Should i buy coffee lake?

[Usman Anwar]

Its not like i will buy the CoffeeLake CPU on release but i read somewhere that later in 2018 the 8-core CPU will come. Also, in Q3/Q4 2018 we will also see the Tiger Lake & Ice Lake CPUs.
My question is should i buy the coffee lake CPU or should i wait for the 8 core & above CPUs ?
Currently, I m using Cire i5 4690k.

 

[Cromwell__]

There's always something new around the corner. You buy a new mobo+cpu when your current one is no longer performing the way you want it to in the software you use.

4xxx are getting pretty old, but they are still decent. If you have extra money and you want to upgrade go ahead. If you can wait, then like I said something new and better will be coming out "next year" every year.

1. Are you running software that would run a good bit better with an 8xxx processor? If no, don't buy it.
2. If yes, do you have disposable income right now to spend on all new parts? (You'll need a new mobo and RAM at least to go with that CPU.) If no, don't buy it.
3. If yes, then buy it.

I am on a i5-3470 and I will be ordering a coffee lake i7 next week to replace it. My elderly i5 is holding me back a bit in games, VR games in particular. And I have disposable income to spend. Therefor, I buy.

 

[Usman Anwar]

So what exactly are u suggesting ?
Should i buy it or not, for gaming ?

 

[qwizzy]

For gaming, the I5-4690K is still very good.
Particularly with an overclock.
Few games can actually use more than 2-3 threads of the 4 you now have.

If you are looking for a cpu upgrade, I5-8600K looks to be the gamer's processor of choice.
Particularly if it overclocks well. 6 threads should be plenty.

If you wait for the next best thing, you will wait forever.

 

[Usman Anwar]

Hmm.
U r right.

 

[Usman Anwar]

BTW, is it necessary to buy a 200$ mobo for moderate overclock or it can be done on lower end z-series mobos ?

 

[kraelic]

Waiting for better will wait forever, but in this instance Intel has lost their mind. Z370 is a rehashed Z270 no new features, not able to run 6th or 7th gen in the Z370 boards, not able to run coffeelake in Z270 or Z170 boards. Seriously it should have been a new socket to avoid any confusion instead of reusing 1151. Z390 and cannonlake will be out shortly with the new architecture Icelake and rumored 8 core mainstream following that on probably a Z400 series motherboard.

Might want to consider AMD, for an I5 price you get 6 cores 12 threads R5 1600, or for an I7 price you get 8 cores 16 threads R7 1700.

 

[J_E_D_70]

For a long while now, $150 has been the sweet spot for features and moderate OC. Will have to see about Z370 prices.

 

[qwizzy]

BTW, is it necessary to buy a 200$ mobo for moderate overclock or it can be done on lower end z-series mobos ?

Most any Z series will OC sufficiently well.
No need for enthusiast boards.

 

[goldstone77]

Unless there is something you can't do now with the computer you are using why consider upgrading at all. If gaming is an issue buy a better video card. If windows isn't loading fast enough use an SSD as your boot drive. What is the issue you are having with what you are using now?

 

[Usman Anwar]

You have a point but sooner or later i'll have to upgrade.
In short term, a new GPU seems to solve the gaming issues but in the long run, a cpu upgrade is necessary. Don't u think?

 

[goldstone77]

You have a point but sooner or later i'll have to upgrade.
In short term, a new GPU seems to solve the gaming issues but in the long run, a cpu upgrade is necessary. Don't u think?

Your single thread performance is high enough now that you should be fine to game by just upgrading your GPU. Are you using a 60HZ monitor? If so you won't notice much difference in the upgrade to make it worth the money you would pay for it. Now in the next couple years the semiconductor foundries are going to be very competitive, and you will likely see some dramatic improvements in hardware. But that doesn't mean you actually need these new shiny things. Wait for software to catch up to utilize them first. Once you can't use your current system through GPU upgrades or it becomes cost effective to up grade to a new platform with a mid range card. I wouldn't worry about upgrading.

 

[qwizzy]

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

What is your current gpu?
What kinds of games do you play>
What resolution?

Waiting to upgrade until you need/want it is usually better.
Over time you get more for your money with computer parts.

 

[Usman Anwar]

Its gtx 970 with 1080p resolution

 

[mdd1963]

You have a point but sooner or later i'll have to upgrade.
In short term, a new GPU seems to solve the gaming issues but in the long run, a cpu upgrade is necessary. Don't u think?

The i5's days seem numbered for gaming, but, many are perfectly happy with frame rates with all existing games...but, some are feeling an occasional stutter when attempting gamng on 144 Hz monitors.....

If you are happy, stand pat, at least until 8700K/8600k performance can be assessed....

 

[mdd1963]

GTX970 is still quite competent at 1080P gaming, as long as no 144 Hz refresh is attempted or expected, obviously.

 

[vMax]

The very fact that you are asking this question means that you are looking to upgrade and once it's on your mind, you will. Coffee Lake is nearly here and the 8700K doesn't sound to bad. If the numbers are correct when the proper reviews hit, then it might be worth looking as it should overclock very well across all 6 cores and 12 threads and provide a decent performance boost over the i5 4690K...Yes, you will have to fork out for a new motherboard etc...but if money is not the driver here then why not. The Z370 is just a glorified Z170/Z270 with a few more PCI-E lanes.. (Intel screwing us Z170/270 owners).

You do have Ryzen to consider as a more cost effective platform if you want to do more than just gaming, and at higher than 1080p resolution the Ryzen is up there with Intel. The 8700K will probably get to the 1700 in multi-thread...in single thread, it will be faster..In the end, I think both Ryzen (1700/1800) and the 8th series of Intel CPU's will be good for all around performance with the 8700K edging Gaming and the 1700/1800 edging productivity, though it will be a lot closer..If money is a issue, then probably Ryzen!

Finally, if you are only running a 1080p monitor, I cant see there being that much difference with your current setup, yes you might get a bit more out of the CPU/Mobo upgrade...but a 1080/1080 Ti would be a big difference..I went froma GTX 970 to a GTX 1080 and really felt the difference. Choices, choices...

 

[goldstone77]

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsqN3Tx9oQ&ab_channel=ThundersonRoom"][/video]

 

[Usman Anwar]

I do want to invest on GPU but a lot of people are saying that the current generation of Nvidia GPUs will become outdated next year. So I should wait for Nvidia Volta.
Man its really difficult to choose what should I do.
Besides, AMD doesn't have any official Retailer in my country, only Intel. Otherwise Ryzen is my 1st choice.

 

[vMax]

I do want to invest on GPU but a lot of people are saying that the current generation of Nvidia GPUs will become outdated next year. So I should wait for Nvidia Volta.
Man its really difficult to choose what should I do.
Besides, AMD doesn't have any official Retailer in my country, only Intel. Otherwise Ryzen is my 1st choice.

Can't you order the Ryzen from abroad via Amazon or another retailer online to ship to your country...That must be painful if you cannot get it in your country..Which country are you from?

 

[goldstone77]

I do want to invest on GPU but a lot of people are saying that the current generation of Nvidia GPUs will become outdated next year. So I should wait for Nvidia Volta.
Man its really difficult to choose what should I do.
Besides, AMD doesn't have any official Retailer in my country, only Intel. Otherwise Ryzen is my 1st choice.

Like I said before why even upgrade, is there some immediate reason why you need to upgrade? Because your system looks fine right now. You can easily wait a year or 2 with your system, or longer and just pick up better graphics cards along the way until it become cost effective to upgrade to a new platform. Plus you can use that graphics card with the new system and spread out the cost burden to upgrade over multiple years. Graphics Card every 2,3, or 4 years, and CPU, Motherboard, RAM every ~6 years depending on your needs. Right now that there is competition in the CPU market I would wait, and see what happens. Ideally, try and upgrade during a node jump. You CPU or GPU will last longer. Like 32nm to 22nm, or 22nm to 14nm. That goes for CPU's and GPU's. Next jump from Intel is 10nm, and other foundries are jumping to 7nm over the course of 2018-2019. I would wait to buy during a node jump to get more longevity out of your purchase at the best process available. It's getting harder to shrink down the process, so this hardware could potentially last longer.

 

[Usman Anwar]

I m from Pakistan.
Intel has the hild on market here.
Besides, Amazon & eBay does not have any official franchise here so for import i'll have to rely on 3rd party dealers which brings the problem of warranty.

 

[theonerm2]

With your GPU I see no reason to up the CPU any. I would wait and upgrade both later.