[SOLVED] 9900K vs 9700K vs 8700K at my local prices

mastermat

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I am buying a new MB, CPU and RAM to go with my recently upgraded 1070 GTX, Noctua NH-D14, SSD. My current and quite old CPU is i5-3570K.

Looking for good gaming performance. I got 2 monitors, one 24' with 1920x1200 resolution more suitable for gaming at the moment (DELL U2412M), and another one for work with much higher pixel density 3840x2160 also 24' that I can't really use to display games on right now due to performance limitations or UI scaling (DELL P2415Q). Both are 60Hz monitors, I would upgrade to 144Hz if there was a quality monitor available with same or higher pixel density as my P2415Q but I don't know of any (I can't work on standard monitors anymore because P2415Q is basically "retina" level of picture quality).

Here are my local prices which may change how we interpret older reviews and recommendations:
9900K at 516,90 EUR
9700K at 423,90 EUR
8700K at 383,92 EUR


It seems that 8700K is not an option and the price jump between 9700k and 9900k is not as high anymore. Am I right to just go with 9900K then or is it still not worth it? For the future I plan to keep the CPU for a very long time but I'll be upgrading GPU every 2-3 years. Feel free to recommend me a MB and RAM as well.

Thanks!
 
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Go 9900k, the extra threads will help it last longer. $93 more if you're intending to hold on to it over a period of 3~5years (maybe more) is worth it imo.

You'll need a z390 mobo for 9th gen or at the very least know 100% sure if interested in a z370 motherboard that it's bios has been updated before it was packaged. Id avoid doubt and go z390. z390 can run both gens.

boju

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Go 9900k, the extra threads will help it last longer. $93 more if you're intending to hold on to it over a period of 3~5years (maybe more) is worth it imo.

You'll need a z390 mobo for 9th gen or at the very least know 100% sure if interested in a z370 motherboard that it's bios has been updated before it was packaged. Id avoid doubt and go z390. z390 can run both gens.
 
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mastermat

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You'll need a z390 mobo for 9th gen or at the very least know 100% sure if interested in a z370 motherboard that it's bios has been updated before it was packaged. Id avoid doubt and go z390. z390 can run both gens.

I think I'll go with: MSI Z390-A PRO LGA 1151 (300 Series) Intel Z390 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard
It is only 121,63 EUR, and got everything I'll need and good ratings.

As for RAM, I used to buy the cheapest sticks. Is it worth going for faster and pricier options? Last time I was building a gaming PC RAM was cheap and its speed not that important.
 

boju

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Good choice on the motherboard.

Regarding ram, couple of Gskill Tridentz 3200 CL14 8GBx2 or 16GBx2 - id opt for 16GBx2 as 16GB ram was the sweet spot but it's moving on and quickly. Less strain on CPU's memory controller as well keeping it to two sticks.
 

mastermat

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Gskill CL 14 mainly for the low timings and quality Samsung Bdie IC chips, can't go wrong.

I got to check with noctua if my selected RAM will fit under the cooler, their spreadsheet on their website is dated.

Will go with 2x16GB.

32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-3200 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit is very expensive at 380,02 EUR, same for 32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-3000 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit at 340,86 EUR and very likely both are not compatible with NH-D14.

Maybe one of these:
32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DDR4-3000 DIMM CL15 Dual Kit at 221,02 EUR or
32GB G.Skill Trident Z DDR4-2800 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit at 216,02 EUR (very likely wont fit) or
32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DDR4-2400 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit at 192,83 EUR.
There is even an option like this: 32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DDR4-2133 DIMM CL13 Dual Kit at 186,70 EUR.
One more less known brand (to me at least) 32GB HyperX Predator schwarz DDR4-2666 DIMM CL13 Dual Kit at 249,84 EUR.

How does one evaluate dropping frequency to gain lower latency in RAM?
Edit: Found the equation, not sure how correct it is but apparently I need to divide CL with frequency in MHz and multiply by 2000 to get latency in ns.

So I think I'll pick either:
32GB Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DDR4-3000 DIMM CL15 Dual Kit
or
32GB HyperX Predator schwarz DDR4-2666 DIMM CL13 Dual Kit
 
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boju

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Intel aren't as fussy with ram speed, their IPC work isn't as influenced by ram like Ryzen is albeit 3000MHz ram is still decent for Intel.

Dual channel motherboards occupy two rams in A2 & B2 slots starting on the outer from cpu so under your D14 cooler there'll be an empty dimm slot, then starting with 2nd slot from cpu then to 4th. That's if you had heatsink angled toward case rear. The fans on these heatsinks can be raised to make room and the pipes barely hide dimm slot 1. You should be right with ram clearance.
 
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