Question Should I finally make the switch to AMD?

[sze5003]

I'd rather have your CPU than his. Those extra threads are going to be more important than the extra cores alone as time goes by. I have seen Techdeals play Breakpoint with the 9700K, no discord or anything running, and it was right on the edge of being used up. It won't be long before that happens.

That is true. I am really thinking of just cancelling the 11900k order I have with B&H.

I missed a great opportunity to get a 9900k for $250 from Microcenter and just plop all my existing components in a new case..becuause airflow and thermals suck on my old entho evolve atx.

OP if you want more threads and are willing to pay $850 + tax ShopBLT has a preorder que for 5950x chips coming sometime in mid April.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Exactly, and that is all the more reason to not rush into an upgrade from the 9700K.

Yes, because the issues will resolve any day now. Come on man, this could go on for a couple of years. That 8/8 will definitely be on the struggle bus soon. We will see how these posts age. I was getting this kind of flack for telling people to go 16GB of DDR4 when it was cheap a couple years back, and most were telling builders 8GB was plenty for gaming. And to upgrade early last year. What you guys are stating is what I refer to as the common forum rhetoric. It is based on performance now. That has proven a bad move for years now, I do not see it reverting back anytime soon.

 

[Mopetar]

I will go against the grain. Sell your board and CPU and go either 10th gen Intel or 5 series AMD.

Honestly, I feel like buying into a 6-core CPU right now is something that will likely age poorly, particularly if you're taking a 5+ year look. The major consoles now have 8-core CPUs and developers are going to start taking advantage of that. Also going from an 8C/8T CPU to a 6C/12T CPU is probably a side-grade unless you get a Zen 3 CPU.

Anandtech has the 11600K in their bench already and it's frankly a wash in gaming compared to a 9700K. There are also some benchmarks where the older 9700K still beats out the 11600K as well, so it's hard to recommend.

If the OP were primarily gaming in 1080p, then Zen 3, even a 5600X, would offer and uplift in several titles. However, at 4K everything will be GPU bound. Also, LGA 1200 is pretty much dead at this point, so buying a new Intel CPU now means you'll need to replace the board if you want to upgrade again soon. AM4 is also probably at the end of its life as well so buying in now for what's mostly a side-grade seems similarly bad.

 

[Thunder 57]

Yes, because the issues will resolve any day now. Come on man, this could go on for a couple of years. That 8/8 will definitely be on the struggle bus soon. We will see how these posts age. I was getting this kind of flack for telling people to go 16GB of DDR4 when it was cheap a couple years back, and most were telling builders 8GB was plenty for gaming. And to upgrade early last year. What you guys are stating is what I refer to as the common forum rhetoric. It is based on performance now. That has proven a bad move for years now, I do not see it reverting back anytime soon.

Honestly 8GB probably was fine for gaming not all that long ago. That doesn't make it a prudent decision. I went with 16GB of DDR3 in 2013 because it was cheap. DDR4 was cheap then got stupid expensive for awhile. If it's cheap, don't cheap out on it.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Honestly, I feel like buying into a 6-core CPU right now is something that will likely age poorly, particularly if you're taking a 5+ year look. The major consoles now have 8-core CPUs and developers are going to start taking advantage of that. Also going from an 8C/8T CPU to a 6C/12T CPU is probably a side-grade unless you get a Zen 3 CPU.

Anandtech has the 11600K in their bench already and it's frankly a wash in gaming compared to a 9700K. There are also some benchmarks where the older 9700K still beats out the 11600K as well, so it's hard to recommend.

If the OP were primarily gaming in 1080p, then Zen 3, even a 5600X, would offer and uplift in several titles. However, at 4K everything will be GPU bound. Also, LGA 1200 is pretty much dead at this point, so buying a new Intel CPU now means you'll need to replace the board if you want to upgrade again soon. AM4 is also probably at the end of its life as well so buying in now for what's mostly a side-grade seems similarly bad.

I agree about 6/12, and is why I stated I would go 8/16 or higher. And I don't put as much stock in benchmarks as many seem to still do. Go play the game, with discord running, on your system that does not have fresh install of windows. And whatever else is usually going on while you game, like vids or a browser running on another monitor etc. Those benchmarks don't always tell the tale. Suddenly CPUs doing well in canned bench are struggling in the intense parts of the game, resulting in a less enjoyable gaming experience. I have experienced for myself often enough that I do not depend on Standard benchmark methodology as the definitive evidence.

I like to mess with old and budget hardware. And it will be doing okay, until it's not. A classic example of Diamond City in FO4 or Novigrad main square in W3. Or Athens in AC: Odyssey, especially in a good fight there. Even my i7 4770K@4.7GHz had issues there.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Honestly 8GB probably was fine for gaming not all that long ago. That doesn't make it a prudent decision. I went with 16GB of DDR3 in 2013 because it was cheap. DDR4 was cheap then got stupid expensive for awhile. If it's cheap, don't cheap out on it.

Well stated, and was the basis of my recommendation back then. Having watched memory pricing go through so many price spikes in my lifetime, I advised it was better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And of course some ran into games that did benefit from more than 8GB, at the point when the prices spiked. I.E. the worst time to buy. Which is why I think doubling his thread count or better while his current stuff fetches a good price, is the way to go, to avoid being at the mercy of the market later.

The people on the other side of the debate may end up being correct. Based on what I have experienced, my crystal ball says they're not. Time will tell.

 

[Furious_Styles]

I agree about 6/12, and is why I stated I would go 8/16 or higher. And I don't put as much stock in benchmarks as many seem to still do. Go play the game, with discord running, on your system that does not have fresh install of windows. And whatever else is usually going on while you game, like vids or a browser running on another monitor etc. Those benchmarks don't always tell the tale. Suddenly CPUs doing well in canned bench are struggling in the intense parts of the game, resulting in a less enjoyable gaming experience. I have experienced for myself often enough that I do not depend on Standard benchmark methodology as the definitive evidence.

I like to mess with old and budget hardware. And it will be doing okay, until it's not. A classic example of Diamond City in FO4 or Novigrad main square in W3. Or Athens in AC: Odyssey, especially in a good fight there. Even my i7 4770K@4.7GHz had issues there.

This is nonsense imo. I run a dual boot with a W10 and W7 install, the W7 is 5 years old, the W10 less than a year old. There is no discernible performance difference in anything I've played. That obviously does not include DX12 stuff.

Discord/teamspeak/mumble etc. do not take hardly any performance away.

Why would you try to play games and watch videos at the same time? Unless it's turn based you can't pay attention to both at the same time.

 

[Thunder 57]

Well stated, and was the basis of my recommendation back then. Having watched memory pricing go through so many price spikes in my lifetime, I advised it was better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And of course some ran into games that did benefit from more than 8GB, at the point when the prices spiked. I.E. the worst time to buy. Which is why I think doubling his thread count or better while his current stuff fetches a good price, is the way to go, to avoid being at the mercy of the market later.

The people on the other side of the debate may end up being correct. Based on what I have experienced, my crystal ball says they're not. Time will tell.

It's also nice if you do more than game which many certainly do. It was nice to be able to start up a virtual machine without things slowing to a crawl which would have happened with just 8GB at the time.

Also high density RAM is actually worth reselling. I got some decent money for my 8GB sticks of DDR3. 4GB sticks of DDR3 or especially DDR4 would hardly be worth the effort.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

This is nonsense imo. I run a dual boot with a W10 and W7 install, the W7 is 5 years old, the W10 less than a year old. There is no discernible performance difference in anything I've played. That obviously does not include DX12 stuff.

Discord/teamspeak/mumble etc. do not take hardly any performance away.

Why would you try to play games and watch videos at the same time? Unless it's turn based you can't pay attention to both at the same time.

I read the comments sections on youtube hardware channels. While I do not watch vids or have a browser running while gaming, I was astonished how many commenters mention those things.

And not adding DX12 to the conversation makes me feel like you are in the wrong thread. You can play most indy and DX11 games on a potato. Being prepared for what's next is my entire point.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It's also nice if you do more than game which many certainly do. It was nice to be able to start up a virtual machine without things slowing to a crawl which would have happened with just 8GB at the time.

Also high density RAM is actually worth reselling. I got some decent money for my 8GB sticks of DDR3. 4GB sticks of DDR3 or especially DDR4 would hardly be worth the effort.

Right on.

And this thread is now cats cherry picking me to argue or take potshots. Water off a duck's back baby. Read my posting history ladies and gentlemen. I don't do flame wars and I am not going to take the bait either. My position is simple. Going from 8/8 to 8/16 or higher, with all the bells and whistles like PCIe 4.0 right now, while his kit can go for good money, is a good move. And that it will not matter what else hit the end of the year or next. Or what the market will look like. Because his system will age well, and he will not have rolled the dice.

I am on record, and unlike most will eat that crow should the time come.

 

[Furious_Styles]

I read the comments sections on youtube hardware channels. While I do not watch vids or have a browser running while gaming, I was astonished how many commenters mention those things.

And not adding DX12 to the conversation makes me feel like you are in the wrong thread. You can play most indy and DX11 games on a potato. Being prepared for what's next is my entire point.

W7 doesn't support DX12 so that's not possible for me to include it, otherwise I would. Lots of DX11 games don't run on a potato, I'm not talking about indie games here. I just don't buy this nonsense that you need 2 extra cores and 16gb more memory for discord and youtube comments.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

W7 doesn't support DX12 so that's not possible for me to include it, otherwise I would. Lots of DX11 games don't run on a potato, I'm not talking about indie games here. I just don't buy this nonsense that you need 2 extra cores and 16gb more memory for discord and youtube comments.

I don't care what you buy. And that was some rancid bait, bereft of reading comprehension.

 

[Furious_Styles]

I don't care what you buy. And that was some rancid bait, bereft of reading comprehension.

I just agree with the others that selling what he has now and then going for the low stock new stuff is a bad idea. If he was upgrading from a 4C or 6C I'd be on your side. I don't think he will suffer any with an 8C/PCI-e 3.0 mobo until another 1-2 years.

Wait for Alder lake or next ryzen at the earliest.

 

[ZGR]

You will see a big leap in IQ moving past a 4k60 display. I barely use my 4k60 display vs my 1440p144hz in most games. Only will use the 2160p display on games where my CPU is limiting performance below 60fps. I wish I had a 4k144 instead, but I need a much faster GPU for that. 60hz just sucks.

I definitely feel like RTX 3080 is wasted at 4k60 and 1440p144. Time to go 4k144 or 1440p240 or 1080p360!

But upgrading to Ryzen 5000 is a bad idea imo. Ryzen 5000 is a fantastic upgrade for lower end CPU's like mine, but I wouldn't bother with 9th gen. Ryzen 5000 is a dead end upgrade as well.

If I were you, I'd stay on that CPU until Intel/AMD's DDR5 platform is out, and make sure they allow an upgrade path.

 

[blckgrffn]

That is true. I am really thinking of just cancelling the 11900k order I have with B&H.

I missed a great opportunity to get a 9900k for $250 from Microcenter and just plop all my existing components in a new case..becuause airflow and thermals suck on my old entho evolve atx.

OP if you want more threads and are willing to pay $850 + tax ShopBLT has a preorder que for 5950x chips coming sometime in mid April.

You could have basically moved to a 9900k for free. 🤷‍♂️

I think they OP should have done that too, but I built several PCs (FOR FAMILY EVEN) with 9700k @ $200 (or less) with a mainboard discount. One as a Christmas gift for my bro-in-law (upgrade from an 8350 Bulldozer baby! 8 Core to 8 Core, right? ) and the other as a PC for my six year old daughter to hopefully use for a loooooooong time. In neither of these cases did I feel that moving a 9900k would make a wit of difference. The 9700k has a lot of juice.

But, a good friend of mine was using a 9700k and he games a lot - a lot. And to him it was worth it, so I bought a 9900k at MC and we swapped at cost so he could have the threads to hold out longer.

I don't think either view was wrong, but getting a 9900k to hold for ~$50 over a 9700k? Given that Intel has moved the bar only just a little teeny bit since then and we are likely a full year of real availability of a platform that moves the bar? Worth it. Especially now when all of sudden a PSU worth buying could be $250 again.

Which reminds me, there was a great deal on a superflower on Slickdeals...

 

[lobz]

That is true. I am really thinking of just cancelling the 11900k order I have with B&H.

I missed a great opportunity to get a 9900k for $250 from Microcenter and just plop all my existing components in a new case..becuause airflow and thermals suck on my old entho evolve atx.

OP if you want more threads and are willing to pay $850 + tax ShopBLT has a preorder que for 5950x chips coming sometime in mid April.

9900K for $250 is insanely good, never miss that again!

 

[sze5003]

You could have basically moved to a 9900k for free.

I think they OP should have done that too, but I built several PCs (FOR FAMILY EVEN) with 9700k @ $200 (or less) with a mainboard discount. One as a Christmas gift for my bro-in-law (upgrade from an 8350 Bulldozer baby! 8 Core to 8 Core, right? ) and the other as a PC for my six year old daughter to hopefully use for a loooooooong time. In neither of these cases did I feel that moving a 9900k would make a wit of difference. The 9700k has a lot of juice.

But, a good friend of mine was using a 9700k and he games a lot - a lot. And to him it was worth it, so I bought a 9900k at MC and we swapped at cost so he could have the threads to hold out longer.

I don't think either view was wrong, but getting a 9900k to hold for ~$50 over a 9700k? Given that Intel has moved the bar only just a little teeny bit since then and we are likely a full year of real availability of a platform that moves the bar? Worth it. Especially now when all of sudden a PSU worth buying could be $250 again.

Which reminds me, there was a great deal on a superflower on Slickdeals...

Yea I wish I would have known! I wasn't browsing the subreddits last week or looking anymore since I had already pre-ordered an 11900k but now I'm 99% sure I'm going to cancel that.

I don't think I'll see that price again for the 9900k sadly. Even on ebay they are going up on price.

 

[blckgrffn]

Yea I wish I would have known! I wasn't browsing the subreddits last week or looking anymore since I had already pre-ordered an 11900k but now I'm 99% sure I'm going to cancel that.

I don't think I'll see that price again for the 9900k sadly. Even on ebay they are going up on price.

Right - I should have considered buying more. I went to go reserve a 9700k but MC was out of stock, I guess forever now :/

I do think, in clarification of what I wrote before, that owning a 8700k or 9900k makes the 10th and 11th generations pretty much irrelevant so owning either is solid. I mean, they are rough equivalents for the 10600k and 10700k respectively (still really relevant for gaming) and obviously within a stones throw or better than their respective RKL skus.

That 8700k should age really well and retain it's value for years and years as the halo for any Intel chipset release does. As you mentioned, eBay can always find people who don't want to trade out everything but still want the best they can get. My 2600k, 3770k, and 4770k (the last two still parents PCs) were all worth more almost immediately after purchase at MC when the latest stuff came out.

 

[ondma]

Yes, because the issues will resolve any day now. Come on man, this could go on for a couple of years. That 8/8 will definitely be on the struggle bus soon. We will see how these posts age. I was getting this kind of flack for telling people to go 16GB of DDR4 when it was cheap a couple years back, and most were telling builders 8GB was plenty for gaming. And to upgrade early last year. What you guys are stating is what I refer to as the common forum rhetoric. It is based on performance now. That has proven a bad move for years now, I do not see it reverting back anytime soon.

So you think stock/prices of Ryzen 5xxx wont improve? GPUs are another story, but the OP was not talking about buying a gpu.

If buying a new system now, for sure, I would go at least 8/16 for gaming. I am even not arguing against buying more cores/threads as being a good investment. Your sarcasm and subsequent rant against "forum rhetoric" in your reply to my post is wasted, as I actually agree with you.

Point is, the OP *already has* a system, and it seems to be performing adequately for him. He didnt say "Game X is stuttering badly with my current system, what cpu should I buy?" Therefore, it would seem to me to make sense to wait until the system is not performing adequately to upgrade. I cant imagine prices for current cpus being higher in a few months.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

So you think stock/prices of Ryzen 5xxx wont improve? GPUs are another story, but the OP was not talking about buying a gpu.

If buying a new system now, for sure, I would go at least 8/16 for gaming. I am even not arguing against buying more cores/threads as being a good investment. Your sarcasm and subsequent rant against "forum rhetoric" in your reply to my post is wasted, as I actually agree with you.

Point is, the OP *already has* a system, and it seems to be performing adequately for him. He didnt say "Game X is stuttering badly with my current system, what cpu should I buy?" Therefore, it would seem to me to make sense to wait until the system is not performing adequately to upgrade. I cant imagine prices for current cpus being higher in a few months.

You may be proven right, but it is a gamble. If you have been paying attention the last couple of years, things have been anything but predictable. Will any fallout from that ship being stuck end up affecting PC hardware prices? I suspect it should not, but my cynical nature says it is a non zero chance. We are already paying for the tariffs. And we have companies like Asus and MSI claiming they have to increase prices because of all the factors they are facing. Including the existing constraints imposed by the pandemic. So while you cannot imagine CPU prices going up in a few months, I can. I am not saying they will, but again, we are in crazy days.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Yes, exactly: why buy in a shortage? Regardless, it's your money do what you want.

I apologize for not responding sooner, I missed this post.

My position is based on recent precedence. Miss a firesale like the 9900K or Zen+, and you could be stuck waiting along time to get another great deal. 10th gen Intel has been hitting firesale pricing, has the cores and threads to age well, and they won't last forever. Why not upgrade now since you are only spending the difference between what your old stuff sells for? Instead of waiting and being at the mercy of a market that has been increasingly ruthless.

 

[gdansk]

I apologize for not responding sooner, I missed this post.

My position is based on recent precedence. Miss a firesale like the 9900K or Zen+, and you could be stuck waiting along time to get another great deal. 10th gen Intel has been hitting firesale pricing, has the cores and threads to age well, and they won't last forever. Why not upgrade now since you are only spending the difference between what your old stuff sells for? Instead of waiting and being at the mercy of a market that has been increasingly ruthless.

It's hard to buy things now. Availability of future CPUs will not be as bad 6 months after launch. Future CPU models will be faster. Future motherboards will have DDR5 and/or PCIe5. Your present CPU is adequate for games you play. All these things point to now being a bad time to upgrade... I guess I can't understand.

 

[killster1]

I am not arguing with you, but this is exactly the type of comment that has left those who listened, unable to buy a GPU without getting scalped now. Don't forget PSUs and CPUs keep suffering from this issue on and off too. Forcing buyers to constantly watch the market for their openings. Time is your only real currency, spend it wisely. Honestly, at this point, the wait for the next thing, has become a mantra the last few years. When do they stop waiting? And there are VERY significant upgrades to his present CPU right now, where after selling his present stuff, makes the upgrade attractive.

And the waiting game is a dice roll because of tariffs, supply and demand issues, and overall pricing volatility. You could be facing lack of availability, price hikes, scalping, early adopter blues, and who knows what else. The 10th gen and 5 series are going to be relevant for years to come. Perhaps elite pro gamers might benefit before that, but the rest of us will be doing great on an 8/16 or higher modern platform for years to come. They should hold up the way 4/8 and HEDT 6/12 CPUs did for so long.

lulz its not the same as gpu's with cpu at 4k anything will be fine, no need to worry about cpu / psu shortages, sure you cant get it right away but the price isnt any diff when you can. imo there will be zero rolling of dice, you will find something better 1000000% guarantee when you are ready to upgrade. will you be buying the chip released that day? maybe not but we all see the 5000 series for sale everywhere now, waiting game doesnt mean panic'ed buying the second you want to upgrade right? it means waiting for something worth it.

 

[blckgrffn]

I yolo’d the rig in my sig when the pandemic hit because I thought everything could get gnarly. No ragrets

All sorts of stuff could be in the cards for imports.

I won’t begrudge anyone the smallest of upgrades atm.

 

[Thunder 57]

It's hard to buy things now. Availability of future CPUs will not be as bad 6 months after launch. Future CPU models will be faster. Future motherboards will have DDR5 and/or PCIe5. Your present CPU is adequate for games you play. All these things point to now being a bad time to upgrade... I guess I can't understand.

Buying a new generation of RAM when it first comes out has never ended well. I don't expect that to change.