Should I upgrade my i5 4440 to i7 4790k or i7 7700k?

[Nightmare515]

Hey all, here are my current specs.

i5 4440 3.1ghz
MSI Geforce GTX 970 4gb
Kingston DDR3 1600 8gb (2x4)
MSI Z97 G45 MB LGA 1150
Seasonic 550W 80+ Gold PSU
Asus 1080p 60hz monitor

I plan on doing a few upgrades soon starting with a 1440p monitor and the GTX 1080ti when it comes out. I know the i5 will likely bottleneck that GPU so I was going to upgrade that as well but I'm unsure if I should simply get an i7 4790k to go with the MB and RAM that I have or just go all out and get basically a whole new computer with a Z270 MB and the new kaby lake i7 7700k.

So here are my current two options I'm considering
i7 4790k
8 more gb of ddr3 ram totaling 16gb

or
i7 7700k
MSI Z270 Pro Gaming Carbon MB
16gb ddr4 ram
CPU cooler

Or something along those lines. Basically what I'm thinking is that if I decide to upgrade the MB to LGA 1151 for a new CPU then I might as well go with the newest out since most of this stuff is roughly the same price anyway.

Is it even worth it to do that or would a 4790k with more ram work for my future 1080ti @ 1440p?

What's making me want to upgrade is the fact that I am in the camp of BF1 players who gets their CPU brought to it's knees regardless of whatever fixes I've found on the internet. Money is no factor but I also don't want to simply waste money either on something that will only provide marginal performance differences.

I guess my overall question is whether or not a whole new kaby lake setup is worth the price vs just putting a 4790k and more ram in what I already have? I know the kaby lake setup would be "better" but how much better would it actually be for just pure gaming and would the 4790k setup last for a few years? I know BF1 is an anomaly when it comes to CPU utilization but Im wondering if newer games coming out are going to start needing more CPU power as well.

Thanks

 

[Justiceinacan]

Ever since Sandy Bridge, Intel CPU's have gained little extra power between generations. A 4790k might not OC as far as a 7700k, but the FPS impact won't show very much. I would go more for the 4790k but it sounds like you're pretty invested so a new motherboard might not be too much more to ask.

It should be noted that old and new RAM modules don't always play nice together. You might need to buy a whole new kit.

I note that you said "CPU cooler" with the 7700k proposition. What's the current cooler?

I think an overclocked 4790k will show a pretty refreshing FPS boost.

 

[grmnlxndr]

Wait until March and see if Ryzen could be another option. There are really good rumors toward it, and if they are true, it could be a great option to take into consideration.

Best regards

 

[Nightmare515]

Ever since Sandy Bridge, Intel CPU's have gained little extra power between generations. A 4790k might not OC as far as a 7700k, but the FPS impact won't show very much. I would go more for the 4790k but it sounds like you're pretty invested so a new motherboard might not be too much more to ask.

It should be noted that old and new RAM modules don't always play nice together. You might need to buy a whole new kit.

I note that you said "CPU cooler" with the 7700k proposition. What's the current cooler?

I think an overclocked 4790k will show a pretty refreshing FPS boost.

My current cooler is just the stock one that came with the i5 so I'd upgrade regardless of which new CPU I choose.

Yeah I think just getting a whole new set of 16gb ddr3 would be the route I'd take instead of mixing ram modules if I decide to stick with the current MB.

Would you be able to guess how future proof the 4790k would be now in 2017? Do you think it would be alright for the next few years?

 

[chenw]

If you are talking about performance point of view, 4790k, by itself, isn't really any more or less future proof than 7700k, so the more decisive factor would be the motherboard features.

Also, there is a fringe case that 4k Netflix PC stream specifically requires a Kaby Lake processor (hence why I am making a HTPC with G4560), due to one of the instructions involved in decoding/encoding only being on Kaby lake.

Otherwise, the performance difference between 4790k and 7700k is minor enough that I wouldn't consider 7700k to be any more 'future proof' for games than 4790k. Assuming, of course, nothing drastic happens in the mean time like Windows suddenly requiring 20c/40t Xeon CPUs to boot.

 

[Nightmare515]

If you are talking about performance point of view, 4790k, by itself, isn't really any more or less future proof than 7700k, so the more decisive factor would be the motherboard features.

Also, there is a fringe case that 4k Netflix PC stream specifically requires a Kaby Lake processor (hence why I am making a HTPC with G4560), due to one of the instructions involved in decoding/encoding only being on Kaby lake.

Otherwise, the performance difference between 4790k and 7700k is minor enough that I wouldn't consider 7700k to be any more 'future proof' for games than 4790k. Assuming, of course, nothing drastic happens in the mean time like Windows suddenly requiring 20c/40t Xeon CPUs to boot.

Alright that sounds good to me. No need to spend the extra money on a new MB if it won't do me any favors as far as CPU's go.

I guess my problem was that I've spent the past day or so reading about the problems Battlefield 1 has been causing people with even powerful CPU's like the 4790k and was wondering if this was an indication that newer games are requiring ridiculously powerful hardware to even run. Then it turns out that something is just wrong with BF1 to where half of players are getting 100fps on ultra 1440p in multiplayer while the other half are getting 40fps on low at 1080p with the same 4790k setups. So it's not that high end hardware managed to get outdated overnight like I thought....something is just seriously wrong with that game for many people.