intel i will be buying the most popular and trusted ASUS z97-A.
As for the suggestion for the power supply yes i will but not now as a GTX 970 can easily run with a 600w power supply. I will get a 750w decent power supply when i go for my sli setup.

 

[Sleetz]

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 is barely any better than a stock fan and is NOT recommended for overclocking.

Yes 600 watts is completely fine but I am talking about the quality of the components that make up the power supply.

If you try to overclock on this power supply it will most likely power off under load. You could probably run at 500w with a higher quality power supply, don't always look at wattage.

 

[Sergeant_Sneaky]

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 is barely any better than a stock fan and is NOT recommended for overclocking.

Does the stock cooler get 56/57c on a Prime95 test at stock on a 4690K? Nope. Not everyone needs a Noctua cooler.

 

[Sleetz]

When did I mention that everyone let alone the op needed a Noctua? I just said it was not recommended to use that cooler from what I have seen from other people's experiences. Congrats on the temps?

 

[Patrick Keane]

Personally, I would have gone for a 3rd or 4th gen i7 over the i5 4690k if I were intending to go 4k, but that's me, and by no means am I saying that it wont get any playable framerates at 4k nor am I saying this is a bad idea, I'm just recommending something slightly higher end for the power hungry 4k resolutions that you intent to have in future, and your SLI 970 gpu choice is definetly a good one.

 

[Anshul_Bains]

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 is barely any better than a stock fan and is NOT recommended for overclocking.

Yes 600 watts is completely fine but I am talking about the quality of the components that make up the power supply.

If you try to overclock on this power supply it will most likely power off under load. You could probably run at 500w with a higher quality power supply, don't always look at wattage.

Ok then I will be buy a NH-D15
Yes I agree with your suggestion on power supply but i won't be overclocking it much right away as 1. I have a avg power supply 2. even a stock fx8350 or 4690k should be able to handle single GTX 970 quite well and overclocking the processor won't result in any magical gains, specially with 4690k. But yes, on a sli setup stock vs oc'd processor would make a difference. So I have scheduled the power supply upgrade with my next gtx 970.
Also, yesterday I went on a research again which kinda confused me even more and is pushing me to opt for the processor you are running, fx8350. I am talking about FutureMark cpu score and Cinebench r15 CBmark score, in both fx8350 has scored well above 4690k. Correct me if I am wrong, do these scores actually mean combined throughput of 8 weak cores vs 4 strong cores. If that is true than fx 8350 will be outperforming on dx12 api as the api utillizes throughput of all cores combined.

 

[Anshul_Bains]

Ok i got it now; 3Dmark API overhead feature tests (both dx11 and dx12 apis) for intel i5 4690k and AMD Fx 8350 tested with a gtx 970:
i5 4690k: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjBTiPxCfOQ
Fx 8350: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emEEjJtFVL8

And the winner is... Intel, and yes by a fair margin fair enough to justify its price.

 

[Sleetz]

Just be aware of how big that cooler is.

 

[Anshul_Bains]

Just be aware of how big that cooler is.

Yeah it is kinda Huuuuggee! But indeed one of the best performers among air coolers.

 

[Anshul_Bains]

Personally, I would have gone for a 3rd or 4th gen i7 over the i5 4690k if I were intending to go 4k, but that's me, and by no means am I saying that it wont get any playable framerates at 4k nor am I saying this is a bad idea, I'm just recommending something slightly higher end for the power hungry 4k resolutions that you intent to have in future, and your SLI 970 gpu choice is definetly a good one.

Yes you are right, lately, i also discovered that an i7 3rd gen+ would easily beat any i5 over dx12 api as the api is efficiently using intel smt (as seen in futuremark dx12 api overhead tests).