Advice needed - i7 or Ryzen? Updating 2012 build

[Ragella]

Good Afternoon!

I am in the process of upgrading my system. I built it in 2012 and have found purchasing a new I/O panel and USB 3.0 panels harder and harder... So, I will be starting to put together a new rig.

The biggest question... CPU - Intel or AMD? I won't be doing much in the form of developing or CAD. Will be mostly gaming/streaming.

I purchased a new case - Corsair Graphite Series CC-9011063-WW Black Steel ATX Full Tower PC Case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Approximate Purchase Date: End of month

Budget Range: 1500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming / Streaming / Web surfing / School work
Are you buying a monitor: Yes / may connect to my TV

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg / Microcenter

Location: Baltimore, MD

Parts Preferences: no preference

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, and higher

Additional Comments: (e.g.: Need to have a window and lots of bling, I would like a quiet PC. Please also list specific software or games you're using)

And Most Importantly: my current case has a broken I/O Panel / 3.0 USB ports

Was going to just swap components - but most of the components are dated.
This is what I am coming out of (may leave this for my son) he enjoys playing Minecraft and World of Warcraft.

Current build from 2012:
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
OR
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (might hold out for IB; and/or see if SB price drops any.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: SAPPHIRE 11199-03-20G Radeon HD 7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU COOLER: Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OS: Win 7 Home Premium 64bit

And, I added a monitor to get me to 1080p

Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen LCD monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

 

[Eximo]

Do you have a GPU in that rig?

CPU is still mostly relevant, at least capable of playing all contemporary titles. It is just now starting to show its age in the high end AAA titles.

If you are starting from scratch, practically, and you want to stick with that budget profile, the Ryzen 1600 is hard to pass up, but absolute gaming performance for the money is still going to be a consumer grade i7 like the 7700k. Ryzen 1700 if you want a best of both worlds.

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

Unless you're getting the best of the best regardless of price (may change when threadripper is finaly available) or the lowest of pentiums, you will most likely want a Ryzen chip for best value. Whewn you say this is comin out, you meant this is whay you no longer want to use? If you share your budget we can put together a system or two for you to choose from.

 

[Ragella]

Unless you're getting the best of the best regardless of price (may change when threadripper is finaly available) or the lowest of pentiums, you will most likely want a Ryzen chip for best value. Whewn you say this is comin out, you meant this is whay you no longer want to use? If you share your budget we can put together a system or two for you to choose from.

What I mean by "coming out of" is the system build I built in 2012...

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (might hold out for IB; and/or see if SB price drops any.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

GPU: SAPPHIRE 11199-03-20G Radeon HD 7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

CPU COOLER: Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

OS: Win 7 Home Premium 64bit

And, I added a monitor to get me to 1080p

Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen LCD monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I haven't placed a budget yet... just gathering information on the newer components. for ball park, I'd say 1200-1500.

 

[Ragella]

Do you have a GPU in that rig?

CPU is still mostly relevant, at least capable of playing all contemporary titles. It is just now starting to show its age in the high end AAA titles.

If you are starting from scratch, practically, and you want to stick with that budget profile, the Ryzen 1600 is hard to pass up, but absolute gaming performance for the money is still going to be a consumer grade i7 like the 7700k. Ryzen 1700 if you want a best of both worlds.

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

Sorry, didn't realize I left the GPU out. it's a Sapphire HD7800

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

Well from what you have, you could probably hold on the the CPU for a bit longer, but it is beginning to lag behind like Eximo said. The biggest thing I see that really needs an upgrade is the GPU, other than that its still a relevant system.

 

[Ragella]

Well from what you have, you could probably hold on the the CPU for a bit longer, but it is beginning to lag behind like Eximo said. The biggest thing I see that really needs an upgrade is the GPU, other than that its still a relevant system.

Any GPU recommendations?

When did the GPU price market explode?

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

That depends on how much you're willing to spend on one,a nd what games you play, but keep in mind what Eskimo said:

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

 

[Ragella]

Do you have a GPU in that rig?

CPU is still mostly relevant, at least capable of playing all contemporary titles. It is just now starting to show its age in the high end AAA titles.

If you are starting from scratch, practically, and you want to stick with that budget profile, the Ryzen 1600 is hard to pass up, but absolute gaming performance for the money is still going to be a consumer grade i7 like the 7700k. Ryzen 1700 if you want a best of both worlds.

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

What exactly is the mining tax?

 

[Ragella]

That depends on how much you're willing to spend on one,a nd what games you play, but keep in mind what Eskimo said:

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

Mainly World of Warcraft... Minecraft (my son) I have tried Ark on Steam, SWTOR will also be streaming.

Haven't had the time to "game" like I used to.

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

The mining tax isn't actually a tax, it refers to how the crypto-currency miners buy up all the cards for their mining rigs, which makes a lower supply and therefore a higher price. They usually buy up all off the mid-range cards because you get good performance without too much of an investment (from heir point of view). They're buying the now because of a new crypto-currency called Eurethrum or something like that.
In short, most gra[hics cards are overpriced right now.

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

That depends on how much you're willing to spend on one,a nd what games you play, but keep in mind what Eskimo said:

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

Mainly World of Warcraft... Minecraft (my son) I have tried Ark on Steam, SWTOR will also be streaming.

Haven't had the time to "game" like I used to.

For streaming, you may be better off getting a new CPU after all, because it benefits greatly from more cores.

 

[Ragella]

That depends on how much you're willing to spend on one,a nd what games you play, but keep in mind what Eskimo said:

GPUs are a little complicated. You either spend a lot (GTX1070 and up) to avoid paying the mining tax, or you get a fairly entry level card like the GTX1050Ti or GTX1060 3GB.

Mainly World of Warcraft... Minecraft (my son) I have tried Ark on Steam, SWTOR will also be streaming.

Haven't had the time to "game" like I used to.

For streaming, you may be better off getting a new CPU after all, because it benefits greatly from more cores.

Shoot me a build...

 

[coozie7]

How does this grab you?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor - M8Pe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($115.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($549.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1392.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-07 14:33 EDT-0400

 

[Ragella]

How does this grab you?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor - M8Pe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($115.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($549.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1392.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-07 14:33 EDT-0400

Thanks Mate!

Things have changed some since 2012... haha. Think AMD has figured things out with the Ryzen?

 

[coozie7]

It's mainly for further discussion, but the R7 1700 has excellent gaming performance and with a full 8 cores won't shy away from streaming while gaming.
Bear in mind, if you are playing at 1080 rez on a fast display an Intel CPU will move things along faster, if you're on a 1440 display or a 60HZ 1080 display it will make no useful difference.
Also note: I've used a BIG graphics card in that build, if you are using a 60Hz display, you can save a useful number of drinking vouchers by moving to a GTX1070.
I included a good quality power supply as well, you can always drop to something a little cheaper and put that in the current system (for your son) and use that big Corsair PSU in the updated system.
And yes...I'm a tightwad.

 

[Ragella]

It's mainly for further discussion, but the R7 1700 has excellent gaming performance and with a full 8 cores won't shy away from streaming while gaming.
Bear in mind, if you are playing at 1080 rez on a fast display an Intel CPU will move things along faster, if you're on a 1440 display or a 60HZ 1080 display it will make no useful difference.
Also note: I've used a BIG graphics card in that build, if you are using a 60Hz display, you can save a useful number of drinking vouchers by moving to a GTX1070.
I included a good quality power supply as well, you can always drop to something a little cheaper and put that in the current system (for your son) and use that big Corsair PSU in the updated system.
And yes...I'm a tightwad.

I wouldn't call you a tightwad... I thought I future proofed okay when I built that rig... 5 years I 'spose was a good feat.

 

[coozie7]

It is still a fine gaming setup (although the HD 7870 is really getting on a bit by now) so I'm just curious: Why the USB issues? Keyboards and mice don't really need a fast USB connection, neither do most other peripherals, why the need for USB 3.0?

 

[Ragella]

Just one other point: Why the USB issues? Keyboards and mice don't really need a fast USB connection, neither do most other peripherals, why the need for USB 3.0?

It was apart of the HAF 932 Advanced Case... and my son, when he was younger broke the USB ports and the I/O panel...
http://www.cmstore-usa.com/haf-932-i-o-panel-oem-package/

And when I go to the CM Store, they are either out of stock or back ordered with no date set.... So, I opted to upgrade my case...

Then started looking at all the new "toys" while I was in Microcenter.

 

[coozie7]

AH! The Devil of Upgrading beckoned!
Have you consulted a Priest to remove this Demon?

All joking aside, I can see your point, it's just a matter of tuning the new build to match your requirements, and, particularly the display/s you'll be using.
If you're staying on a single 1080 60Hz display, move the GPU 'down' to a GTX1070, you really don't need the GTX1080 I included. If you will move up to a 1440 display (60HZ or faster) keep the build as is. If you want to move to a fast 1080 display, I'll suggest you stick with the GTX1080 and swap the CPU/MB to an i7, either 6700 or 7700 because Ryzen CPUs just don't do as well as Intel parts on high refresh displays at this resolution.

 

[Ragella]

AH! The Devil of Upgrading beckoned!
Have you consulted a Priest to remove this Demon?

All joking aside, I can see your point, it's just a matter of tuning the new build to match your requirements, and, particularly the display/s you'll be using.
If you're staying on a single 1080 60Hz display, move the GPU 'down' to a GTX1070, you really don't need the GTX1080 I included. If you will move up to a 1440 display (60HZ or faster) keep the build as is. If you want to move to a fast 1080 display, I'll suggest you stick with the GTX1080 and swap the CPU/MB to an i7, either 6700 or 7700 because Ryzen CPUs just don't do as well as Intel parts on high refresh displays at this resolution.

Appreciate all your help, advice and time!! With streaming, may upgrade the display! May also feed it to my 65" TV...

 

[Ragella]

AH! The Devil of Upgrading beckoned!
Have you consulted a Priest to remove this Demon?

All joking aside, I can see your point, it's just a matter of tuning the new build to match your requirements, and, particularly the display/s you'll be using.
If you're staying on a single 1080 60Hz display, move the GPU 'down' to a GTX1070, you really don't need the GTX1080 I included. If you will move up to a 1440 display (60HZ or faster) keep the build as is. If you want to move to a fast 1080 display, I'll suggest you stick with the GTX1080 and swap the CPU/MB to an i7, either 6700 or 7700 because Ryzen CPUs just don't do as well as Intel parts on high refresh displays at this resolution.

If i were to go to the i7, what mobo would you recommend?

 

[coozie7]

All the current CPUs' like fast memory, so a 'Z' motherboard would be a must as would DDR4 3000 (or faster).
Me, I'm on an Asrock Z170 Gaming K4 and it's proven to be solid despite the abuse I've thrown at it, but bear in mind, Z170 MBs' MAY need a BIOS update top support the latest Kaby Lake processors, a Z270 is a better out-of-the-box choice if you aim at a i7 7xxx CPU, for the earlier i7 6xxx parts a Z170 is fine-and you and be able to grab a bargain CPU by going for a i7 6xxx part. The performance difference is minimal BTW.

 

[Ragella]

Intel Core i7-7700K Kaby Lake 4.2 GHz LGA 1151/ASUS Z270 ROG MAXIMUS IX CODE LGA 1151 ATX

or

AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Summit Ridge 3.0 GHz 8 Core AM4 / ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Gaming K4 AM4 ATX AMD Motherboard ?

 

[Eximo]

I like both, though you could probably get a cheaper motherboard with the Intel. Basically at the core of it Intel gets you the best frame rates, Ryzen gets you lots of cores for your money and better streaming because of it.

R7 1700 is roughly the same price as an i7-7700k and comes with a cooler. However, it only becomes great with a little overclocking. Most will run at 3.7-3.8Ghz with little effort. 7700k doesn't come with a cooler, so you have to factor that cost in, but can easily overclock to nearly 5Ghz on air cooling, and typically 5Ghz with a decent all-in-one water cooler (or more)

R7 is top of the stack for gaming/streaming CPUs. Not much upgrade path there. Not necessarily a bad thing. The i7-7700k is in the same boat, there likely won't be a faster CPU for that socket since Intel is offering the cores up to X299 as the i7-7740X, and talking about a new socket for next gen.

If you don't think you will need the extra performance, you could go with the R5-1600. This is the 6-core version and is priced like an i5. If you ever need more performance, you can wait a while and AMD will release refined generations of CPUs (hopefully matching Intel for core clocks) that fit AM4 for at least a few years.

For myself, I don't intend streaming, so I am quite pleased with my 7700k, and it wouldn't do a terrible job at it since I would likely record at 60FPS anyway and not the 100+ I typically run.