[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!

[Zadkhiel]

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 !

 

[Zadkhiel]

If you wana dream big theres one real choice today, don´'t need to wait, is called Ryzen 9 3950X.
But feel free to buy any brand you want. I choose depending on budget and performance. Im not a fanboy. When Intel get some good product on the market at a reasonable price I will go back to them (as long as its worth it over AMD).

Strictly for gaming, 3950X is overkill. For someone that uses the PC to work as well, maybe, but even then, i feel that a 3700x will be quite sufficient.

Would be very interesting to see the upcoming 4700x and the new x670 platforms that will probably smash Intel for good 😬

 

[drea.drechsler]

I'm kind of decided to go with either Ryzen 7 3700x or 2700x but Intel is gonna have to fight back and I'm really curious to see the retribution 😬
...

Fair enough... just pay no mind to the drivel put out by Intel's marketing boys. By 2h 2021 you'll have a couple years of productive work under your belt with one of those processors when we see what the retribution is gonna be like.

I have a feeling the desktop computing market will be very different by then.

 

[RodroX]

Thats ok, Im not saying that you need a R9 3950X to play games, just trying to point out that waiting for intel that "may" launch a new cpu next year is kinda pointless IF you have the need of it today.

If you can wait thats another story.

And yeah, the R7 3700X is a very well rounded CPU at a good price, with lots of resources for the next years.

 

[Zadkhiel]

Thats ok, Im not saying that you need a R9 3950X to play games, just trying to point out that waiting for intel that "may" launch a new cpu next year is kinda pointless IF you have the need of it today.

If you can wait thats another story.

And yeah, the R7 3700X is a very well rounded CPU at a good price, with lots of resources for the next years.

For sure !

Im not a patient person, so I will probably buy smth soon

Regarding Intel, we might have a few suprisess, I mean, even now with all the hype that is been going on with AMD, INTEL still RULES the GAMING WAR with I7 9700K, having way better IPC and freq Boost and performance over the competition . . . 💪

 

[NightHawkRMX]

9700k and 9900k are incredable. Truely the top of the top.
The issue? You game at 4k and are on a budget.

At 4k, you want to budget most of your money towards a GPU. Heck, an I5 or R5 would be plenty for 4k with pretty much any current card for the majority of games.

As for Intel's comet lake. Its 14nm and not that different of an architecture. Its not going to be anything spectacular. Only think that can change much is core count and prices.

And by that time, i suspect AMD will have new CPUs then. You can wait for a new AMD or intel chips, but i wouldn't if you want performance now.

Also, if you buy a Ryzen chips now, you are guarenteed to get new CPUs until 2020. So maybe another generation.

Buy Intel, you are going to be stuck with a 9900ks as the top of the line. I'm pretty sure Intel is changing socket or at least chipsets next generation.

 

[Zadkhiel]

9700k and 9900k are incredable. Truely the top of the top.
The issue? You game at 4k and are on a budget.

At 4k, you want to budget most of your money towards a GPU. Heck, an I5 or R5 would be plenty for 4k with pretty much any current card for the majority of games.

As for Intel's comet lake. Its 14nm and not that different of an architecture. Its not going to be anything spectacular. Only think that can change much is core count and prices.

And by that time, i suspect AMD will have new CPUs then. You can wait for a new AMD or intel chips, but i wouldn't if you want performance now.

Also, if you buy a Ryzen chips now, you are guarenteed to get new CPUs until 2020. So maybe another generation.

Buy Intel, you are going to be stuck with a 9900ks as the top of the line. I'm pretty sure Intel is changing socket or at least chipsets next generation.

Yes, that's true ! Very good point there. Because I am heading toward 4K and hopefully I will be able to switch be the end of 2020 on high res, I am trying to decide between 2700X and 3700X and because of the price differences (2700X is half now, around 200$), I'm wondering if it's not better to go with it. It wont matter at 4K anyway . . .But until 4K, I will game at 1080 and so...I feel more attracted to 3700X, cause i feel it's more proofed + better Ram freq and stability 😬

Choices, choices 😂

The good part? I might get a 2070 Super or a 2080 Super, by the end of February !

Will a higher GPU benefit more from a 2700X or a 3700X ?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

For 1080p, you might be disappointed by the 2700x. Framerate will be very stable and smooth, but possibly not much higher than your i7.

You could go with a Ryzen 5 3600. It will offer 8700k performance and all ofbthe 3rd gen benefits with a simmilar cost to the 2700x.

Only downside of the 3600 is the 2 less cores, but 6c/12t is plenty currently.

 

[Zadkhiel]

For 1080p, you might be disappointed by the 2700x. Framerate will be very stable and smooth, but possibly not much higher than your i7.

You could go with a Ryzen 5 3600. It will offer 8700k performance and all ofbthe 3rd gen benefits with a simmilar cost to the 2700x.

Only downside of the 3600 is the 2 less cores, but 6c/12t is plenty currently.

I would ditch R5 3600X cause of the price difference between 7300X ( not that big). 2700X is 80$ cheaper than 3600X.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

What about 3600 non x?

If Ryzen 5s don't make sense, go with a 3700x. The 2700x i feel wont be enough of an improvement to make it worthwile. If you can't streatch to a 3700x, id just try the new GPU with your I7.

 

[Zadkhiel]

What about 3600 non x?

If Ryzen 5s don't make sense, go with a 3700x. The 2700x i feel wont be enough of an improvement to make it worthwile. If you can't streatch to a 3700x, id just try the new GPU with your I7.

That would be an option as well. I could buy a 2070 Super now, which is not far from 2080 Super in performance !

I dont know, my I7700 feels behind with only 4 cores . . . 😑

 

[Karadjgne]

Huh, and I'm still gaming on an i7-3770K that OC to be equitable to your i7-7700. It's 4 cores but the hyperthreading makes a significant difference in anything that's thread heavy. It's those poor shmucks who said an i5 is 'good enough, it's all you need' and bought one who have spent $1000's in upgraded platforms.

Get the best you can justify. Either cpu or gpu doesn't matter, but do not shortchange or settle for second best. You'll be replacing it far sooner than later.

 

[Zadkhiel]

Huh, and I'm still gaming on an i7-3770K that OC to be equitable to your i7-7700. It's 4 cores but the hyperthreading makes a significant difference in anything that's thread heavy. It's those poor shmucks who said an i5 is 'good enough, it's all you need' and bought one who have spent $1000's in upgraded platforms.

Get the best you can justify. Either cpu or gpu doesn't matter, but do not shortchange or settle for second best. You'll be replacing it far sooner than later.

I can't settle for second best . . .That is why it's so hard for me to decide, plus, the budget is not so great.

So it's either the CPU+MB+RAM now and GPU later, or the other way around . . .Would be a lot easier if I had the money to buy them all now

 

[Karadjgne]

Most ppl keep a platform for 4-6 years before upgrading, the cpu being plenty strong enough to last with fps at playable rates. Gpu is different, the more intensive and dedicated gamers will upgrade every 2-3 years as that's what it takes to maintain detail settings in the newest games, new affects like RTX and DLSS, DX12, G-Sync, 4k etc etc. It's only the modest gamers, part time tinkerers etc that'll stick with a gpu anywhere close to the same length as the platform.

So if you upgrade gpu now, you'll be upgrading (probably, maybe) somewhere around right after the big monitor purchase, because new game titles will demand more than what you'll be happy with.

So I'd get the best platform you can now, live with details you currently get on the old monitor, and when getting the new monitor get a gpu to match its requirements. A 2070S is a very strong gpu, but not going to be enough at 4k in games like BF6, Fortnite2, Starwars: Rebels Strike Back, GTA6 etc.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I can't settle for second best . . .That is why it's so hard for me to decide, plus, the budget is not so great.

So it's either the CPU+MB+RAM now and GPU later, or the other way around . . .Would be a lot easier if I had the money to buy them all now

Do you have any evidence that your CPU is currently the limiting factor for your gaming performance? If not, I see no reason to upgrade it now.

 

[Zadkhiel]

Do you have any evidence that your CPU is currently the limiting factor for your gaming performance? If not, I see no reason to upgrade it now.

Well, besides the fact that I can see some stuttering when I open Utorrent and wanna do some gaming, can't complain. . .

So I don't know, in any case, around March I can buy all of the components. So it's either wait and buy all the parts then, or buy now CPU+MB+RAM vs GPU . . .Im not good at waiting . . . haha

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Well, besides the fact that I can see some stuttering when I open Utorrent and wanna do some gaming, can't complain. . .

So I don't know, in any case, around March I can buy all of the components. So it's either wait and buy all the parts then, or buy now CPU+MB+RAM vs GPU . . .Im not good at waiting . . . haha

Could be internet speed.

To be honest, your I7 is still a pretty good GPU. It will hold up to a new GPU decently even at 1080p.

 

[UJ2K]

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

You'll be fine with AMD. The BIOS mistakes people make is buying a slightly older motherboard with a ryzen 3000 chip just to save a pretty penny. I understand where they're coming from, but man, some people just need to be better informed as well. Some people, yeah they forget and all when they're upgrading their ryzen 5 1600 on their B450 motherboard or whatever, but honestly just get an X570 motherboard and you're good. No BIOS problems, nothing.

If you're seriously paranoid about joining the dark side, just get a 9700k. You just may regret it when all these people convincing you otherwise show up to your house at 1 AM and change the CPU for you XD
In all honesty at 1080P and 4K the 9700k is a solid choice with awesome core performance. Don't be fooled by AMD having more cores - Having seen AMD's EPYC CPUs, there's a reason they just shove more cores into their processors.

As for your GPU problems, you should look over the RX 5700 XT. That thing will chew up AAA games at max settings. But since you're going to (eventually) be gaming on a 4K TV, you might as well wait for RTX 2080 Super prices to drop. Can you wait till June 2020 and RTX Ampere?

 

[NightHawkRMX]

This is just a lot.

With chipset fans, they do break. But they ahould last the life of the board.

Chipset fans are not new at all. Many hedt board have one.

If you are worried, I believe there may be an x570 or 2 that dont have fans btw.

As for rx5700xt.

The high temps you see are mostly with the reference blower models and turd models like xfx thicc 2.
Blower nvidia cards run hot aswell, this is not amd exclusive.

Something like a sapohire nitro or pulse or even msi mech will be nice and cool.

 

[RodroX]

Not only that, most chipset fan on many X570 don't usually work on normal operation. You probably need to put 2 x pci-e 4.0 cards (like 2 x nvme ssd storage 4.0) on the lines that goes to the chipset to make the fan even spin.

As a matter of fact, Linus... (intel fanboy number one), if you take a look at some Der8auer videos he imply that on most X570 mobos the fan is kinda useless do to the good heatsink the chipset already have.

And yes as NightHawkRMX wrote, in the old days every single motherboard in the market came with a chipset fan. Ive never had a chipset fan failing on me, I know it happened but I never had problem with any (and I build and took care of a lot of PCs back then).

Then again, if youre worry, Intel is still a choice as someone mention already. And the 9700K is a solid pick (I wouldn't buy it, but it is).

 

[Zadkhiel]

What about Ray Tracing ?

It's clearly better over Radeon . . .

Otherwise, presuming that AMD sorted out the compatibility driver issues for Video Cards, which I doubt, cause I still have the HD5870 and get driver problems and on the long run, really bad compatibility . . .They stoped making drivers for my card long time ago and even then, some games would not work . . .

But who knows, perhaps I will give one more chance to Radeon again . . .😬

P.S - IS THERE IS ANY X470 BOARD, RYZEN 3000 READY (Besides MSI MAX LINE) ??? Without needing to flash or update the BIOS ???

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The 5700xt does not have hardware support for ray tracing. It can run raytracing, but performance is so poor its not worth it.

Both nvidia, intel, and amd stop gpu driver support after awhile. Its normal.
Im assuming that your old gpu is terrascale based, whuch would explain the poor driver support.

P.S - IS THERE IS ANY X470 BOARD, RYZEN 3000 READY (Besides MSI MAX LINE) ??? Without needing to flash or update the BIOS ???

3rd gen guarenteed out of the box support is exclusive to

X570s
Msi b450 max boards
And one asrock b450

 

[GarrettL]

This thread is.....hmmm? Interesting?

 

[Zadkhiel]

Thank you ! I appreciate everyone that helped and answered ! Feel free to join the discussion as we are all tech freaks Or at least I am 😬😈😍

 

[NightHawkRMX]

$115 for an MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX.

The standard MSI B450 Tomahawk was the go-to for Ryzen 2xxx CPUs. Currently the #1 most popular motherboard on PCPartPicker, including both AMD and Intel boards.

Spoiler: The MAX version is nearly identical with the noteworthy hardware differences limited to:

• The MAX includes a larger bios ROM size. The normal Tomahawk will only support 3rd gen with a simpler looking lite bios. The MAX gets the full color and pretty BIOS when running a 3rd gen CPU.
• Out of the box 3rd generation AMD Ryzen CPU support without the need for any BIOS update. Most normal Tomahawks should have a 3rd gen supported BIOS at this point, however.

I saw some testing and the MSI B450 Tomahawk was able to handle the beastly Ryzen 9 3950x 16 core with acceptable VRM temperatures and no issues. The B450 Tomahawk MAX will perform equally.

I cannot find that video for some reason.

And if $115 is too much money:
MSI B450 A PRO MAX
This board has identical power delivery to the Tomahawk Max, and both have out of the box 3rd generation AMD Ryzen CPUs. The B450 A PRO max and B450 Tomahawk MAX will perform identically, but the looks are different.

 

[Zadkhiel]

In response to AMD, INTEL comes with a 10 core CPU !

This war keeps getting better and better 😬

https://www.techradar.com/news/inte...-with-10-core-flagship-capable-of-51ghz-boost

Awaiting for your thoughts guys 😬