i7-8700 vs. i5-9600K

[akhillius1]

Hello dear community!

I have an about 3 year old ASUS retail PC. I recently started noticing that my i5-4460 isn't really enough for gaming anymore, so I decided that it's time to upgrade. I renewed my GPU already to GTX 1060 about a year ago.

I mostly play Overwatch, but occasionally games like BF1 and Total War-series. I don't use the PC for anything but gaming, really.

I have already ordered, as I found a great deal for an i7-8700 CPU and a new z370 Asus motherboard with OC-capabilities (I know 8700 can't be OC'd).

Now, with the recently released i5-9600K, I noticed that they're getting about the same scores in benchmarks and I can get them for about the same price. Should I instead go for the i5-9600K in this case?

PS. I know that both processors are bottlenecked by the GTX 1060, but I'm fine with that. I will renew the GTX 1060 maybe next year.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm not super tech savvy, hence I'm asking for help. At most I've replaced some hard drives and GPUs in my computers.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The 9600K would arguably get better gaming results if it were overclocked, but then you need to invest in a decent CPU cooler and check that your PSU was up to task. There's also a time commitment in learning how to overclock properly, not to mention the increased power usage.

On the other hand, the 8700 can just sit in the socket and is probably all the CPU you'd need for a very long time. I use a Xeon E3 1270 with an RX 480 and don't get any bottlenecks.

 

[akhillius1]

The 9600K would arguably get better gaming results if it were overclocked, but then you need to invest in a decent CPU cooler and check that your PSU was up to task. There's also a time commitment in learning how to overclock properly, not to mention the increased power usage.

On the other hand, the 8700 can just sit in the socket and is probably all the CPU you'd need for a very long time. I use a Xeon E3 1270 with an RX 480 and don't get any bottlenecks.

Thanks for your reply!

I got with the new motherboard a proper CPU cooler, so that shouldn't be a problem. Then again, I don't think I care if I get 110 or 100 fps with high graphic settings in a game. I guess we're not talking about substantial differences in FPS either way, as I understood. Even Overwatch I play with low settings just to get as high FPS as possible. I checked a bottleneck calculator and even a GTX 1080 Ti still wouldn't bottleneck the i7-8700, so I guess I should be fine for many years. I haven't done any overclocking before and I don't do streaming either.

 

[SgtScream]

You might have to use the 8700 to update your motherboards bios, so the i5 9600k is recognized.

 

[akhillius1]

You might have to use the 8700 to update your motherboards bios, so the i5 9600k is recognized.

Well I can't really buy both CPUs just to get the i5-9600K working, in case I'll go that route. Fast googling reveals that a BIOS update should get the 9600K to run on a z370 motherboard.

 

[SgtScream]

You might have to use the 8700 to update your motherboards bios, so the i5 9600k is recognized.

Well I can't really buy both CPUs just to get the i5-9600K working, in case I'll go that route. Fast googling reveals that a BIOS update should get the 9600K to run on a z370 motherboard.

You need the 8th gen cpu to update the bios.

 

[akhillius1]

You might have to use the 8700 to update your motherboards bios, so the i5 9600k is recognized.

Well I can't really buy both CPUs just to get the i5-9600K working, in case I'll go that route. Fast googling reveals that a BIOS update should get the 9600K to run on a z370 motherboard.

You need the 8th gen cpu to update the bios.

Oh man, that's true, I can't really run the rig without a CPU, haha. Anyone want to borrow their CPU?

I guess this solves the problem then. Thanks!

 

[el_micos]

You might have to use the 8700 to update your motherboards bios, so the i5 9600k is recognized.

Well I can't really buy both CPUs just to get the i5-9600K working, in case I'll go that route. Fast googling reveals that a BIOS update should get the 9600K to run on a z370 motherboard.

You need the 8th gen cpu to update the bios.

Oh man, that's true, I can't really run the rig without a CPU, haha. Anyone want to borrow their CPU?

I guess this solves the problem then. Thanks!

Im not 100% sure but if you download your bios update from another computer (or even your old setup) and save it on a usb flash drive, you can then update your motherboard BIOS in order for it work with the 9600k

 

[SgtScream]

The other thing to is (especially ryzen because they support AM4 until 2020) motherboard manufacturers are developing ways to update the bios without the cpu. There might be info on that in the manual.

 

[Supernova1138]

The other thing to is (especially ryzen because they support AM4 until 2020) motherboard manufacturers are developing ways to update the bios without the cpu. There might be info on that in the manual.

That feature does exist, but it tends to be restricted only to very high end motherboards. Presumably the only way they can get a BIOS flash to work without a CPU is to install a processor onto the board itself to allow the motherboard to boot and flash the BIOS, and adding that chip costs money. It's something you're likely to never see on a budget board, and would even be a hard sell on more midrange boards where the money could be better spent on things like a better VRM or 'better' spent on more RGB lighting and pointless shrouds everywhere.