Question Is 4c 8t (HT) in 2019 is a good substitute for 6c 6t CPUs?

[Irisena]

Hi, so my current system is a 6600k and a 1070. Now, I want to upgrade my system so I can play future AAA games at max settings in 1080p. I'm planning to get myself a 2070 super, but i'm pretty sure that my CPU going to limit a 2070S pretty hard, as it's a simple 4c 4t CPU that even maxed itself when paired with a 1070 (usually it's a sweet spot where CPU and GPU works equally hard).
Now, the real question is in the title,
should I just scrap the whole z170 mobo and get myself a 6c 6t
or keep my z170 and slotting in a used 7700k with 4c 8t (HT) for future games?
Do game nowadays need prioritize core count or thread count?
Please tell me what you think what's the best price/performance wise, thanks.

 

[Phaaze88]

If you can get a used 7700K at a good price. What's a good price? Hmm, I don't think I'd pay more than $150 for one.
Some people are still charging top dollar for those things.

If you have to pay more than that for one, you'd be better off with this kind of combo for a little over $300:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 GAMING K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $312.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-01 01:48 EDT-0400

 

[Irisena]

right, as expected there's no 150$ 7700k that i can find... most of them in my area (country) are still 250$++.
while building a whole new AMD mobo + CPU can cost me... a whopping 300$? wow that's cheap.
how does an Asrock B450 steel legend paired with ryzen 5 3600 sounds?
maybe it's time to go team red afterall.

 

[Phaaze88]

Unfortunately, only Msi provided bios the bios flashback(allows you to update the bios without an older cpu) feature for their B450 motherboards - save for a few.
The other vendors did it on their more expensive models. If you have to have a specific brand, expect to pay a little more.

 

[Geef]

I use a 7700k right now with a 7500XT GPU. It runs great on everything. I'm glad I got a 7700k since it has high clock speed and nothing amazing has happened with any newer chips since it came out so I'm going to keep running it for a long time.

 

[Irisena]

a 7500XT... what? you mean a 5700XT? xD
anyhow (assuming it's a 5700XT), how does that 7700k fare? is it limiting your 5700XT? did you notice any kind of bottleneck between your CPU and GPU?

 

[j3ster]

i doubt that the 7700k will bottleneck the assumed 5700 XT. the 7700k is still a capable CPU despite being a quad core. probably in like low to medium settings at 1080p but if its high refresh maxed out graphics there wont be much in the form of a bottleneck.

 

[Third-Eye]

Unfortunately, only Msi provided bios the bios flashback(allows you to update the bios without an older cpu) feature for their B450 motherboards - save for a few.
The other vendors did it on their more expensive models. If you have to have a specific brand, expect to pay a little more.

The Asrock B450M/AC is an ok board with built in wifi that is suppose to be able to support Ryzen 3000 series out of box. It's not a great overclocker, but so are almost none of the boards under $150.

As for the OP though, I would wait to upgrade to a Ryzen CPU with a B series board, since the B550 chipset will very likely be released in either October or before the end of the year.

 

[Phaaze88]

The Asrock B450M/AC is an ok board with built in wifi that is suppose to be able to support Ryzen 3000 series out of box. It's not a great overclocker, but so are almost none of the boards under $150.
...

Bios. Flashback. Feature. Nowhere did I say Asrock was bad - I'm no mobo expert - I rely on others' reviews for those.
They're supposed to be able to support Ryzen 3000 out of the box, but they don't - hell, Msi released their B450 MAX that do, but supply isn't meeting demand.

The newly made Bs and Xs are supposed to, but with suppliers prioritizing getting rid of older stock first, what are the odds the OP would get said already updated B450?

 

[Third-Eye]

Bios. Flashback. Feature. Nowhere did I say Asrock was bad - I'm no mobo expert - I rely on others' reviews for those.
They're supposed to be able to support Ryzen 3000 out of the box, but they don't - hell, Msi released their B450 MAX that do, but supply isn't meeting demand.

The newly made Bs and Xs are supposed to, but with suppliers prioritizing getting rid of older stock first, what are the odds the OP would get said already updated B450?

I didn't mean to imply you said something bad, just stating that there is at least one B450 board that doesn't require a bios flash for Zen 2. The Asrock B450M/AC is a newer board that I think was released just before or after the Ryzen 3000 series launched, so it ended up getting a compatible bios. This isn't to say that I'm right, just that from what I read of the boards supported CPU list, Zen 2 is supported on all bios versions for this board, which should mean the bios it released with is compatible.

 

[Phaaze88]

I didn't mean to imply you said something bad, just stating that there is at least one B450 board that doesn't require a bios flash for Zen 2. The Asrock B450M/AC is a newer board that I think was released just before or after the Ryzen 3000 series launched, so it ended up getting a compatible bios. This isn't to say that I'm right, just that from what I read of the boards supported CPU list, Zen 2 is supported on all bios versions for this board, which should mean the bios it released with is compatible.

I stand corrected: https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450Mac/#CPU
If supply is good, there may be some available...

 

[logainofhades]

As it looks like that B450m/ac supports the 3600, right out of the box, that would be my pick, if you cannot afford an x570, or do not want to wait on B550.

 

[digitalgriffin]

right, as expected there's no 150$ 7700k that i can find... most of them in my area (country) are still 250$++.
while building a whole new AMD mobo + CPU can cost me... a whopping 300$? wow that's cheap.
how does an Asrock B450 steel legend paired with ryzen 5 3600 sounds?
maybe it's time to go team red afterall.

I have the steel legend B450M.

It's an decent board for the money. Asrock has up'd their game with regard to motherboard stiffness/strength, and copper traces. It also has 4 high current 60 Amp phases for the CPU, while a lot of B450's only have 3 regular phases for the CPU.

However if you buy this board be aware Matisse (Ryzen 3000 series) support will be very hit or miss. The reason being was it was released before the BIOS update to support Ryzen 3000 chips. So you may get a board that doesn't support your processor till you do a ROM upgrade. And to do a ROM upgrade you'll need a late model AM4 chip. It's a bit of a catch 22.

Official support on the B450 Steel Legend begins 5/10/2019 with version 2.3

http://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/B450 Steel Legend/index.asp#BIOS


If you are looking at B450, it would be best to check return policy, or at the very least get a motherboard with flashback capability that doesn't require a CPU to flash the BIOS ROM to the latest version.

Good luck
-D