Best CPU and stock cooler query for upgraded gaming rig.

Diamond-HP · Jan 10, 2015

Hi guys,

I'm upgrading my rig for Attila Total War as its about time anyway.

My question is what's the best CPU out there right now for gaming (still the i5-4690k?) and if so do I need to OC it.

The scenario is I'd rather have one powerful enough not to OC it if you know what I mean, I don't want the hassle of over heating and testing to make sure I've not reduced its life span, I just want to plug and play money regardless.

Now before anyone says "Well know point in a K may as well get a standard CPU" I need the OC compatible motherboards anyway because my 8 GB Crucial Ballastix Elite RAM have high 1866 DRAM which you need an OC capable Mother board for.

If an i7 will better then I can get that if needed.

Oh and lastly what's the feed back on the stock coolers of these CPU's, if I'm not OC'ing do I need an Aftermarket cooler and are the stock ones noisey etc?

Febreeze_ · Jan 10, 2015

If you are just gaming, the i5 4690k is an amazing cpu. If you are planning to edit and render and animate, any i7 is good for you.
Now, for overclocking. It is best that you get an aftermarket cooler for the best OC'ing results. The stock cooler is fine for most cases, but you might get a very minimal overclock.
If not overclocking, do not get any k-series processor. The stock cooler is fine for that.

A good cooler is the cooler master hyper 212 evo. Look into that.

Darkbreeze · Jan 10, 2015

It's still the 4690k for all intents and purposes, and overclocking it does help. 4-4.5Ghz will achieve good results.

If you don't want to overclock and can afford one, the i7-4790k games just as well, and performs much better in non-gaming threaded tasks.

If you don't overclock, the stock cooler is fine, but an aftermarket cooler is ALWAYS a better option. The OEM doesn't include anything more than they have to or they bury profits.

Hyper 212 EVO for budget AND decent performance. Noctua NH-U14S for mid level performance. Noctua NH-D14 or D15, Cryorig Ultimate or Universal, or any of the Thermalright Silver arrow models for high performance.

Diamond-HP · Jan 10, 2015

"If not overclocking, do not get any k-series processor. The stock cooler is fine for that."

As I mentioned I need to get the Z87 mobo anyway for my RAM specs so may as well get a K and there's like £10 difference last time I checked, also more future proof.

I have a Cooler Master N200 case so I need to be careful with height of Coolers (6.3inch or 160mm), if I'm not OC'ing do I actually need an after market cooler?

If I'm not planning on OC'ing how does the i7-4790k compare with the i5-4690k off the mark?
The game in particular is Rome Total War 2 would be nice to get comparisons on.

Febreeze_ · Jan 10, 2015

The difference will be very minimal, like 3-6 fps difference, unless you play very cpu intensive games the difference might be more. Just get an i5 if you are gaming, good and has a great upgrade path.

Darkbreeze · Jan 10, 2015

If you're not overclocking you don't specifically NEED an aftermarket cooler, but a good aftermarket cooler is less likely to fail, will cool better, will be quieter (In most cases and with most high quality aftermarket coolers.) and is usually able to do the same job as the stock cooler at a lower RPM which draws less voltage.

IF a lower profile cooler is desirable, any of these is a good replacement for stock:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/low-profile-heat-sink-mini-itx,3639.html

Diamond-HP · Jan 11, 2015

Will those fans clear my Crucial ballistix Elites though on a Mini ATX?

I do have some height in my N200 Coolermaster up to 6.3 inches.

Also can I get an answer to this ......
"If I'm not planning on OC'ing how does the i7-4790k compare with the i5-4690k off the mark?
The game in particular is Rome Total War 2 would be nice to get comparisons on."

The game I play is Rome 2 Total war which is CPU heavy.

(I'll be giving best answer)

Diamond-HP · Jan 11, 2015

Amazon has the height of the my Ram at 2.1 inches tall.

Darkbreeze · Jan 11, 2015

I can't tell you much personally about the performance of any chip playing Rome as I've never played it. It's an older title and there are really no benchmarks on it using current generation cpus. At stock clocks the 4690k and 4790k are very similar in most titles, so unless you have other non-gaming intentions, the i5 is a better choice. If you can afford the i7-4790k it does have a 500mhz faster base clock and four additional threads, so it's certainly not a waste of an investment since future games are very likely to be optimized for more and more threads as time goes on plus for other tasks it's clearly beneficial.

Does your case have a 120mm side fan installed that might interfere with the height of a cpu cooler or is there no side fan going to be used?

Diamond-HP · Jan 12, 2015

Rome Total War 2 is only about a year old, your thinking of the first Rome.

No I have no side fan in my N200 just the exhaust fan and the front fan, I have 6.3" of clearance pref want something slightly smaller as to not have any issues.

Something around the size of a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, which actually may be the best option tbf?

Darkbreeze · Jan 12, 2015

Very strange as the wiki does show it's release date as September 3 2013 but many of the benchmarks for it have older dates:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1426315/gamegpu-total-war-rome-ii-benchmarked

Since you have no fan there, I'd recommend the NH-U12S, which is plenty for your intentions and is only 158mm tall. The specs for your case indicate it supports 160mm tall coolers if no side fan is installed. The NH-U12S specifies that it clears all tall ram heatsinks At 60 bucks it's more expensive than some other models, but it's performance rivals some much more expensive models.

Another very good option is the Noctua NH-C14 which is a downdraft style cooler with stock style orientation, blowing downwards rather than horizontally through the heatsink. It can be used with two fans, or a fan on top or bottom only.

A little more affordable, if cost is a major issue, then Zalman’s CNPS8900 might be a good choice as it has good performance with a lower price, but it's not the prettiest cooler out there.

I have concerns about the EVO fitting. It's supposed to be a 159mm cooler, which should fit cases that indicate 160mm clearance, but in many cases I've attempted to install it in that were max 160mm clearance, it was up against the side panel which caused it to bulge slightly and so was not able to be used. I don't think the top height of the heat pipes are evenly sealed which probably results in slight variances in heat pipe height where they exit the top of the fin stack.

Diamond-HP · Jan 12, 2015

Thanks Darkbreeze that was very helpful.

Those two Noctua's are perfect, I really like the low profile one because for my case it'll just be tidier to have a horizontal cooler, I'm not a huge fan of the upright vertical beasts jutting out of my Mobo but I'll have to check performance comparison out of the two and if the NH-C14 will be clear of my Exhaust fan at the back, if not the NH-U12S will do nicely.

The EVO will fit as well because according to the online N200 review on youtube they managed to fit a 170mm Phanteks because the side panel has an outward dip in its shape however I don't want one that big anyway so your options seem better, how does the EVO compare to the NH-U12S performance wise if you know?

I'm just now finalising what's going to be better .........

i5-4960k & Noctua fan (OC to 4.2Ghz?)

Or

i7-4970 - Stock fan (No OC)

I'll base this on price but I've heard a couple of concerning reviews on forums where people are saying their i7-4970 on stock fan is hitting 80-80+ temps which really 70ish should be max for an 80 TDP CPU.

If I need an Aftermarket for the i7 then the i7 is out, if I don't and the i5 + the Noctua is same-ish price wise then I'll have to consider between the two.

Any last thoughts from you on those options?

Darkbreeze · Jan 12, 2015

If gaming is your main goal, the 4690k is the better option as it games as well as the i7. If other tasks like video rendering or editing are important, or you do a LOT of heavy multi-tasking and run other professional applications, then the i7 is better with it's four additional threads. When choosing the i7 I'd still go with the K version as it's only a 29.00 difference. The non-K is still good though. The locked version has only a 3.6Ghz base clock with a 4Ghz turbo while the K version has a 4Ghz base clock and a 4.4Ghz turbo.

Another option is the Xeon . It has a lower price than the i7 with the additional threads of the i7 and is compatible with the same LGA 1150 motherboards. It does have a slightly lower turbo peak than the i7 but everything else including the onboard cache is similar. It cannot be overclocked though but neither can the locked i7 so it really makes no difference. What is your overall build budget and what if anything have your already purchased?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $242.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 16:05 EST-0500

Diamond-HP · Jan 12, 2015

My build is in my sig and I only game nothing else.

I'm basically going to swap my 7850 for the R9-280 and my Athlon for either the i5 or i7.

I want at least 4Ghz plus for gaming power as Rome 2 is CPU intensive.

I'm leaning toward the i5 + Phanteks PHTC12DX as its £30 cheaper than the i7, I didn't really want to mess about with OC'ing however I'm not sure if the stock fan for the i7 can be trusted to run it cool enough on load because if I need a fan for the i7 that makes that £30 difference even worse.
If I get the Phanteks I'll also have a good heatsink for the future that fits nicely in my case specs.

So I'm leaning toward the i5 and 4Ghz to 4.2 Ghz OC with the Phanteks PHTC12DX.

Phanteks PHTC12DX (157mm)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Phanteks/PH-TC12DX/6.html
Its coming up a little better under the 4.1Ghz load which is where I want to be.

Darkbreeze · Jan 12, 2015

If you only game and browse, the i5 is optimal. Go with that and whatever cooler you think is best. That Phanteks is a very decent cooler.

Diamond-HP · Jan 12, 2015

Yeah I'm edging my way toward the i5 & Phanteks.

If I don't bite the bullet and get the Phanteks now I'll be in the exact same position next upgrade, if I already had the Phanteks I'd be going straight for the i5, its only the cost of them together making me think twice but yeah ........

Settled on the i5.

At least if I need an i7 (for hyper theading) in the future when games get that far I'll already have a good cooler for any temp spikes and avoid that extra cost down the road.

Thanks for your help darkbreeze.

Darkbreeze · Jan 12, 2015

Anytime.

Best CPU and stock cooler query for upgraded gaming rig.

Honorable

Reputable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Reputable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Honorable

Retired Mod

Share this page