Question CPU upgrade?

Altom_

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Dec 18, 2020
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i currently have a i5-9400f
is it worth upgrading or not? if so any recommendations? i am also prepared to get another motherboard along side the CPU if i decide to get one.
My GPU is an RX 6700 XT Asus Tuf (i got that one just because it was like 1 in stock left at the time and it was on a 20% off and my Previous GPU GTX 1660 was on its last legs it couldnt get above 50frames)
 
Worth is something that only YOU can determine.

Try this simple test :
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited and a cpu upgrade would be of some value.
 

Altom_

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Dec 18, 2020
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Could you please state what you've got to work with at this moment of time? A full system's specs will give us more context on whether an upgrade would be best.
CPU: I5-9400F
Motherboard: Prime h310m-a r2.0
Memory: 16gb ddr4 3600mhz i believe
GPU: RX 6700XT Asus Tuf
1tb HDD
Samsung SSD 970 EVO plus 500GB
750 PSU
 
CPU limited games tend to be strategy, sims, and mmo types.
Mostly limited by he single thread performance.
Your I5-9400F has 6 processing threads and a passmark rating of about 10467. That is when all 6 threads are fully busy.
The single thread rating is 2482.
Run the cpu-Z bench test on your 9400 and look at the single thread performance rating. You should see something like459:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/w0y4xl
What is your budget?
A i3-12100f sells for $107:
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i...0=10675087913844606326&id31=en&id32&id33&id34
I might spend $20 more for the non f version to get integrated graphics.
Integrated is a good insurance for gpu issues.
Any LGA1700 ddr4 motherboard will do.
A B660 board may be $90:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162048?quicklink=true

You can reuse your DDR4 ram.
Here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i3-12100-12100f-review/5
 

Altom_

Reputable
Dec 18, 2020
69
5
4,535
CPU limited games tend to be strategy, sims, and mmo types.
Mostly limited by he single thread performance.
Your I5-9400F has 6 processing threads and a passmark rating of about 10467. That is when all 6 threads are fully busy.
The single thread rating is 2482.
Run the cpu-Z bench test on your 9400 and look at the single thread performance rating. You should see something like459:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/w0y4xl
What is your budget?
A i3-12100f sells for $107:
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i...0=10675087913844606326&id31=en&id32&id33&id34
I might spend $20 more for the non f version to get integrated graphics.
Integrated is a good insurance for gpu issues.
Any LGA1700 ddr4 motherboard will do.
A B660 board may be $90:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162048?quicklink=true

You can reuse your DDR4 ram.
Here is a review:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i3-12100-12100f-review/5

466
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/9snfnc