[SOLVED] Would it really make a difference if I upgraded from the i7 4790K to the R5 3600?

[wilbarker5]

I can probably guess there are hundreds of questions about the new ryzen cpus since they seem like absolute bargains.

I am just wondering is it really worth it to upgrade from what I have now to the R5 3600? From research the performance increase is 20 odd percent, is that worth the new motherboard/ram/cooler, etc?

My target goal is to get 1080p 144hz while gaming.

I would also be open to suggestions to help me reach 144fps or so.

Specs:

GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060
CPU: i7 4790K
RAM: 16 GB DDR3 1600 MHz

Thanks!

 

[valeman2012]

If the GPU is bottlenecked, it is easy to see. Launch MSI Afterburner, turn on overlay (On-Screen Display or OSD), check GPU Utlization in your favorite games. If it is not pegged at 95-99%, CPU is the bottleneck (turn off vsync so fps isn't capped at 60 hz).
You can also turn on CPU utilization. If you go to Monitoring in MSI AB, click on all the CPUx usage you see. If CPU is pegged at like 90%+ on all threads, 4 cores ain't cutting it. Time to plan an upgrade.

But if CPU is sitting at something like 40% total usage, GPU is holding back your FPS.
At a certain point, the CPU will become the bottleneck so don't think you can get a 2080Ti or something crazy like that and expect a 4th gen i7 to feed it.

Think of it like this:
CPU feeds the GPU. If the CPU doesn't feed fast enough, the GPU doesn't have anything to chew = low fps.
Same is true if the CPU feeds the GPU more than it can chew = low fps.
You need a balance.
Where that line goes exactly can only be deduced, from benchmarks etc. The "sad" part about most youtube reviewers is that they don't sit on 4th gen Intels when they bench so it can be harder to find.

Here is an example:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47prNqYm7_M

Notice how the 4790k system gets less FPS in most games? CPU is the bottleneck.
I would say Vega 64 is a too good GPU for that CPU.

Intel i7 4th Gen is still good as of today....it better to upgrade if you like from Intel 2nd Gen...they hit dead end

 

[EndEffeKt_24]

If you got sufficent cooling you could overclock that cpu to 4.5 ghz and get a good improvement. If not done alreaday that is.

 

[wilbarker5]

@Willbarker5
Your CPU is a 4 core, 8 thread CPU, it has hyperthreading and monitoring programs reflect that. So they will show 8 'cpus'. You have 4 physical cores and 4 virtual.
More info: https://www.howtogeek.com/194756/cpu-basics-multiple-cpus-cores-and-hyper-threading-explained/
So the 4 virtual cores function is basically to feed the 4 physical cores. More efficient use of resources.

Sidenote: On the consumer side, currently there is only like 6 cores, 12 threads (2 threads per core) but IBM for example has CPUs with 4 or 8 threads per physical core (SMT4/SMT8). Probably coming soon to consumer-chips.
I give it 2-3 years. IBM Power9 for anyone interested.

So, yes, you are CPU-bound on BFV but GPU-bound on Resident Evil. Replace the 'bound'-part with a more powerful one and your FPS will increase.

does that not just mean its just the games rather than my hardware?

I mean yeah it will improve fps you're not wrong at all, but its just how its kind of like topsy turvy if you know what i mean.

Like one game the CPU is the problem in the other its the GPU?

 

[wilbarker5]

If you got sufficent cooling you could overclock that cpu to 4.5 ghz and get a good improvement. If not done alreaday that is.

its already overclocked to 4.4ghz just with stock cooler, it did it automatically via bios. I think that is a good sign lol.

I was thinking of improving to an AIO like the corsair h100i thingy or something.

 

[SgtScream]

Upgrading your graphics card is a good start. Let us know if you experience stutter in cpu demanding games like Battlefield after doing so.

its already overclocked to 4.4ghz just with stock cooler, it did it automatically via bios. I think that is a good sign lol.

I was thinking of improving to an AIO like the corsair h100i thingy or something.

If you have a stock cooler, and you'e overclocking, i'd be very surprised if your cpu isn't throttling.

 

[wilbarker5]

Upgrading your graphics card is a good start. Let us know if you experience stutter in cpu demanding games like Battlefield after doing so.

If you have a stock cooler, and you'e overclocking, i'd be very surprised if your cpu isn't throttling.

I think i tried putting it back to stock clock so 4.0 ghz, and no difference was made from the looks of it honestly. lol

i might do it again and play bf5 to see what is up.

 

[SgtScream]

I think i tried putting it back to stock clock so 4.0 ghz, and no difference was made from the looks of it honestly. lol

i might do it again and play bf5 to see what is up.

Regardless, I've built two high end builds three years ago with the i7 4790k and the stock cpu cooler wasn't enough even without overclocking. Check your temps. I was running prime 95 though which is very different from a gaming load, especially with avx settings. To add, if it's true and you reached an oc of 4.4 on a stock cooler, you might have a binned chip that overclocks well. Just imagine how high of an overclock you'd get via lower voltage with a better cpu cooler.

 

[wilbarker5]

Regardless, I've built two high end builds three years ago with the i7 4790k and the stock cpu cooler wasn't enough even without overclocking. Check your temps. I was running prime 95 though which is very different from a gaming load, especially with avx settings. To add, if it's true and you reached an oc of 4.4 on a stock cooler, you might have a binned chip that overclocks well. Just imagine how high of an overclock you'd get via lower voltage with a better cpu cooler.

My temperature wasn't anything out of the ordinary before and after.

Anyway this is a screenshot of me playing bf5 again, without overclocking the cpu.

just as reference again, this is a screenshot of 4.4 ghz overclock

The difference I want to point out tho, which might have been pointless to this response...was that i slightly overclocked the gpu in the 4.0 ghz test by like a 5% boost or something?

 

[wilbarker5]

Regardless, I've built two high end builds three years ago with the i7 4790k and the stock cpu cooler wasn't enough even without overclocking. Check your temps. I was running prime 95 though which is very different from a gaming load, especially with avx settings. To add, if it's true and you reached an oc of 4.4 on a stock cooler, you might have a binned chip that overclocks well. Just imagine how high of an overclock you'd get via lower voltage with a better cpu cooler.

Oh also it isnt a stock cooler! just an air cooler, it is the "arctic freezer 13" sorry i forgot to mention that!

 

[SgtScream]

Oh also it isnt a stock cooler! just an air cooler, it is the "arctic freezer 13" sorry i forgot to mention that!

Cool. If you really REALLY like Battlefield, you WILL see a significant difference going to a 3600x. Just try the gpu upgrade first and see if you subjectively get the performance you desire on your current platform. I'd be curious to see if you experience stutter after the gpu upgrade.

 

[wilbarker5]

Cool. If you really REALLY like Battlefield, you WILL see a significant difference going to a 3600x. Just try the gpu upgrade first and see if you subjectively get the performance to desire on your current platform. I'd be curious to see if you experience stutter after the gpu upgrade.

The only time i ever really "stutter" in games is if im in heated moments in bf5, i play abit of black ops 3 but that is a strangely ported game to PC and thats where i have stutters the most. But honestly, I would just like these upgrades to improve both fps and visual quality.

I will probably get a 144hz monitor first i dont even have one yet, then see what its like and judge if i really need the gpu upgrade to support the monitor you know? Then if necessary upgrade the gpu, then upgrade the cpu probably later.

 

[wilbarker5]

Cool. If you really REALLY like Battlefield, you WILL see a significant difference going to a 3600x. Just try the gpu upgrade first and see if you subjectively get the performance to desire on your current platform. I'd be curious to see if you experience stutter after the gpu upgrade.

Also i tested RE2 too. I only test these two games since they are really new.

This is 4.4ghz

This is 4.0 ghz (image has abit of blood and gore)

Spoiler: this image has blood and gore