Question Is it worth upgrading to i7 9700k or holding off for 10th Gen

[TheMattleHead]

Hello, so currently my PC is running an i7 4770K 16GB DDR3 RAM and EVGA 1080 FTW

My bottleneck is my CPU, I use this mostly for gaming, but I do some editing every now and then, I've been thinking of upgrading my CPU to the Intel i7 9700k, however is it worth upgrading or waiting until the 10th Gen equivalent is released most likely next year?

Regardless I'll have to replace my Mobo and now have access to DDR4 RAM

 

[taeioum]

There isn't going to be a 10th gen equivalent. Intel 10th gen chips are focused on low power consumption. As far as I'm aware, there will be no high performance K chips like the 9600K, 9700K or 9900K.

That being said, I'm not sure what to suggest your replacement should be.

 

[jostegogar]

you can get 8c 16t cpu for the same price as 9700k with 10th gn (i7 10700k) also a bump in clock speeds so its definitely worth waiting

 

[j3ster]

if your current setup does its job decently and you arent pulling your hair out due to its poor performance in either games or actual use-ability then waiting is a great idea.

id personally avoid the 9700k i just dont like the no HT part of it.

but if you cant wait, for cheaper but a way better option in my opinion the ryzen 3700x is a great upgrade path.

another but is if you really want to just side with intel then the 9700k or the 8700k are good options.

 

[el bojo loco]

Hello, so currently my PC is running an i7 4770K 16GB DDR3 RAM and EVGA 1080 FTW

My bottleneck is my CPU, I use this mostly for gaming, but I do some editing every now and then, I've been thinking of upgrading my CPU to the Intel i7 9700k, however is it worth upgrading or waiting until the 10th Gen equivalent is released most likely next year?

Regardless I'll have to replace my Mobo and now have access to DDR4 RAM

What chipset is your motherboard? I've read a lot of people suggesting not to get 9th gen intel on < z390 motherboards, despite being "backwards compatible". I've done some research and found that the difference between i7-8700k and i7-9700k is quite neglectable. Personally the only reason to wait for 10th gen is so that the 8/9th gen chips will get cheaper, I doubt the new 10th gen will be cost-worthy. All in all the i7-8700k is the best option to go for when gaming is your main activity. I see you will need a Mobo upgrade to support that change (from LGA1150 to LGA 1151). If you really want, get a z390 and an i7-9700k, that's what I would probably do in your position (knowing that a z370 + i7-8700k will suffice).

 

[RodroX]

Im with jostegogar and j3ster if you are not in a rush and you will keep doing some editing (every now and then) then waiting for a CPU with HT enable is the best option.

Intel will most likely enable HT on thier 10th gen CPUs, we already saw few leaked benchs on Tomshadrware for the 10th gen Core i3 (4C/8T) and Core i5 (6C/12T) - (https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/new...omet-lake-core-i3-lineup-benchmark-submission)

Now if you can't wait, I believe the Ryzen 7 3700X (8C/16T) is a cheapper well rounded choice, with a future upgrade path: Zen 3/Ryzen 4xxx, using the same mobo you got for the Ryzen 3700X (I will pick one of the X570 (check the many reviews out there to see which one offer the best VRM for the money).

Now if you wana stay on Intels, like it was wrote already, the 8700K (6C/12T) or the 9700K (8C/8T) are still viable options and will be good upgrades over your 4th gen Core i7. The only bad thing about this, is that youre going to buy a motherboard that will only work for this 8th/9th gens CPUs, the 10th gen will almost for sure need a new mobo once again.

 

[WildCard999]

Have you overclocked your 4770K yet? I had one paired with a 1080 ti @4K/60hz that gamed quite well (resolution affects bottlenecks). Overclocking it could give you a bit more life to it and possibly enough that you could hold off for a little bit longer.

Mine overclocked to 4.4ghz @1.25V on a Corsair H100i however if your case supports it the Noctua NH-D15 is a great air cooler and is much quieter then the AIO.

If your unsure how to overclock here's everything you need as far as info and tools.
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/intel-temperature-guide.1488337/

As others have stated the Ryzen 3700X could also be an excellent upgrade and would be more beneficial for editing due to the extra threads. It all comes down to budget and how long your willing to wait.

 

[Finstar]

10th gen desktop cpus are said to release sometime next year. That's gonna be a long wait, that is if they don't get delayed yet again which would make the wait even longer.

 

[rodrigoxm49]

If you really want Intel, you should wait since invest on a dead socket right now it's not a very smart move. Not only that, 9700K is a great CPU, but have 8 cores and 8 threads. Sony have confirmed that next console will have 8 cores and 16 threads, so probably 9700K will struggle a little very "soon".

I recommend that you should wait if you really want Intel or buy a 3700X or 3800X already.