Question Is it worth upgrading from i5-4460 to i5-9600k ?

[kuddo]

Hello everybody,
My specs are the following:
i5-4460, 16gb ram ddr3, gtx 1060 6gb, 1080p @60Hz
I was thinking really seriously about upgrading my rig to i5 9600k, 16gb ddr4 and z390 mobo. I kinda see my cpu dragging me back in certain games (tomb raider, modern warfare, deus ex etc) where my gpu is like 70-80% and cpu is 100% in certain scenarios.
What do you think? Is it worth the upgrade for gaming?

 

[sizzling]

An upgrade will definitely help in newer cpu heavy games. However I wouldn’t consider any i5 at the moment, similar priced Ryzen setups are a matched much better option in my opinion. A good B450 board with anything from a 3600 to 3700X.

 

[Rdslw]

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9600K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4460/4031vs2310
this should be quite self-sufficient link.
If you care for gaming and gaming alone, this upgrade is really going to be worthwhile.
example:
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $414.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-19 05:15 EST-0500

BUT price wise 9600k is not really king of the hill.
if you want strongest part for the same 400$:

AMD can give you twice the threads. Example:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: *OLOy 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $413.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-19 05:18 EST-0500

and comparison:
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-9600K-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-3600X/4031vs4041

in most games, results should be within margin of error, and IN case of multi-tasking or heavy loads, you have close to 50% additional power.

Cinebench R20 MT 3705 for 3600x VS 2603 for 9600k

whatever you will pick, you won't loose anything and will work great.
so take your time and dont worry

 

[kuddo]

I've watched lots of benches on games and it seems like the 9600k is more powerful than 3600x in games. Also I have a few friends that upgraded to the more recent AMD cpus and had problems withe the RAM, compatibility wise. I've never experienced something like this on Intel..i just bought the cheapest RAM I found on the market and they worked flawlessly and even overcloking them was easy (on ddr3 mind you).
What is your take on this? Games performance and RAM compatibility

 

[sizzling]

I've watched lots of benches on games and it seems like the 9600k is more powerful than 3600x in games. Also I have a few friends that upgraded to the more recent AMD cpus and had problems withe the RAM, compatibility wise. I've never experienced something like this on Intel..i just bought the cheapest RAM I found on the market and they worked flawlessly and even overcloking them was easy (on ddr3 mind you).
What is your take on this? Games performance and RAM compatibility

Don’t just look at average FPS, look at the lows 1% & 0.1%. This has a real impact on the experience if suffering lower lows even if average is higher. The i5’s although achieving strong averages do already suffer worse lows. The 6 threads are already being maxed out in several cpu heavy games so there is no headroom for the future.

As for RAM issues I cannot speak for your friends but my MSI B450 Tomahawk Max with 3700X and Corsair 2x16GB 3200mhz has worked flawlessly since I built it. I was looking between the 3700X and 9700k for gaming at 1440p 144Hz and decided the 3700X looked the better investment.

 

[geofelt]

Worth is something only YOU can determine.
I think your plan is good.

A 9600K upgrade will be a massive upgrade for you.
You will get 2 added threads, going from 4 to 6.
More importantly, your clock rate will jump from 3.2/3.4 to 3.7/4.6 at stock.
If you have a decent cooler(the 4460 stock cooler will not do) you have a decent chance of seeing 5.0 on all cores when overclocked.
If overclocking is not comfortable for you, use the intel IPM app.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-cpu-auto-overclock-performance-maximizer,6179.html

What is your case?
Does it have sufficient air intake capability for a good cooler?
If you have 160mm available, the Noctua NH-D15s is as good as it gets.

The ryzen options give you many threads but their max clock rate is not as good as 5.0.
Many threads are very good for multiplayer games with many participants.
Otherwise for sims, mmo and strategy games single thread performance is most important.
There are few games that can effectively use more than 4-6 threads.

 

[kuddo]

Worth is something only YOU can determine.
I think your plan is good.

A 9600K upgrade will be a massive upgrade for you.
You will get 2 added threads, going from 4 to 6.
More importantly, your clock rate will jump from 3.2/3.4 to 3.7/4.6 at stock.
If you have a decent cooler(the 4460 stock cooler will not do) you have a decent chance of seeing 5.0 on all cores when overclocked.
If overclocking is not comfortable for you, use the intel IPM app.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-cpu-auto-overclock-performance-maximizer,6179.html

What is your case?
Does it have sufficient air intake capability for a good cooler?
If you have 160mm available, the Noctua NH-D15s is as good as it gets.

The ryzen options give you many threads but their max clock rate is not as good as 5.0.
Many threads are very good for multiplayer games with many participants.
Otherwise for sims, mmo and strategy games single thread performance is most important.
There are few games that can effectively use more than 4-6 threads.

For cooling I'm using a Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme AIO (i have the required mounting brackets for the socket) which is pretty decent. I don't do multitasking, I don't use discord, I don't record videos, I don't edit videos. I'm only playing games on my machine in my already limited free time. The games I don't play on PC are the Sony exclusives, which I play on PS4.

 

[geofelt]

I am not a fan of aio coolers, but since you have one, go ahead and use it.
That cooler was not needed for a 4460, but it will be very good for a 9600k.

 

[sizzling]

You cannot directly compare clockspeed between AMD and Intel. The Ryzen 3000 series has a slightly higher IPC for gaming which mitigates some of the clock difference. I also disagree that a ‘few’ games (it may depend what you mean by a few) use more than 4-6 threads. That might have been true a couple of years ago but AAA games of the last 2 years or more my observation is most support more than 6 cores/threads. I’ve been playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare and Gears 5 and both are using at least 8 threads actively with light load on others. It’s doesn’t count as gameplay but I even saw Gears very briefly max out all 16 threads during a loading screen.

 

[logainofhades]

The 9600k might be better in max framerates, but suffer from frametime variance, in modern titles. The 3600 is a much better all around option, than a 9600k. With the 3600x only being $10 more, than the 3600, right now, the 3600x is the way to go. The 9600k is a dead end platform.

The 3600x holds it own well, against the 8700k, and is considerably cheaper.

 

[Zizo007]

Hello everybody,
My specs are the following:
i5-4460, 16gb ram ddr3, gtx 1060 6gb, 1080p @60Hz
I was thinking really seriously about upgrading my rig to i5 9600k, 16gb ddr4 and z390 mobo. I kinda see my cpu dragging me back in certain games (tomb raider, modern warfare, deus ex etc) where my gpu is like 70-80% and cpu is 100% in certain scenarios.
What do you think? Is it worth the upgrade for gaming?

Get the Ryzen 3600X its more future proof. Also you are gaming at 60Hz so the 9600K and 3600X will perform the same with the 3600X having better minimum FPS. The 3600X is much faster in all other tasks so it only makes sense to choose the Ryzen. The Ryzen will be faster than the 9600K with future games. 3rd Gen Ryzen has pretty much no RAM compatiblity issues like the 1st Gen.
Maybe if you run 4400Mhz+ RAM but there is no benefit for gaming. Anything above 3800Mhz is a waste of money.

 

[kuddo]

Thank you for your input guys. I decided to upgrade my gpu to 2060. Do you think a used 4770k at 100$ would be a good idea, and wait for the new cpus and mobos to launch in April? Or should I just go for the 3600x and change the mobo, ram and cpu right now? I will still be gaming at 1080p 60hz. I don't really play multi-player games. What do you think?

 

[Zizo007]

Thank you for your input guys. I decided to upgrade my gpu to 2060. Do you think a used 4770k at 100$ would be a good idea, and wait for the new cpus and mobos to launch in April? Or should I just go for the 3600x and change the mobo, ram and cpu right now? I will still be gaming at 1080p 60hz. I don't really play multi-player games. What do you think?

If you play at 60Hz and don't play multiplier games the 4770K will be fine.

You might be able to get a used 4770K desktop on ebay for 100-150$ and pull out the CPU.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Just reading, I would suggest that you consider AMD again. With their first generation of ryzen, they did have some issues. To my knowledge, most of those issues were ironed out long ago.

To give you an idea, comparisons I've seen recently say the ryzen 3600x is equal to the i7 8700k. The 2060 is a good card.

If you want, get the i7 used you talked about, get the 2060, and sell the 1060 you have. You should get 100 dollars or so for it I'd guess. I'm running a first generation 1700x and am happy with it. Intel might be slightly ahead in games, but that's about all. And where they are ahead there is neglible. Also, games are getting to where they use more and more threads.

Recent games are using more than 4 cores. How long until 6 cores aren't enough? At least with the ryzen 3600/3600x for example you have hyperthreading which will help it in higher threaded workloads or games as they begin using more threads.

 

[mdd1963]

I'd get an 8700K or 9700K, but pass on the 6 core/6 thread options, if at all possible....

 

[ohio_buckeye]

On the 8700k and 9700k as well, I wouldn't suggest those. They are a lot better than what you have now, However, both of those CPUs will cost around 400 dollars by themselves. So that puts your budget towards 600-700 when you add in a new board, ram, etc.

In that instance, I still recommend ryzen. If you went with the 3600x, you could probably be still around the original 400 dollar price point. Benchmarks say the 3600x is equal to the 8700k. As far as the 9700k, on Reddit, people were saying that ryzen was better for productivity. But when gaming, at 1080p, the difference was small, like 5 or 10%. However, they said at 1440p, barely any difference.

In my opinion, save your 200 that you'd spend on the i7. Or pick up a 3700x or something like that if you wanted to spend more. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kuddo]

Thank you everyone for your opinion. It helped me a lot into taking a decision.
I bought a used i7 4770k for $80 and managed to sell my i5 4460 for $30. The performance boost I gained from 4770k was huge, at least 30-40fps in some cpu demanding games (shadow of tomb raider, metro exodus). In modern warfare I used to have 50-60fps in multiplayer, but now I have 90-140. In shadow of tomb raider, in town areas full of people I used to have 40-50fps, now I have 80-90.
I'm going to patiently wait for the next CPU launch from Intel/AMD and I' going to do a complete upgrade (ddr4, mobo, ram).
You were right. Going for i5-9600k right now was not making any sense.