[SOLVED] 9600K or 2700X?

[WildCard999]

So I've built a budget system with the intention of going with the 9600K as I just game however there's a little bit of buyer's remorse as for around the same budget I could of gotten then 2700X which is kind of overkill for my needs but may be a better choice in the long run.

I'm also helping a friend build a system for his kids for homework/studies and I could sell my CPU/Cooler/MB/PSU (I have a G3 650W on the way) & memory to him without losing much money. Would this be a good option to sell him those parts and get the 2700X? I'm gaming at 2560x1080/75hz so the 2700X should suffice (probably OC to 3.8 on stock cooler).

Current part list. *Don't mind the prices*

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium Gold G5400 3.7 GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370XP SLI (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($0.00)
Memory: Kingston - FURY 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($0.00)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 580 4 GB Dual Video Card ($169.99)
Case: NZXT - H500 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($0.00)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Monitor: LG - 34WK650-W 34.0" 2560x1080 60 Hz Monitor ($299.99)
Keyboard: Logitech - G510s Wired Gaming Keyboard ($0.00)
Mouse: EVGA - TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse ($0.00)
Headphones: Turtle Beach - X12 Headset ($0.00)
Other: Xbox One X Wireless Controller
Total: $796.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-27 12:39 EST-0500

Possible new parts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX 580 4 GB Dual Video Card ($169.99)
Case: NZXT - H500 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($0.00)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Case Fan: Thermaltake - Riing 12 LED White 40.6 CFM 120mm Fan ($10.49)
Monitor: LG - 34WK650-W 34.0" 2560x1080 60 Hz Monitor ($299.99)
Keyboard: Logitech - G510s Wired Gaming Keyboard ($0.00)
Mouse: EVGA - TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse ($0.00)
Headphones: Turtle Beach - X12 Headset ($0.00)
Other: Xbox One X Wireless Controller
Total: $1179.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-27 12:40 EST-0500

 

[Barty1884]

For 1440p gaming, I'd go the 2700X route. Performance differences in gaming between it and the 9600K aren't much at all, and the 2700X at 8c/16t *should* be viable much longer.

Also, absolutely no need to OC it. With PBO, my 2700X boosts to >4GHz with spikes to 4.5-4.6GHz. The Auto functionality really negates the need to OC the thing.

 

[Zerk2012]

For pure gaming I would keep the 9600K it should last a long time. The faster speed of the Intel should win out for gaming I don't think more than 6 cores will be needed for a good while.

 

[Barty1884]

WC doesn't have the 9600K yet though Zerk?

The gap isn't huge, and at 1440p with a 580... it's going to be extremely close.

I think the 2700X looks more viable with a long-term view.... but you really can't go wrong with either.

 

[WildCard999]

For 1440p gaming, I'd go the 2700X route. Performance differences in gaming between it and the 9600K aren't much at all, and the 2700X at 8c/16t *should* be viable much longer.

Also, absolutely no need to OC it. With PBO, my 2700X boosts to >4GHz with spikes to 4.5-4.6GHz. The Auto functionality really negates the need to OC the thing.

PBO? Is that a feature on the B450 boards or X470?

 

[Barty1884]

Precision Boost Overdrive2.

Essentially auto-overclocking based on Temps, VRM current & SoC voltage.
https://community.amd.com/community/gaming/blog/2018/08/13/understanding-precision-boost-overdrive-in-three-easy-steps

No, I believe it's 2nd Gen processors (1st Gen had similar too, it's just been refined).... not dependent on X470, should work on B450 too.


FWIW, I bought the B450-F and had a bunch of issues with it.
I'm sure I got a lemon, so don't read too much into that.

 

[WildCard999]

For pure gaming I would keep the 9600K it should last a long time. The faster speed of the Intel should win out for gaming I don't think more than 6 cores will be needed for a good while.

Don't have it yet, still rocking the G5400 (surprisingly good CPU). I could sell my current CPU/MB/RAM & PSU for my friends kids build and get the 2700X or keep mine and get the 9600K although if I do I'd probably have to replace the cooler as well since it's only rated for 120W.

At this point I'm thinking more 2700X plus having AMD using the AM4 socket until 2020.

 

[WildCard999]

Precision Boost Overdrive2.

Essentially auto-overclocking based on Temps, VRM current & SoC voltage.
https://community.amd.com/community/gaming/blog/2018/08/13/understanding-precision-boost-overdrive-in-three-easy-steps

No, I believe it's 2nd Gen processors (1st Gen had similar too, it's just been refined).... not dependent on X470, should work on B450 too.


FWIW, I bought the B450-F and had a bunch of issues with it.
I'm sure I got a lemon, so don't read too much into that.

Ok, thanks for the info. What kind of issues did you have with it?

 

[Barty1884]

Not 100% sure if it was a memory compatibility overall, but there was more to it.

1. DOCP / XMP shortcut was not present in "EZ Mode" in the BIOS - definitely should've been, based on screenshots online. So thinking there was a bug somewhere.
2. Monitoring programs would go 'not responding'; HWMonitor, MSI Afterburner & Aida64, despite a clean OS install.
3. System wouldn't reboot from Windows. System would appear to shut down, but was still running.

Now, I didn't have QVL memory (they're Hynix chips), so that might've played a part.... at least in theory. But same memory at 3200MHz is fine on the PRIME X470-Pro. Dropped to 2133MHz and even loosened timings on the B450-F and no change.

Again, not saying the board itself is bad - it reviews pretty well, just sharing an experience I had with a defect. Could happen with any vendor.

 

[WildCard999]

Not 100% sure if it was a memory compatibility overall, but there was more to it.

1. DOCP / XMP shortcut was not present in "EZ Mode" in the BIOS - definitely should've been, based on screenshots online. So thinking there was a bug somewhere.
2. Monitoring programs would go 'not responding'; HWMonitor, MSI Afterburner & Aida64, despite a clean OS install.
3. System wouldn't reboot from Windows. System would appear to shut down, but was still running.

Now, I didn't have QVL memory (they're Hynix chips), so that might've played a part.... at least in theory. But same memory at 3200MHz is fine on the PRIME X470-Pro. Dropped to 2133MHz and even loosened timings on the B450-F and no change.

Again, not saying the board itself is bad - it reviews pretty well, just sharing an experience I had with a defect. Could happen with any vendor.

Interesting, hopefully it was a dud, I'm very fond of the Strix boards.

 

[Zerk2012]

WC doesn't have the 9600K yet though Zerk?

The gap isn't huge, and at 1440p with a 580... it's going to be extremely close.

I think the 2700X looks more viable with a long-term view.... but you really can't go wrong with either.

That is limited by the card not the processor. The video card is the only reason why the 2700X closes the FPS gap in 2K and especially in 4K.

The 14% or so faster single core performance is hard to compair to after overclocking both processors it's more like a 20% difference.

 

[WildCard999]

Well it's not 1440P, 2560x1080P is closer to 1080P then 1440P which was a concern of mine with the single core performance between the two. Even if it's a near 20% difference I guess the question I have is will the 2700X give me a somewhat stable FPS or do I just need to go with the 9600k?

As long as I get 60-75hz I'll be happy with it as it's close to my Freesync range.

 

[Barty1884]

Interesting, hopefully it was a dud, I'm very fond of the Strix boards.

Almost certainly just a dud board. If it were a widespread issue I would've found people complaining about the issue when I was troubleshooting :lol:

That is limited by the card not the processor. The video card is the only reason why the 2700X closes the FPS gap in 2K and especially in 4K.

The 14% or so faster single core performance is hard to compair to after overclocking both processors it's more like a 20% difference.

Yes. 2560x1080 is going to be more taxing on the GPU than it would be at 'straight' 1080p.
Not saying the 9600K doesn't have the slight edge for strictly gaming, but the gap is not huge - and it would be near removed in time with a GPU upgrade.

A little tough to draw direct parallels, but with some interpretation:
GTAV.
RX580 w/ 7700K, 1080p V.High 103FPS ave, 61FPS min.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-580-review,5020-4.html

RX580 w/1700X, 2560x1080. V.High. 89Ave, 48Min.
https://youtu.be/NpSgw4-X994?t=198

While not 100% linear, 2560x1080 is roughly 33% more pixels than 1080p.
moving linearly, the 1700X at 1080p should be in the ~120FPS Ave / 60 Min. Range.

In reverse, the 7700K + 580 (again, linearly) would fall in the ~80FPS Ave / 40+ Min range at 2560x1440.


Similar results with RoTTR
RX580 w/8700K @ 5.3GHz, 1080p V.High
It's judging from a YT vid, but still....... 70+FPS, average?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GXSIanjUPM

RX580 w/R7 1700, 1080p V.High
Judging from a YT vid, of course..... but I'd suspect ~70FPS average?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VTsh7S9mYg


Yes, numbers based on older non-refresh chips, but still.
Ryzen, similarly has improved.... and IPC gains with 2nd Gen are worth noting.


For raw gaming performance, the 9600K wins out..... but it's not going to be a consistent +>10%, that's just not true.

Well it's not 1440P, 2560x1080P is closer to 1080P then 1440P which was a concern of mine with the single core performance between the two. Even if it's a near 20% difference I guess the question I have is will the 2700X give me a somewhat stable FPS or do I just need to go with the 9600k?

As long as I get 60-75hz I'll be happy with it as it's close to my Freesync range.

Sorry, misread as 1440p. Leaning closer to 1080p, the gap opens a little bit favouring the 9600K, but I don't think it's going to be night & day.

I think you'd be very happy with a 2700X, or 9600K. It will depend on the games you play, of course..... but I don't think you could go wrong with either - and the 2700X's added cores/threads seems like it would be viable longer (to me), but that's clearly just speculation on my part.

 

[WildCard999]

Yea I've been checking out the 1080P benchmarks (2700X/9600K) and it seems like even when there is a significant difference the FPS is well over 100 which is fine.

At this point I think I'm going to save myself like $100 and just grab the Ryzen 2600, for my gaming uses it seems like it's more then enough and if I do want to spend more I'll put it into 16gb (2x8gb @3000) over a 8gb kit. The 2600/9600K FPS can vary anywhere from 10-50 FPS difference but even on the low end the 2600 is still above 75hz which is fine. Eventually I'll grab the Dark Rock 4 and let PBO2 do it's thing. And with AMD using the AM4 socket until 2020 if I want something better it'll give me a better upgrade path over Intel and I'd figure the 2600 should last at least 2-3 years.

I appreciate the insight guys.

 

[Barty1884]

It's unfortunate you're considering it now..... as I think the 1700X was ~$150 (maybe less?) for BF/CM, which is 2600 money for 8c/16t.
Added headaches with first gen, of course.... lower IPC, some more memory compatibility issues.... but for that kind of money it would've been a steal.

Yes, the 2600/2600X would be very solid options too...
I would expect to see them to boost a little shy of the 2700X (with appropriate thermal/voltage headroom) due to binning, but you should still see impressive clocks, on a budget.

The performance gaps vary game to game, API to API and engine to engine, so YMMW.
The 9600K would have the 'win' more often that not, but unless you're exclusively playing a title the 9600K is ahead by a huge margin... it shouldn't really matter.

 

[WildCard999]

It's unfortunate you're considering it now..... as I think the 1700X was ~$150 (maybe less?) for BF/CM, which is 2600 money for 8c/16t.
Added headaches with first gen, of course.... lower IPC, some more memory compatibility issues.... but for that kind of money it would've been a steal.

Yes, the 2600/2600X would be very solid options too...
I would expect to see them to boost a little shy of the 2700X (with appropriate thermal/voltage headroom) due to binning, but you should still see impressive clocks, on a budget.

The performance gaps vary game to game, API to API and engine to engine, so YMMW.
The 9600K would have the 'win' more often that not, but unless you're exclusively playing a title the 9600K is ahead by a huge margin... it shouldn't really matter.

Yea I know, that 1700X was a steal but it's been awhile since I've had AMD (X4 965) so having whatever is more stable is fine by me. I've go until 12/7/18 to figure everything out so I have a bit of time. 12/7/18 is when I get paid next so I'm making the 1.45 hour trip to Microcenter to buy parts (I price match every part, pretty sure they hate me )

 

[Barty1884]

:lol: hey, if they allow it.... why not, right?

Yeah, the 1700X was pretty appealing at the BF/CM price... Might even see it come back down around Xmas or Boxing Day if you can wait that long.
Guessing not though, so the 2600 is a very solid option.

 

[WildCard999]

:lol: hey, if they allow it.... why not, right?

Yeah, the 1700X was pretty appealing at the BF/CM price... Might even see it come back down around Xmas or Boxing Day if you can wait that long.
Guessing not though, so the 2600 is a very solid option.

Sick of waiting, the G5400 is a awesome CPU for the price but having to lower the settings to medium-ish to keep the FPS within Freesync range (48-75) is kind of annoying and with some of the dips are still semi noticeable even with Freesync so I need something that'll stay around 70 on high-ish settings which the 2600 should fit my needs.

Plus being able to sell my current parts to someone I know all in one shot makes things a bit more tempting to get something better. If it wasn't for that this wouldn't even be a thought.

 

[WildCard999]

So I ended up getting the Ryzen 2600, Asus Strix B450 & 16gb (2x8gb) of Gskill 3200mhz. The build runs great and the stock cooler is excellent. I updated the BIOS but haven't tweaked the memory yet.

 

[Barty1884]

Nice! Is DOCP present in the "EZ Mode" for the BIOS?

 

[WildCard999]

Nice! Is DOCP present in the "EZ Mode" for the BIOS?

Haven't seen it yet, downloading Destiny 2 atm and reading the motherboard manual. It was been updated to the newest BIOS version 1003.Will pause download and check it out as I do want my memory to run at the correct speed.

 

[Barty1884]

Yeah, that was my first inclination something wasn't right.

BUT, to be fair, I did find this image where DOCP isn't present either:

https://gnd-tech.com/2018/10/asus-rog-strix-b450-f-gaming-motherboard-review/

AFAIK, all ASUS boards should show either XMP or DOCP toggles right above where it says "FAN profile"

 

[WildCard999]

It's under advanced mode in BIOS, AI Tweaker > DOCP. I set it and it set the memory for 3200 with the correct voltage and timings but didn't boot. Then tried 3000/2933 and no boot either. Tried 2800, booted to desktop and crash. Have to say i'm a little disappointed. Brought it back to default for now.

 

[Barty1884]

Yeah, it's the only board I've ever seen without it on the "EZ Mode" landing page.
Very strange.

Which G.Skill kit did you buy, out of curiosity?

 

[WildCard999]

I'm not too worried anyways, I like a challenge and now I'm cleaning up boxes and trying to get the other computer setup for my buddies kids and I want to try out Destiny 2 when it finishes.