What should I do to my ugly beast of a PC?

[Microhawk ZDOGG]

My computer is pretty ugly, but It's always been a trooper, I've been thinking about upgrading the processor and motherboard.

My current build:
Intel Core i7 4790K @4.0Mhz
Corsair LP 8GB DDR3 @1600Mhz
MSI Z97a PC Mate piece of ♥♥♥♥ blue motherboard
MSI Geforce GTX 1070 8GB OC @1992Mhz

So I've been noticing my performance isn't the best compared to my friends who have the 6-series Intel i7 processors, but they all have 16GB of RAM, and with an 8GB card I heard you really want to have 16GB of RAM to go along with it. I have been thinking of upgrading to a:

Intel Core i7 7700k @4.2Ghz
Corsair RGB RAM @3200Mhz
MSI Z270a Gaming M7 Motherboard
Keep my 1070

but with a few other peripherals I want to buy it's looking pretty expensive, so my question is, If I were to instead invest in a better motherboard for my socket type and upgrade to 16GB of RAM, would I notice better performance? How much worse would this be than upgrading to a 7700K? Any recommendations would be appreciated on how to approch this and hopefully not be too expensive. But if a 7700K would be REALLY worth it then I wouldn't mind spending the money, just want to look at all my options.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

It's pointless, add another 8 GB of RAM and you are fine. Also maybe better CPU cooler so you can overclock your CPU higher.

[Supafly]

My MSI Z97 GAMING 3 allow for Overclocking both Ram and CPU (Use Bios not Software i.e. MSI Command Center)

See if you can OC the Ram from 1600 mhz to 2133mhz in the Bios
Get another 8 GB Ram (if you have a single 8GB sitck get a matching stick so you have a pair.)

Intel Core i7 4790K @4.0Mhz is that base clock? Do you have Boost enabled? I have exactly the same CPU with a base of 4ghz and boosts to 4.4Ghz. If Turbo boost isn't enabled activate it in your Bios.

If the Turbo Boost doesn't give you enough performance gain or you had it active already you could try Overclocking you CPU before buying new Motherboard/CPU/Ram. Purchase a decent Air cooling Heatsink and Fan, BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3 is pretty good or look at water cooling. Before purchasing check they will fit on a i7 7700k that way they won't be wasted if you decide to upgrade you CPU in the future.

[Microhawk ZDOGG]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Rumpelcrutchskin:

It's pointless, add another 8 GB of RAM and you are fine. Also maybe better CPU cooler so you can overclock your CPU higher.

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Supafly:

Purchase a decent Air cooling Heatsink and Fan, BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3 is pretty good or look at water cooling.

Forgot to mention I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Is that good enough for a boost clock on the 4790K?

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

Forgot to mention I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Is that good enough for a boost clock on the 4790K?

Should be no problem running that with 4.4 Ghz.

[Supafly]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Supafly:

Purchase a decent Air cooling Heatsink and Fan, BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 3 is pretty good or look at water cooling.

Forgot to mention I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Is that good enough for a boost clock on the 4790K?

Will be fine for the 4.4Ghz boost clock. Depending on the Airflow in your case and the Ambient temp of you home/location and the individual CPU I've read of people OC'ing to a stable 4.6/4.7Ghz with that cooler.

Just start monitoring your temps, tweak your settings and do a Prime95 stress test with each speed increase. Use Prime version 26.6

Reasons to Prime 26.6 instead of others (link to download on this site too)
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html

I still haven't started OC'ing mine so might be an idea to read up or ask someone who actually has.

EDIT: Just to clarify I haven't OC'd my CPU, yet, but I have OC'd my Ram to 2133mhz

[Microhawk ZDOGG]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Supafly:

My MSI Z97 GAMING 3 allow for Overclocking both Ram and CPU (Use Bios not Software i.e. MSI Command Center)

Couldn't find that motherboard anywhere other than some sketchy website, and I refuse to buy refurbished computer parts, how does this motherboard look: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157501&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= It's not an MSI but could there be any problem with a non-MSI motherboard and an MSI graphics card?

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Supafly:

My MSI Z97 GAMING 3 allow for Overclocking both Ram and CPU (Use Bios not Software i.e. MSI Command Center)

Couldn't find that motherboard anywhere other than some sketchy website, and I refuse to buy refurbished computer parts, how does this motherboard look: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157501&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= It's not an MSI but could there be any problem with a non-MSI motherboard and an MSI graphics card?

You dont need to buy new motherboard, you have Z97 motherboard that can overclock fine.

[Microhawk ZDOGG]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Rumpelcrutchskin:

You dont need to buy new motherboard, you have Z97 motherboard that can overclock fine.

My only prob with it is I bought a new case and want it to look decent, the PC Mate that I have is blue and looks like ♥♥♥♥.

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

performance difference between i7 4790K and i7 7700k is only around 10%. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qewad2My_k

performance difference between 6-series and 7-series intel i7 is 1% at 1080p, and 5% at 1440p (in some games). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hR7NXTLs1k

Gaming performance does not depends on Motherboards. Neither RAM type or speed ( virtually).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWgzA2C61z4

16 GB Ram is recommended for many modern games. such as ''Quantum Break''.

the only way to EFFECTIVELY gain more FPS in your current system is to buy a better GPU.

[Supafly]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Supafly:

My MSI Z97 GAMING 3 allow for Overclocking both Ram and CPU (Use Bios not Software i.e. MSI Command Center)

Couldn't find that motherboard anywhere other than some sketchy website, and I refuse to buy refurbished computer parts, how does this motherboard look: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157501&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= It's not an MSI but could there be any problem with a non-MSI motherboard and an MSI graphics card?

Your current board should be fine.

I only mentioned mine as you had an MSI board, actually better than mine from what I can tell. If I search for MSI Z97a I get 4 different MSI Z97 boards on their site
SLI Krait Edition
GAMING 6
GAMING 7
GAMING 9

https://www.msi.com/search/z97a/product/1
All MSI Z97a variations will overclock fine and if I'm right you own one of those board.

Just for reference this is a direct link to my board on the MSI site
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z97-GAMING-3.html#hero-overview

Should be no issues using a different brand board/GPU but you really don't need to by another board.

[Microhawk ZDOGG]

I think I found out what I'm going to do, I'm going to keep my motherboard, by some red ddr3 ram, mix it with the black, change the led on my GPU to blue and have a red/blue/black build, then I will overclock my cpu and the ram, and HOPEFULLY I will be okay for a while until intel releases a game changer. Thanks for all your help guys!

[Squirrell]

Yes, get 16gb of ddr3 ram. Maybe faster than 1600 helps.

Use msiafterburner to check cpu and gpu loads.

I suspect it will show your gpu is running at 100%. If so and you seriously want more fps then a better gpu could be needed.

Digital Foundry has video card and cpu benchmark comparison videos in its PC Hardware Benchmarks playlist on youtube. They also have a website which may be quicker if searching for info. I think there is a 4790k and ram speed video in there. The 4790k and 7700k get near identical fps scores. Going from 1070 to 1080 is a minor boost so your next stop would be a 1080ti. Expensive and not worth it unless you are playing at 1440p or 2160p and get low fps.

[Supafly]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Cloud Boy:

performance difference between i7 4790K and i7 7700k is only around 10%. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qewad2My_k

Good video that shows some performance gain but it isn't like for like.
i7-7700K
4.2Ghz Base
4.5Ghz Boost
vs
i7-4790K
4.0Ghz Base
4.4Ghz Boost

Really should of capped the 7700K speed at the max the stock 4790K would do or OC the 4790K to 4.5Ghz. That way you'd see the improvements of the chip at same speed, as it is the 7700K had a slight speed advantage.
Don't quote me but I've read somewhere that the 7700K runs 6 degrees or so hotter than the 4790k at stock speed. So it is possible to OC the 4790k higher than the 7700K.

Regardless, at the moment the slight improvement of the 7700k over the 4790k is not worth the money to purchase a new Motherboard, CPU and Ram.

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

I think I found out what I'm going to do, I'm going to keep my motherboard, by some red ddr3 ram, mix it with the black, change the led on my GPU to blue and have a red/blue/black build, then I will overclock my cpu and the ram, and HOPEFULLY I will be okay for a while until intel releases a game changer. Thanks for all your help guys!

Good idea. Similar to my build in terms of colours. Black, Red everything plus Blue Led fans :)

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

I think I found out what I'm going to do, I'm going to keep my motherboard, by some red ddr3 ram, mix it with the black, change the led on my GPU to blue and have a red/blue/black build, then I will overclock my cpu and the ram, and HOPEFULLY I will be okay for a while until intel releases a game changer. Thanks for all your help guys!

Good idea, but I don't think overclocking CPU and Ram will give you any significant performance boost. May be 5-8% maximum.

[Supafly]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Cloud Boy:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MuT-ZDOGG:

I think I found out what I'm going to do, I'm going to keep my motherboard, by some red ddr3 ram, mix it with the black, change the led on my GPU to blue and have a red/blue/black build, then I will overclock my cpu and the ram, and HOPEFULLY I will be okay for a while until intel releases a game changer. Thanks for all your help guys!

Good idea, but I don't think overclocking CPU and Ram will give you any significant performance boost. May be 5-8% maximum.

And using the video linked earlier the 7700k get around 10% (when it has a slightly higher clock 200mhz base and 100mhz boost) so overclocking could be quite close and save a lot of money for minimal gains.