Upgrading i5 4690k + ASUS 7870

[MadCowGoMooo]

Hi, I currently have a poor FX 4100 and Ashrock Mobo, they came together in a cheap pre built system.

I have already upgraded the cheap PSU and GPU that came with it with a ASUS 7870 Direct CU ii 2GB and Corsair 750w PSU and now purchasing a i5 4690k + ASUS Z97-P Mobo.

Will the i5 and 7870 be a good pair for gaming? I know it's not a high end card but its all I could afford, still cost £180.

 

[ak47jar3d]

It's good pair. You might be better off getting a i3 and using the rest of your mind getting a better gpu like 380x.

 

[tech_fanatic]

For Directx11 games your cpu is on par with the GPU.
For Directx12 games(games of the future) your cpu is more than what your GPU is capable of. Reason: CPU overhead has been greatly reduced on directx12 or simply put it this way that the load across all the cpu cores will be much more evenly distributed unlike directx11 where one cpu core was heavily loaded as compared to the others.
My Suggestions:
1)As you have already bought the GPU go for a non overclockable i7 which costs almost the same as the overclockable i5 4690k.Hyperthreading can be a boon in many games and programs which implement it and also you get the same performance out of a non overclocked i7 as a overclocked i5(which also needs a decent aftermarket cpu cooler).
OR
2)Go for Skylake and be future ready with DDR4.

 

[MadCowGoMooo]

Thanks for the advice, I initially thought of the i5 due to seeing good performance on several games with it along side a 7870. I can play GTA V but it's always in low 30 fps even on normal presets, I've noticed in open world games when there's a lot going on my CPU can't keep up. BF4 is the same, it's fine when not much is going on I can get a good 70fps but as soon as a lot of things happen its drops fps dramatically. I know it's not great but I do think the GPU is able to achieve more than what the FX 4100 can deliver.