Upgrade Worth It?

B

Blown Cap

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 14, 2002
Messages
269
Hey all. It's been almost five years since I had my last major PC build and I think it's time for a new one. I'm looking at a new motherboard, cpu and ram. My current computer in my signature will have things like the video card, psu, hdd reused in the new build. I also purchased a SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series that I have yet to install.

Right now I'm looking at a couple options.

The first is an ASUS Z97-PRO - Intel Core i7-4790K - CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB

I'm assuming that would be a decent upgrade to what I have now.

My other option, to save a bit of money, was the same ASUS Z97-PRO with an Intel Core i5-4690K and only 8 gigs of CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 8GB. That would save me almost $200 but I'm not sure how much of an upgrade it would be over what I have now.

I could also either swap one cpu for the other or one ram for the other and save around $100.

The first upgrade choice would probably be worth it, but what about the second or third options?

I would rather have the best I can get now and not have to worry about another upgrade later, but saving some money would also be nice.
 
What are you doing and intend to do?
How tight is your budget?
If you can 4790K and 16 GB of RAM. For gaming 4690K and 8 GB is "enough."
FWIW SSDs seem to benefit from 16 GB RAM.
 
Blown Cap said:
The first is an ASUS Z97-PRO - Intel Core i7-4790K - CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 16GB
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar boat myself and have been eyeing pretty much this exact upgrade.

It goes without saying to avoid the stock heatsink.... Besides that, this setup is choice.

I'd go for it. IF it's within your means.

Also, I hear really good things about just popping a Xeon 5670 and overclocking the hell out of it. That and doubling your RAM would prolly get you an almost equal boost in performance at a fraction of the price....

See thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1820772
 
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It really depends on what youll be doing with it blown cap. I was in the exact same boat. My old setup is a quad [email protected] gig 8 gigs ram with first gen SSD 120 samsung. I just built a brand new comp from the ground up bc I will be leaving my old PC for my nephew. I wanted a PC i could use as a media station hooked up to my TV which the asus software allows. The difference in speed is a bit suprising. My new PC which consists of: 4690k, asus z97(so much options in bios/software compared to my old gigabyte mobo), 16 gig kingston hyper ram, 840evo & this PC boots in seconds literally compared to my old PC..You might want to get the 4690k I ocd mine using the easy Asus OC software to 4.5 stable & youll save over 100$ dollars.
 
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wtourist said:
What are you doing and intend to do?
How tight is your budget?
Click to expand...

Primary use will be for gaming. Max budget is around $775.

I'm thinking about maybe getting the 16GB of ram and the 4690k. I could probably OC the 4690 to 4790 speeds.

I'm assuming the 2MB of cache and the difference in Hyper-Threading wouldn't make much difference for gaming anyways.
 
Blown Cap said:
Primary use will be for gaming. Max budget is around $775.

I'm thinking about maybe getting the 16GB of ram and the 4690k. I could probably OC the 4690 to 4790 speeds.

I'm assuming the 2MB of cache and the difference in Hyper-Threading wouldn't make much difference for gaming anyways.
Click to expand...
Some additional questions;
6) Will you be overclocking?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.

To answer your question: Yes option 1 and 2 would be upgrades over your current setup. But neither options are good for the money based on the limited info you've provided so far.

Though the RAM is a bad choice for both builds: It's simply overpriced for what it is. I recommend this RAM instead:
$74 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX316C10F/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Though I highly recommend 16GB of RAM if possible as RAM pricing is only going to go up from here.
 
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Dangman said:
Some additional questions;
6) Will you be overclocking?
Click to expand...

Would like to. Nothing extreme though.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
Click to expand...

RAID = No. Firewire = No. Crossfire = No. SLI = Maybe in the future. USB 3.0 = Yes. SATA 6Gb/s = Yes. eSATA = Would be nice but not required. Onboard video = No. UEFI = Yes.

Though the RAM is a bad choice for both builds: It's simply overpriced for what it is.
Click to expand...

True, I could probably get less expensive RAM. I would like to stick with Corsair though as I've been using it without problems for years. Asus also.

Keep in mind that prices are from Canadian websites in Canadian Dollars so the cost will be a bit higher.
 
Dangman said:
Based on your answers, you'll be fine with the cheaper Asus Z97-A motherboard. As for the RAM, go for this Corsair:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233366

Another reason to avoid the Corsair you chose earlier, besides costs, is that its tall heatsinks interfere with a lot of air-cooling HSF out there.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. I had looked at the Z97-A but I was leaning towards the Z97-Pro because of the better audio codec. However, the Z97-A has PCI slots so I could continue to use my Auzentech X-Fi Prelude. Auzentech seems to be dead though, so it might be a good idea to drop the card sooner than later. And thinking about future proofing, If I get the (A) and ever want to go SLI, I wouldn't be able to use the Prelude because both PCI slots would be blocked, which would force me to use onboard audio anyways, or buy a sound card. Decisions!
 
Blown Cap said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I had looked at the Z97-A but I was leaning towards the Z97-Pro because of the better audio codec. However, the Z97-A has PCI slots so I could continue to use my Auzentech X-Fi Prelude. Auzentech seems to be dead though, so it might be a good idea to drop the card sooner than later. And thinking about future proofing, If I get the (A) and ever want to go SLI, I wouldn't be able to use the Prelude because both PCI slots would be blocked, which would force me to use onboard audio anyways, or buy a sound card. Decisions!
Click to expand...

The difference in audio quality isn't worth the extra money IMO. That extra money can be used towards an actual decent audio card.

As for SLI, unless you already go SLI right off the bat or within 2 to 6 months of initial system build, more than likely you'll never go SLI.
 
Dangman said:
The difference in audio quality isn't worth the extra money IMO. That extra money can be used towards an actual decent audio card.

As for SLI, unless you already go SLI right off the bat or within 2 to 6 months of initial system build, more than likely you'll never go SLI.
Click to expand...

Heh. I was just going to edit my last post with another option. Get the Z97-A, keep using my Prelude, take the $55 I would save and put it towards a new sound card at a later date.

The only thing that bugs me about the Z97-A, and it's something totally superficial, is the PCI slots that I was hoping to finally drop from a new motherboard. That's just the crazy part of my brain thinking though. :p

The Z97-A seems like the right choice. I'm going to look everything over again before making my final decision.
 
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