Upgrading from i7 960, what CPU should i get ?

[yannalet]

Hi there,
I currently own an i7 960 (3.2Ghz) with an AMD R9 290x and 12 Gb of ram 1600.
I can play most recent games at fairly high settings, between 100-25FPS 1080p, but would like to reach a stable 60FPS at maximum settings (AC:U aside of course).
I have an upgrade budget of roughly 600 CAD$.
I also own an h100i cooler, so i can safely overcloack a bit.

I currently hesitate a lot between the i7 4790k and the i7 5820.
I read a lot of benchmarks, but i can hardly find one comparing the 4th and 5th gen with my 960 in recent games. I ran RTSS last night to know if i was CPU bound and i could see some of my cores hit 80-85% and GPU around 80-90% (~30FPS). Not sure if i am really CPU or GPU bound there.

So what CPU do you think i should get, if any ?

Last thing, my hope is to get an R9 390x next year to reach 4K, and when i do, i don't want whatever CPU i get now to hold my 390x back.

Thanks 🙂

 

[i7Baby]

The i7 960 is a tier 2 cpu per http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html.

The only upgrade you can get is Intel - i5 or i7. Any would mean a new mobo. With the 5820 also new (expensive) ddr4 ram.

The i7 4790k would be my recommendation. Get a good mobo - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-intel-amd-motherboard,3902.html - eg ASRock Z97 Extreme 6. And use 2 x 4gb of your current ram

i7 4790k - $350 - http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-960-vs-Intel-Core-i7-4790K
ASRock mobo - $150 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157500

 

[Z_GAB_X]

Hey yannalet,
I recommend you an I7 4790k, because the cost of a build with the I7 5820k is a little bit more expensive than the 4790k, and comparing, both are on the same performace, but the I7 5820k have some bugs and it consumes more power, here is a link that may help you:

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/590/Intel_Core_i7_i7-4790K_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-5820K.html

If this helped you, please pick this answer as the solution 😉 , and i hope that this help you.

 

[Eximo]

A lot of the 1600Mhz memory from that era is 1.65 volts. A little risky for the Haswell memory controller. I would recommend new 1.5volt memory if yours is the higher voltage.

 

[i7Baby]

Then add another $80 eg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231550

 

[yannalet]

Thanks for your suggestions !
I'll go with the 4790k 🙂