The 4790k upgrade is worthwhile.
The 4790k upgrade is worthwhile.
Hello everyone, I'm thinking about purchasing a budget-friendly 4790K for an in-socket replacement. It should last a couple of years. After that, I plan to upgrade to a new gaming rig and use the same system for my music projects. Right now, my budget is tight, so I need to balance cost with performance improvements. My current setup includes: CPU i5 4690K (4.6GHz core, 4.3GHz cache), Hyper 212 cooler, 16GB RAM (two 4GB and one 8GB), Asus Z97-P GPU (GTX 970), CX600M PSU, Corsair SPEC-01 case, and various productivity apps like Reaper, Musescore, Sibelius, Audacity, and Zoom. I mainly stream at 1080p60Hz, with a few modded games such as Minecraft, Skyrim, Doom, Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout series, and Cities: Skylines. If I can find a 4790K under £50, would the performance boost justify the investment?
If you locate it at a low price, it might be worthwhile, though major gains are unlikely. The 970 seems to be the main constraint. By the way, I’m still running the 4790k (4.7 all cores) alongside my 1080 at 3440x1440 at 120 Hz. It doesn’t appear to be a big bottleneck in most games. Perhaps a bit more frame timing lag compared to newer models, but not enough to push upgrades until I can also upgrade my graphics card.
I thought about whether the 970 might be limiting me and it's not just about notation—it's also about DAW usage (Reaper is similar to Cubase or Pro Tools, which can get demanding with many VSTs). Also, I want to keep my work setup separate from personal or gaming files; if this one gets outdated in a few years, I should probably use it for that purpose instead.
Others have mentioned similar points, but you won’t notice any meaningful progress that justifies the cost compared to switching platforms. Locally, better deals might be available, though across the country prices for 4790k often exceed what’s fair. If I sold it, I’d quickly earn around $150 (~£110) for her.