Am I wasting my money on a 4790k?

Only problem with the 5820k is that I have to get a x99 mobo which are at least £150, plus I'll need to buy new ddr4 ram as the 5820k won't work with ddr3 unless I'm mistaken? I did think about it and it's one hell of a cpu but doesn't quite fit my budget.

It will be a huge difference compared to the one you are having right now, since there is an entire 1Ghz difference between the two products, basically you wont even have to overclock since its already at 4Ghz with a max of 4.4... There is new architecture employed and next to the improved speed it will also consume less electricity, somewhere around 50% less. Besides that, in single threaded apps you will see a BIG improvement and since you are mentioning that you do alot of 3D visualisation/animation + video editing and also want to play decent games, i'd say go for it! because at this point games are starting to ask more and more from your CPU and loving more threads.

There sure is a downside in using a older cpu for 4 more years if you are planning to go along with time and like i mentioned before, games and programs will keep asking more and more from the CPU in the future.

I guess I was just a bit curious because I have never had any noticeable draw backs or slow downs in games or any software with my current set up. But I know that my renders will be quicker if I get a better cpu, in particular the ones which score well in the mulit cpu cinibench r15.

I guess there is the reason to make something future proof if I am going to get new stuff though. I might even try getting a used 5820k in this case.

Try newegg i have seen them just sell the cpu with out a heatsink and cooler

I'm in UK sadly, so anything I buy on newegg will be hit with high delivery and tax I think. I got excited when I looked at stuff on there before until I realised this . Unless I get used stuff, the cheapest I can get it for here is about 460 (£300-310 for the 5820k and about £150 for the cheapest x99 mobo). It just means increasing my budget and deciding whether It will be worth it. Thanks anyway :)

re: 3D rendering

You don't say what 3D software you're using - some packages support rendering across several machines. I use Maxon Cinema 4D, and when I build a new pc, it is not a replacement but just adds to the pool. See pic of my little render farm - 6 * i7's



My main design machine (an o/c 2600K) has a good graphics card for viewport performance, but the 'headless' render pc's just run 'as is', and I access them via remote desktop when necessary.