Intel Core i3-4170, time to upgrade

[Eastman51]

I've had my PC for over a year now, and I have started to notice and suffer from a CPU bottleneck. My PC started out as an OEM machine, but that changed with the onset of more hard drives, a dedicated GPU, and double the RAM. However, the GPU has presented a new bottleneck in my system that is preventing me from playing games at higher settings (even though my GPU is actually capable) and causing slowdowns and occasional frame drops in other games. Currently my CPU is an Intel Core i3-4170, which isn't actually a terrible CPU. However, the catch is that its a dual core CPU... Not good for modern gaming. So, I am now in the market for a CPU upgrade, I realize that I may have to get a new motherboard (in which case I'll ditch the OEM case and buy a new case to transplant my system into), but I want to retain compatibility for DDR3 memory in order to save some money (and because the 2 8GB sticks I have are only 3 or 4 months old). I won't need help finding a case, as I have a few in mind if it comes down to that. I'd also like some recommendations for budget CPU coolers to accompany this upgrade, as my OEM cooler is pretty bad (the fan spins the opposite way that it should in terms of air flow. A possibly better explanation might be that the fan sucks air in and so air blows out the sides of the heat sink. Thanks in advance

[Guest]

I would not get new mobo, just get an i5/i7 haswell like a i5 4460 or i7 4770 and keep ram+mobo

[JoostinOnline]

Use HWMonitor to see what's getting used up most.

 

As long as you're getting an LGA1150 CPU then you don't need to change the motherboard.

[ARikozuM]

Get a 4790.

[stealth80]

The fan is fine, if it was sucking air in it would cause a vacuum around the sides of the heatsink, the air you're feeling is air being forced through the heatsink by the fan.

 

However, I wouldn't be building a new Platform until after Ryzen releases (rumoured 2 weeks ish) as it may offer more performance at our price point or at least shake up current pricing - that wont likely affect series 4 chips mind - the cheapest route (current board chipset dependent) would be a 4770k/4790k

[JoostinOnline]

3 minutes ago, ARikozuM said:

Get a 4790.

Probably super overkill if his GPU is struggling too.  I upgraded from an i3-4160 to an i7-4790K and got zero improvement in gaming because I have a GTX 750 Ti.

[stealth80]

Hmm you have an oem board so 4790 (non k) is the best bet

 

2 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Probably super overkill if his GPU is struggling too.  I upgraded from an i3-4160 to an i7-4790K and got zero improvement in gaming because I have a GTX 750 Ti.

Op has a 960

[Eastman51]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

Probably super overkill if his GPU is struggling too.  I upgraded from an i3-4160 to an i7-4790K and got zero improvement in gaming because I have a GTX 750 Ti.

I have a GTX960 4GB, it has the capacity to run nearly all of my games at maximum settings. The CPU is a major bottleneck on it. The 490 is looking like a good option right now

[JoostinOnline]

2 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

Hmm you have an oem board so 4790 (non k) is the best bet

 

Op has a 960

Didn't think to look at his profile.

[stealth80]

4 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

I have a GTX960 4GB, it has the capacity to run nearly all of my games at maximum settings. The CPU is a major bottleneck on it. The 490 is looking like a good option right now

if you go 4790 (non k) I think I would upgrade the CPU cooler at the same time. Whilst the chip shouldn't cause too much heat, a cooler such as the coolermaster 212 evo will help keep it cool non the less

[ARikozuM]

10 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Probably super overkill if his GPU is struggling too.  I upgraded from an i3-4160 to an i7-4790K and got zero improvement in gaming because I have a GTX 750 Ti.

The 4690 and 4790 have about 5 more years in them before a user will want to replace it. 

[ARikozuM]

28 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Definitely a 4790 then. That's the combo I run, it's great

Agreed.

28 minutes ago, wrathoftheturkey said:

Debatable for the i5. Battlefield One is already starting to push it to its limits

Not really. Getting 100Hz is commendable.

[Eastman51]

1 hour ago, stealth80 said:

if you go 4790 (non k) I think I would upgrade the CPU cooler at the same time. Whilst the chip shouldn't cause too much heat, a cooler such as the coolermaster 212 evo will help keep it cool non the less

This is what I've been looking for, thanks. And thanks to everyone else who gave me some advice too. I'll get a 4790 or a 4690 and a 212 EVO to keep it cooler than the OEM cooler I have right now. Probably going to get a new case too, to have more real-estate and provide more room for cable management and space for the new cooler.

[stealth80]

1 hour ago, ARikozuM said:

Agreed.

Not really. Getting 100Hz is commendable.

 

Its one game, GTAV, RofTR are also thread bound/see improvements with i7's. Whilst an i5 is perfectly fine now, moving forward I think an i7 will be required for the smoothest experience

[Zodiark1593]

3 hours ago, stealth80 said:

if you go 4790 (non k) I think I would upgrade the CPU cooler at the same time. Whilst the chip shouldn't cause too much heat, a cooler such as the coolermaster 212 evo will help keep it cool non the less

Actually, I'd argue for the 4790K as it has an additional 400 MHz stock over the vanilla 4790 (4.0/4.4 GHz base/turbo vs 3.6/4.0).

[stealth80]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Actually, I'd argue for the 4790K as it has an additional 400 MHz stock over the vanilla 4790 (4.0/4.4 GHz base/turbo vs 3.6/4.0).

he would need a new board to rinse the best out of the k though

[Zodiark1593]

5 minutes ago, stealth80 said:

he would need a new board to rinse the best out of the k though

Perhaps, though it's not necessary to get the increased stock speed. There is about a $25-$30 price difference between the two. So basically, spending an extra $30 nets more than a 10% increase in speed. 

 

Can't go wrong with either. I just wouldn't rule out the K just because of a locked board.