CPU Upgrade, intel i7 920 to...?

[oporto92]

Hi, I have a GA-EX58-DS4 mobo, intel i7 920, 12GB RAM and a GTX 780.  When I overclock my intel 920 from stock 2.67 to a stable 3.6 Ghz I can see up to 20 fps improvement on some games like moded skyrim and 10-15 fps increase in the witcher 2 or CSGO. My 920 is obviously a bit of a bottleneck but not that much, yet I wonder,TL;DR:  if I can buy a i7 980 (not X) for $200 would it be worth it?  I wont have money to buy a new system in at least 1-1.5 years. Its second hand and I would overclock it, I have water cooling. I dont just play games I also do a lot of photoshop and video editing.

 

 

Or, perhaps it would be better to buy a cheap current gen mobo and cpu for under $400?

 

I appreciate all opinions! Thanks!

[Tagiau]

Why not just push the current 920 to 4.0? Should be plenty easy.

[oporto92]

Why not just push the current 920 to 4.0? Should be plenty easy.

 

I tried my best but I cant go past 3.8 Ghz without going over 90 degrees. I only have a corsair H75. Not sure what else to do about it

[flipped_bit]

I'd sell the 920 and buy a more modern system.  $200 for a 5-year-old CPU doesn't make a lot of sense when you can buy something like the 4690K for around that much in the US.

 

In Canada a 4690K and entry-level mobo can be had for $400 or so.  If you're in the US and near a Microcenter you could maybe get a combo in the $300 USD range, or instead get the 4790K + mobo for $400 USD.  Just beware that if you only have an OEM copy of Windows you'll need to buy a new copy, which will add $100 to the cost of the build.

[oporto92]

I'd sell the 920 and buy a more modern system.  $200 for a 5-year-old CPU doesn't make a lot of sense when you can buy something like the 4690K for around that much in the US.

 

In Canada a 4690K and entry-level mobo can be had for $400 or so.  If you're in the US and near a Microcenter you could maybe get a combo in the $300 USD range, or instead get the 4790K + mobo for $400 USD.  Just beware that if you only have an OEM copy of Windows you'll need to buy a new copy, which will add $100 to the cost of the build.

 

Thanks mate! So if I did that (4690k+mobo) I imagine the performance difference would be quite significant, correct?   I am from Australia.

[flipped_bit]

Thanks mate! So if I did that (4690k+mobo) I imagine the performance difference would be quite significant, correct?   I am from Australia.

 

Definitely have a look at some benchmarks before buying to learn what kind of performance differences you can expect.  For CPUs these charts are my starting point (just keep in mind these numbers generally reflect stock clocks):

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

 

For games, single-threaded performance still matters a lot (which is why I don't suggest AMD's current offerings), especially in multiplayer games.  The 4690K (4 cores, 4 threads) and 4790K (4 cores, 8 threads) are the current kings of single-threaded performance.  If you're also doing video editing you might appreciate the additional threads of the 4790K; if you need more cores you could look into Haswell E, which offers 6-core and 8-core variants.  All of these CPUs have been thoroughly reviewed so definitely have a look to see if it will meet your needs.

 

Another option if you can wait a few months is Intel Skylake, which will bring a new chipset, DDR4, improvements in single-core performance (how much is unclear), and other changes. 

[ThomasD]

  $200 for a 5-year-old CPU doesn't make a lot of sense...

Agreed.

 

Better to keep getting by with what he has for now, and save up for a new CPU and MB.  It's not like his current system has crashed and burned, it's just not ideal, that is all.

 

Patience will pay off.

[oporto92]

I was just looking at those charts!  Yeah I now see how it makes sense to wait a little more, its just that saving an extra $200 on top of the $200 I already have ain't that easy and I wasnt sure if ~$400 on new CPU+Mobo would be better than $200 for the 980. But like ThomasD says its not like my pc crashed or anything so I will wait a tad more. Dont think I will get Skylake but when it comes out to the market the 4790k price will go down and I will be keen in get one.   My pc will not lag after 1 hour of editing and I will be able to play the witcher 3 at full graphics haha

 

 

Thanks guys, really appreciate it, I just saved $200 !

[Dzzope]

Personally speaking, If my GF hadn't needed a rig for PS / editing, rendering then I'd still be using it.. I say wait until there is a viable option for NVM-e (SFF 8639).. it'll be the next big jump in system performance (think an Intel 750 as boot drive, but maybe faster and much bigger?? NVM-e with 3d nand??)..

 

I'm guessing it'll be about 18 months / 2 years before there is something good and reasonably affordable released for it.. perfect time to upgrade

[runit3]

TL;DR:  if I can buy a i7 980 (not X) for $200 would it be worth it? 

Absolutely not. No IPC improvement, and those +2c/4t are going to likely be parked most of the time unless all you do is encoding/rendering. You may be able to eek out a bit more than 3.6GHz on the clock, but it's not going to be an earth shattering performance increase.

 

You can pickup a locked i5 Haswell & B or H board for ~$250 and it would be a world of difference.

[oporto92]

Thanks for the replies guys, I decided to wait until skylake comes out to get the best CPU+MOBO ~$400 can buy.  : )