How long do you guys think my I7-4770k will stay viable?

[Teiryn]

It is paired with a 1080 Ti and I game at 4K. This CPU is quite old now, launched over 5 years ago, but as Intel hasn't really released something that is much faster for games (and nor has AMD I think) - how long do you think this cpu will stay relevant?

[Omega]

We don't know. This CPU is still one of the better gaming CPUs currently.

[Monk]

Depending on your wants, needs and cash flow it can be relevant for years or is already passed when it should be upgraded.

It's really not possible to answer such a question, but overall, same as all hardware, it's good enough until you personally find it isn't doing what you want it to do.

[Arya]

I can't predict what the future will hold, but it should last at least another few years. If you're comfortable overclocking it, it'll match the best CPUs around today and keep doing so for years to come.

CPU tech has evolved slowly through the 2010s and that works in your favour. Intel is still struggling to deliver a viable 10nm chip while AMD's 7nm is still several years away and largely theoretical. Even with die shrinks, the actual performance gains have been minor. All that means your CPU has a long life ahead of it yet - there isn't anything far enough ahead to justify upgrading.

[IceFoxX]

Originally posted by Wolfey:

I can't predict what the future will hold, but it should last at least another few years. If you're comfortable overclocking it, it'll match the best CPUs around today and keep doing so for years to come.

CPU tech has evolved slowly through the 2010s and that works in your favour. Intel is still struggling to deliver a viable 10nm chip while AMD's 7nm is still several years away and largely theoretical. Even with die shrinks, the actual performance gains have been minor. All that means your CPU has a long life ahead of it yet - there isn't anything far enough ahead to justify upgrading.

Wait what??? 10nm by intel is just a joke rofl...7nm by amd far away wtf?!? Intel fan boy? Oh and ofc i dont wanna say intel or amd are better..both have his own area..

[Sapph]

Originally posted by IceFoxX:

Wait what??? 10nm by intel is just a joke rofl...7nm by amd far away wtf?!? Intel fan boy? Oh and ofc i dont wanna say intel or amd are better..both have his own area..

Uh..what are you trying to say? Your message doesn't have any point to it. It's just random pieces of sentences mashed together...

[FeilDOW]

AMD already have 7nm VEGA for workstations and Zen 2 is also going to be 7nm and I would think that would be releasing within the year.

[Omega]

Intel already has a few 10nm Cannon Lake chips on the market like the i3 8121U. These 10nm chips are slightlly worse in specs the the 14nm ones while having the Intel HD disabled; yes disabled, these chips have a full disabled Intel HD on the die.
https://ark.intel.com/products/136863/Intel-Core-i3-8121U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz

AMD does already have 7nm CPUs/GPUs running in their labs and they are expected to drop these 7nm CPUs/GPUs on us in 6-12 months.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/6/17433102/amd-7nm-radeon-vega-gpu-computex-2018

[Wakobi Junior]

Is the i7 4790k a bit better than the 4770?

[IceFoxX]

Originally posted by Omega:

Intel already has a few 10nm Cannon Lake chips on the market like the i3 8121U. These 10nm chips are slightlly worse in specs the the 14nm ones while having the Intel HD disabled; yes disabled, these chips have a full disabled Intel HD on the die.
https://ark.intel.com/products/136863/Intel-Core-i3-8121U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz

AMD does already have 7nm CPUs/GPUs running in their labs and they are expected to drop these 7nm CPUs/GPUs on us in 6-12 months.
https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/6/17433102/amd-7nm-radeon-vega-gpu-computex-2018

The 10nm from Intel are garbage...sry but i stop inform about it because its just a joke...intel cant handle it...

Originally posted by Sapph:

Originally posted by IceFoxX:

Wait what??? 10nm by intel is just a joke rofl...7nm by amd far away wtf?!? Intel fan boy? Oh and ofc i dont wanna say intel or amd are better..both have his own area..

Uh..what are you trying to say? Your message doesn't have any point to it. It's just random pieces of sentences mashed together...

Look the post above me....

Originally posted by FeilDOW:

AMD already have 7nm VEGA for workstations and Zen 2 is also going to be 7nm and I would think that would be releasing within the year.

Amd is already working at zen3 - zen5 (ofc the + versions too..zen3+,zen4+...)

[[☥] - CJ -]

If your CPU isnt maxing out in any of your games then it'll last a bit longer, if its overclocked that'll help as well.

And who cares about Intel Vs AMD
That isnt what the OP asked

[upcoast]

It'll last as long as you believe it's working well in the games you play, there really is no magic number.

[Kaihekoa]

You're playing at 4k so it will likely be a few more generations of GPUs before the CPU starts holding you back. GPU is the bottleneck and does all the work in 99%+ of games at that resolution.

[Arya]

Originally posted by Kaihekoa:

You're playing at 4k so it will likely be a few more generations of GPUs before the CPU starts holding you back. GPU is the bottleneck and does all the work in 99%+ of games at that resolution.

I agree. And if you're comfortable overclocking, that could be another 5+ years. Or more.

Even an unfortunate i7 K-Series is a formidable overclocker. With a decent $50 heatsink you should see 4.4 GHz at low temperatures and low voltages. That won't effect the lifespan or reliability of your system, but it should give a nice performance upgrade.

For about $200 you could upgrade to a BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro3 cooler and fit a Rockit Cool IHS + Liquid Metal kit. This would give you massive overclocking potential, theoretically 5.0GHz on a good 4770K.

[EliteGamer]

I've got similar setup to OP, i7 4770K, 1080 Ti and game at 4K, and to be honest, you don't need to OC the 4770K at 4K with a 1080 Ti.

OC has little gain, but comes with alot more heat and fan noise. I've had my i7 4770K since it came out and could easily do 4.5GHz at 1.2 with fan speed not too loud.... I could go to 5.0GHz, but with the fan close to 100%, I wasn't a fan of my PC sounding like a jet taking off....

Overall, I just didn't find overclocking to be worth the hassle for such little gains in performance.

[[☥] - CJ -]

Overclocking an unlocked CPU is only a hassle if your motherboard sucks

Fan/More heat is irrelevant if you have the cooling to support the overclock in the first place