i5 4690k Stock vs. OC

[striker1010]

Hey Guys,

 

Had some quick questions in regards to my upcoming build. I was considering using the i5 4690k coupled with a Asus Z97-A motherboard and a Corsair h100i for water cooling. I plan to add a GTX 970 and eventually SLI for this build. What I was wondering was whether (for gaming) purposes the CPU would be a bottleneck w/o overclock in non sli or later sli configuration. Additionally, I was also wondering if I do decide the overclock, the h100i would be sufficient or if I would need to go even higher than that. If the CPU could be a bottleneck, I rather just cough up the extra 100 for the 4790k but most folks say it isn't needed.

 

Additionally, I want to point out that I want to be able to enjoy 1080p ultra settings for the next 2 years w/o needing to upgrade my CPU. The GPU I think should be fine once I do SLI down the line.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Edit - I also aim to preserve the life of my cpu in the sense that I am not looking for extreme overclocking either. Just enough, so when the time comes I can get by without upgrading.

[Clyne]

The cpu won't bottleneck with those gpu's, even with a 970 sli setup, although you could overclock the cpu to get the most performance out of the chip. The h100i is enough, only problems i'd heard of it is the mounting problems, either the h100i, nh-d15, or h220-x are the ones i would recommend for a great cpu cooler if your gonna overclock a lot. 

[Skiiwee29]

The CPU is rock solid, I have mine at 4.6ghz at 1.305 volts. Runs rock solid. It wont bottle neck anything anytime soon... maybe in 10 years?

[Vacsol]

the 4690k will not bottleneck anything that's currently available. however games may utilize hyperthreading in the future, but that's to be seen.

the h100i is a great cooler and will be more than enough for overclocking the 4690k.

 

if you're only looking at mild overclocks like 4.2 or 4.3ghz, you should be in the clear.

[ind3x]

I personally overclocked my 4690k to 4.5 GHz at 1.150V,

This was pretty easy to achieve, and i'm doing this on the h80i, which has a bit lesser cooling than the h100i.

 

I certainly don't think you'll recieve a bottlenneck within the next two years.

[striker1010]

The cpu won't bottleneck with those gpu's, even with a 970 sli setup, although you could overclock the cpu to get the most performance out of the chip. The h100i is enough, only problems i'd heard of it is the mounting problems, either the h100i, nh-d15, or h220-x are the ones i would recommend for a great cpu cooler if your gonna overclock a lot. 

 

 

The CPU is rock solid, I have mine at 4.6ghz at 1.305 volts. Runs rock solid. It wont bottle neck anything anytime soon... maybe in 10 years?

 

 

the 4690k will not bottleneck anything that's currently available. however games may utilize hyperthreading in the future, but that's to be seen.

the h100i is a great cooler and will be more than enough for overclocking the 4690k.

 

if you're only looking at mild overclocks like 4.2 or 4.3ghz, you should be in the clear.

 

Thanks a bunch for the replies guys. One last question, as this will be my first PC Build (I have primarily used Gaming Laptops in the previous years) - Should I go with manual overclock? or utilize the Asus 5-Way Optimization Software that will come with the Z97-A board? Just wondering because if it is just as efficient and takes the headache out of manual work then why not.

[Vacsol]

Thanks a bunch for the replies guys. One last question, as this will be my first PC Build (I have primarily used Gaming Laptops in the previous years) - Should I go with manual overclock? or utilize the Asus 5-Way Optimization Software that will come with the Z97-A board? Just wondering because if it is just as efficient and takes the headache out of manual work then why not.

software overclocks are fine for beginners, however if you want to do it yourself, you may be able to get better results in terms of stability and temps

[s3ns3]

 however games may utilize hyperthreading in the future, but that's to be seen.

 

the games benefit from hyperthreading from a long time now,look at pentium vs i3. however they don`t use 8 threads and never will.

--

a stock i5 won`t bottleneck nothing.if you overclock the cpu the gaming performance would be about the same in gpu bound games. at 1080p ofc.or higher

[eLucid]

I personally overclocked my 4690k to 4.5 GHz at 1.150V,

This was pretty easy to achieve, and i'm doing this on the h80i, which has a bit lesser cooling than the h100i.

 

I certainly don't think you'll recieve a bottlenneck within the next two years.

 

You hit the lottery with your chip. Unfortunately, most of us aren't that lucky.

[striker1010]

software overclocks are fine for beginners, however if you want to do it yourself, you may be able to get better results in terms of stability and temps

 

the games benefit from hyperthreading from a long time now,look at pentium vs i3. however they don`t use 8 threads and never will.

--

a stock i5 won`t bottleneck nothing.if you overclock the cpu the gaming performance would be about the same in gpu bound games. at 1080p ofc.or higher

 

Thanks again for the input guys. I think I will definitely start with software oc first until I really learn the ins and outs of overclocking before attempting manual oc. @s3ns3 you definitely make a point, even games that do strain the CPU a certain amount, I doubt anything crazy is around the corner that will have gamers being forced to switch to i7 for significant performance gains.

[striker1010]

You hit the lottery with your chip. Unfortunately, most of us aren't that lucky.

What seems to be the realist oc that average folks are getting lucid?

[eLucid]

What seems to be the realist oc that average folks are getting lucid?

 

For the 4690k, 4.4ghz at about 1.23/1.26 volts.

[Yoann Craniumz]

Hey Guys,

Had some quick questions in regards to my upcoming build. I was considering using the i5 4690k coupled with a Asus Z97-A motherboard and a Corsair h100i for water cooling. I plan to add a GTX 970 and eventually SLI for this build. What I was wondering was whether (for gaming) purposes the CPU would be a bottleneck w/o overclock in non sli or later sli configuration. Additionally, I was also wondering if I do decide the overclock, the h100i would be sufficient or if I would need to go even higher than that. If the CPU could be a bottleneck, I rather just cough up the extra 100 for the 4790k but most folks say it isn't needed.

Additionally, I want to point out that I want to be able to enjoy 1080p ultra settings for the next 2 years w/o needing to upgrade my CPU. The GPU I think should be fine once I do SLI down the line.

Thanks,

Edit - I also aim to preserve the life of my cpu in the sense that I am not looking for extreme overclocking either. Just enough, so when the time comes I can get by without upgrading.

The 970 should easily Max out all games at 1080p for the next 2 years without sli. By then the new architecture, pascal I believe should be released.