I3-6100 vs i5-4690 with GTX 970 or i7-4790 and buy GPU later?

James_deen · Jun 4, 2016

Hi there!

Currently I have 775 socket q8300@3000 with Asus gtx 970 mini. Most games play at about 30-35 FPS at ultra/highs. I have a budget of 270$ (max 300$) and my kid asking me to build something more powerful. Right now I can buy any of these variants, please advice what will be the best.

New from a store for 283$:

1) i3-6100 with box cooler - 95$.
2) ASUS Z170-P - 122$. (Plus free Doom game code)
3) CRUCIAL CT4G4DFS8213 DDR4 - 4Gb 2133mhz x 2 - 36$.
4) Some good heatsink/cooler to cool overclocked i3 - 30$.

The Z170 board is to bclk overclocking i3-6100

Or I can get second hand but still on warranty for 2 years rig for 290$:

1) i5-4690
2) thermaltake contac 30 cooler
3) Samsung ddr3 1600mhz 8gb(2x4)
4) gigabyte H97-HD3

Or the seller can sell me these all for 268$ without the cooler.

Or! I have an offer to give my gtx 970 in change for i7-4790 (non K) plus that man gives me 90$ cash. So I would have 360-390$ to build 1150 system (mob+ram+cooler), but will stay without discreet GPU. I don't know, maybe I can buy gtx 1070 but nearly in autumn. I have good case and PSU of 800watt already.

My kid plays games: the rust, GTA v, the division is unplayable at all, but he wants to, the witcher 3, the calling, the arc.

Please advice how to do right and futureproof. As you can see I still use proprietary 775 socket, that I bought 7-8 years ago. Thanx for long reading!

Ecky · Jun 4, 2016

Not sure where you're located, but a 4790 and GTX 970 are worth about the same (~$300) in the US, so that trade + $90 cash would be favorable to you. However, an i7 is not necessary for these games. Might I make a 3rd suggestion?

i5 6500 - $205
ASRock B150 motherboard - $60
2x 4GB DDR4 - $36

$301 total, and will perform better than the 6100 system, without the need of overclocking. Drop in your GPU and enjoy.

The 970 + i5 will only need around a 300-350w power supply, and will not need an aftermarket cooler.

Ecky · Jun 4, 2016

You might also decide to trade the 970 for the 4790, then buy another 970, and use the $90 to buy an 1150 board + DDR3. The 4790 is a stronger all-around CPU than an i5 6500, but it does use the older and mostly discontinued socket 1150. As time goes on, replacement motherboards and RAM upgrades will become more expensive and harder to find for that platform, compared with 1151 which should stay current and in-production for 2-3 more years.

Maxsupertweaker · Jun 4, 2016

Excellent Combination is any Z9*** motherboard with the 1150 socket AND the i5-4690k. On my motherboard UEFI BIOS I got nearly 4.6GHz from this quad base clock 3.5GHz. Over 30% increase! One factor. I use the Hydro H60 CLC which keeps my CPU temps at 50C during heavy loads on High game settings and video production. Click the CPU-Z banner below for my Rig and specs.

kenrickandbros · Jun 6, 2016

You cannot overclock an i3-6100 because it is not a "K" (unlocked) chip. The Z170 might still be useful to you if you really want Doom, depending on the price of Doom and the difference in price between a "Z" or "H" series motherboard. It would be a waste of money to get a super good cooler for the i3 because you can't overclock it.

Take the deal with the i7! The new generation of GPU's is MUCH more powerful and the other deals leave you with the GTX 970. If you buy the i7 and wait until August, more GPU's will have come out and you will know about everything. Also, because the i7 is a powerful processor, it shouldn't be a bottleneck for the new GPU. It is a good deal anyway, you should take it.

James_deen · Jun 8, 2016

So I have taken i7 exchange deal plus 90$ cash. I don't want to exceed this summ, maybe 10-20$ more to spend on motherboard and ram plus cooler, because I've got CPU as oem. Can you suggest what's better to buy to run my new rig with no problems? There are h81/h85/b85 chipsets, also h97/z97 that's I heard the best, but pricy. I have two sticks of Corsair Xms 2 x 2gb 1333mgz. Can I find a match for them or should I change it to something else? I heard that 8gb of ram is still enough to play everything.

kenrickandbros · Jun 8, 2016

James_deen :

For the CPU cooler: If you want one for around $30, I would recommend you use either the Cryorig H7 (better) or the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (more commonly used). Or you can find a cheaper $10 that doesn't perform much better than the Intel stock cooler, but is much better in terms of noise level and dust.

For the motherboard: Do NOT get the Z97 because your CPU cannot overclock and it would be a (more expensive) waste. You should probably get an H97 motherboard. For those look here: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#c=100

For the RAM: 8GB is generally good enough for gaming. There is something special about RAM. It usually works best when using two ram sticks at once. The thing is though, once you've filled the two slots on the motherboard, you can't upgade unless you replace the one's you already have. Here's what I think: you should get one 8GB stick so that if you want to upgrade to 16GB in the future (you'll probably want to), you can. I recommend the brand G.Skill for your RAM.

Ecky · Jun 8, 2016

H81 will work just as well as B85, H97 or Z97 for your i7, the only difference between the chipsets is going to be the number of ports and connections. H81 is limited to 2 RAM slots, while moving up to H97 or Z97 will get you 4, and as you get into more expensive boards, more USB ports, SATA ports, that sort of thing. Performance will be identical on any of them. You'll probably be well-suited with one of the less expensive H97/Z97 boards.

$30 is probably overkill for a locked CPU. The cheapest way to go would be to get an Intel stock heatsink for $5 on Amazon, but if you want something a bit quieter, you might consider one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF39E2338&cm_re=cryorig-_-9SIA4UF39E2338-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103064&cm_re=coolermaster-_-35-103-064-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103107&cm_re=coolermaster-_-35-103-107-_-Product

8GB is enough RAM for gaming. DDR1333 will cause you to lose a little bit of performance (0-10%) over DDR3 1866, but I probably wouldn't bother changing out out.

James_deen · Jun 8, 2016

Thanks for quick response. I have some additional questions.

Where I live h97/b97 are of the same price. Almost. Starts from 90$. But there are cheap chipsets h81 and etc that starts from 40$. If I can't overclock, and as you suggested have to buy 8gb stick and use no more than 2 sticks at once, so I don't need all options which supported buy eldest h97/z97 motherboards, no need for their 4 memory slots. Maybe I should go for simple and cheaper board? But I heard that if an old bios installed on these boards, I could have problems running haswell refresh 4790.
And about coolers. I can choose only from these brands: Titan, Zalman, GlacialTech and Deepcool, and Coolermaster.

Ecky · Jun 8, 2016

For coolers, pick something inexpensive with a 92mm fan. Heatpipes are a plus.

Regarding motherboards, I'm reluctant to recommend someone a board with only 2 RAM slots, but I'm running one myself. I would imagine that at this point, with most 1150 boards being EOL and going out of production, there will be little to no stock with old and outdated BIOS, those are probably mostly long gone.

James_deen · Jun 8, 2016

Thanks Ecky, Kenrickandbros, Mousegolf for your help!

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