Time-Proofing Worries - Intel Core i7 4790k

[PCn00b3000]

I absolutely love the processor that I currently have in my main build, which is the Intel Core i7 4790k. A quad-core processor overclocked at a maximum of 4.8GHz (I've only reached 4.5 myself), this is a chip that I don't want to replace for quite some time. However, I've been researching the Skylake/Kaby Lake chipsets, and grew increasingly worried that I'll be left behind with the upcoming tech. After knowing that 4th generation Intel processors have LGA 1150 sockets, they can only accept DDR3 RAM, further limiting upgradability. Is there a potential bottleneck that could appear later if I just continue to upgrade GPUs over time, or am I generally safe for the next 2 or so years? I'd appreciate any feedback to ease my mind a bit

[flibberdipper]

4790K's are still proper badasses. Hell, even the 2600K or 2700K is a monster. And since really everything since the 2xxx lineup is still fast as a pyrotechnic with his ass on fire, I don't think you'll have to worry, unless there's some revelation in gaming where they get massively better looking and murder CPUs.

[AlwaysFSX]

Most of the improvements with newer chipsets is just added features that most people don't use, for example USB Type-C. You're not going to be hurting on performance for several more years at least so unless a new motherboard has a feature you want (M.2 slots galore?) there's no reason to upgrade.

[PCn00b3000]

Thank you very much for the replies! M.2 drives are way too far out of my reach financially to really have a practical use for them, so I understand that point. The chip was generally pretty affordable though, getting mine for $300, so that's an added bonus I suppose  Great to hear the positive points.

 

 

[Inception9269]

7 minutes ago, PCn00b3000 said:

I absolutely love the processor that I currently have in my main build, which is the Intel Core i7 4790k. A quad-core processor overclocked at a maximum of 4.8GHz (I've only reached 4.5 myself), this is a chip that I don't want to replace for quite some time. However, I've been researching the Skylake/Kaby Lake chipsets, and grew increasingly worried that I'll be left behind with the upcoming tech. After knowing that 4th generation Intel processors have LGA 1150 sockets, they can only accept DDR3 RAM, further limiting upgradability. Is there a potential bottleneck that could appear later if I just continue to upgrade GPUs over time, or am I generally safe for the next 2 or so years? I'd appreciate any feedback to ease my mind a bit

You really have nothing to worry about. I had my 4790k for about 2 years before selling it recently, and it was a really good cpu. And the truth of things, like the other guy said, since the i7 2xxx things haven't changed much. The difference between a 4790k, 6700k, and 7700k is all within 10% of each other. only difference is the new ones use ddr4 which still in most applications isn't much of an improvement

[Dunkan77]

Yeah I think the first to show signs of ageing will be the 2nd gen i7 CPU's but even that, only when paired with dual 980s or better GPU's so yeah, you're good for at least 3 to 4 years with your overclocked 4790K sir!

[Dunkan77]

Besides, Upgrading your CPU from now will be a like biting the bullet as you will need a new motherboard, RAM and CPU to match of course. What's changing from the 4th gen to the 6th gen is the RAM, slightly better chipsets and maybe with Kaby Lake a few more PCI-e lanes that will only be used for SLI or if you have PCI based sotrage.

[Sauron]

I'm still rocking a 2600 and have no intention to upgrade anytime soon (unless the industry REALLY picks up the pace after the launch of ryzen). You'll be far better off upgrading your graphics card if your focus are games - even if some bottleneck were to show up, the performance gain would still be significantly larger than what you'd get with a cpu upgrade.

[PCn00b3000]

I bought this CPU only a year ago, and was pretty surprised to see the stock frequency of 4.0GHz. With a little more room to work with while overclocking, I'm glad I bought a great value and high-performing chip that'll stay with me for a while. Good, good news!

[Ykno]

20 minutes ago, PCn00b3000 said:

I absolutely love the processor that I currently have in my main build, which is the Intel Core i7 4790k. A quad-core processor overclocked at a maximum of 4.8GHz (I've only reached 4.5 myself), this is a chip that I don't want to replace for quite some time. However, I've been researching the Skylake/Kaby Lake chipsets, and grew increasingly worried that I'll be left behind with the upcoming tech. After knowing that 4th generation Intel processors have LGA 1150 sockets, they can only accept DDR3 RAM, further limiting upgradability. Is there a potential bottleneck that could appear later if I just continue to upgrade GPUs over time, or am I generally safe for the next 2 or so years? I'd appreciate any feedback to ease my mind a bit

you are safe for at least another 2 gens yet possibly 3 if there is no huge leap forward which i doubt it unless AMD Ryzen is a true moster and blast past Intel which even then probs still going to be safe for another 2 gens so ye dont worry untill you actualy see unplayable game performance.

 

Im using the i5 Haswell refresh chip and even that is going strong so im not gonna upgrade for at least another year or two altho I'm tempted to buy a AMD Ryzen rig if it turns out to be decent.

[Dunkan77]

4 minutes ago, Sauron said:

I'm still rocking a 2600 and have no intention to upgrade anytime soon (unless the industry REALLY picks up the pace after the launch of ryzen). You'll be far better off upgrading your graphics card if your focus are games - even if some bottleneck were to show up, the performance gain would still be significantly larger than what you'd get with a cpu upgrade.

Good to point that out too. If you will see any noticeable difference between say a 3rd gen or older i7 to a 6th or 7th gen one, it will be in video encoding and/or very CPU bound titles. A way to look at this would be Cinebench R15 benchmarks for the different generations of i7 CPU's.

[PCn00b3000]

Exactly, I'm actually really excited to see if AMD can put Intel on-edge to really push for REAL innovation. AMD Ryzen will hopefully put a fire under their asses so we can get the technological push I'm sure we're all looking forward to

[Shog]

I really think you're good! As for your ram concerns if you look up the actual formula for comparing calculation cycle times for ram it's not that harsh of a hit from ddr3 to ddr4. Eventually you'll upgrade, but I vote wait another cycle or three! 

[Dunkan77]

It's obvious Intel and Nvidia both need a good punch to the gut like what happened to the horrifyingly overpriced 780 when the 290X launched. They had to drop their prices by 150 USD!

[PCn00b3000]

3 minutes ago, Shog said:

I really think you're good! As for your ram concerns if you look up the actual formula for comparing calculation cycle times for ram it's not that harsh of a hit from ddr3 to ddr4. Eventually you'll upgrade, but I vote wait another cycle or three! 

Ultimately, I was mostly concerned about the lock on 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, but it's good to hear that there's not a real big push for better and faster RAM for the time being. This is especially great news for the mini-ITX build I'm getting together now, which takes LGA 1150 chips.. Sure, I won't have the fastest system memory, but I'll have a compact and more importantly - reliable system that I can keep with me for a few more years.

 

#Thankg-dforthisforum

[spellmanuk]

no bottle necks for a while hell i have a i5 4690k still at base clock and thats barley bottle necking a 1070 at stock clock speed so your i7 should be good for a while unless you want to put like 6 titan xps in your machine  

[PCn00b3000]

26 minutes ago, peej said:

no bottle necks for a while hell i have a i5 4690k still at base clock and thats barley bottle necking a 1070 at stock clock speed so your i7 should be good for a while unless you want to put like 6 titan xps in your machine  

Gotcha! SLI and Crossfire both aren't in my plans for a while, just because I have to keep my builds generally small for travel's sake.