Looking to upgrade CPU and Mobo, need advice

budgetbuilder95 · Jan 19, 2015

Here's my current setup:
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

My plan is to upgrade in "phases." Right now I'm looking to get a new cpu and motherboard. The main purpose of my pc is gaming.

Here's my plan:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Basically, I have a few questions:
1) Are there any compatibility issues that I'm missing? I'm kind of worried about the power supply and whether or not it's powerful enough to handle the additions. I'd really like to avoid buying a new one if possible.

2) Is there a cheaper and or better motherboard that I can buy without regretting later on down the road? I don't really need the SLI feature atm, and I don't really know what to look for in the mobo. Any suggestions here are welcome.

rockie_ · Jan 19, 2015

1.the parts are compatible and the PSU is enough . 363W is roughly the system power draw. the PSU has 44A on +12V rail or 528W
2.Asrock H97 Pro4

mas7873 · Jan 19, 2015

When checking the build out on pcpartpicker there are no incompatibilities. Do you already own the Radeon HD7870? After you upgrade your CPU and mobo your GPU could be upgraded to a GTX 970 if you're wanting a gaming build (or a 280/280x for budget).

As for the motherboard you could go for the ASRock Z97 Anniversary which doesn't feature SLI or Xfire but it's about $40 cheaper or the ASRock Z97 PRO3. I find ASRock makes decent budget boards.

tiny voices · Jan 19, 2015

The PSU is perfectly fine. The Intel build will use LESS power.

I would recommend getting an i5 4460 and h97 board to save money.

mas7873 · Jan 19, 2015

rockie_ :

He should get a Z97 board if he's purchasing an unlocked cpu.

rockie_ · Jan 19, 2015

mas7873 :

then he should keep GA Z97X SLI cus Asrock Z97 Pro4 and MSI Z97 PC Mate are the same price . i suggest he keep GA Z97X SLI

mas7873 · Jan 19, 2015

The gigabyte is $116 and the Anniversary and PRO3 are $75 and $85 respectively.

tiny voices · Jan 19, 2015

mas7873 :

Yeah all three of these boards use 4 power phases so they will not really be very much good for overclocking anyway.

budgetbuilder95 · Jan 19, 2015

mas7873 :

Yeah, I already own the 7870. A gtx 970 is definitely what I'm aiming for as my next upgrade.

tiny voices :

I was actually looking at the 4460 earlier. Is there any major downsides to picking that over the 4690k?

rockie_ · Jan 19, 2015

keep i5 4690K !!! and get Asrock Z97 Pro4 - 6 power phase design !
the PSU is enough for i5 4690K and GTX 970

Edit:
for SLI : Asrock Z97 Extreme 3 with SLI support and 8 power phase design.

if not i5 4690K , the upgrade wont be so good.

varun706 · Jan 19, 2015

If you can overclock, then an i5 4690k would suit you best. You'll be paying extra for unlocked chip. Then it makes sense to go for a Gigabyte GAZ97X-SLI.

Otherwise, if you don't want to overclock, then i5 4460 is good. there isn't much difference b/w them two but this one is locked and won't go above stock clock. Then an ASUS H97 PRO is what you should look into.

tiny voices · Jan 19, 2015

rockie_ :

You are wrong. An i5 4460 is still a huge upgrade and the 4460 and 4690k perform exactly the same in games. Overclocking high end CPUs doesn't do much at all. it is for fun, not performance. I still recommend an i5 4460 and h97 board for the performance/value.

rockie_ · Jan 19, 2015

tiny voices :

i am not wrong at all ! i5 4590 is good and upwards !
i5 4590 3.3/3.7GHz
i5 4460 3.2/3.4GHz
obviously i5 4590 is 10% faster and tests confirms that
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
when the game is more CPU dependent , i5 4460 gives 10% less FPS
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/intel-haswell-refresh_4.html

tiny voices · Jan 19, 2015

No, sorry you are not right. That is not how it works. You will not get 10% more FPS. You just won't. In that link the ONLY games where the difference is more than 1FPS at 1080p, is Civ 5. ONLY look at the 1080p results because the lower res ones are DESIGNED to show CPU differences but OP is surely playing at 1080p. At 1080p in most of those games the 4590 struggles to put even 1-2fps on the 4460.

For example, I am overclocked at 4.5ghz. This is 1.1ghz more than stock at 3.4. In games I barely get 1-3fps more. In benchmarks I barely get 1-3fps more.

You aren't going to get 10% more frames. Sorry. Civ 5 isn't even coded like a game, it is coded like a rendering program and this is why it likes faster CPUs. 99.9% of games are not like that at all.

rockie_ · Jan 19, 2015

"Sorry , sorry , sorry " but the facts speak for themselves.

tiny voices · Jan 19, 2015

Yeah, they speak for my argument. You can clearly see all the games at 1080p (except Civ 5)have no noticeable difference between the 2 CPUs. Many times being LESS THAN 1 FPS apart.

budgetbuilder95 · Jan 19, 2015

Interesting, I hadn't realized that the FPS differences were so minimal. At this moment I'm leaning towards tiny voices' advice. There is, however, only about a $10 difference between the 4460 and 4590 so I'm considering just going with the 4590 even if the performance difference isn't that noticeable. For the motherboard I'm looking at both the h97 anniversary and the pro4.

Looking to upgrade CPU and Mobo, need advice

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