How much CPU power do I need to for 980 ti gaming?

[Kickflapper]

I have a 4790k OC'd to 4.6ghz aircooled stable <80°. I have a EVGA 980ti Classified. I have thought about going water cooled and trying to get a 5ghz OC. How much CPU horsepower do I need for gaming? Is it worth spending 100.00 on a decent AIO for the performance increase? 

[Kickflapper]

Same Question is worth water cooling my GPU for performance increase?

[z97]

You won't see a whole lot of difference in going from 4.6 - 4.8 

 

Kinda doubt you'll hit 5 on a AIO... you'd be looking at a good 1.45+ vcore on that cpu to get it stable

[Moonzy]

this question kinda depends on the games you play

 

but the 4790k should do fine with a 980ti for most cases, especially if you overclocked it

[Octavialicious]

I'd say no, but a 240mm would get you at least .2 GHz more IMO (if that's worth it to you)

 

and again, the 4790K is MORE than fine at 4.6 which is why I advise against buying an AiO  

[Lays]

Which air cooler?

 

If you want a stable 24/7 5G 4790k, you'll need a very good chip, and a delid with QUALITY paste to keep temps under control.

 

I had a 5Ghz 24/7 stable 4790k before this 6700k, it needed 1.33v for 5Ghz. It was delidded with thermal grizzly and I ran it on my custom loop with a 1080mm radiator, temps still got pretty far up there in things like aida 64 etc. 

 

If you don't get a GOOD sample, there's no hope of 24/7 stable 5G on a 4790k without very high temps and voltages.

[Kickflapper]

I have Hyper 612 ver2 and alot of airflow it is huge

[SnowyMus]

Honestly, I'd say you'll probably do just fine even at your current speeds (or even stock speeds) for just about any game, as the 4790K is an excellent CPU. I really don't think that spending $100 for just 400 more MHz is worth it if you're just concerned about gaming.

 

24 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

Same Question is worth water cooling my GPU for performance increase?

For additional overclocking headroom, sure. Otherwise, unless it's throttling with the default cooler, you won't see any impact in performance.

[DieHörnær]

As above, not really worth it for the small gains. But it is worth custom cooling for a quieter system and better aesthetics.

[TheGamingBarrel]

32 minutes ago, z97 said:

You won't see a whole lot of difference in going from 4.6 - 4.8 

 

Kinda doubt you'll hit 5 on a AIO... you'd be looking at a good 1.45+ vcore on that cpu to get it stable

It depends on the CPU. I have a 4770K That can hit 5GHz at 1.33V And my friends does it at 1.28V IIRC

 

One week difference in intels fabrication makes a large difference, and with CPUs there are different batches that can scale better or worse with temperatures.

 

 

Temperatures are very important, my chip cant do 4.7 at 1.35V If at 70C, meanwhile I can drop volts and increase clocks at 30C.

[Kickflapper]

I have a quiet fan profile when not gaming. I wear my headphones when games and crank the fans and can't hear them