i3 8350k, why do people hate it? And should I upgrade?

Collegrove

Prominent
Aug 7, 2017
9
0
510
my rig is

i3 8350k @ 4.5ghz
Gtx 1080
ASUS z370 strix gaming F
Geil superluce 16gb dual channel
EVGA supernova 750 g2
Corsair h100i v2
—————————-
My Delma is weather or not to upgrade my pc to a 2080ti and an i9 9900k. I can afford both but if I can save money I wont complain. I’m wondering if the i3 can handle the 2080ti. I think it can, people say it’s not worth it, but up until 2017 we had 4core i5s that we’re still being recommended for gaming and if ryzen wasn’t here then people would still be using 4 core i5’s for their 2080ti’s. So should I upgrade my i3 before buying a rtx 2080ti?
 
Solution
My understanding on why many people would not recommend the 8350k is that you are spending extra for an unlocked processor, but it's only 4 cores/4 threads. In today's games, and in the future, cores and threads are what you want most, and not so much faster clockspeeds.

Of course, if you only play games where 4 cores/4 threads is enough, and faster clockspeeds help a lot, then the 8350k looks better.

I wouldn't recommend any upgrade until I know why you want to upgrade. What kind of performance are you getting now and what kind of increase are you looking for?
Your issue, as stated above, is your CPU. The problem with it is that its a 4 core without hyperthreading. It is going to bog down in CPU heavy games and anything going on in the background will kill performance. An 8700k is sufficient but if you have the money and want to get the best available, the 9900k is it. Just make sure you get one of the best CPU coolers available because it takes a lot of power and makes a lot of heat. Get a Noctua 14 air cooler or EVGA 280mm CLC.
 
I'd lean on upgrading the CPU as well....although I think the 1080 probably matches up pretty good with the i3...I'd have reservations about a 2080 Ti. I think that might be a bit of a reach...and I think the CPU may slow it down.

Although....not like it wouldn't work for games.....and it would work really well.....you just might not get the max performance out of the 2080 Ti.
 
My understanding on why many people would not recommend the 8350k is that you are spending extra for an unlocked processor, but it's only 4 cores/4 threads. In today's games, and in the future, cores and threads are what you want most, and not so much faster clockspeeds.

Of course, if you only play games where 4 cores/4 threads is enough, and faster clockspeeds help a lot, then the 8350k looks better.

I wouldn't recommend any upgrade until I know why you want to upgrade. What kind of performance are you getting now and what kind of increase are you looking for?
 
Solution
Sep 3, 2018
27
0
40
What resolution are you playing at?
You're going to be mostly GPU bottlenecked at 4K, so you might not NEED upgrade YET.
You're absolutely right that 4c/4t was being recommended until Ryzen hit, and even now almost all games get along perfectly fine with 4 powerful Coffee-Lake cores running at 4.7+. Will you see a performance boost going to an 8600k, 9600k, 9700k etc? Definitely, but it doesn't mean there's any real need to upgrade.

Check benchmarks for 8350k at your resolution, and see what kind of performance you could get with a better card.
From what I remember seeing even when paired with a 1080ti and AAA/poorly optimized titles, the 8350k was barely behind the 8600k/8700k and that was a 1080p which is a waste for a card higher than a 1080.

Personally if I was at 4k, I'd go for the 2080ti or 1080ti now and then upgrade to a 9900k in a year when prices drop. MOST games still don't use 4+ cores efficiently, and even the 2080ti isn't seeing FPS over 100 in most titles and the 8350k should be able to provide that 100 fps.
 
Be done with and drop an 8700K in...Simply a great gaming CPU that will drive any GPU on the market to it's max level...It overclocks extremely well and is only a fraction of the 9900K in gaming...This way you do not need to change the motherboard and you save money..