best processor for gaming?

[vuther]

hello guys up until now i was looking at a 5960x in my upcoming gaming rig but iv'e heard that the 4770k can get better performance on games. which processor is the best for gaming? i know some of you are going to say that the processor isn't important for gaming and that its the video card that is important but the primary game i want to play is arma 3 which is very CPU intensive. also i already am getting dual sli 980s so i think i have the video card covered. also for my system specs i have a x99 motherboard and ddr4 memory are these compatible with other CPUs? i am not interested in performance to price ratio in this post i am only concerned about performance.

[Phllips]

4790k or 5820k IMO better bang for buck

[harrynowl]

4690k is the sweetspot CPU. You can pay 3x more and gain 2 FPS.

 

If you already own an X99 board and DDR4 grab a 5820K.

 

ARMA isn't well threaded so probably won't make use of 8 cores.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

hello guys up until now i was looking at a 5960x in my upcoming gaming rig but iv'e heard that the 4770k can get better performance on games. which processor is the best for gaming? i know some of you are going to say that the processor isn't important for gaming and that its the video card that is important but the primary game i want to play is arma 3 which is very CPU intensive. also i already am getting dual sli 980s so i think i have the video card covered. also for my system specs i have a x99 motherboard and ddr4 memory are these compatible with other CPUs? 

 

Well if you have an X99 motherboard you need a LGA2011-3 CPU. Games just won't use all the cores but it's still good to have the 5960X if you do a lot of video work. I'd say go with the 5930K or 5820K.

[givingtnt]

nvm what I said. 

[simtransporter]

If you want to go with X99 your choice of CPUs are 5820K, 5930K and 5960X. 

 

I personally think the X99 platform is overkill for gaming alone. I would typically recommend the Z97 platform and a 4790K instead.

[Nico123473]

the i5 4690k

[SeanAngelo]

4690k/4790k

[Ryukrieger]

Here's my suggestion:

- Overclock? If yes: Top of the line i5 unlocked (K model) or as much as you can afford. OR an FX-8XXX series (Yes, it's only as good as an i5 gaming-wise, but trust me, benchmarks on games don't have much differences)

- No overclock? Non-K i5 or Xeon E3 or AMD FX-8XXX.

 

Note: AMD may have more heat and consume more power, but performance-wise, you won't notice much in-game.

NOTE 2: Depends on how much overclocking you want to push with an FX, it would be wiser to go with an i5 due to better heat output, make up your mind on cooler (if applicable) before making final choice (refer to i_build_nanosuits' posts)

[Dennis Caplinger]

4690k if just gaming.... 4790k if gaming and editing

[i_build_nanosuits]

Here's my suggestion:

- Overclock? If yes: Top of the line i5 unlocked (K model) or as much as you can afford. OR an FX-8XXX series (Yes, it's only as good as an i5 gaming-wise, but trust me, benchmarks on games don't have much differences)

- No overclock? Non-K i5 or Xeon E3 or AMD FX-8XXX.

 

Note: AMD may have more heat and consume more power, but performance-wise, you won't notice much in-game.

you do notice a huge difference between an FX-83xx and an intel haswell i5 in MANY games...i recently upgraded from the FX-8320 @ 4.6ghz and now it's MUCH better.

[Ryukrieger]

you do notice a huge difference between an FX-83xx and an intel haswell i5 in MANY games...i recently upgraded from the FX-8320 @ 4.6ghz and now it's MUCH better.

Oh yes, I see, my apology, then I shall rephrase that to "an amount of games"

What I think in this case would be best sum up to depending on the amount of CPU-dependency a game has, because I've nearly forgotten how much that could be when Intel's CPU has a significant per-core performance.

However, an FX would be a good choice for a gamer on budget, this is due to putting money in the GPU would make quite some more sense (gaming-only, though. Unless, of course, you want to stick with a CPU for years, then yes, it's a well investment while holding back on GPU if you're going to upgrade the GPU every generation or two anyway)

[i_build_nanosuits]

Oh yes, I see, in that case, then I shall rephrase that to "an amount of games"

What I think in this case would be best sum up to depending on the amount of CPU-dependency a game has, because I've nearly forgotten how much that could be when Intel's CPU has a significant per-core performance.

However, an FX would be a good choice for a gamer on budget, this is due to putting money in the GPU would make quite some more sense (gaming-only, though. Unless, of course, you want to stick with a CPU for years, then yes, it's a well investment while holding back on GPU if you're going to upgrade the GPU every generation or two anyway)

yes but with AMD FX comes overclocking and for that you need a more expensive heatsinked motherboard and a good cpu cooler where as if you go intel on budget locked i5 you can have a cheaper motherboard and it won't require an after market CPU cooling solution therefore making it even cheaper but still much better gaming performance, here 2 typical kits:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.66 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($108.00 @ Newegg)

Total: $271.65

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-22 11:04 EDT-0400

Vs intel:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($74.78 @ Newegg)

Total: $254.77

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-22 11:05 EDT-0400

And please not that this is haswell refresh CPU and latest H97 chipset motherboard you could upgrade to broadwell i7 in the future...and it's an ATX board...it could be even much cheaper with a mATX H81 motherboard and non-refresh i5. AMD really doesnt make sence anymore.

[Ryukrieger]

Here's my suggestion:

- Overclock? If yes: Top of the line i5 unlocked (K model) or as much as you can afford. OR an FX-8XXX series (Yes, it's only as good as an i5 gaming-wise, but trust me, benchmarks on games don't have much differences)

- No overclock? Non-K i5 or Xeon E3 or AMD FX-8XXX.

 

Note: AMD may have more heat and consume more power, but performance-wise, you won't notice much in-game.

NOTE 2: Depends on how much overclocking you want to push with an FX, it would be wiser to go with an i5 due to better heat output, make up your mind on cooler (if applicable) before making final choice (refer to i_build_nanosuits' posts)

[vuther]

ok so im now considering getting z79 mother board instead of x99 and getting a 4770k or 4790k. would i get better performance with this system than with my previous 5960x setup? is it worth the trade off of using ddr3 RAM instead of ddr4?

[i_build_nanosuits]

ok so im now considering getting z79 mother board instead of x99 and getting a 4770k or 4790k. would i get better performance with this system than with my previous 5960x setup? is it worth the trade off of using ddr3 RAM instead of ddr4?

chipset for 4690K or 4790K is Z97...not Z79...for gaming you will get the same performance for much less $..RAM won't affect gaming performance with a dedicated graphics card.

[Tech_Dreamer]

Alright if you're set to purchase from 47xx series for gaming i'd suggest you go with i5-4xxx k, because performance is not better or improved for the extra hyper threading on i7 or i7k & you can save quite a few extra buck & get the same performance, it's a wise choice & you won't regret it..

[Ryukrieger]

ok so im now considering getting z79 mother board instead of x99 and getting a 4770k or 4790k. would i get better performance with this system than with my previous 5960x setup? is it worth the trade off of using ddr3 RAM instead of ddr4?

Yes, unless you are doing productivity things to a good extent (No, once a week or once every 3-5 days don't count) or has a profession that require it. A Z97 with i5 will be a much better choice. Same goes with Ram, for gaming you won't need DDR4.

For gaming, if you want to overclock, yes, Z97, if you don't want to overclock at all (as in you will not overclock ever), then you can go with a H97.

Of course the choice of CPU would be as good as you can afford on the i5 line (K if overclock)

[Linux User]

What I would do is get the cheapest CPU that won't bottleneck your GPU

[i_build_nanosuits]

What I would do is get the cheapest CPU that won't bottleneck your GPU

bright move that way you need a new motherboard and CPU and maybe even RAM next time you want a GPU upgrade for it to be worth it...makes sence.

[Phoenix70]

an i5 is all you need for gaming

[vuther]

Yes, unless you are doing productivity things to a good extent (No, once a week or once every 3-5 days don't count) or has a profession that require it. A Z97 with i5 will be a much better choice. Same goes with Ram, for gaming you won't need DDR4.

For gaming, if you want to overclock, yes, Z97, if you don't want to overclock at all (as in you will not overclock ever), then you can go with a H97.

Of course the choice of CPU would be as good as you can afford on the i5 line (K if overclock)

okay so right now im leaning towards the i7-4790 with a z97 mother board. is there a reason why i would want an i5 instead? also will this CPU be able to handle the strain of dual sli 980s?

[LemonSpice]

5

[LemonSpice]

5820k iff you need the six cores and the 15mb of l3 cache otherwise i would go 4790k and overclock it on a z97 board

[Ryukrieger]

okay so right now im leaning towards the i7-4790 with a z97 mother board. is there a reason why i would want an i5 instead? also will this CPU be able to handle the strain of dual sli 980s?

Well, most modern CPUs would handle SLI just fine, there are some people on the 3XXX CPUs with 3-4 ways SLI, after all.

Reasons to consider an i5: Normal usage and gaming.

Reasons to consider an i7: Productivity works, for example, 3D Modeling/Rendering, Photo/Video Editing. If you'd want to make a good reason out of it, this either has to be your job or you're doing it as a frequent hobby (As in more than once a week). Because in gaming, there is not much not

Here's a benchmark http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1317?vs=1261

Comparison on a 4960k vs i7 5960X, as you can see, no performance difference in games that can justify the price differences.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1199?vs=1261

And this is the 4960k vs 4970 (notes that these are non-overclocked, as only the 4960K was available for benchmarks)

 

It is purely a waste of money on an i7 if you don't have much focus on productivity works, in my opinion.  If you really want an i7 but you're content with not overclocking, you can even get a Xeon E3 with equivalent clock-speed (but check compatibility with motherboard)