[SOLVED] Intel vs AMD for 4K Gaming in 2020, i7-9700K vs Ryzen 7 3700x or i5-9600K vs i5-8400, nVidia vs Radeon and Much More!

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Dec 8, 2019
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Cheers all !

2019 is almost over and I AM GOING CRAZY reading forums, reviews and watching videos and benchmarks for MONTHS NOW !

I need A SOLID CPU AND MOTHERBOARD FOR GAMING. So I would much appreciate your help.

I'm usually watching movies, tv series or playing games on my 55" Oled TV at 1080p (So im stuck at this resolution until later nex year, when I can afford to buy a new 4K TV and GPU)

I was this close to go for a Ryzen 7 3700x, but then I read hundreds of forums of desperate people that have so many problems with either the BIOS of the motherboards, the CPU, the software, windows, or even random issues like crashing, freezing, resetting, boot failure and so on . . .

I mean, there are so many problems with AMD even in 2020 that I cant believe . . .

I have been a Intel owner for at least 13 years or more and I NEVER HAD ISSUES LIKE AMD !

No, I'm not a fanboy but I value stability and compatibility the most !

Oh, intending to go 4K in 2020 also so future proofing would be nice, specially cause I intend to keep the CPU for 3 to 5 years.

Budget: I could stretch for the top CPU's, but giving the fact that I basically don't do any work and I mostly game on the PC, would be nice to allocate some money in a good GPU for 4K future proof !

MY BUILD WILL BE:

ASUS MOTHERBOARD (Most likely ) ??

32GB OF RAM G.SKILL 3600Mhz

GTX 1060 6GB ( I'm stuck with for now, but will UPGRADE TO A 2080 SUPER, somewhere in 2020 after the prices drop down)

PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE BETWEEN:

Intel I7 9700k vs Ryzen 7 3700x
or
Intel i59600k vs i5 8400

P.S - I now have a i7 7700 (NON K) with 16 GB RAM and a GTX 1060 6GB

IS IT WORTH UPGRADING ( The CPU+Motherboard+RAM) FOR 4K AND FUTURE PROOFING ? Or should I buy a GTX 2070 or 2080 SUPER and stick with my current config?

Thank you kindly !
 
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I don't think everyone needs to be so quick to dismiss the OP's concerns about AM4. I'm am one of if not the biggest AM4 enthusiasts that lurk's these forums. I've built 20+ AM4 systems in the last year. I've owned over 30 AM4 motherboards, over a dozen 1st gen ryzens, eight 2nd gen ryzens, and six 3rd gen Ryzen CPU's at one time or another. I've spent countless hours testing, tuning, and building systems on this platform. Countless more hours reading and researching everything there is to know about them. I've assisted many with troubleshooting issues on these systems.

I've never had any memory issues with first and second gen Ryzen systems with a properly working memory kit. I've never had one of these systems not post and run its...
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Best is relative. Motherboard choice is a balance of hardware features, power delivery, and bios options. All of these things really have little to do with chipset and more to do the individual board. There are a ton of crap x370/x470 boards. I've owned about 30 AM4 boards and have done a ton of research on this subject. There are in reality only a handful of really high quality 300 and 400 series boards at least in terms of power delivery. The tomahawk is often recommended because it has good power delivery for the money. In terms of features it's not that great. I personally think it's overrated. Power delivery info for AM4 is available here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...IVNyMatydkpFA/htmlview?sle=true#gid=639584818

Power delivery really isn't as big of a concern for the 6 and 8 core 3000 CPU's. They just don't draw enough current or have enough OC headroom for power delivery to be a big concern. As long as it has reasonable power delivery and the features you want (readily available on the product pages) then you are good to go. In general the better the board the more advanced bios options you will have. If you aren't going to tweak your settings to squeeze every ounce of performance out of your system then this probably doesn't really matter either.

Since you are running 4k the CPU won't be much of a factor anyway. You'll be completely GPU bound at 4K with any currently available GPU. I'd recommend the 2700x since they are blowing them out for dirt cheap . I bought 2 of them for $130 a piece in November.


That was my initial choice ! But then I have seen some tests and 2700x has a lot of frame drops and stuttering in games. Also worse single-thread performance.

But it's half the price of 3700x, which means, I could use the money for a better GPU !

Anyone having issues with stuttering or dropped frames of 2700x ?

It would for sure be the best bang for buck now ! 😱😍
 

TJ Hooker

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Thank you for all your answers, I really appreciate them !

But I see that a lot of people did not read my initial thread 😬

As as was saying there, unfortunately, I'm stuck for now at 1080 because of my current Display ( a 55" OLED TV at 1080p) ! So until I have the money to buy a new OLED TV ( Im gonna go 65" 4K OLED, which is around 2500 USD, a lot of money and a RTX 2080 Super, or Ti), I'm gonna play at 1080p ! That is the reason that I was thinking to upgrade my CPU+MB+RAM now, cause my current GTX 1060 6GB is running everything fine at ULTRA (turning down the AA a bit and maybe some shadows) !

So my logic is this: I go for the upgrade of the CPU+MB+RAM now and by the time I have the money to buy a new 65" 4K OLED Display ( in fall next year, hopefully earlier), GPU's will drop their prices and probably, I can get a really good deal on a RTX 2080 SUPER.

If I stretch my budget now, which will probably mean buying a 2070 SUPER, I will not benefit from it, because of my current TV, so no point in investing in something that I can't use.
You never actually stated your current resolution anywhere in your first post, just repeatedly mentioned 4K.

Do you have any issues with your current performance? If not, why upgrade now? If you want to go to 4K then save up and get your 4K TV and high end GPU. I still don't really see any reason to upgrade CPU first.

In case you're not aware, resolution has no direct impact on CPU usage. So if your CPU can handle your games adequately now, it can handle them at 4K.
 
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Unfortunately in your op you only mention 55" oled, not the resolution. So most probably thought you were already at 4k.sorr

Still say go amd. 3700x will be plenty for the foreseeable future. And will handle your upgrade to 4k/2080s easily in the future.

Sorry i forgot to mention that I am stuck at 1080p for now and planing to go 4K next year ! Just modified that 😬
 
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That was my initial choice ! But then I have seen some tests and 2700x has a lot of frame drops and stuttering in games. Also worse single-thread performance.

But it's half the price of 3700x, which means, I could use the money for a better GPU !

Anyone having issues with stuttering or dropped frames of 2700x ?

It would for sure be the best bang for buck now ! 😱😍


Would 2700x be a future choice? Or is 3700x way better?

I usually upgrade my CPU and MB around 3 to 5 years, depending on how my components last in terms of performance . . .

Again, 2700x is a steal now . . . 😍

How does 2700x compare to 3700x in your opinion? Is it much worse?
 
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Ok then, 3700x it is !

With a Asus Tuf Gaming Plus motherboard? Oh God I hate that cooling fan on them . . .Im so scared that my board will burn itself(though I know that is not possible, it has protection and so on, LOL), but still, the fricking fan is so frustrating . . . 😬

Any good x470 board with flash BiOS(would need to upgrade for 3000 to work) that u can recommend? Or shall i stick with the Tomahwak Max( though I personally dont trust or like MSI), I am more of a Asus guy(great BIOS, great VRM's and great stability)

Gigabyte is ok I guess, though I have a MB from them, with an I5 ( at my music studio) and it really sucks, had issues with it a lot . . .
 
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Karadjgne

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Gigabyte revamped their mobo's. They are a lot better than they used to be, the same as MSI was the board to beat in the x470's, but nosedived in the x570's. The Aorus Elite and Asus Tuf Plus go head to head in everything, with those 2 particular mobo's it basically boils down to the gimmicks, like the fan or the Lan or audio or looks as to which is better for you. And that's going to be true of most of the midgrade boards, whatever chipset.

The 2700x performs head to head with the 3600, in some scenarios it has a slight lead, in some its beat by the 3600. So the 3700x is a step up again.

The refresh rate of many OLED Tv's is 120Hz native, not 60Hz native with a doubler (motion blur tech, 120Hz or 240Hz fake refresh).
 
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Gigabyte revamped their mobo's. They are a lot better than they used to be, the same as MSI was the board to beat in the x470's, but nosedived in the x570's. The Aorus Elite and Asus Tuf Plus go head to head in everything, with those 2 particular mobo's it basically boils down to the gimmicks, like the fan or the Lan or audio or looks as to which is better for you. And that's going to be true of most of the midgrade boards, whatever chipset.

The 2700x performs head to head with the 3600, in some scenarios it has a slight lead, in some its beat by the 3600. So the 3700x is a step up again.

The refresh rate of many OLED Tv's is 120Hz native, not 60Hz native with a doubler (motion blur tech, 120Hz or 240Hz fake refresh).


I think my oled is 60hz, or at least thats what it shows in my display options on desktop. I dont recall having any motion blur tech and if I do, I never used it, cause I didnt want artefacts on my screen . . .Usually I keep the image as crisp and clear and clean as I can, without adding any soap opera effects.
 
Ok then, 3700x it is !

With a Asus Tuf Gaming Plus motherboard? Oh God I hate that cooling fan on them . . .Im so scared that my board will burn itself(though I know that is not possible, it has protection and so on, LOL), but still, the fricking fan is so frustrating . . . 😬

Any good x470 board with flash BiOS(would need to upgrade for 3000 to work) that u can recommend? Or shall i stick with the Tomahwak Max( though I personally dont trust or like MSI), I am more of a Asus guy(great BIOS, great VRM's and great stability)

Gigabyte is ok I guess, though I have a MB from them, with an I5 ( at my music studio) and it really sucks, had issues with it a lot . . .
Generally....

If going B450 then MSI is where to look, specifically their 'MAX' line as they were designed for Ryzen 3000 support. It's perfectly OK to dislike MSI all you want while enjoying the best B450 boards for the money.

If going X570 then stick to Asus and Gigabyte, even in their lower end they seem to have the better boards.
 

Karadjgne

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Your current OLED might well be 60Hz. Your new one will most likely be 120Hz. That's only relevant because slower cpus won't be pushing higher fps. If your new OLED will be 60Hz as well, then you'll not need the better cpu to push the higher frames, and a 2700x/3600 will do just as well.
 
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dstln

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What about the huge amount of problems with AMD ??? 😱

Any AMD owners here? Maybe they could share some opinions on how bad are the issues with the motherboards and how about software and gaming compatibility?

Seen a lot of complains that lots of games with crash with AMD and/or blue screen of death or freezing in certain games and so on . . .

Windows compatibility issues as well . . .



Is it that bad? Should i even consider AMD? Or am I better with Intel?



Thank you

I have a 2700x and a X570 motherboard. It has some issues, for example I can't even get into Ryzen Master right now (won't reinstall), and when I did, it didn't let me access Precision Boost Overdrive in the program itself. My girlfriend's 2700x doesn't have this issue on a B450 motherboard. But neither of our setups work with 3200 XMP settings, have to move down to 2933.

It sounds like the 3-series has fixed some of the memory issues but there is a higher chance of some issues than you would likely see with Intel, but I don't think any are game breaking.
 
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I have a 2700x and a X570 motherboard. It has some issues, for example I can't even get into Ryzen Master right now (won't reinstall), and when I did, it didn't let me access Precision Boost Overdrive in the program itself. My girlfriend's 2700x doesn't have this issue on a B450 motherboard. But neither of our setups work with 3200 XMP settings, have to move down to 2933.

It sounds like the 3-series has fixed some of the memory issues but there is a higher chance of some issues than you would likely see with Intel, but I don't think any are game breaking.

Well yeah, that's what I was suspecting. I know AMD has issues, but owners won't admit this.

It is sad for me to hear that in 2020, they cant make reliable products and have so many problems.

With, Intel, never had any kind of issues . . .Everything worked just fine, just plug and play . . .

In any case i would probably never pair a 2799x with a x570, board, but with a B450 or X470.

I also hope 3000 series to have this resolved and woked fine, because I really am putting a lot of energy and time into AMD comeback and I just hope its not all for nothing. Might be just all hype, and AMD, might be same old second place winner at the finish line, after Intel. . . ?
 
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Personally, my Ryzen 3 1200, Ryzen 5 1600, and Ryzen 5 2600 have all allowed for my cheap g.skill ram to hit rated 3200mhz with rated c16 timings. With my 1200 i even overclocked it to 3333mhz but havent tried again as it took some work.

Sure, intels memory controller is better, but i haven't had any issues with any of my 1st or second gen memory controllers, and 3rd gen is better yet.

Although i didnt test with my 1600, both my 1200 and 2600 hit rated single core boost when a single thread was stressed in cinebench. 3rd generation is a bit more finicky, but should hit rated boost under specific scenarios, just like intel.

And yet this is on a cheap B350 motherboard from 3 years ago. Impressive and all i can ask for.

If you look at the ryzen boost fixes thread, there are i7 owners that complain about not hitting rated boost. Intel is not perfect.
 
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Karadjgne

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There's 2 kinds of cars. Ones you drive, and ones that drive you. AMD is more the former. If you want it's unrated performance, you need to take ownership of its quirks. Intel is more the latter.

Neither AMD nor Intel usually has any issues working right out of the box, at what the companies state they will run at. OC isn't just a hobby, it's a non-guaranteed ability. If that means you run into walls, issues, dead-ends, so be it.

My i5-3570k wouldn't OC past 4.3GHz no matter what settings, tricks, tweaks, mobo, voltage. Took it to 1.5v and still no joy. Sat at 4.3GHz 1.108v happily. My i7-3770K went to 4.9GHz with just a few settings changes at 1.32v as easy as you please.

My Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 1866MHz was reviewed by HardOCP (and someone else, I forget who) and they couldn't get 2400 stable, manual OC. Mine goes to 2400 at the same timings they tried, at 1. 55v perfectly fine. Or down to 1600 7-8-7-24.

It's OC. No guarantees on anything. The moment you change from default stock, it's all on you, not the equipment.
 
Hi, I own a Ryzen 5 3600 since July 2019, with a very crappy mobo Gigabyte B450 Gaming X, and other than a very hot temp (for my taste) due to the basic stock cooler included, I never had a single problem with it. My 16GB of DDR4 3200MHz worked in dual channel at 3200MHz since day one. And after I switched to a really inexpensive cooler like the DeepCool Gammaxx GTE temps problems became a thing of the past.

Used my new CPU to finish BF5 campaing and play on the multiplayer. Trying to finish Shadow of the Tomb Raider at the moment, playing ETS 2 very often and I do some light office work too.

I have tested my setup with lots of benchmarking utilities and stress test, from Cinebench R15 and 20 to Prime95 with and without AVX on, Ive run each one a lots of times, most of them for like 2 hours long and they finish without issues. I also tried Blender complete test without hiccups.

So yeah, the first 2 weeks were a little rusty, which is what happend with every new process node CPU launch (it happend to intel too). But some of us didn't have many issues, and most of those were due to the lack of knowladge on how the new CPU was designed to work.

3700x and either the Asus Tuf Gaming /wifi x570 or Gigabyte Aorus Elite x570 with 16-32Gb 3600/3733. Untouchable for the price, both mobo's run @ $180 but have the same VRM's as the $300+.

I agree with Karadjgne on the setup, been the Asus X570 TUF boards the best bang for the buck and with a strong VRM design. If you can find the Gigabyte Aorus at a competitive price thats a great choice too.

Cheers
 
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Yes, yes, the prices are quite attractive now, and I imagine they will drop down more during CES 2020, on 7-11 January(If I remember correctly) , where the new 4000 series Ryzen will be introuduced 😬

Will be interesting if it's released on current AM4 platform, and still compatible with all chipsets. If so, it could have an opposite effect and help current motherboard prices hold firm. But even if it's not, announcing the CPU is far from releasing it to market. There's still a LOT of time for 3000 series CPU's to rule the roost and current boards will be the way to go.

I have to imagine the new B550 chipset release will have more down-side impact on pricing of current boards.
 

joeblowsmynose

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Well yeah, that's what I was suspecting. I know AMD has issues, but owners won't admit this.

Well that guy did before you even said that ... ?

I have owned mostly AMD my whole life and I have never had any types of issues at all. I find that most people who claim AMD has "so many issues" are people that either never owned AMD at all, or are people who suffered an issue of their own lack of foresight / education / understanding, as was brought up in a previous post.

So it could be that AMD owner's actually don't experience this nearly as much as this information spreads and is sustained beyond its time-frame amongst Intel aligned enthusiasts. There definitely is a lot of that - this is for certain.

I still keep hearing from certain people how bad AMD GPU driver suite is ... in reality, I'd say its actually vastly superior, you can't even do any hardware tweaking with NVidia drivers at all for goodness' sake.



Anyway 3700x is a solid choice but even a less expensive R5 3600 will net you a better GPU potentially --- its the GPU that games not the CPU. Unless your 55" 1080p TV has a 244hz refresh rate, your CPU will never be a factor in game performance at all, and also never at 4K when you replace it.

The only place you see a CPU have any meaningful impact is in reviews where they induce an artificial bottleneck that is no where near the settings that people actually play at. Unless you have a 2080ti or faster GPU, play at 1080p with game settings not at full and AA off, and have 244hz or higher refresh monitor, the CPU has almost no impact at all (granted its a modern gaming CPU) and shouldn't weigh in much in your purchasing ...

With the AM4 platform, I'd wager (a small amount) that Zen3 will still fit in that platform, allowing you to spend less on CPU now, more on GPU now, and still get a faster CPU in a year's time, if for some reason you feel the need, or if your needs have changed, without having to buy into a whole new platform .... (cough comet lake cough) ... no guarantees on that last point, but things are looking that way. It seems Zen4 will move to new socket to support DDR5, but that's a couple years out.
 
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Source? From what I've seen it's only the mobile APUs that are speculated to be shown off at CES 2020. APUs are an architecture/node behind, so 4000 series APUs will be technologically equivalent to desktop 3000 series.


They usually do 😂 I read some articles on the web, confirming with staff from AMD, but I guess we will just have to wait and see 😬 Less, then a month now left
 
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