When/what to upgrade - CPU and GPU

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227qed

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I have a gtx 1070 and i5 4460 setup working pretty well right now. Just jumped into 4k gaming and 1080p/120 hz with the purchase of a new TV and trying to get a feel for my new future of gaming.

I'm expecting the top of the line Volta cards (gtx 1180 maybe?) to hit 60 fps at 4k for just about every new game at max settings. So I'll definitely be getting that. But then, would you think my i5 4460 would be obsolete? Or since the majority of my gaming will be 4k/60hz, will it still be good enough to push minimum of 60 for stable 4k?

I have a z97 mobo with lga 1150 socket and am considering getting an I7 4790k or i5 4690k to get better performance while I wait for the next big gp. And more importantly then (maybe) be certain that my cpu won't limit the next gpu.

So what you think? Should I upgrade my cpu now? Or is it safe to say that 4k 60hz is still well within the domain of i5 4460? If the next card pushes you know, 70-100 fps at 4k, my cpu won't matter at all right?

In general, is i5 4460 still considered a strong cpu for gaming?
 
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CRO5513Y
Agreed, although the GTX 1070 is not the most ideal card for 4K 120 Hz, a GTX 1080 Ti would obviously cope this much better but if you are patient it would be well worth waiting for next generation to see what can be offered in Volta and even upcoming Vega. As for the CPU, it will mean quite a lot in most games especially those that are CPU bound, you ideally want a strong CPU like an i7 for high refresh rates as most the weaker ones can't keep up with it even if the Graphics card can and it will hold you back. An i7-4790K would be my suggestion also. Hope this helps :)
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raisonjohn

raisonjohn

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It's pure speculation/guessing how the Volta cards would perform on specific CPUs at this point in time. Data is only limited to what GPUs we have now.

A GTX 1080 (non-Ti) would be hindered by your i5-4460 (even an i5-4690K) in selected CPU-demanding games (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17VRKPjyiTBx9Ewc2xkmaMZD2tA3gSOG3rNtH4OEiz3g/edit#gid=0), but, an i7-4790K would not. So, with that, it's highly likely that your i5-4460 (and i5-4690K) would not be able to cope with the "GTX 1180?" I'm guessing the i7-4790K would also limit that GPU on certain games, but, again, that's pure speculation.
 
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CRO5513Y

CRO5513Y

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Agreed, although the GTX 1070 is not the most ideal card for 4K 120 Hz, a GTX 1080 Ti would obviously cope this much better but if you are patient it would be well worth waiting for next generation to see what can be offered in Volta and even upcoming Vega. As for the CPU, it will mean quite a lot in most games especially those that are CPU bound, you ideally want a strong CPU like an i7 for high refresh rates as most the weaker ones can't keep up with it even if the Graphics card can and it will hold you back. An i7-4790K would be my suggestion also. Hope this helps :)
 
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227qed

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So is the 4790k pretty close to the 7th gen i7 purely for gaming performance? I sounds like something I'll really consider for more stable framerates, but I don't want to drop 300 bones on a new CPU if the 4th gen stuff is already "outdated". 4k streaming from pc would also be a worthy reason to get the new chips, buy gaming is the priority...so thoughts on I7 4790k vs equal price 7th gen i7?
 
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