[MNiceGuy]

Hey everyone,

I have a lot of different ideas and thoughts rattling around in my head so bear with me.

Currently I have decent amount of cash invested in a Haswell/Z87 setup. The problem I've encountered is that it seems my 4770K is quite a dog. As best I can tell, I can get 4.2GHz out of it without adding a lot more voltage. Looking at the statistics provided in the Haswell Overclocking thread, my chip is a definitely on the low-end of the spectrum.

Question:

In general, will a stock or 4.2GHz 4770K bottleneck my 780 Ti's at 1600p? Sure there are exceptions to the rule but will I find the CPU is holding the cards back at that resolution more often than not?

I think I am basically stuck with the chip so with that in mind I am thinking about just exchanging the $300 Formula VI for a cheap Z87 board, running the 4770K at stock or close to it, and calling it a day.

 

[Fluency]

I don't think you'll run into many bottlenecking issues with a 4770k. With 2 780Ti's it may be the "weakest" part of your system, but I feel like it wouldn't stop you from running 1600p smoothly, unless it's being pinned at 100% load the entire time while gaming (my guess is that it won't be).

Look at it this way, the i7 is already considered "overkill" for running many of today's games because of the lack of hyperthreading support. There's a lot of unlocked potential. Upgrading to an LGA 2011 (the next step up) wouldn't make much sense if the processing power of the 4770k isn't even being fully used.

That's my opinion, but I'm no expert in bottlenecks. If you want some hard data, I think looking up some benchmarks would be your best bet.

 

[MNiceGuy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluency

I don't think you'll run into many bottlenecking issues with a 4770k. With 2 780Ti's it may be the "weakest" part of your system, but I feel like it wouldn't stop you from running 1600p smoothly, unless it's being pinned at 100% load the entire time while gaming (my guess is that it won't be).

Look at it this way, the i7 is already considered "overkill" for running many of today's games because of the lack of hyperthreading support. There's a lot of unlocked potential. Upgrading to an LGA 2011 (the next step up) wouldn't make much sense if the processing power of the 4770k isn't even being fully used.

That's my opinion, but I'm no expert in bottlenecks. If you want some hard data, I think looking up some benchmarks would be your best bet.

Thanks Fluency

I ran this system at normal speeds for a while just to make sure I had to stable platform prior to overclocking. I personally didn't see any 100% CPU usage. I'm basically trying to make sure I don't have a $700+ video card sitting there being gimped due to a CPU that can't keep up. This hardware is new enough where I am inside the window to do something about it but that window is going to close soon.

As I've thought it over this morning I think I may just run stock or close to it and call it a day. I'm not going to pump huge voltage and deal with high temps just for a measly overclock. The benefit does not seem to outweigh the cost.

There is always 2011 but I am just not completely sure it's worth it. I plan to do a fair amount of video transcoding with this system so perhaps then I would see benefit. I would just have a hard time slapping down that much cash on a platform that has one foot out the door.

 

[BiG StroOnZ]

A stock 4770k wont bottleneck a 780 Ti let alone an overclocked one. 4.2GHz is more than enough to remove any bottlenecks. 4.5GHz is ideal, but realistically I'm sure you can get 4.4GHz out of your chip if you try a bit harder and follow some overclocking guides.

 

[Zer0CoolX]

I have mine at 4.4Ghz and there isnt a real noticeable difference between that and stock. The only place i may notice if i really measured it is media encoding...gaming id never be able to tell if i lost the OC.