Question Can you please provide advice on which hardware upgrade should I go to?

aymans87

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Hello,

I use my PC for biology software for my work (3D protein generation, DNA coding ect) but I am also a gamer. I have an Asus rog strix rtx 3080 10gb OC, 2x16GB corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600mhz cl18 RAM, Asus Z170 PRO Gaming Motherboard and an I7-6700K CPU cooled by a noctua NH-D15. All in a dead silent case fractal design R5.
For a while now, my RTX 3080 has been screaming for upgrade, so I am doing it. Can you please advise me on what's the better solution among these proposed below? What's the better bang for the buck spent.
Here are my options starting with cheapest upgrade I can put my hands on:

1.a. MSI Z690 Edge Wifi DDR4 + 12700k
1.b. MSI Z690 Edge Wifi DDR4 + 13700k (+100 USD compared to option 1.a)

2.a. Asus Rog Strix Z690-F + 2x16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5600mhz CL36 + 12700k (+100 USD compared to option 1.a)
2.b. Asus Rog Strix Z690-F + 2x16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5600mhz CL36 + 13700k (+200 USD compared to option 1.a)

I also have the option for an extra 50 USD to swap both of these proposed motherboards with either an asus rog strix z690-a (doesn't make sense to me) or the new MSI Tomahawk Z790 DDR4 for option 1 and DDR5 for option 2 (same price).

What would you do if you were looking for best bang for budget and you are in a phase not that high on cash? I think even if I choose the first option i'll notice a huge difference, but since I am already paying a good chunck, I don't want to miss on a great upgrade for a few more bucks.
I currently cool my 6700k flawlessly without any noise generation. Am wary of noise/heat of the i7 13th gen, but I am a noob, I might be very wrong,

Waiting for your advice,
Many thanks in advance,
 
Hello,

I use my PC for biology software for my work (3D protein generation, DNA coding ect) but I am also a gamer. I have an Asus rog strix rtx 3080 10gb OC, 2x16GB corsair Vengeance DDR4 3600mhz cl18 RAM, Asus Z170 PRO Gaming Motherboard and an I7-6700K CPU cooled by a noctua NH-D15. All in a dead silent case fractal design R5.
For a while now, my RTX 3080 has been screaming for upgrade, so I am doing it. Can you please advise me on what's the better solution among these proposed below? What's the better bang for the buck spent.
Here are my options starting with cheapest upgrade I can put my hands on:

1.a. MSI Z690 Edge Wifi DDR4 + 12700k
1.b. MSI Z690 Edge Wifi DDR4 + 13700k (+100 USD compared to option 1.a)

2.a. Asus Rog Strix Z690-F + 2x16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5600mhz CL36 + 12700k (+100 USD compared to option 1.a)
2.b. Asus Rog Strix Z690-F + 2x16gb Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5600mhz CL36 + 13700k (+200 USD compared to option 1.a)

I also have the option for an extra 50 USD to swap both of these proposed motherboards with either an asus rog strix z690-a (doesn't make sense to me) or the new MSI Tomahawk Z790 DDR4 for option 1 and DDR5 for option 2 (same price).

What would you do if you were looking for best bang for budget and you are in a phase not that high on cash? I think even if I choose the first option i'll notice a huge difference, but since I am already paying a good chunck, I don't want to miss on a great upgrade for a few more bucks.
I currently cool my 6700k flawlessly without any noise generation. Am wary of noise/heat of the i7 13th gen, but I am a noob, I might be very wrong,

Waiting for your advice,
Many thanks in advance,
What country are you located and we might be able to find you a better deal.
 
https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/ <---- use this to search for best prices.

DDR4

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09NVZ5YCL
MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 €231,80

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B660-TOMAHAWK-WIFI-DDR4

DDR5

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09NVZ6QBN
MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI €237,99


https://www.alternate.fr/Corsair/Kit-de-32-Go-DDR5-5600-Mémoire/html/product/1806738
Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5600 32GB (2x16GB) CL36 €202,90

This cpu uses less power and creates less heat than the 12700K.

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09MDHZ2YQ
Intel Core i7-12700F €399,99

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-25m-cache-up-to-4-90-ghz/specifications.html


i7 12700 / 12700F gaming benchmarks.

i712700.jpg
 
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currently cool my 6700k flawlessly without any noise generation. Am wary of noise/heat of the i7 13th gen, but I am a noob, I might be very wrong,
I had a 6700K with a 3080 for a while and then upgraded to the 10850K. You will defiantly notice the difference in newer more demanding games or running at high refresh rates. None of these new chips are like the 6700K in heat terms, the latter is very tame.

You aren't going to notice the difference between a 12700K and a 13700K in gaming so if you didn't want to spend so much it's still a good option. You've got very expensive boards there, you could opt for a slightly cheaper one like the MSI Z690 Mag Tomahawk. Also if you get a Z690 you will want to be sure the 13th gen chip works on it out of the box or at the very least it supports bios updating without the CPU in RAM installed.

If I had to pick from the options I'd probably go with 1b. However if you've had your 6700K since 2015 or 2016 and you intend to be using the current CPU for say 6 years. Then I would get the 13700K with DDR5 if you afford it.

You can undervolt the CPU to reduce the heat output if you want. I've seen a number of people do that successfully on Alder Lake.
 
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aymans87

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https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/ <---- use this to search for best prices.

DDR4

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09NVZ5YCL
MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 €231,80

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B660-TOMAHAWK-WIFI-DDR4

DDR5

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09NVZ6QBN
MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI €237,99


https://www.alternate.fr/Corsair/Kit-de-32-Go-DDR5-5600-Mémoire/html/product/1806738
Corsair Vengeance 32GB DDR5-5600 (2x16GB) CL36 €202,90

This cpu uses less power and creates less heat than the 12700K.

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09MDHZ2YQ
Intel Core i7-12700F €399,99

https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...-25m-cache-up-to-4-90-ghz/specifications.html


i7 12700 / 12700F gaming benchmarks.

i712700.jpg
Man i can't believe you really searched for stuff for me! Many many thanks
 
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aymans87

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I had a 6700K with a 3080 for a while and then upgraded to the 10850K. You will defiantly notice the difference in newer more demanding games or running at high refresh rates. None of these new chips are like the 6700K in heat terms, the latter is very tame.

You aren't going to notice the difference between a 12700K and a 13700K in gaming so if you didn't want to spend so much it's still a good option. You've got very expensive boards there, you could opt for a slightly cheaper one like the MSI Z690 Mag Tomahawk. Also if you get a Z690 you will want to be sure the 13th gen chip works on it out of the box or at the very least it supports bios updating without the CPU in RAM installed.

If I had to pick from the options I'd probably go with 1b. However if you've had your 6700K since 2015 or 2016 and you intend to be using the current CPU for say 6 years. Then I would get the 13700K with DDR5 if you afford it.

You can undervolt the CPU to reduce the heat output if you want. I've seen a number of people do that successfully on Alder Lake.
Do you think that at base clocks, no overclocking there would a difference in performance and heat generated between 12th gen and 13th gen?
 
Thank you for the information, but then it performs almost similarly to a 12th gen?
Better power management and power spent on performance buf raw performance is somewhat similar.
The locked Intel 13 gen cpu's and less expensive B760 boards will be released this January. Those cpu's won't be as power hungry as the current 13 gen cpu's that were just released. Honestly though I like the locked 12 gen cpu's. Low power consumption with good results.
 

aymans87

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The locked Intel 13 gen cpu's and less expensive B760 boards will be released this January. Those cpu's won't be as power hungry as the current 13 gen cpu's that were just released. Honestly though I like the locked 12 gen cpu's. Low power consumption with good results.
I am leaning towards the 12th gen now, better buck/performance if I don't want my noctua sounding like a jet turbine. And i really don't want to. Unless price difference gets smaller between the two gens then yes I could buy a 13th and lower voltages, maybe more future proof.
 
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I am leaning towards the 12th gen now, better buck/performance if I don't want my noctua sounding like a jet turbine. And i really don't want to. Unless price difference gets smaller between the two gens then yes I could buy a 13th and lower voltages, maybe more future proof.
The 12700 / 12700F are gaming beast and you can always upgrade later on to a 13 gen cpu with a Z690 / H670 / B660 board if you so choose.

Here's an example of an H670 board. You can also find them on Amazon. The H670 chipset has more PCIe lanes than the B660 chipset thus allowing you to run dual M.2 SSD's without gimping the second SSD.

https://www.topachat.com/pages/deta..._w_cm_1700_puis_ref_est_in20012294.html#ae548
ASUS TUF GAMING H670-PRO WIFI DDR4

 
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The original thread was how to get up to date without loosing much performance, vis-a-vis the existing parts. The more money you put in, the better performance you get. But, is the marginal performance gain from other than bare minimal upgrades, worth the cost to performance ratio?
I would wait for the locked 13th gen. Chips and get a board where the existing 32gb can be dropped in. DDR5 is still miles away from saturation.
 

aymans87

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The original thread was how to get up to date without loosing much performance, vis-a-vis the existing parts. The more money you put in, the better performance you get. But, is the marginal performance gain from other than bare minimal upgrades, worth the cost to performance ratio?
I would wait for the locked 13th gen. Chips and get a board where the existing 32gb can be dropped in. DDR5 is still miles away from saturation.
You are spot on.
I dropped the ddr5 idea,
Either i go with a 12th gen now or wait for 13th locked, thank you so much
 
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You are spot on.
I dropped the ddr5 idea,
Either i go with a 12th gen now or wait for 13th locked, thank you so much
If you have a K chip you have more options for configuring the CPU if you want a cooler and quieter system. The 12700K is still a huge upgrade over your 6700K, it would have no problems driving a RTX 3080.

Have you considered AMD at all or do you just prefer Intel?