Suggestions for cpu (+m/b) upgrade?

[tefras]

Hello everyone,

So here is my story. Back in 2009 I built the PC I use till now. I have upgraded almost everything since then, except cpu/mobo. These are the specs and when I purchased them:
PSU:corsair hx750 pro (2011-after the previous one failed)
M/B:asus p7p55d-e evo (2009)
CPU:i5-750 @ 4ghz (2009) Noctua D-14 (2015)
RAM:corsair vengeance 4X4GB 1600 (2010 - I cut the heatsinks for them to fit under the d-14 )
GPU:gigabyte gtx770 2GB windforce @ 1250 (2013 - when I bought the PC I had an ati5850)
SSD:samsung 850 evo (2015)
The PC gets 50 fps average in unigine valley extreme preset and scores 7047 in firestrike

And a bit about me, I use the PC for everything. I play games around 8 hours a week, I like games from all genres and good graphics, I play at 1080p. I also like overclocking and my one of my favorite things is to look for new, vfm-oriented parts and peripherals. I am checking the market for cpu/mobo upgrade but I'd prefer some opinions from people that understand what I mean. For example, yesterday I tried streaming to twitch with shadowplay for a couple of friends and it was perfect. I mean, I was playing heavy games, like son of rome, soma and gta V, streaming was good and I didn't experience any difference/lag etc. using same high+ settings I always use.

I am trying to find a reason to upgrade but I can't ****, I'm getting old and mature
I think the right way to go is something like skylake + z170, and maybe then follow the trend look for an 8gb GPU and DDR4 ram? any suggestions?
OR
Should I wait for anything else coming later this year or the next? It's easy to see I don't mind waiting, I will find something to do-maybe a new case

Thanks! &
Happy new year to everyone!

 

[ATMINSIDE]

What's your budget for upgrading?

 

[tefras]

What's your budget for upgrading?

500 for now If i decide to get anything, if not maybe some more later. Its in euro, parts here more expensive. I usually have to look everywhere for the best prices/offers possible.

 

[tachi1247]

Well you can't go to skylake without getting DDR4 at the same time. You could probably pull off a skylake cpu, z170 board, and 16gb of ddr4 for $500 USD here in the states, but I doubt you can do it for 500 euros in greece.

If you want to save some money you could buy a haswell cpu and Z97 board and re-use your memory. That should be a nice performance bump from your 750 and still fit into your budget. Get another i5 with an unlocked multiplier and you can have plenty of fun overclocking it.

 

[wingman99]

+ 1 go with a used Z97 i5-4690K Devil's Canyon.

 

[tefras]

From what I read in z97 mobos, asrock dominated the field, or not? There are so many options, revisions etc. I will be overclocking and I use good quality headphones if that makes any difference. Suggestions?

Thank you so much for responding.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

You're correct, ASRock was amazing for Z97 (and still are for Z170).
The Extreme4 or 6 are what I would recommend.

 

[tachi1247]

Asrock has great boards at probably the best price point for each "tier" here in the states, but if they aren't cheaper by you or harder to get, any board from one of the major companies will be fine. If someone has a deal on an Asus or gigabyte board that is cheaper go ahead and snag that. Asrock is a great value but they aren't technologically better than any of their competitors so don't feel like you have to get one.

 

[tefras]

I know what you mean. I have been checking prices for asrock extreme 4, msi gaming 5 or asus pro and if I find a good deal I 'll proceed. Also being a satisfied asus owner my initial thought was to get one again. If not, I guess I 'll pay some more for z170, skylake and new ram. Prices for z97 hardware are still high, bummer that the new chipset doesn't support ddr3.

Cheers

 

[ninjacore]

bummer that the new chipset doesn't support ddr3.

There are 1151 boards which do support DDR3, but I wouldn't recommend them (typically, they're low-end). DDR4 prices really aren't that much higher: $20-30.


$30 DDR3 (1600 is the commonly recommended "bare minimum" for DDR3)

$47 DDR4 (2800 is the similarly recommended min for DDR4)

$55 DDR4

 

[tachi1247]

There are 1151 boards which do support DDR3, but I wouldn't recommend them (typically, they're low-end). DDR4 prices really aren't that much higher: $20-30.


$30 DDR3 (1600 is the commonly recommended "bare minimum" for DDR3)

$47 DDR4 (2800 is the similarly recommended min for DDR4)

$55 DDR4

They support DDR3L if I remember correctly and no one actually owns that stuff. Regular DDR3 @ 1.5v or whatever the spec is won't work on skylake.

I also wouldn't say 2800 is the minimum for DDR4. There is almost nothing gained going from 2400 to 3200 in most applications. Anandtech did a whole article on this but for some reason their site isn't loading right now.

 

[ninjacore]

Sorry, "sweet spot" escaped me That's what I meant, not "minimum"

Didn't know about DDR3L. Thanks

 

[tachi1247]

Sorry, "sweet spot" escaped me That's what I meant, not "minimum"

Didn't know about DDR3L. Thanks

Site is working again. Link

I'd say the sweet spot is probably 2400. Obviously if you can get faster with the same latency for the same money then go for it, but I wouldn't pay a whole lot extra to get really fast memory unless you know you are going to be using software that needs it.

 

[tefras]

Reading your comments has been really helpful alongside my research, I know that ddr4 will take a while to get mainstream, however when the time comes, everybody is going to upgrade. I think I'll wait some more... either way it's not my style to get ripped off. Right know for example in order to get a z97 msi gaming 5 and a 4690k in GR is 440 euros(480 usd) compared to 364 in the US. And a 6600k with a similar z170 m/b are only a bit more expensive.
When I visit the states for a holiday I'm definitely bringing some hardware home with me...
Damn those prices! And damn you AMD! I believed in you!
I hope I'm not tiring you guys

 

[wingman99]

No, you are doing just fine.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

For DDR4 you want to look for 2800 CL14 or 3000 CL15.

 

[tefras]

Hi guys and thanks for all the input.
Well after rethinking everything and checking prices, I also think going to z97 will be a great boost, however I haven't ordered anything yet. That's because z170 prices are not higher, only the new ram will be extra. So now that I think of it again, it will be either
i5-6600k + m/b + ram
OR
i7-4790k + m/b
for the same amount of money. What do you think..?

 

[DaveB]

They support DDR3L if I remember correctly and no one actually owns that stuff. Regular DDR3 @ 1.5v or whatever the spec is won't work on skylake.

That is not correct, regular 1.5V DDR3 works fine. I just built a Skylake HTPC with an Asus H110I-PLUS D3/CSM, Core i5-6400T and 8GB DDR3-1600 I had laying around. The DDR3 is old Crucial 1.5V and actually overclocked to 1866.

 

[DaveB]

Hi guys and thanks for all the input.
Well after rethinking everything and checking prices, I also think going to z97 will be a great boost, however I haven't ordered anything yet. That's because z170 prices are not higher, only the new ram will be extra. So now that I think of it again, it will be either
i5-6600k + m/b + ram
OR
i7-4790k + m/b
for the same amount of money. What do you think..?

Go new, go Skylake. I played with an i5 6600K rig using the cheapest mATX Z170 board I could get, the ASRock Z170M Pro4S. Under $100 here in the US (I paid $79) and it easily OC'ed the 6600K to 4.6 GHz with just two BIOS settings. Very stable and fast with some cheap G.Skill DDR4-3200. I didn't keep it because I prefer the X99 platform.

 

[tefras]

That is not correct, regular 1.5V DDR3 works fine. I just built a Skylake HTPC with an Asus H110I-PLUS D3/CSM, Core i5-6400T and 8GB DDR3-1600 I had laying around. The DDR3 is old Crucial 1.5V and actually overclocked to 1866.

From what I see, Asus has made some models that support DDR3 like the one you mention, but not DDR4; which would be a bad purchase I think. All new z170 motherboards I check claim no support for DDR3.