[SOLVED] Best CPU for a GTX 960?

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

I was planning on a full upgrade this year since my current hardware was old even by 2017 standards, but due to the huge GPU shortage I'm forced to keep my 960 for the time being

But i'm torn between cpus, and the reviews and benchmarks i find are all over the place. Some say AMD beats Intel by a huge margin, some say Intel still reigns on the gaming department. Basically I want a good future proof cpu, something that I can play with for at least 5 years without worrying too much about upgrading. Ram, mobo, storage and case are less important.

My options are either the 10700K, 10900K on the Intel side, and the 5600X and 5800X on the AMD side.

 

[Dj0gany]

What are you going to use the pc for?
Budget?
What do you mean by ram/mobo/storage are not important?
Have you already sorted those out or?

 

[Newtonius]

The people saying Intel is still gaming king are delusional, to put it gently. I can't say AMD took over the crown completely as some games still favor intel - but not everyone plays the same game - for the most part AMD's CPU's offer fantastic performance per dollar making them excellent all rounder choices and the brand I'd recommend.

What GPU were you planning on getting if there was availability, what is your budget?

The 5800X would definitely be better long-term as it provides more cores and now that the gaming industry has taken notice of AMD's rising dominance multi-core based games are looking to become a new norm.

The 5600X however is better if you were going for a budget build. Essentially less cores means less long term application since programs nowadays get ever more resource intensive.

 

[Nemesia]

Hi.

If you want a CPU that will last you for 5 years a 8 cores 16 threads CPU is recommended.

Forget the 5600X. Good for the moment but it won't be in 5 years.

 

[SamirD]

Depends on what you need--cores or speed. AMD has the single thread speed, but Intel has the cores:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...X-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-5800X/3733vs3730vs3859vs3869

 

[Nemesia]

AMD and Intel both have games where they have higher FPS. AMD Ryzen 5000 is winning in some titles and intel win in some other titles.

On productivity stuff we all know you go AMD. For games a Ryzen 5000 or Intel is good.

But for 5 years a 6 cores won't cut it. 8+ cores will still be fine in around 5 years.

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

First of all, thank you for your kind answers

Budget would be around 1000€ give or take, with no GPU (considering a 3080 once it becomes available again)

Use, mostly for gaming but maybe some streaming in the future

Mobo: MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS
Ram: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16
SSD: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280
Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 ARGB ATX
Psu: Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold

This would be the thing if I end up deciding for the 10700 or 900k, would change the rest of the stuff accordingly. Nothing is final here, just an estimate

 

[Nemesia]

Since you already have a Z490 motherboard go for an Intel CPU.

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

Since you already have a Z490 motherboard go for an Intel CPU.

Nah thats just a list I made from pcpartpicker, the only component i have ready is an unopened cooler master mirage aio kit

 

[Dj0gany]

This will last you many years without breaking the bank so you can have more money for that GPU:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-10700 2.9 GHz 8-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($160.60 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $638.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-03-23 18:49 EDT-0400

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

This will last you many years without breaking the bank so you can have more money for that GPU:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-10700 2.9 GHz 8-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($160.60 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $638.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-03-23 18:49 EDT-0400

Realy appreciate your list but if i'm gonna spend some bucks i'd rather go a little bigger, no offense tho. My only cpu options are those i mentioned before

Forgot to mention that my number one benchmark is Cyberpunk 2077, I really wanna be able to push that <Mod Edit> into the maximum, be it 1080 or 1440, so I won't go below a 10700k

 

[Dj0gany]

Realy appreciate your list but if i'm gonna spend some bucks i'd rather go a little bigger, no offense tho. My only cpu options are those i mentioned before

Forgot to mention that my number one benchmark is Cyberpunk 2077, I really wanna be able to push that <Mod Edit> into the maximum, be it 1080 or 1440, so I won't go below a 10700k

You are not going to see much fps improvement by going with the 10900K, 10700K will perform similarly while costing less. The only "downside" of it is going be the 2 less cores and 4 less threads, which you wont use in atleast 5 years if you are going to be gaming.
5800X is a bit better, but costs more for the same core/thread count.
I would settle for the 10700K and call it a day.
Pair it with a good motherboard which will allow you to overclock it to 5GHz and upgrade to 11th Gen with if you ever want to do that and ur all good.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($321.74 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($298.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.97 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Corsair)
Total: $1143.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-03-23 19:02 EDT-0400

 

[Dj0gany]

Am i the only one who notices the price increase for almost everything????
I swear the mobo, ram, ssd were cheaper like last week or so.

 

[Dj0gany]

"Forgot to mention that my number one benchmark is Cyberpunk 2077, I really wanna be able to push that <Mod Edit> into the maximum, be it 1080 or 1440, so I won't go below a 10700k "

Extremely GPU demanding game, i doubt you are going to see more than 30fps-35 fps with the 960, no matter the CPU.

 

[Nemesia]

Am i the only one who notices the price increase for almost everything????
I swear the mobo, ram, ssd were cheaper like last week or so.

The board was like 199 dollars 2 days ago. Yes it's crazy.

The RAM is higher too and the SSD. You are right.

 

[Nemesia]

Might as well get the RM750X instead of the RM750. It's like 5 more dollars for better capacitors

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

"Forgot to mention that my number one benchmark is Cyberpunk 2077, I really wanna be able to push that <Mod Edit> into the maximum, be it 1080 or 1440, so I won't go below a 10700k "

Extremely GPU demanding game, i doubt you are going to see more than 30fps-35 fps with the 960, no matter the CPU.

Im well aware of that fact, thats why i mentioned 3070 or 3080 as soon as they are available, but no other option than to wait right now

 

[Dj0gany]

Im well aware of that fact, thats why i mentioned 3070 or 3080 as soon as they are available, but no other option than to wait right now

I understand, im just warning you not to expect much until you can get the 3070/80.

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

I understand, im just warning you not to expect much until you can get the 3070/80.

Yeah no problem about it mate, now im just looking for the best cpu for that matter.

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

Not sure if i'm allowed to double post, if that's not the case i'm sorry. Forgot to mention that the price gap in Spain is almost non existent.

5800X is priced at 466,16€
10900K is priced at 459,90€

And thats only ONE store of many, but the tendency remains almost the same

 

[jtk2515]

Can I ask whats your use case for a Cpu over 6 cores? Unless your going to be streaming with x264 just get a 10400f@145$ and save the money for a better Graphics Card. Then you Can save ~100 on the CPU and what ever you would of spent on a CPU cooler. In pure Gaming their is not much difference between all the 6 core and greater intel 10th Gen and ryzen 5000. So Really think about the intended purpose of this machine.

If you do want to stream then you need to ask yourself is the quality of x264 worth it over nvenc. If not your much better off buying a better nvidia GPU and off loading the stream to the GPU.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBiZkFbMQuk

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

Can I ask whats your use case for a Cpu over 6 cores? Unless your going to be streaming with x264 just get a 10400f@145$ and save the money for a better Graphics Card.

Just want a powerful cpu so i dont need to worry about upgrading in a long long time while keeping all my games at ultra quality

 

[jtk2515]

Just want a powerful cpu so i dont need to worry about upgrading in a long long time while keeping all my games at ultra quality

That would depend more on your GPU. a CPU with more performance then a 10400f would be if your trying to get 144hz @ 1080p/x264 stream or production workloads. I would save the 200$ and just get a GPU now. Because with a 10400f+3070 you could have a awesome gaming PC. If you wait a year or two to upgrade the GPU you could have other time commitments by then and miss out on the need right now.

 

[UCantKILLmyRock91]

That would depend more on your GPU. a CPU with more performance then a 10400f would be if your trying to get 144hz @ 1080p/x264 stream or production workloads. I would save the 200$ and just get a GPU now. Because with a 10400f+3070 you could have a awesome gaming PC. If you wait a year or two to upgrade the GPU you could have other time commitments by then and miss out on the need right now.

No way to get a decently priced GPU at the moment so the 960 will have to do, and it seems the shortages will last for the rest of the year, so i thought it would be better to settle with a nice powerful future proof CPU, and once the stock slowly goes back to normal or even if we get new models between this and the next year, my pc will be more than ready to handle the upgrade.

Dunno where you're located but here in Spain is absolutely impossible to get any new gpu in stock, if you happen to find one, its on second hand apps and webs, so its not really worth the risk. Besides, if i get a pc now, i will be more than able to save more money later for a powerful card to complete my build

 

[jtk2515]

Just buy a prebuilt from a USA website like dell and use a package forwarding service or if you can wait go with Djoza's Build and get the GPU later.