What i7 alternatives/upgrades to i5-4690 on LBA 1150 ?

[AlterMind]

I'm close to build a new computer namely for gaming and running vbox guests.

I was going for :
- Asus Z97-A LGA 1150 ATX
- Intel i5-4690 3.5 GHz
- G.Kill Sniper 4 x 4GB DDR3 2133
- Crucial BX100 500 GB SSD
- Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 7200 RPM
- Arctic Freezer 7 PRO Rev 2
I will be re-using from my current computer (which has a MB with a failing atapi/controller):
- AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series (0x6738) 1GB DDR5 @ 900 MHz
- be quiet! PurePower PSU 750W

As I have about 100 EUR left, I was thinking of maybe chosing a higher cpu, e.g. the i7-4790 which is 90 EUR more expensive than the i5-4690. However, its seems to require a LGA 1056 socket type (isn't that quite old now?) which may then affect my Asus Z97-A choice which features and LGA 1150 socket.
The LGA 1150 compliance appears to lead to an i7-4790K which is +150 EUR more expensive (above my budget) and for a performance gain I'm not convinced of, based on the various charts and reports I've read on tom's hardware site. Besides, I wasn't really considering over-clocking as I'm not pushing games to these limits.

Finally I thought making a good move with the 2133 MHz DDR3 but wonder how these cpu with 1333/1600 memory type would actually benefit from it.

What would your recommendation be for the processor (possibly within budget) ?
Would you rather spend the budget left in another investment that would optimise this config ?

Thanks for your appreciated feedback ! 🙂

 

[Karsten75]

Instead of wasting money on an i7 processor for gaming when the i5 is perfectly fine, consider downgrading your RAM to standard 1600MHz RAM and taking the savings and your 100 Euros and buying a graphics card that will do your investment proud.

 

[AlterMind]

If I downgrade the RAM to 1600, isn't the Asus Z97-A then also overkill ? I chose it mainly for the memory frequency compatibility and it features Optical SPIF, M.2, Thunderbolt readiness and probably other things I don't need. I may then grab another 50-70 EUR here.

 

[Karsten75]

yea, good idea. I missed that you had a z-series motherboard that has overclock-specific features. Also M.2 isn't really n the "need" category right now for gaming. You can save even more by dropping to a 240-256 GB SSD since you already have a 2TB HDD as well and you won't be constrained on storage. I've had a slightly older rig with an i5-3750, and a 256GB Samsung EVO 240 and with a little care on what I install to my 2TB HDD and what goes on the SSD, I'm living well.

Trust me, in the area you're at with your rig, a GPU upgrade is far more noticeable than any of the things we're talking about omitting.

 

[IntelTurtleFan]

Have a read

 

[AlterMind]

Thanks a lot to both for your comments and advice. I've reduced the budget on the HDD, the RAM and MoBo, and kept the i5.

As far as the video card is concerned, I'm impressed with the Sapphire Nitro R9 380 with 4 GB DDR5.
Does it look like a good price/perf ratio and good mid/long term investment ? (Above budget I confess but the 4 GB DDR5 seems like a bargain)

Thanks for your last comments/advice before I set my credit card on fire ?

 

[synphul]

I don't know where the 4790 was listed as being 1056, that was for things like a first gen i3. i7 4790, 4790k etc are lga 1150, haswell/devils canyon same as the i5 4690. If there's no need for the additional features of the z series, an h97 board would be perfectly suitable. If not looking to overclock, there the xeon 1231v3 which has hyperthreading or if you wish to choose a locked core i5 I might suggest a 4590 which is barely slower than the 4690. It's usually a fair bit cheaper but price/value will be determined by local currency/pricing. Definitely agree that for gaming it would be better to reduce things like ssd size, ram, go to an h97 motherboard and put those savings into a better gpu. That will help with gaming immensely over the hd 6000 series.

The r9 380 would do a lot better than your current gpu for gaming performance. It's somewhat of a mid range, upper mid range card so not sure if it would be considered a long term investment. Though if you've been playing with a 6000 series it will be a huge step up from what you're used to. A lot of it will depend on the games you play, at what resolution and what graphics (med, high, ultra). There's no real set limit on how long a card is 'good' for gaming, if someone is happy with 1080p at med/high settings any given card will last them longer and keep them content over someone who has to absolutely have 60-80fps on high/ultra at 1440p.

 

[AlterMind]

I don't know where the 4790 was listed as being 1056, that was for things like a first gen i3.

Indeed, I thought so also. It's Amazon that links the i7-4790 to the 1056 (and offers no 1150 option, unless you chose the 4790K, at least no to me!).

As the i5-4690 was only 19 EUR more than the i5-4590, I went for the first one, as its base clock is 3.5 GHz instead of 3.3 GHz.

I have just ordered the whole set -- and I'm raging against Amazon for the delivery delays now :-( The video card cannot be delivered at another place than my own living place (wtf?) and despite there are 6 available in stock I won't get it before... end august !? Geez though.

Thanks for commenting, synphul.