If newer CPUs are out of the question for you this year, you may want to snag an older one.
AMD and Intel CPUs are Discounted for Black Friday : Read more
AMD and Intel CPUs are Discounted for Black Friday : Read more
If you're mostly gaming the 9700K is $60 cheaper on Amazon and runs games at more or less the same speed. It's $199 (with an additional $20 discount if paired with a motherboard) at Microcenter. It's not the best if you need a ton of threads, but overclock it to 5.0 GHz, or just enable MCE, and it's dirt cheap with not much available that's better for games.
That's great, and if you have a neighbor who wants to give you a free 5900X, I'd recommend that deal over the 9900k too. For the overwhelming majority of people who don't have access to my deal or yours, a $319 9900k is pretty decent. A 9700K is $260 at amazon. If you can't afford $320, the 9700k is a good alternative, but it's definitely worth the extra $60 for the 9900k if you can swing it.If you're mostly gaming the 9700K is $60 cheaper on Amazon and runs games at more or less the same speed. It's $199 (with an additional $20 discount if paired with a motherboard) at Microcenter. It's not the best if you need a ton of threads, but overclock it to 5.0 GHz, or just enable MCE, and it's dirt cheap with not much available that's better for games.
If you're mostly gaming the 9700K is $60 cheaper on Amazon and runs games at more or less the same speed. It's $199 (with an additional $20 discount if paired with a motherboard) at Microcenter. It's not the best if you need a ton of threads, but overclock it to 5.0 GHz, or just enable MCE, and it's dirt cheap with not much available that's better for games.
They're both dead end platforms. 3 years from now, when you're looking to upgrade, and Zen 4/5? is out with PCIE5 and DDR5, you're not going to want a 5000 series CPU. A 9900K at 5GHz is much faster than a 3800x across the board. If you're choosing between those 2 now, it makes no sense to sacrifice significant performance for the next few years in the off chance you want to upgrade the CPU down the line. Recommending a $335 3800x over a $319 9900K is just bluntly bad advice.Between the two and if money was not a problem I would really buy the Ryzen 7 3800X cause of the upgrade path. The Core i9 9900K may be the best CPU from old gen but it goes into a dead platform.
The Ryzen may be a bit more expensive but it comes with a decent included cooler, while you will have to pay a good chunk of money to cool down the i9 9900K.
Ryzen 7 3800X + B550 mobo and you are ready for anything. Later on upgrade to Zen 3 after a simple BIOS.
They're both dead end platforms. 3 years from now, when you're looking to upgrade, and Zen 4/5? is out with PCIE5 and DDR5, you're not going to want a 5000 series CPU. A 9900K at 5GHz is much faster than a 3800x across the board. If you're choosing between those 2 now, it makes no sense to sacrifice significant performance for the next few years in the off chance you want to upgrade the CPU down the line. Recommending a $335 3800x over a $319 9900K is just bluntly bad advice.