What should I upgrade my CPU to?

[Highsenberg325]

Hello everyone. This is my first post on a forum so this is pretty new to me.

So I made a budget PC build a few years ago and am looking to upgrade. I'll be switching out my 750ti with an rx 480 but I'm pretty illiterate when it comes to selecting CPUs. I'd like to get one that'll last me at least 4 years and am willing to pay a bit extra to make that happen. The only problem is my motherboard is only LGA 1150 compatible, so I'd imagine I'll probably have to replace that too. However if there's a CPU out there that IS 1150 compatible and will last me a good while then I'd love to hear it. Ideally I'd like to hit 60fps 1080p gaming.

Anyone able to help?

 

[Ecky]

What CPU do you currently have?

 

[Gam3r01]

There are still plenty of processors for the 1150 socket.
Do you happen to know what processor you currently have?

Here are some recommendations at different price points: http://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/intel-cpu-bx80646i54590,intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k,intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k/

 

[Highsenberg325]

What CPU do you currently have?

I currently have the G3420.
(So sorry I took so long to reply, I didn't see your reply!

 

[Ecky]

There are lots of good CPUs to choose from, and Haswell CPUs are very little slower than Intel's latest Skylake chips. Any if the Haswell i5's (i5 45xx or 46xx) would be fine choices, as would an i7 4790.

 

[Highsenberg325]

Both of your responses were great guys, thanks a lot! I didn't realize you'd all respond so quickly either, now I know to use this site more often.

 

[Thalles Adorno]

I would get he 4690k or 4790k, these have better thermal capabilities and won't hold you back in 4 years. If you can, buy one of these (not 4670k or 4770k)

 

[Ecky]

The other CPUs still run very nicely at stock speeds without the slightly improved thermal interface of the Devil's Canyon chips. I doubt OP has a Z chipset motherboard, so K or non-K is likely irrelevant.

 

[Highsenberg325]

What exactly is a Z chipset motherboard?

 

[Highsenberg325]

Oh never mind I understand. Yeah I won't be overclocking or anything like that so I'm good. Looking at these CPUs you recommended I'm noticing some fluctuations in price. You said they're all good, so if I choose one of the cheaper options do you think it will have a major impact on fps?

 

[Ecky]

There are two factors. Firstly:

i5's are 4 core, 4 thread, 6MB cache

i7's are 4 core, 8 thread, 8MB cache

Due to being able to handle twice as many threads, i7's really excel in productivity tasks, and have a large advantage over an i5 in things like rendering, encoding, and compression. Many games typically do not make good use of more than 2 or 3 threads, so going from 4 to 8 (i5 to i7) doesn't show a lot of benefit, but some do. For example, any game built using the Frostbite Engine (what EA uses in most of their games - Battlefield, Mirror's Edge, Need for Speed, Dragon Age, etc.) will really allow the i7 to stretch its legs. Over time, it's also expected that more games will be able to use more threads. That said, in most games today, an i5 will be just as good as an i7 for around $100 cheaper.

The other factor is clockspeed. The i5 4430, for instance, turbos up to 3.2ghz, whereas the i5 4690 turbos up to 3.9ghz, which is 22% higher, and would equate to 22% better performance. The i7 4790K turbos to 4.4ghz, which is almost 40% higher. Combine this with the benefits of hyperthreading, and you have a CPU that can be close to twice as potent in some situations.

 

[Highsenberg325]

Hmm, it kinda sucks not knowing how things are gonna look in the future. I'm thinking it'll be cheaper down the line to get the i7 now, but who knows really. Well thanks for the very clear concise answer, I really appreciate it. I'll probably go for the i7.

 

[Thalles Adorno]

If you are going to the expensive ones PLEASE buy the 4690k or 4790k, even if you don't plan to overclock, just because of the thermal compound. Intel uses low cost thermal compound on all processors except these two. If you want to save buy the 4460, but if you are going to pay more don't get the 4670k or 4770k variants, get the Devil's Canyon ones (4690k and 4790k)

 

[Ecky]

^ This isn't strictly true. The thermal compound used is the same, Intel just changed how they attach the heatspreader slightly so it sits more flush with the die. It's mostly irrelevant if you're not overclocking though, as any Haswell CPU will maintain safe temperatures under the stock cooler even under unreasonable loads, except for maybe the 4790k, which might throttle under torture testing using the provided heatsink.