Want to upgrade the CPU - i7 7700k vs 7700 vs whatever AMD (asking for advice)

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

So it's been 5 years since the building of my desktop. It is as follows:
i5-3550 3,2-3,5 GHz
8 GB DDR3 RAM
1150 socket motherboard
GTX geforce 760 2 GB

In another post yesterday I asked for advice about the gpu and came across the advice of being balanced when upgrading both cpu and gpu [http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3723235/gpu-choose-mid-high-mid-future-investment-1060-580.html] (so I'm thinking of a 1060 6gb).

Fact is I'm limited by the type of RAM I'll be buying 2nd handly (2400 MHz), so my option for a mid-high end CPU that will last another 5 years and run the nearly AAA games that are going to be released/have been recently released (Kingdom Come Deliverance [this one is so badly optimized, welp, but I want to play it so badly], Nier:Automata, AC Origins, AC Odyssey, Vampyr, Rise of the Tomb Raider, the New Tomb Raider from E3, Cyberpunk 2077 and the eventually TES VI, among others) is:

i7-7700K

Some AMD that is equivalent? I'm not versed on it and when I see and AMD cpu in game specs I can't grasp nor compare things. Is AMD worth?

Other intel core that I don't know of and that you know of that will suit?

Actually, does the cpu limit the ram type? If the 1151 socket supports 2400 but the cpu says only 2666 one, does it work?

So, asking for advice for a not too expensive CPU mid-high that will last for another 5 years

Thanks for taking your time to reply.

Ztdutxjgxgtu · Jun 12, 2018

Fyi.I uprgraded to 1700 over 7700k last year from i5 2500
1. Intel use bad thermal paste get too hot
2. Overclockable z270 is expensive vs b350, b250
3. Ryzen has more cores,more futureproof,never see my cpu usage over 60%
4. Intel better gaming? Imo if you have very high end gpu , you will see the diff? No. 120fps vs 130fps
5. Ryzen overclock well with a good stock(rgb)cooler

Rdslw · Jun 12, 2018

If gaming is what you want and you have slow ram then no. Best AMD will go around i5 ~7600. Still if you do work or anything that uses more cores, ryzen 2700X will literally double the productivity of 7700

about ram, mobo + sticks will find speed they all support. Without XMP it will go max 2400. you can buy faster ram up to mobo support, I think 4000 Mhz(for z270)? and lowest will be 1833.

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

Ztdutxjgxgtu :

1700 you mean AMD Ryzen 7 1700 3.7 GHz, right?

I see. You use it for gaming and heavy tasks as well?

Sorry, what rgb in this context means ^^u?

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

Rdslw :

I assume 2400 ram is considered slow? Not enough to exploit the 2700X for example?

pegasaurisrex · Jun 12, 2018

i would hold out on getting a second gen ryzen cpu right now, i got mine maybe last week and i have been having more issues than i know how to fix. as well as AMD and MSI spitting out driver updates and BIOS updates like mad

im not sure how the first gen cpu's are holding up, i know when they launched they had compatibility issues lots of different types of ram, but i imagine its mostly fixed by now. im not saying this to discourage you from buying AMD, but just as a fair warning that you might be more interested in saving as much as you can to build a new PC than just cherry picking some parts and slapping them with others and preying they will work

you should defiantly get a ram upgrade too, in my opinion. and dont listen to the PC Elitists you run into, 8 gigs is still plenty for casual gaming, but ddr3 is a lot slower.

and a good graphics card that is sorta cheep would be a GTX 980. i would say a 970 is pushing it (and its the card i use) simply because of its weird use of v-ram, i personal have never had an issue with it but with how demanding more modern games have become it might become unpredictable

aaaand after looking it up i realized that a GTX 1060 costs about the same XD. its all about the research man, with a little time and some self control for penny pinching im sure you could still make a kick ass rig

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

pegasaurisrex :

i would hold out on getting a second gen ryzen cpu right now, i got mine maybe last week and i have been having more issues than i know how to fix. as well as AMD and MSI spitting out driver updates and BIOS updates like mad

im not sure how the first gen cpu's are holding up, i know when they launched they had compatibility issues lots of different types of ram, but i imagine its mostly fixed by now. im not saying this to discourage you from buying AMD, but just as a fair warning that you might be more interested in saving as much as you can to build a new PC than just cherry picking some parts and slapping them with others and preying they will work

you should defiantly get a ram upgrade too, in my opinion. and dont listen to the PC Elitists you run into, 8 gigs is still plenty for casual gaming, but ddr3 is a lot slower.

and a good graphics card that is sorta cheep would be a GTX 980. i would say a 970 is pushing it (and its the card i use) simply because of its weird use of v-ram, i personal have never had an issue with it but with how demanding more modern games have become it might become unpredictable

aaaand after looking it up i realized that a GTX 1060 costs about the same XD. its all about the research man, with a little time and some self control for penny pinching im sure you could still make a kick ass rig

Thanks man. Well, the ram I already plan to buy is DDR4 and since is 2nd hand is far cheapier.

I'm stuck with what cpu to choose ugh.

Eximo · Jun 12, 2018

If you can get a 7700k on the cheap (sub-$300), sure. Still need a Z270/Z170 board. But an i5-8400 (6 cores vs 4c/8t)would be cheaper and pretty much as effective, and you can go with B360 to save over a Z board. Not much reason to get an i5-7400/7500 with the i3-8100 out there either.

R5-1600/2600 is a pretty good deal. 6 cores, 12 threads. A little slower per core then Intel, but you can overclock all their chips on cheap motherboards, as mentioned above. Can't do that with mid-range Intel.

All the CPUs mentioned though will work just fine with a GTX1060 6GB for 1080p gaming.

Ztdutxjgxgtu · Jun 12, 2018

Yes I bought ryzen 1700, same as parts below. I am gaming on gtx970.so far so good.
The rgb is the( unwanted) lighting effect from some stock oooler
The bios is now very stable for me

Ram speed... unless you are solely playing with cinebench score ,it doesnt matter, you wont notice on 16 thread system

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

Many thanks to all of you.

Sadly the 7700k I'd only be able to get it at market price (289 €, 350 $ I think it equals). I may buy the i5-8400 to cut on the budget. Thanks again.

madmatt30 · Jun 12, 2018

If you want bang for buck,ryzen 1600 or i5 8400.
2400mhz ram,is fine for both , ignore the naysays who insist you need 3000mhz ram for amd - the fact is you don't.

Both those cpu's should last 5 years , the i5 8400 does perform better for straight gaming, the ryzen arguably has more headroom & is more future proof.

Neither will disappoint if paired With a good mid range gpu like the 1060 or rx 580.

reclusiveorc · Jun 12, 2018

Here is my 2 cents.
Since you are going to be gaming and not doing anything like video encoding, i would recommend R5-2600x. It is very close to the performance of the 7800x If you can wait for the B450 board to save more money. I am assuming that you will be playing at 1080p and would recommend getting a 1050ti to hold you over until the prices settle down. The money saved by going with 2600x, b450 board and 1050ti will help with cost of faster DDR4, NVME ssd and windows 10.

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

I take notes of everything you say, thanks everyone

Just want to ask, why 1600 is more future proof?

Don't worry, reclusiveorc, I already have w10 etc. Tho no ssd, I always ran HDD xD

madmatt30 · Jun 12, 2018

The ryzen 5's have smt (simultaneous multi threading) so the 1600 has 6 cores but 12 threads.

Similar to how say the i7 7700 with its hyperthreading compared to the i5 7600.

In all honesty Its doubtful games will ever make use of those extra threads in the foreseeable future but it's still there.

Personally I'd take whichever is the cheaper option of the two & allows you the best range of other components.

On a 60htz screen there is going to be virtually no difference between them for gaming.

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

I see, many thanks. I go with a 60hz, connectable only via vga ahahahah (I have a hdmi-vga converter)

reclusiveorc · Jun 12, 2018

Have you checked the weekly sales flyer for best buy or officemax? They always have a sale on 21-25 inch monitors. Do you have a microcenter or fry's near you?

mdd1963 · Jun 12, 2018

Musrar :

Rdslw :

I assume 2400 ram is considered slow? Not enough to exploit the 2700X for example?

3200 MHz (with decent timings) is the new minimum target these days...

madmatt30 · Jun 12, 2018

^ There's no minimum target for ram , 2400 is the baseline pretty much , just as ddr3 started at 1333mHz but the majority of people used 1600mhz.

The gain , even on ryzen , from 2400 to 3200 is 8% best case scenario in any app/game that matters.

mdd1963 · Jun 12, 2018

2700X performance is notably improved over 1700X when good fast RAM is used....enough so that now the 7700K from 15 months ago is now hearing proverbial knocking at the door in gaming performance. If a gaming streamer, the 2700X is compelling for the cost. The 8700 (ok, and the 12 samples of the 8086K cousin out there)*is* still king, however...

Musrar · Jun 12, 2018

I do not aim to have top notch gaming nor stream heavily nor similar things, I really don't care about those tiny % of improvement overall, I went through this 5 years with what you read in the first post ahahah. Indeed, when I built my PC that I have now I bought 1333 ram xD, back then 5 years ago.

Ztdutxjgxgtu · Jun 12, 2018

I believe 16 threads will serve you al least 7 years
Expecting to mainboard replace once. New mobo in 2020 will still support this chip

Want to upgrade the CPU - i7 7700k vs 7700 vs whatever AMD (asking for advice)

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