i7 920 >>> i5 4670K

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sancco

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Sep 16, 2009
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Hello esteemed hardware enthusiasts!

I am currently picking out some parts for an updated gaming PC, and would appreciate your expertise! Main uses are games, music, movies etc.

Here's my current build:
CASE: Antec Nine Hundred Two (Mid)
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P6T
CPU: i7 920
COOLER: Hyper Evo 212+
RAM: 6GB (2x3GB) Kingston 1333MHz
GPU: Gigabyte 7970 OC
POWER: Seasonic S12D 850W
O/S: Windows 7 64-Bit
SSD: Sandisk Extreme 240GB
SOUND: ASUS Essence STX

And here's my planned upgrade (a lot of parts carried over):
CASE: CM Storm Trooper Black $172
MOTHERBOARD: No idea yet :(
CPU: Intel i5 4670K $265 (I hear that i7's are purely for heavy workloads)
RAM: Kingston 8GB (1x8GB) ValueRam 1600MHz $69 (Should I invest more here?)
GPU: nVidia GTX780 3GB (Not sure which brand yet, might hang on to my 7970 until more custom PCBs are released)
O/S: Windows 7 64-Bit

Soooo... that's my research so far! I've looked into each part extensively and I'm fairly happy with my choices, but I'm still clueless on a motherboard. It would probably be one of the mainstream Gigabyte models. I plan to overclock and SLI, but in a few months time, not just yet. I would want to get a board that wouldn't limit me in either of these regards.

As always, thanks in advance for your help! This forum is great for solid advice! Mucho gracias.

sancco :D
 
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I just did an upgrade from a i7 920 to 4670k and it was worth it. I had (and still) a golden chip that would OC to 4.0 stable with an H80 highest temperature 70 C.

I fooled around with a noctua 12 se2 and got 4.4 with 1.24 volts rock solid max temps 80 C.

My fps in MMO is really better. Everything feel snappier in game. Also the mobo upgrade (i had the same board as you) sata 3 is pretty nice. I got a samsung ssd pro 840 256 gigs. Everything is soo fast now.

Consider the gaming motherboard from MSI. I am very satisfied with it.
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Kamen_BG

Kamen_BG

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I don't want to come off as a hater or anything, but you'll just be wasting you're money.

The Core i7 920 can outperform the 4670K with a healthy overclock, and even with a mild overclock will not bottleneck a GTX 780.
The GTX 780 on the other hand does outperform the HD 7970 by a considerable amount, however the HD 7970 is more than fast enough for any game out there. There isn't really much to be gained here.
The RAM is a downgrade since single channel RAM is a downgrade, since dual channel is the way to go now.

If you feel like you need more performance, wait for the drivers that fix Crossfire and add another 7970.
This way your current PC will significantly outperform the one you're trying to buy.

Your build is good as it is.
If you're gaming on a single monitor, there is no need for an upgrade (unless you've got a 4K monitor)
 
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sancco

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I appreciate the input. If I was to get a 4770K, would that be an improvement over the i7 920? My CPU suffers in some of my current tasks and I need those extra clock cycles (2.67>3.4). I've gotten BSODs on the slightest overclocks with this chip so I can't do anything but stock.

As for the 780, I know it's a bit decadent to upgrade from a 7970 but I do play at 1440p, so the 7970 only just scrapes by at the moment. The 780 will give me a 20-30% improvement which should help a fair bit. Plus I can still offload the 7970 for a decent return.

As for the ram, is 2x4 better than 1x8? I had absolutely no idea about this haha. If you think this build is still viable considering I can't OC my current CPU, which RAM would you suggest?

Thanks again, I want to make the right decision with this. But I'm itchy to upgrade!
 
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fudoka711

fudoka711

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Well, getting the i7-4770k over the i5-4670k won't really net you any performance gains while gaming. If you're going to be running many programs while gaming, then maybe you could benefit - but I don't think you need to go any higher. It's a pity you can't really overclock your i7-920 though - that thing totally would've worked for today's games.

Because you're gaming at 1440p, getting the 780 makes more sense then. I still think it's a little over priced, but you'll definitely notice a difference. Or you could wait a while and and another 7970 in CF. If you're concerned about power/heat/noise - you'll want to stay away from the 2nd option.

As for the ram, just get any 2x4gb 1600mhz ram sticks/kit. If you don't plan on doing anything fancy with ram timings, just get a set that's highly rated and not that expensive. Corsair vengeance, g-skill ares or sniper or ripjaws, kingston hyperx are all good models.
 
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Meatdohx

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May 23, 2013
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I just did an upgrade from a i7 920 to 4670k and it was worth it. I had (and still) a golden chip that would OC to 4.0 stable with an H80 highest temperature 70 C.

I fooled around with a noctua 12 se2 and got 4.4 with 1.24 volts rock solid max temps 80 C.

My fps in MMO is really better. Everything feel snappier in game. Also the mobo upgrade (i had the same board as you) sata 3 is pretty nice. I got a samsung ssd pro 840 256 gigs. Everything is soo fast now.

Consider the gaming motherboard from MSI. I am very satisfied with it.
 
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