[SOLVED] Upgrade Intel CPU of same Generation. Issues?

[vagrawal1]

Hello,

I currently have a Core i5 4690K CPU in my machine. I am currently wanting to upgrade that to a Core i7 4790k. Seeing as this should be a seamless upgrade physically since the socket is the same, my question is more regarding the software/driver side of things.

If I do remove the i5 and pop in the new i7, will there be issues? Do I need to install drivers beforehand? What exactly is the suggested process in doing something like this?

Thanks!

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Drives should all be the same.

As long as your old cooler and psu can handle the newer i7 it should be as simole as plug in and play

 

[COLGeek]

There should be no driver or software issues with such a CPU swap. Should be quite easy.

What heatsink are you using to cool your CPU?

 

[vagrawal1]

Thanks to both of you. The power supply shouldn't be an issue as the Ark site from Intel shows them both using 88w. At least that's my assumption anyway. As far as heatsink goes, I'm just using the stock one. I don't ever do any overclocking so I don't think that should be an issue either - again, that's my assumption so I'm not positive.

 

[COLGeek]

I am not a fan of the Intel OEM heatsinks, especially after the push-pins are used more than once. I prefer something that mounts a bit more firmly. The i7 will generate more heat. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[John Chesterfield]

I've actually done exactly the same upgrade due to getting the i7 very cheap and it was just plug and play, although on 1st boot with the i7 4790k, the system immediately wanted a restart once I was on the desktop. So it does install something.

As for temperatures, the i7 actually runs cooler due to all 8 threads running at between 65-90% load during BF V at stock frequency, whereas the 4690k had 4 threads running constantly at 100% each and was overclocked to 4.6Ghz, which generated more heat. The i7 averages about 65c when gaming, the i5 averaged around 70c. Plus, the i7 totally transformed games that can use 8 threads such as BF V. I no longer feel the need to jump on the Ryzen train this year, this system with a 2080 @ 1440p with G-Sync still rocks very well indeed.

 

[John Chesterfield]

The power supply shouldn't be an issue provided it's of sufficient wattage and a reputable brand, that last bit arguably more important than the first. I personally like Seasonic and run this lot on a 1000w Focus plus Gold, massive overkill but for a gaming machine it's deathly quiet in a full tower case.

What brand and wattage is your power supply? You can find this out by popping open the case and looking at the label on the side. All this of course if you're using a half decent graphics card and will be using the rig for gaming, other uses may not be so power hungry.

 

[vagrawal1]

Hey @John Chesterfield

Going a bit off topic now, apologies, but since you did this exact same upgrade, I'm curious if you saw an improvement in performance if you play a lot of games, which it sounds like you did see a change? I currently have a decent rig, with a decent graphics card (GeForce GTX 1070 FTW Edition) and it plays games alright. The issue I run into is when I attempt to stream (using OBS) and play games on the same machine at the same time. My CPU appears to be the only bottleneck from what I can tell when doing a bit of troubleshooting (even when using the new NVENC encoder in OBS).

So yeah just curious about your overall experience with performing this exact upgrade. Also can I inquire as to where you picked up a cheaper 4790k? I'm seeing some refurbs on eBay for ~250.

Thanks

 

[John Chesterfield]

The one I got was off a mate who's board died, so for mates rates. All the auction sites were too expensive for me.

I definitely saw a change, the i7 has 8 threads and games like BF V and Ghost Recon Wildlands like that a lot. The i5 was definitely a bottleneck in those games. If you can get a chip for a reasonable price and want a drop in upgrade, it's not a bad one to do.

Surprised at how well the i7 pushes a 2080 @ 1440p. You have a decent rig, presumably powered by a decent power supply?