Question Upgrading from i5 4440 to i7 4790 worth it for gaming?

[Bryze]

As the title says, I mostly play Fortnite and my CPU usage is at 100% most of the times. I would really love to upgrade to i7 4790 from i5 4440. Would it give me better performance? Some expert's answer would be appreciated. As i7 has more speed and threads, will it help me in gaming? My i5 4440 stays at 100% usage all the time and it really annoys me.

 

[jeremyj_83]

If your CPU is pegged at 100% then added more clock speed and threads should help. Your current CPU is 3.1 base with a 3.3 boost, the 4790 is a 3.6 base with a 4.0 boost. Just base clock to base clock you are increasing by 16% so that will help your CPU usage. Extra threads should help with background processes as well.

 

[Bryze]

If your CPU is pegged at 100% then added more clock speed and threads should help. Your current CPU is 3.1 base with a 3.3 boost, the 4790 is a 3.6 base with a 4.0 boost. Just base clock to base clock you are increasing by 16% so that will help your CPU usage. Extra threads should help with background processes as well.

Have you tried running Fortnite on your PC (i7 4770k)? If yes then how much FPS do you get on low settings.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Have you tried running Fortnite on your PC (i7 4770k)? If yes then how much FPS do you get on low settings.

Never played Fortnite.

 

[Bryze]

Never played Fortnite.

Ah, do you recommend me upgrading? It would cost me around $80 to upgrade from i5 4440 to i7 4790.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Ah, do you recommend me upgrading? It would cost me around $80 to upgrade from i5 4440 to i7 4790.

What GPU do you have? For $80 you would be maxing out your platform CPU wise. More and more games use 4+ threads so more threads isn't bad.

 

[Bryze]

I use GTX 1060 (3 GB). And my FPS is around 144+ on low settings. GPU usage is around 50%. But CPU usage in-game is around 100% most of the times. I'm not the expert but I have seen video on i7 4790 Fortnite and their usage is less than 60%. I think it will help me a lot and fix the shuttering. What do you think as you are the expert?

 

[jeremyj_83]

https://www.gpucheck.com/en-usd/com...e-i5-4440-3-10ghz/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb

This will give you an idea of what you could expect with a 4790. The issue with using low settings is that you are putting more of the stress on the CPU as the GPU will be waiting for data.

 

[TCA_ChinChin]

I have an i7-4790k and I think it would definitely help. The stutters should definitely go away, and overall FPS might increase slightly. If you can get the i7 for 80$ I think its actually a pretty decent upgrade.

 

[jeremyj_83]

I have an i7-4790k and I think it would definitely help. The stutters should definitely go away, and overall FPS might increase slightly. If you can get the i7 for 80$ I think its actually a pretty decent upgrade.

I would assume that the minimum FPS will be higher as well then.

 

[rumple99]

There would be a big improvement but the 4790 is an end of line processor and no upgrade path. They are quite expensive even on eBay about £200. Might as well spend an extra £130 and get spanking new ddr4 ram, latest mobo chipset and Ryzen 2600 or intel 9400f processor. However I would be more inclined to wait a month for Ryzen 3000

 

[jeremyj_83]

There would be a big improvement but the 4790 is an end of line processor and no upgrade path. They are quite expensive even on eBay about £200. Might as well spend an extra £130 and get spanking new ddr4 ram, latest mobo chipset and Ryzen 2600 or intel 9400f processor. However I would be more inclined to wait a month for Ryzen 3000

While the 4790 is EOL, Bryze said it is available for around $80. For $80 that will extend the life of the system by 2-3 years that could be used to save up for a full system upgrade in 2-3 years.