Time for a CPU upgrade?

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

I know a lot of people say an i5 is perfectly fine for gaming, and it is for the most part, but I suspect it's time I upgrade to an i7 for future proofing, especially for the games that take advantage of extra cores and threads.

I'm currently using an i5 4670K overclocked to 4.2Ghz and an MSI GTX 1080. I've noticed in GTA V, using MSI Afterburner, that the GPU is sitting at 50-60% usage, whilst the 4 CPU cores are ranging from 60-90 usage. The CPU temperature is around 70-80 degrees as well. If I put all the settings to Normal and turn everything off, the GPU usage is only 17% and the CPU is 60-70%. Not a good sign, right? Is it time I upgraded?

MaDDD · Mar 10, 2017

Probably best to wait until Intel release their next generation of CPUs, they are expected to have worthwhile gains over the current generation.

Gam3r01 · Mar 10, 2017

"Future Proofing" is a concept that dosent exist in the PC world.
If you buy a better processor now for the future you are shooting yourself in the foot. In the future when you need to upgrade there are going to be new processors (or whatever hardware in question). Its like buying a new car because yours might need work done to it later.

If you arent getting the performance you want, upgrade. If you can wait, wait until you need to.

mcconkeymike · Mar 10, 2017

I recently upgraded from a i5-4670k OC to 4.4, Asrock Extreme3, 16gb 1600mhz DDR3 RAM, and a 980ti to a i7-7700k OC to 4.6, Asrock Extreme4, 16gb 2400mhz DDR4, and still using my 980ti. While at 4k with the old system I was at 100% on both my CPU and GPU while gaming and now I'm at about 50% on CPU and 100% on GPU while gaming. While I didn't really NEED to upgrade, I wanted to and I don't regret it, with that GTX 1080 you should be running at AT LEAST 1440p if not 4k for your monitor. If you are running at 1080p then that's your whole problem, you aren't letting your GPU "stretch its legs". If you go 1440p or 4k, your CPU usage will probably still stay fairly high, but your GPU usage will hop up as well to show a more well rounded amount of usage.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

MaDDD :

What, Coffee Lake...? Judging from Skylake and Kaby Lake there hasn't been much gain to make it worth an upgrade, right?

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

Gam3r01 :

I just mean future proofing for the next few years or so.

Gam3r01 · Mar 10, 2017

Then why purchase now? If you are planning for performance in two years, or even next year, why buy now?
The whole concept of buying hardware ahead of time to plan for the future is illogical.
Again, if you need the upgrade now, then do it.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

mcconkeymike :

I must admit I am using it for 1080p at the moment. I've not had my G-Sync monitor long enough to warrant another upgrade yet. My current monitor was pricey enough. I can always use the DSR feature in the Nvidia Control Panel though and upscale to a 1440p resolution. Frankly I'm more than satisfied with 1080p at the moment.

Also I would've thought the 1080 would be able to chew up and spit out 1080p, 60fps with ease?

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

Gam3r01 :

Surely any modern i7 will be fine for the next few years? I mean, not all games take advantage of Hyper Threading still, but there are some that are doing.

Gam3r01 · Mar 10, 2017

Sure, it will be fine for many years to come, lets say 5+ for the sake of simplicity.
But, there are always going to be new i7s coming out. So you can get an i7 now that will last 5 years from today or you can get an i7 in two years that will last 5 years from then.

Buy hardware as you need it, not for the future.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

Gam3r01 :

Either way, as you say, there's always going to be something better; there's no winning. I'm more concerned about the next five years from now as opposed to the next five years after two years time.

Maybe I chose the wrong words... I kind of consider it hardware that I need for the games that will benefit from it.

Gam3r01 · Mar 10, 2017

Say you buy an i7 now. Lets say next years i7 has a 15% increase in IPC. If you dont need the processor now, why not wait for the better one?

There will always be something better, which is why you upgrade when you need to.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

Well, would you suggest upgrading from an i5/i7 Haswell to an i7 Kaby Lake? Would you consider it to be worth it? If not, like a lot of people seem to suggest, I can't imagine the next series - Coffee Lake - to be much of an improvement either, judging from the trend so far. Intel seem to be catering to the mainstream market at the moment.

Gam3r01 · Mar 10, 2017

Haswell to skylake or kaby lake hasnt really been much of an improvement unless you need the additional threads.
As time goes on things might change, but even the slight increase is more of a reason to avoid the marginal "improvements" kaby lake brought.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

Gam3r01 :

Which is why I'm thinking of going from my Haswell i5 4670K to a Haswell i7 4790K. At least with that, my mobo supports it and it won't involve coughing up more money to replace the motherboard and RAM like it would if I went for Skylake, Kaby Lake etc. None of these newer chips are much faster to warrant the price it'll cost to replace all three of those components.

mcconkeymike · Mar 10, 2017

VermilionNeko :

That would probably be the more sensible upgrade for the CPU, but you'll still be bottlenecking your CPU if you are running in 1080p, maybe not as much, but still. That GTX1080 was made for 1440p or 4k.

VermilionNeko · Mar 10, 2017

mcconkeymike :

VermilionNeko :

That would probably be the more sensible upgrade for the CPU, but you'll still be bottlenecking your CPU if you are running in 1080p, maybe not as much, but still. That GTX1080 was made for 1440p or 4k.

I should point out though that my monitor supports up to 144Hz.

Although I am still capping some games at 60fps due to stutter when there are fluctuations.

Time for a CPU upgrade?

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