[SOLVED] Intel Core i7-7700 for gaming in 2020/21/22 ?

kunal_1991

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Oct 12, 2016
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I'll keep this simple:
With the next gen of consoles all rocking multi-threaded CPUs, basically for how long will the core i7-7700 CPU(desktop,not 7700hq/hk) in my clevo unit remain relevant for gaming ?
-The screen resolution is 1440p,refresh rate is 120hz with g-sync.
-The GPU is GTX 1080, system ram is 16gb.
The system was purchased with a hyperthreaded i7 (and not a 4 core i5) specifically with 5-6 years future proofing in mind,so its currently through 50% of its life cycle.
The GPU performance is still strong, but the CPU numbers are a bit concerning,especially in games like AC origins/oddysey/BF5: the 1080 is just short of being bottlenecked, and indeed is under even very light background activity.
CPU was not a major concern this gen,especially since the current gen consoles are all rocking essentially overclocked netbook/tablet CPUs. All of that changes with PS5/XSX though, which was unexpected but a welcome change !
Way I see it, there are a few options here:
  1. Install new NVME SSDs,which will relieve some of the streaming bottlenecks for next gen games, and even many current gen ones. Will be needing atleast 2tb of storage to port some big games and still have reasonable space for upcoming ones, ideally on a single disk so the upgrade definitely wont be cheap. Plan is to swap out one of the 240gb SSDs for a 2/4tb one, and use the 240 in a USB enclosure.
  2. Flash a modded unofficial BIOS and upgrade the CPU to an 8c/16t to match consoles. It can be done,but technicalities aside is obviously not recommended since its unofficial:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...clevo-laptops-rtx-cards-now-supported.825558/
The BIOS is a straight port from an updated model and way I understand it, there shouldnt be any problems if its done correctly-I always have the option to reflash my old BIOS if anything goes wrong.
  1. Sell the system after ampere/next-gen navi launch and get a mid range system with equivalent GPU performance and an 8 core ryzen. get ray tracing as an added bonus.
  2. And the hardest of all, with potential consequences : Do nothing until the point I need to upgrade. The 9th gen CPUs are almost out of stock, and will definitely get more expensive to source one later in 2021/22.
Option #4 is why I'm asking, since a replacement to the laptop right now will have to be a new laptop but post 2022 i'll definitely be going in for a high end desktop.
 
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7700K does fine in BF5/BF5 for perhaps 60 FPS gaming, albeit I'd not be expecting it to be enough for consistent 120 FPS for high refresh rate monitors.... (as the base-7700 is 500 MHz less clock speed than the 7700K, it would be less capable/fast, despite the common myth 3.5 years ago that the only difference was the K models being overclockable...

As most 7700 /7700K CPUs command $300-$400 on a Amazon, they become simply silly , quite quickly
Apr 28, 2020
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Playing at 1440p, your CPU will stay relevant for longer as its rarely a bottleneck with that resolution. Most of the burden is on GPU which is still capable today. I would just stick with what you got until you have enough money for a decent new gen build. Option to do nothing until you need to is the cheapest and most reasonable one in my opinion. You dont get much benefit from either of options above and you save yourself a lot of time and nerves. Cheers m8.
 
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kunal_1991

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Yes true, 1x skylake core= atleast 2.5x jaguar xbox one/one x cores. But also 1x skylake core~0.8-1x zen 2 core on next gen.
Yes also true, pc and consoles are different platforms, but both are x86 and both share similar microcode. Additionally, consoles also have a low level coding advantage which has narrowed down a bit since dx12/vulkan matured. This is why we see early dx11 games with greater performance deltas on consoles compared to similar pcs but the later dx12/vulkan games not so much. Look at red dead redemption 2 vulkan performance : its remarkably close to a console on a similarly spec pc.
No matter what, game development is almost always console-centric so these next consoles will serve as a baseline for PC minimum system requirements for the next generation of games.
Here's hoping that they keep cross generation support for 2 years at least.
 
You're fine, like others say at 1440p, you can run that chip quite nicely. I just retired an i7 4790k that isn't as good as yours and replaced it with a 3700x. There's a difference sure, but that i7 of mine was still very relevant at 1440p, just like yours.

And I have G-Sync too, you can go for another year or two on that chip.
 
7700K does fine in BF5/BF5 for perhaps 60 FPS gaming, albeit I'd not be expecting it to be enough for consistent 120 FPS for high refresh rate monitors.... (as the base-7700 is 500 MHz less clock speed than the 7700K, it would be less capable/fast, despite the common myth 3.5 years ago that the only difference was the K models being overclockable...

As most 7700 /7700K CPUs command $300-$400 on a Amazon, they become simply silly , quite quickly
 
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