Unlocked CPUs VS Locked CPUs

AwesomeKid · May 22, 2014

I have recently looked into the Haswell Refresh CPUs by comparing them to the previous Haswell chips released in 2013. I can't really decide between the Core i7 4790 and the Core i7 4770K. Are there really any advantages with overclocking and is it worth the extra money versus a regular locked CPU like the i7 4790?

dandn0ten · May 22, 2014

unlocked cpus are type of overclocking cpu which you can get some more juice out of it to prevent bottlenecking on gpu. if you dont overclocking, then get non-k cpu

Type75 · May 22, 2014

Overclocking would be good if you were going to do alot of gaming on demanding games. If you are not going to worry about gaming alot, then I would suggest not overclocking.

InvalidError · May 22, 2014

If you are not planning to overclock or use the IGP, you can save ~$60 by going with the Xeon 1230v3.

As far as benefits to overclocking go, it gives you 10-20% extra performance and whether or not that is worth the trouble and cost is up to you to decide for yourself. Personally, if a system already feels too sluggish for my taste at stock speed, it is unlikely to feel right even overclocked by 20% so I do not bother with that and save the extra money (cheaper motherboard, cheaper PSU, cheaper RAM, cheaper PSU) for my next system that will be closer to a 100% increment over what I currently have.

rgd1101 · May 22, 2014

if you overclock with a good cooler, it have easily go up to 4.3 GHz

pigsinspace72 · May 22, 2014

If your a gamer, definitely go with the 4770k, especially since the extra money you talk about is only 5 dollars(on newegg). Overclocking allows you to basically run your cpu at a higher frequency but will defiantly require good cooling. Some people can live without over clocking tho. The 2 cpus you mentioned are praticulary the same processor as well. The 4790 has a base clock of 3.5Ghz with 4Ghz turbo and you cannot change the clock rates on the processor. for the 4770k, the base clock is 3.4Ghz but with liquid cooling, you could easily over clock it to 4.5Ghz.

AwesomeKid · May 22, 2014

Here's my build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3OuNI
If picking the i7 4790, the core could, potentially, bottleneck the Zotac GTX 770, but with the i7 4770K, overclocking will fix that problem? Looking around on the internet some said that the i7 4770K has a lot of "variance", what does that mean?

AwesomeKid · May 22, 2014

Just one more question:
Is it possible to overclock a locked CPU from Intel or would you need to get an unlocked CPU like 4770K?

pigsinspace72 · May 22, 2014

If you are going with the 4790, then do as invaliderror says and get the Xeon 1230v3. If the cpu is the object that is bottlenecking, then over clocking will solve that problem.

InvalidError · May 22, 2014

AwesomeKid :

For most intents and purposes, no.

You can overclock locked CPUs by ~5% by increasing BCLK but that overclocks SATA, USB, PCIe, RAM and other stuff by 5% since their clocks are derived from BCLK, which may cause stability issues since many devices have tight tolerances.

So, locked CPU = no OC.

AwesomeKid · May 22, 2014

Thanks everyone for your quick responses!!! =)

warlock_dthpunch · Jun 3, 2014

Intel is gonna release a Unlocked Pentium G3258 @3.2Ghz Processor that can be overclocked on LGA 1150 Z87 platform.....

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Unlocked CPUs VS Locked CPUs

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