Severe bottleneck, don't know what CPU to get to go with 1070ti

[Yose17]

Specs

• Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Cooler Master - Hyper T4 CPU Cooler
• Asus Z170M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
• Kingston - HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
• Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" SSD
• Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM HDD
• EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 ti FTW2 
• NZXT H400i
• EVGA - SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Hello! I recently upgraded my graphics card from a GTX 960 to a 1070 ti and I believe I'm noticing bottlenecking, specifically with my CPU. Using the NZXT CAM overlay in GTA 5, CPU Usage usually maxes out around 96% while GPU usage hovers from 20-30%. I know GTA 5 is a CPU intensive game, but I'm fairly certain I'm due for a CPU upgrade. After some light research online, I found that a i5-8600k seems like a good choice, but I'd like to get a i7-8700k for future proofing. Which CPU would pair better with the 1070ti? Also, is the RAM and power supply that I have now adequate for a CPU upgrade? Thanks!

[Connor Price]

Honestly, I'd just drop a 7700k in it and call it a day. There's no real reason to spend a premium on a new motherboard and CPU when you'd be getting similar performance from just a CPU upgrade. Although saying that, the cooler might struggle a bit with a 7700k. 

[RAM555789]

5 minutes ago, Yose17 said:

Specs

• Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Cooler Master - Hyper T4 CPU Cooler
• Asus Z170M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
• Kingston - HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
• Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" SSD
• Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM HDD
• EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 ti FTW2 
• NZXT H400i
• EVGA - SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Hello! I recently upgraded my graphics card from a GTX 960 to a 1070 ti and I believe I'm noticing bottlenecking, specifically with my CPU. Using the NZXT CAM overlay in GTA 5, CPU Usage usually maxes out around 96% while GPU usage hovers from 20-30%. I know GTA 5 is a CPU intensive game, but I'm fairly certain I'm due for a CPU upgrade. After some light research online, I found that a i5-8600k seems like a good choice, but I'd like to get a i7-8700k for future proofing. Which CPU would pair better with the 1070ti? Also, is the RAM and power supply that I have now adequate for a CPU upgrade? Thanks!

Go with the i7-8700k or i7-8700 over the i5-8600k. The i7-8700 and i5-8600k perform similarly though the i5-8600k beats out the i7-8700 in single core and quad core performance in real world benchmarks while the i7-8700 wins out in multicore performance.

[Yose17]

3 minutes ago, Connor Price said:

Honestly, I'd just drop a 7700k in it and call it a day. There's no real reason to spend a premium on a new motherboard and CPU when you'd be getting similar performance from just a CPU upgrade. Although saying that, the cooler might struggle a bit with a 7700k. 

Is the difference between the 8700k and 7700k night and day or very minimal? I'm hoping to not have to buy another CPU in the next few years so I just really want to be sure. For temps, what's an acceptable range for CPU temps temps? Also, even if I did opt for the 8700k, wouldn't it still fit in my current mobo since it's also the LGA 1151 socket?

[Streetguru]

15 minutes ago, Yose17 said:

 

Just get an R5 2600 as it's just about the best value CPU right now.
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HzyhKB
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HzyhKB/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($169.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $251.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-27 18:20 EDT-0400

 

[Firewrath9]

11 minutes ago, RAM555789 said:

Go with the i7-8700k or i7-8700 over the i5-8600k. The i7-8700 and i5-8600k perform similarly though the i5-8600k beats out the i7-8700 in single core and quad core performance in real world benchmarks while the i7-8700 wins out in multicore performance.

yeah, and single and quad core is what games mostly use. I doubt any game uses more than 4 cores and with a good overclock,  a 8600k can beat the 8700. Also with a z370 mobo, you get upgradablity to the i9 9900k in the future.

[Connor Price]

13 minutes ago, Yose17 said:

Is the difference between the 8700k and 7700k night and day or very minimal? I'm hoping to not have to buy another CPU in the next few years so I just really want to be sure. For temps, what's an acceptable range for CPU temps temps? Also, even if I did opt for the 8700k, wouldn't it still fit in my current mobo since it's also the LGA 1151 socket?

The difference isn't huge, but there is an improvement in games and also in anything productivity related due to the extra cores and threads. Also, the 8700k wouldn't work in your current mobo since all Coffee Lake CPU's require a Z370 board due to slightly different pin out voltages. If you really want the best of the best and not have to worry about upgrading for a while, the 8700k IS the better CPU and will probably last longer due to those extra cores. Z370 also looks like it should be compatible with the new i9's coming out so there's still and upgrade path if you decide the 8700k isn't enough. Ultimately it's hard to tell what will last and what won't. If the gaming industry suddenly becomes more core oriented than clock speed oriented, then Ryzen will out last the current Intel chips. 

[Yose17]

1 minute ago, Connor Price said:

The difference isn't huge, but there is an improvement in games and also in anything productivity related due to the extra cores and threads. Also, the 8700k wouldn't work in your current mobo since all Coffee Lake CPU's require a Z370 board due to slightly different pin out voltages. If you really want the best of the best and not have to worry about upgrading for a while, the 8700k IS the better CPU and will probably last longer due to those extra cores. Ultimately it's hard to tell what will last and what won't. If the gaming industry suddenly becomes more core oriented than clock speed oriented, then Ryzen will out last the current Intel chips. 

Ah, that's the deal breaker then. I really don't want to dish out another $100+ for a z370 board. The 7700k is sounding promising now. If I were to get the 7700k, it'd be as simple as replacing the 6500 that I have now, correct? And for temps, what would be an acceptable maximum so that if I do get the 7700k, I can monitor temps to see if I really need a better cooler.

[Connor Price]

5 minutes ago, Yose17 said:

Ah, that's the deal breaker then. I really don't want to dish out another $100+ for a z370 board. The 7700k is sounding promising now. If I were to get the 7700k, it'd be as simple as replacing the 6500 that I have now, correct? And for temps, what would be an acceptable maximum so that if I do get the 7700k, I can monitor temps to see if I really need a better cooler.

You may need to upgrade your BIOS but other than that it should be as simple as dropping it in. The 7700k is a hot running chip so high temperatures are fairly normal but I'd aim to keep it under 80-85c. You should be fine at stock but I wouldn't go near overclocking with that cooler. 

[Yose17]

2 minutes ago, Connor Price said:

You may need to upgrade your BIOS but other than that it should be as simple as dropping it in. The 7700k is a hot running chip so high temperatures are fairly normal but I'd aim to keep it under 80-85c. You should be fine at stock but I wouldn't go near overclocking with that cooler. 

How would I know if I need to upgrade my BIOS? I know the process of flashing it from a USB and stuff, I'm just personally really scared of touching stuff in the BIOS because I'm always paranoid I'll missclick something and ruin my system.

[Connor Price]

Just now, Yose17 said:

How would I know if I need to upgrade my BIOS? I know the process of flashing it from a USB and stuff, I'm just personally really scared of touching stuff in the BIOS because I'm always paranoid I'll missclick something and ruin my system.

Earlier Z170 motherboards required a BIOS update to accept the 7700k due to it being a Kabylake CPU. In comparison your 6500 is a Skylake CPU. I'm actually not too sure if the later Z170 boards came pre-flashed to support Kabylake. Did you buy the board after Kabylake was released?

[Yose17]

37 minutes ago, Connor Price said:

Earlier Z170 motherboards required a BIOS update to accept the 7700k due to it being a Kabylake CPU. In comparison your 6500 is a Skylake CPU. I'm actually not too sure if the later Z170 boards came pre-flashed to support Kabylake. Did you buy the board after Kabylake was released?

I'm pretty sure the bios was last updated in 2016, I went into bios yesterday, I don't remember the exact date. Probably early 2016. I'll double check

[Yose17]

1 hour ago, Connor Price said:

Earlier Z170 motherboards required a BIOS update to accept the 7700k due to it being a Kabylake CPU. In comparison your 6500 is a Skylake CPU. I'm actually not too sure if the later Z170 boards came pre-flashed to support Kabylake. Did you buy the board after Kabylake was released?

Since the i7-7700k is on this list, does it mean it's compatible?

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/

[ApolloX75]

1 minute ago, Yose17 said:

Since the i7-7700k is on this list, does it mean it's compatible?

 

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS/HelpDesk_CPU/

Yes, but notice the BIOS revision 3017 required? So make sure your BIOS is updated to at least that version number and you will be good to go.