[SOLVED] Help me choose wisely (new gaming config, intel, RTX)

Wikingking

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Nov 11, 2019
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First and foremost: sorry for asking something that has been asked multiple times. I'm asking these questions to have them in the same place, hopefully with some answers as well.
So I've decided that it is time to buy a new rig. I'm currently trying to educate myself on different specs as I cared little about the industry since I've bought my current setup.

This thread/question is for Intel + Nvidia exclusively as I didn't do any research regarding AMD (yet). Still, if you'd think an alternative from the Amercians would be nice, please tell me. Please note that the rig is for gaming primarily.

So the actual question: currently I'm debating with myself whether I go with i5-9600k or i7-9700k. If I choose i5 I might go with RTX 2080, but if I go with i7 that will go with RTX 2070S.
Which one if more beneficial for the next 4-5 years considering that I'm currently on a 21:9 full HD monitor which may get an upgrade later but I guess it won't be more than 1440p (it has 144Hz refresh but has no Gsync only freesync...)?

As far as I know there are different reasons to choose either one. I guess i5 is very cost-efficient and can be overclocked well. But I need to ask this: does OC has any real risks or the worst I can get is a lower OC value due to silicon lottery? I am hesitant to OC since I'm afraid my system will get unstable or lifespan gets shortened by a lot...but I don't have much experience with it, only from the Core2Quad times where I had little to no success at all.

So all-in-all:
  • is there an i5 bottleneck for 2080? And if now not, then will it?
  • will the 2080 extra fps get realised with the i5 during the whole expected lifespan (4-5years)?
  • will the 6 cores of the i5 become a drag later on?
  • what are the experiences with OC? Is it safe? Is it beneficial? Should I go further beyond native TB 2.0 values?
  • does any of this matter if I have an 1080p monitor currently and aren't planning to upgrade beyond 1440p (with 144HZ refresh rate however)? :)
  • +1: should I care about memory clockspeed? I heard that 3200 MHz might be optimal as anything faster than that is very costly.
  • +2: if you think about Intel's future, would it be easier to buy a new CPU to this LGA later on or would it be easier to change the Graphics card? Because if the i5 run out of gas I can still upgrade to a future i7 if Intel won't change the socket.
Thank you! and sorry for long *ss post...
 
Solution
Here is the list:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8C/16T (107,570Ft)
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 (25,790Ft)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (36,990Ft)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB(2 x 8GB) 3200Mhz (23,640Ft)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce Dual RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6 (286,680Ft)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750X (42,980Ft)
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R (20,160Ft)

TOTAL: 543,810Ft

This takes the budget below 550K. I removed SSD as you already have one.
This Ryzen is as good as Intel i7 or even i9 in performance specially at 1440p. The performance gain you get from Intel at this point is negligible specially when consider the...
Let me be straight with you.

For 1440p 144Hz(minimum)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Memory: 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3200Mhz
GPU: RTX 2080 Super

If you plan to use the PC for 4-5 Yrs this is minimum I recommend. Will fit you under $1250-1500(depending on price inflation or deflation by the time you purchase)

At 1440p going with Intel over AMD will not give much of performance gain. AMD is better priced.

GPU presently only option is NVIDIA at that performance level.
 
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Wikingking

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Thank you! Forgot to add that 144Hz is more of an "optimal" thing than a minimum condition. My current rig can't even dream about moving things at 144 FPS in FullHD, so I'm not even accomodated to that :) But I can't really manage 2080S that is for sure. The i7-9700K + 2070S setup will cost me somewhere around 1800 USD (changed from HUF, where I live) and I can't really get anywhere above that. i5+2080 will likely be at the same price.

So the main focus is to have 60+ FPS even in 1440p.
 
Just implementing what @King Dranzer said, the 3600X with a 2080 Super, plus an otherwise balanced system as well, coming at $1416. Can upgrade a few other things if you have more budget, but this is just to give you an idea:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($234.37 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card ($683.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1416.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-11 08:01 EST-0500


Edit: This will give you good 1440p performance, no doubt.
 

Wikingking

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Nov 11, 2019
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Ok, thanks. So my problem is that I am very hesitant to buy this online from another country since there could be multiple problems (warranty and handling it for example) so my main option is the local re-seller in the city. However it is good for you to know that VAT is the highest in Hungary in the whole EU or region (27%...).
I've checked and the cheapest not-noname, not factory 2080S is 860USD if I change it.
My budget is about 550k HUF which is roughly 1800 USD, but you need to consider this huge VAT and the taxes apply on imported stuff.
So for comparison: 2080S is 260k HUF, 2070S is 200k, 2080 is 240-250(OC).
Intel i5-9600k is 78k, i7-9700k is 127k (50k diff is a sh.tton!) while Ryzen 5 3600 and X is 66k and 79k respectively.

This would mean a 9600+2080 = 320k; 9700+2070S us 330k and your AMD version stands at 330-340k depending regular or X. (what is the difference bwt? Is AMD X is Intel's K?)

I won't need SSD and HDD but will buy a new case, memory (16GB), cooler and power supply.
 
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Still think the 3600X and the 2080 SUPER are the best choices here, the total cost for them comes to 339k, which should be in your budget(I set aside 200k HUF for the other things, ie, motherboard, RAM, case and PSU, which is enough as far as I think. That leaves 350k HUF for the CPU and GPU, so 3600X + 2080 Super is within budget if I've done everything right).

Do tell me if this works or if it's exceeding the budget.
 
Here is the list:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8C/12T (107,570Ft)
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 (25,790Ft)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (36,990Ft)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB(2 x 8GB) 3200Mhz (23,640Ft)
Storage: Intel 660P 512GB (23,690Ft)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce Dual RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6 (286,680Ft)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750X (42,990Ft)
Case: Fractal Design Define S (32,390Ft)

TOTAL: 579,740Ft

Very decent package. All high quality components.
I also included 512GB NVMe SSD which is decently fast.
If you know any other sites or local stores. I recommend comparing prices further and then finalizing build. Possibly you can save bit more.
 
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Wikingking

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Nov 11, 2019
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Thank you guys!

I don't want to make a fool of myself but I want to note that if I can make a good configuration from less than 550k, then I'd like to :)

One thing remain: you all gave setup advices using AMD processors. I am basically an Intel "fan". I always bought Intel and for some time it was the obvious choice for gaming. I am aware that AMD got some serious ground over Intel in a certain way recently. However when I look at a benchmark versus, Intel is usally just as good or just a tad bit better framerate-wise (for example Ryzen 5 3600 vs i5-9600k).
So please convience me why should I buy AMD when they are practically the same priced, or just 5k difference. Is it expected to fair better on the long run? Is it because of similar gaming value while having more fire in them for additional tasks (multitasking)? Is it because it is technologically more advanced? Or easier to expand later on? (not that Intel will likely to change anything for a while as they really stuck on 14 nm).

Thank you again!
 
Here is the list:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8C/16T (107,570Ft)
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4 (25,790Ft)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (36,990Ft)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB(2 x 8GB) 3200Mhz (23,640Ft)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce Dual RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6 (286,680Ft)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750X (42,980Ft)
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R (20,160Ft)

TOTAL: 543,810Ft

This takes the budget below 550K. I removed SSD as you already have one.
This Ryzen is as good as Intel i7 or even i9 in performance specially at 1440p. The performance gain you get from Intel at this point is negligible specially when consider the additional cost you have to pay for it.
 
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Solution

Wikingking

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Nov 11, 2019
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Personally I would not even consider an i5. It’s low thread count is already being pushed to the limit in some games with minimum FPS suffering (don’t just look at average). For me Intel only makes sense at i7-i9, otherwise goes Ryzen.
OK, but the i7 and the Ryzens have similar core counts, or thread counts and gaming performance is still somewhat better with Intel - although AMD CPU usage is generally less. But I can't do anything with this excess performance leftover as I'd like to turn them into additional FPS but that is not possible due to some engine limitations (I guess). So this multitasking capability is not necessarily enough compared to a few additional frames per sec.
 
OK, but the i7 and the Ryzens have similar core counts, or thread counts and gaming performance is still somewhat better with Intel - although AMD CPU usage is generally less. But I can't do anything with this excess performance leftover as I'd like to turn them into additional FPS but that is not possible due to some engine limitations (I guess). So this multitasking capability is not necessarily enough compared to a few additional frames per sec.
I do get the point but i7-9700K and Z390 combo is far more expensive than Ryzen 7 3700X and B450 combo. I would have agreed on spending that extra money if there was really a good 10%+ performance difference in games. But the Third gen Ryzen has improved greatly in IPC and core clocks to improve single core performance by a huge leap over previous gen. The performance difference between the two is 5% in avg or less. Not worth spending over budget to get Intel now.

That CPU Cooler is to give you best turbo boost scaling as Ryzen 3rd gen can go high on clocks if it has sufficient cooling on its own thanks to Precision Boost sytem. And to maintain noise in control. If you ever plan to OC even then you won't be needing to purchase a cooler or worry about temps and throttling with this cooler.
 
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OK, but the i7 and the Ryzens have similar core counts, or thread counts and gaming performance is still somewhat better with Intel - although AMD CPU usage is generally less. But I can't do anything with this excess performance leftover as I'd like to turn them into additional FPS but that is not possible due to some engine limitations (I guess). So this multitasking capability is not necessarily enough compared to a few additional frames per sec.
I am not disputing the i7 has the potential to give higher FPS, however the difference to many is considered immaterial. It’s up to you how important it is. Also consider if you will go 1440p as the FPS difference becomes significantly less as you go from 1080p to 1440p.

I am just passing on my opinion that I would not even consider an i5. The i7 or Ryzen are good options IMO.
 
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Wikingking

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I am not disputing the i7 has the potential to give higher FPS, however the difference to many is considered immaterial. It’s up to you how important it is. Also consider if you will go 1440p as the FPS difference becomes significantly less as you go from 1080p to 1440p.

I am just passing on my opinion that I would not even consider an i5. The i7 or Ryzen are good options IMO.
Both the Ryzen 5 and 7 or just the 7?