[SOLVED] Thinking of buying a used i7 4790k to upgrade from my current i5 4460

[iraliex]

Hello, I really need to upgrade my current CPU as my computer is currently running an i5 4460 with a GTX 1060 6GB, I really don't feel like changing my motherboard and the best CPU for the LGA 1150 socket is the i7 4790k (I think) would it be worth risking
buying a used or refurbished i7 4790k since it's significantly cheaper than buying new and would it be a substantial upgrade from the i5 4460?

 

[Quanticriver]

Hello

yes it will be a significant upgrade

BUT, spending a lot of money on a dead socket is not a great idea

So it comes down to price, how much will you pay for this upgrade?

Also what mobo do you have?

Also, buying a used cpu is quite safe, they are very hard to destroy, unless you mistreat them physically

 

[Mr.Spock]

it's an upgrade if you have a Z- motherboard, otherwise it's a modest upgrade in clock + HT.
also consider a new motherboard + CPU bundle will have a full warranty and support for DDR4 + NVMe

 

[iraliex]

Hello

yes it will be a significant upgrade

BUT, spending a lot of money on a dead socket is not a great idea

So it comes down to price, how much will you pay for this upgrade?

Also what mobo do you have?

Also, buying a used cpu is quite safe, they are very hard to destroy, unless you mistreat them physically

I have an Asus H81M Plus motherboard that I got with a bundle including the i5 4460, I do not plan on upgrading for a while if I decide to purchase the i7 4790k, used they go for around £150 (around $200) used on ebay or nearing £300 new.

 

[iraliex]

it's an upgrade if you have a Z- motherboard, otherwise it's a modest upgrade in clock + HT.
also consider a new motherboard + CPU bundle will have a full warranty and support for DDR4 + NVMe

I was considering a new mobo with a better cpu however I can get the i7 4790k in the £150 range used whereas buying a new mobo and cpu combo would be a much higher price than the £150 for the i7.

 

[iraliex]

I'd also like to point out I mainly use my pc for gaming, that's why I need a better processor.

 

[Quanticriver]

I was considering a new mobo with a better cpu however I can get the i7 4790k in the £150 range used whereas buying a new mobo and cpu combo would be a much higher price than the £150 for the i7.

i'd argue that 150 is too much for the performance bump you will be getting

personally i'd go for a ryzen 3300 with a cheap B550 and some 2 x 8 3200 cl 16 ram if you want to go budget (hard to beat for the price)

 

[sizzling]

It’s an upgrade but not a huge one. £150 for that level of performance gain is not a good investment in my mind. Yes you will notice a difference in games but it’s still a cpu weaker than a modern i3. I would not be surprised if you find yourself wanting to upgrade again sometime soon. Personally I would say don’t put any more money in to that obsolete platform and start saving for a new cpu/motherboard/RAM combination.

 

[iraliex]

It’s an upgrade but not a huge one. £150 for that level of performance gain is not a good investment in my mind. Yes you will notice a difference in games but it’s still a cpu weaker than a modern i3. I would not be surprised if you find yourself wanting to upgrade again sometime soon. Personally I would say don’t put any more money in to that obsolete platform and start saving for a new cpu/motherboard/RAM combination.

What would be a good intel processor and mobo combo that would pair well with the GTX 1060 6GB?

 

[Quanticriver]

if you'd like to go with the blue team an I5 10600 or I5 10400 represents good value and really good gaming performance
this must be paired with a Z490 mobo

it can handle much more then a 1060 so whenever you upgrade that one, it will still provide good performance

 

[SamirD]

I got a used 4790k to upgrade a dell sff 3020 and it was a nice kick in the pants:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...0600-vs-Intel-i5-10400/2230vs2275vs3750vs3737

I would actually be more concerned about a 'new' 4790k as that would probably be a fake. Used processors can be a great value depending on what you are trying to do. I think this would be a solid quick and painless upgrade to hold you over until a new system, but keep in mind that a used newer tech setup might just be a bit more and present a better value for your money.

 

[iraliex]

if you'd like to go with the blue team an I5 10600 or I5 10400 represents good value and really good gaming performance
this must be paired with a Z490 mobo

it can handle much more then a 1060 so whenever you upgrade that one, it will still provide good performance

Does it have to be that exact mobo or are there any cheaper alternatives?

 

[iraliex]

I got a used 4790k to upgrade a dell sff 3020 and it was a nice kick in the pants:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...0600-vs-Intel-i5-10400/2230vs2275vs3750vs3737

I would actually be more concerned about a 'new' 4790k as that would probably be a fake. Used processors can be a great value depending on what you are trying to do. I think this would be a solid quick and painless upgrade to hold you over until a new system, but keep in mind that a used newer tech setup might just be a bit more and present a better value for your money.

Yeah I think it will be better for me just to upgrade my mobo for the newer tech, I really don't want to bottleneck my GPU because of my mobo's limitations.

 

[SamirD]

Yeah I think it will be better for me just to upgrade my mobo for the newer tech, I really don't want to bottleneck my GPU because of my mobo's limitations.

This would be a waste. Every gpu/cpu combo is bottlenecked at some point in one direction or another based on what the use case is. I've seen 1080Tis installed on LGA775 systems so don't sweat the whole 'bottleneck' thing.