[SOLVED] CPU upgrade suggestion? (7100 to 7700/9400F/2600X)

[beantony]

Hi, I would like to have suggestions in upgrading my CPU or even my motherboard since I'm having a dilemma which one should I go for..

The PC is used by my family mostly for multimedia purpose which mostly turned on for about 8-10 hours a day. At night, I use the PC for casual gaming purpose (AC Odyssey, No Man's Sky, and would like to prepare for Cyberpunk), and currently not interested on doing OC. I have a very limited budget, so please don't laugh on my current PC specs:

• i3-7100
• Asus Prime B250M-A Motherboard
• 2x8GB 2400Mhz, I think it's Team Vulcan
• Sapphire RX480 Nitro+ OC 4 GB

I currently have around $350 budget for CPU/Motherboard, which one should I go for?

1. Upgrade CPU to i7-7700
It's either 7700 or 7700K, but since my motherboard is b250.. I think I'll go for 7700. Here's the price of Kabylake i7 in my place:

• i7-7700 $308
• i7-7700K $370

2. Change to Intel Coffeelake CPU
I have to scrapped by motherboard and replace it with a new one, and I'd go for i5 since getting an i7 will be over my budget. I'd like to go for i5-9400f paired with Asus ROG STRIX B365-G Gaming, which will cost around $296 in my place. Here's the reference for Coffeelake i5 prices in my place:

• i5-8400 $195
• i5-9400F $163
• i5-8500 $250
• i5-8600 $276
• Asus ROG STRIX B365-G Gaming $133

3. Change to AMD Ryzen2
My friends told my that I should consider AMD for futureproofing. I heard AMD processors are good for multitasking, and do less but similar performance in gaming compared to intel CPU in the same class.. but they are RAM dependent, the higher DDR4 clocks would bring better performance to AMD system, is this true? I'm worried since mine is only 2133/2400Mhz. If I go with Ryzen, I would want to take R5 2600X with MSI B450M Mortar Titanium for around $358. Here's the price reference for R5 AMDs in my place:

• R5-2600 $177
• R5-2600X $217
• MSI B450M Mortar Titanium $141

4. Or just maybe wait for Ryzen3?
I really want to do upgrade now, but Ryzen3 seems worth the wait. I'm just worried about the 'CPU price will go up' rumors due to trade wars between US and China.. since I'm from a developing country, if the rumors really true, it might heavily impact the prices in my country.


I noticed that my GPU will need to be upgraded soon, but that's for another time. Anyway, thank you in advance, you all.

 

[vincentneo]

Ever considered a 7th gen i5? Maybe that, and with the leftovers, save up for a better GPU in the future.

 

[ElectrO_90]

I'm just worried about the 'CPU price will go up' rumors due to trade wars between US and China.. since I'm from a developing country, if the rumors really true, it might heavily impact the prices in my country.

If you are not in America, then the trade won't affect you, since you are not importing it from America.

 

[beantony]

Ever considered a 7th gen i5? Maybe that, and with the leftovers, save up for a better GPU in the future.

the 7th gen i5 is still a bit pricey here...

• 7400 $186
• 7500 $221
• 7600 $248

and getting 7400 is the cheapest, but does spending $186 is worth it compared to the performance boost? even if it's 4core/4thread, the base/turbo clock is 3.0/3.5 Ghz, much lower than my current i3.

If you are not in America, then the trade won't affect you, since you are not importing it from America.

we are always affected by what happened out there... for example, CPU shortage issue will raise the price of CPU, and I might have to postpone the upgrade again.

 

[Alliasjay]

suggestion 4 Just wait a week or so. It may just be worth it, then you can make a proper decision. Intels about to lose a few customers

 

[mdd1963]

For that amount of money ($350), the new Ryzen 3600 and a B450 (needs updated BIOS to work with new CPUs, however!) is within reach, which may very well provide 9700K-rivaling performance...

I'd wait the 8-9 days for Ryzen 3600 to release/be reveiwed/tested before ever pondering spending way too much money on a 7700 or 7700K... (not that the latter is bad, as it is still my daily driver currently, albeit on a Z270 and at 4.7 GHz all-core)

If you know someone with an 1rst or 2nd gen Ryzen that you can borrow to update your BIOS (barring a model that does not even need a CPU, of course), then the 3600 would be a vastly superior upgrade, lasting for much longer with a much faster CPU and with 50% more threads.,..

 

[beantony]

the 3600 leaked performance benchmark is interesting, I guess I'll wait about a week or two before upgrading and see how this Ryzen 3 really performs. After it's released, it'll be about 2-3 months or so to be available in my country, if the performance that I'll get for spending $350 is worth the wait, I think I can manage with my i3-7100 in the next few months.