Deciding to upgrade CPU + Mobo

[SpittingLlama]

Hello forum!

 

I think this is my first post but I have been following http://linustechtips.com/ for a year now.

Lets start with my specs atm:
cpu: i7-920 2,6Ghz @4Ghz stable OC

mobo: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 X58
ram: Kingston HyperX 3*4GB 1600Mhz + OCZ Gold 1600 3*2GB OCZ Gold K3 
gpu: MSI Lightning GTX 770 
ssd: (boot)Samsung 840 Pro 256GB + samsung 840 EVO 256GB

psu: Be Quiet Dark Pro 750W P. ATX2  

Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE 1366

So to the question at hand...

My CPU is getting a bit old, bought it in 2009. Mind you at 4Ghz it stills performs well but I'm thinking it's the next part that needs upgrading. (together with the mobo ofc)

So what CPU is the best Bang for the Buck atm? Or maybe in the distant future (still 2014)?

I would OC it when needed but would like it not to be to difficult.

 

Any Suggestions / questions?

Thanks a lot!
 

 

[WyvernAbstracts]

what are you using your pc for? is your current cpu letting you down? in what way? 

[SpittingLlama]

what are you using your pc for? is your current cpu letting you down? in what way? 

Good question.

 

In order:

1. Gaming

2. Programming

4. Graphical design

3. 3D modeling / rendering (3DsMax)

It's letting me down in some CPU intensive games and 3D rendering (not that it is a big factor since I don't do 3D that much anymore)

+ Mostly because I want to get a new one

+ I'm thinking of making a custom NAS with spare parts and this CPU + Mobo would also be used.

[rhodestech]

With that setup, you could probably ride out the next year till Broadwell lands. Intel haven't delivered anything earth-shattering since Sandy-bridge. Devil's Canyon seems to offer a granular speed increase in comparison to "first-gen" Haswell. Imo, Z97 for me has been about additional features (m.2 support, Sata Express etc) as opposed to raw speed.

 

EDIT: Just noticed your post edit, if you want to upgrade now go for a Z97 board with an unlocked Devil's Canyon Processor. No point buying into the Ivybridge (Z77) or Haswell (Z87) Platforms at this point, considering the price difference in comparison to Z97 isn't that much.

[harrynowl]

I wouldn't really upgrade: "Mind you at 4Ghz it stills performs well" you kind of said it yourself.

 

Keep your money for now:)

[Paralectic]

Get a Z97 board with a refreshed Haswell i7: 4790K. IF you want to upgrade.

[TechFan@ic]

The upgrade from a 4Ghz Nehalem quadcore to Haswell quadcore isn't considerable. You're looking at about 15-25% better single threaded performance with a 4670K and no improvement at all in multi-threaded performance.

Consider grabbing a six core Gluftown instead, an i7 970/980X or 990X used. Gulftown has slightly higher IPC, slightly better overclockablity and more importantly two additional cores will improve performance in a significant number of newer games.
BF4, Watch Dogs & Crysis 3 all scale very well from 4 to 6 cores.

[SpittingLlama]

Reading all these answers generally points me to 1 conclusion: Wait for Broadwell (if possible get a 6core).

Thanks for the super fast and useful answers! 

 

Edit: Sorry, can't mark multiple best answers

[Faa]

The upgrade from a 4Ghz Nehalem quadcore to Haswell quadcore isn't considerable. You're looking at about 15-25% better single threaded performance with a 4670K and no improvement at all in multi-threaded performance.

Consider grabbing a six core Gluftown instead, an i7 970/980X or 990X used. Gulftown has slightly higher IPC, slightly better overclockablity and more importantly two additional cores will improve performance in a significant number of newer games.

BF4, Watch Dogs & Crysis 3 all scale very well from 4 to 6 cores.

Agreed. And you get a 250% single threaded performance improvement from a phenom x6 to a 8350.