CPU upgrade or not?

[mat45]

Hey guys it's me once again. I'm starting this topic because I need for the third time your help. I used to have an i7 920 (2.66 Ghz) with a gtx 560 Ti and 12 Gb of RAM, powered by a 600W PSU from PowerX. Yesterday my motherboard died on me and there was no way to fix it. I wondered what I should do. Should I just buy a motherboard compatible with my CPU or should I buy a new motherboard and upgrade my CPU.

What I had in mind was a CPU that was good for gaming and also for emulation.

My budget is 400 euros.

What should I do?
I await your responses...

[Createinator]

Get an i5 with Z87/97 motherboard ~ you will see considerable performance upgrade from your 920.

[AnnoyedShelf]

What @Createinator said.  An i5-4690k will blow you away.

[SpyRosL]

Yes! full on i5k with z97 board!

[jurian123]

See above answers. i5k with z97

[mat45]

Thanks for the replies guys but I have a problem. The z97 motherboards don't appear to support 1066 mhz RAM (the one that I have). Any suggestions?

[i_build_nanosuits]

Thanks for the replies guys but I have a problem. The z97 motherboards don't appear to support 1066 mhz RAM (the one that I have). Any suggestions?

If they are DDR3 1066mhz they should work, if not toss em away and get a new 8GB kit of DDR3 1600 or 1866MHZ the cheapest you find and call it a day those can be found around 60$ to 70$ nowadays..

[mat45]

Yes i_build_nanosuits they're DDR3. I should be safe then...

[i_build_nanosuits]

Yes i_build_nanosuits they're DDR3. I should be safe then...

i think it should, only way to find out for sure is to try it out but i'm confident it should work...if not then you'll have to upgrade them.

[harrynowl]

Haswell and 1.65V dimms can also be a bit finicky. 

[mat45]

Ok guys I did some research and I found these two components:

 

Motherboard:

 

http://www.e-key.it/prod-scheda-madre-msi-z97-gaming-5-intel-z97-socket-1150-ddr3-sata3-usb3-atx-53100.htm

 

CPU:

 

http://www.e-key.it/prod-cpu-intel-core-i5-4690k-socket-1150-35ghz-6mb-intel-hd-graphics-hd4600-88w-boxed-53713.htm

 

The site is in italian but the specifications are in english so you should understand them.

 

What do you think of them? Are they fine?

[i_build_nanosuits]

Ok guys I did some research and I found these two components:

 

Motherboard:

 

http://www.e-key.it/prod-scheda-madre-msi-z97-gaming-5-intel-z97-socket-1150-ddr3-sata3-usb3-atx-53100.htm

 

CPU:

 

http://www.e-key.it/prod-cpu-intel-core-i5-4690k-socket-1150-35ghz-6mb-intel-hd-graphics-hd4600-88w-boxed-53713.htm

 

The site is in italian but the specifications are in english so you should understand them.

 

What do you think of them? Are they fine?

Yes that is absolutely perfect, this will be used strictly for gaming right?

[mat45]

Yes i_build_nanosuits and also for some emulators like dolphin, pcsx2, etc...

[i_build_nanosuits]

that's perfect, plan an aftermarket CPU cooler in your build if you plan to overclock the CPU, this is a great kit it will perform very well and even allow you to run dual GPU setups in the future if you want to.

[mat45]

Thanks i_build_nanosuits, you've been extremely helpful

[i_build_nanosuits]

Thanks i_build_nanosuits, you've been extremely helpful

you're welcome. Are you planning to upgrade your GPU as well cause the 560ti is pretty weak by today's standard...you have a lot of worthy upgrade cards that won't necesseraly break the bank out there..cause the CPU only plays a second role in gaming, the primary part for performance being the GPU and you want to keep a good balance between both of them, now you will have a blazing fast CPU that would be pretty much useless because your GPU isnt powerful enough to take advantage of it..

[mat45]

I was planning to do it but I was told the new Maxwell is coming out and I wanted to see where it will be going...

[i_build_nanosuits]

they are not coming out before some time yet from what infos i've been able to gather some sources say it's unlikely to come out before Q1 or Q2 of 2015...that can still be a long wait...also most states that it will probably be a good improvement in terms of energy efficiency and heat output but probably not that big of a leap in terms of performance...but that we can't tell for sure. One thing i can tell you tho is that AMD GPU's are currently very agressively priced and you do get a lot of bang for your bucks...something like an R9 290 wich performs about the same as a GTX 780 and max out any games out there can be purchased at a very reasonable price...if it's still too steep you could even look at an R9 280X...nvidia cards cost more for the same performance. But its all up to you i'm just telling you what i know about this.

If you're still okay with the performance of your current GPU i guess waiting to see how the next gen card do can be possible

[mat45]

One again i_build_nanosuits thank you again for your info. Yeah an R9 280X sounds perfectly reasonable to me. I think I'll buy it when I'll have some money left...