Advice on Intel Coffee Lake upgrade

[auro2k15]

Hi All,

I am currently having the below rig:

Processor: AMD FX 8320
Motherboard: MSI 970 Gaming Motherboard
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 970 4G OC
RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws 8GB DDR3 1600 x2 (16GB)
PSU: Seasonic 620W M12 II EVO Fully-Modular
SSD: Samsung EVO 250gb
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM
CPU Cooler: Cooler-Master Master Liquid 240
Cabinet: Antec P8 (Tempered Glass Side Panel w/ CM Universal LED Strip (Pair of Red/White))

I am facing excessive fps drops over the last 3-4 months (irrespective of settings applied to games)
Only older games (AoM, Vice City, etc) are running at optimum FPS. I tried upgrading to a new Storage and SSD combo (the ones mentioned above), the same issue when installing the game in both storage media. Also, system seems to down perform with click delays, function time outs, etc.

I believe my processor is at fault here as the default temperature i can see in MSI Afterburner is 55 degree C in idle even with the cooler installed. I have reapplied the cooling paste and still its of no avail.

I am planning to upgrade my CPU to an Intel Coffee Lake and for that I need to change my M'Board and RAM as well.

Although I am not yet ready with the financing for the upgrade up until the end of April or beginning of May, I would like some suggestion on any remedy that can be done in the meantime.

Also, I would request suggestions on CPU and motherboard combos. My color preference of (Cabinet is Red/Black/White) Only...

My upgrade plan:
Processor: Intel Core i7-8700
Motherboard: MSI Z370 Gaming Plus
RAM: G-Skill Trident 16GB DDR4 (2x8)

Any advice or suggestions would be highly helpful to me.

Thanks,
D'Aur0

P.S. - Sorry for the huge thread

 

[rhoban]

Do you plan on overclocking in the future?

The Z370 are the high-end stuff, Intel doesn't have any buget boards yet. If you're not overclocking, a cheaper board would be better, but that's not an option yet.

All in all, I'd say it's good.

 

[auro2k15]

I do plan on overclocking. Although am a bit scared to actually try it..

I plan on going with the stock settings in the beginning.

Any choice of a cheaper board if I don't overclock?

 

[mdd1963]

I'd sure check out Asus' Z370 Prime....

The Prime variants are known for having everything 99.9% of most folks want, and little they do not want or need, and at about $150 or so...

 

[rhoban]

The 8700 is locked, so you won't be able to overclock that one.
You will need the K variant.

Intel doesn't have any budget boards yet. They may launch next month, of so I've heard.
Right now you're stuck with expensive boards.

 

[auro2k15]

I can go for 8700K but will my MasterLiquid 240 be compatible with it?

I just bought it a couple of months back...

I prefer the MSI board as it is cheaper in India than ASUS.

Gawd I'm so scared.

 

[sizzling]

If just gaming and not pairing with a top end gpu like the 1080Ti @ 1440p you are unlikely to see any benefit from the 8700k over the 8600k. The difference between them is small and only shows in the highest FPS situations.

 

[vMax]

I can go for 8700K but will my MasterLiquid 240 be compatible with it?

I just bought it a couple of months back...

I prefer the MSI board as it is cheaper in India than ASUS.

Gawd I'm so scared.

The 8700K is a fantastic gaming CPU, probally the best at the moment with 5GHZ overclocks in reach and 4.9GHz with ease. Nothing to be scared of as it is so simple now and there are plenty of guides to show you the settings. Also the MSI boards will have pre built overclock settings though I would still manually do the overclock as you can lower the temps more that way with less voltage...I know it sounds scarry as it did to me but in reality, it is fairly straightforward to get a 4.8GHz to 4.9GHz on the 87090K. Onto the The MasterLiquid 240, this will happily work on a Z370 Motherboard for the 8700K..no issues and it will do a good job keeping it cool.

 

[vMax]

I can go for 8700K but will my MasterLiquid 240 be compatible with it?

I just bought it a couple of months back...

I prefer the MSI board as it is cheaper in India than ASUS.

Gawd I'm so scared.

The 8700K is a great CPU for Gaming, probably the best out there at the moment with 5GHz overclocks within reach and 4.8 to 4.9GHz fairly easy. With MSI z370 motherboards you will also have pre overclock settings to 1 click to a 4.8 and 5GHz overclock though I would still manually overclock as you will keep temps in check with a lower voltage....I know it sounds scarry, it did to me too but in realiuty it was fairly straightforward as there are so many guids to show you the settings.

Onto the MasterLiquid 240, that will happily work on the z370 motherboards and 8700K keeping it in check and cool.