Haswell refresh or Broadwell?

[TheRetiredSlave]

So first off, please try to refrain from posting just single sentence replies that offer no explanation..

 

Anywhoo, I currently own an i7-4770K and a MSI Z87-G45, and from Newegg prices, a 4790K and Maximus VII Hero will cost me $570..

 

Upgrading from a 4770K to a 4790K isn't worth it, and upgrading from Z87 and Z97 doesn't give me any real advantages, so obviously an upgrade to Haswell Refresh isn't worth it (but wait, there's more!). However, if I can sell my 4770K and Z87-G45 for hopefully $350-400 (or is that unreasonably high?), the total effective cost for the 4790K and MaxVII Hero is only ~$200.. While Broadwell *should* be a better option as performance is concerned, I'd expect that most people wouldn't want to pay more than $200 for my 4770K/Z87. If we expect Broadwell's pricing to be similar (ie, ~$570-600 for i7 + Z107 ROG board), I'd be paying an effective $300-400 for that upgrade..

 

So I'm in a bit of a pickle. My system performance on Haswell/Z87 is decen, but I wouldn't mind more (4.4 turbo sounds hellat nice). I'm getting a $500 summer bonus from my company and I have plenty of money otherwise, so I'm not *too* concerned about that, but I obviously want to get the best performance I can out of my money.. 

 

 

What's the best option?:

-Stop being a crybaby (read sig), put the $500 in savings and stick with 4770K/Z87.

-Sell 4770K/Z87 now for ~$350-400, effectively spend $200 on upgrade to 4790K/Z97.

-Wait till end of year. Sell 4770K/Z87 for ~$200, effectively spend $370 on theoretical 5770K/Z107.

[nixproducer]

imo the first option

[Visionnn]

Basically what you are doing is saying, I want to sell my R9 290 for $xxx.xx and then only have to spend another $200 for a R9 290x. If you already have a decent 4770k build then there is no reason to upgrade to the 4790k. Unless your 4770k can't break 4ghz @ 1.4v.

[TheRetiredSlave]

I was in the same boat as yours because I own a pretty decent Haswell system right now. I see the appeal of broadwell and higher performance but before making that move ask yourself. Do you really want have a legitimate use for that extra CPU performance? If so go ahead. But that extra bonus could be well spent on other things like a better GPU or eve\nr a better monitor upgrade without the hassle of selling the system and buying another one. So just stick with z87 for a while. You will be fine. 

A legitimate use for the extra performance? ehhh technically not really, but let me ask you this: If your 4770K was only semi stable at ~4.3 (as opposed to the 4.6 that you say in your sig), would that change your opinion?

 

If I had a 4770K @ 4.6 I wouldn't really even be considering a CPU upgrade until Skylake, but I haven't been too impressed with my performance at stock speeds and up to 4.2 (stable), then 4.3 and 4.4 aren't really perfectly stable.

 

As for other system upgrades, I have everything else I could feasibly need right now.. I'll upgrade my 780 to an 880, and both of my monitors are ideal for my current needs.

 

 

Like I said, the effective cost is only ~$200, and it's the only thing in my system that I feel could even use an upgrade.. 

[adhisakti]

My 4670k is not a good overclocker, it can reach 4.2-4.3 ghz stable, but very difficult to go past that. As an enthusiast I want to try haswell refresh and hope I will get good overclock. But there is nothing useful if I get a new CPU and not much performance increase with couple hundred mhz more. I use my PC for programming and running a couple of VM, sometimes gaming. My CPU still works great even when I run 10 VMs at one time. So, I think I will save my money until there is a new CPU with great performance and overclocking capability.

[imthewalrus]

Unless you need it, don't do it. 

[HueyTheGod]

I, personally, am waiting for Broadwell to come out. Might wait a bit after Broadwell as well. Think about it like this, DDR4 will be coming out and everything will be blown out of proportion price-wise. Would you really be comfortable spending $150+ more than you needed to whenever prices drop and performance rises at the same time 2 months later? I know I wouldn't.

 

However, I might sell my rig to buy a Micro-ATX mobo and a new case anyways, so might as well go with the refresh for me. That's my excuse.

[airdeano]

sit on your current build, as the z87 market will be proliferated with platform

jumpers and the prices will be garbage for resell. selling a "non-stable" CPU

will be tough (prolly go the "never overclocked" description). changing Z87

mobo will not aid in higher OC, maybe cooler temps (doubtful) as they pretty

much have the same canned auto tune with a bit of voltage tweaking. save

your 5-bills for broadwell/skylake.

[TheRetiredSlave]

Alrighty everyone, thanks for the advice!