Is it worth upgrading to the new i9 9900k?

[wjw1998]

I am currently in the process of upgrading my pc and I want to replace my current cpu, a i7 4790k, with a newer one. How ever the new i9 is almost 600 dollars and the new i7 does not have hyper threading. So is it worth getting the new i9 or is there another intel cpu that’s better for my price range or 400-500 dollars?

Edit: I already have purchased a motherboard with a z370 chipset

 

[terry4536]

Sure it is?? It is if you want the latest and greatest, and you can afford it.

Personally I would look at the I5-9600K and I7-9700K processors. The I5 is at $280. The i7 is at $420. Both of these processors offer great performance at a more reasonable price. I am disappointed that the I7-9700K doesn't have hyperthreading.

 

[hotaru251]

a 7th gen processor that still has HT like i7-7700K ?

just do some research~ dont wanna get a chipset that forces you to get a new motherboard/ram (as that would add up)

 

[sizzling]

The 9900k performs nearly identically to the 9700k in games and the 9700k is only very slightly ahead of the 8700k.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13400/intel-9th-gen-core-i9-9900k-i7-9700k-i5-9600k-review/16

This is the second review I have seen with similar results.

Hyperthreading is nice to have but real cores are much stronger and the 9700k is 8 core versus the 8700k’s 6 cores with HT.

 

[terry4536]

a 7th gen processor that still has HT like i7-7700K ?

just do some research~ dont wanna get a chipset that forces you to get a new motherboard/ram (as that would add up)

The I7-7700K is a step backwards. And it requires a 200 series motherboard.

The I5-9600K and I7-9700K both require the same 300 series motherboards as the the 8000 seines.

 

[ingtar33]

I am currently in the process of upgrading my pc and I want to replace my current cpu, a i7 4790k, with a newer one. How ever the new i9 is almost 600 dollars and the new i7 does not have hyper threading. So is it worth getting the new i9 or is there another intel cpu that’s better for my price range or 400-500 dollars?

I wouldn't pay a dime for the new i9. Especially since the i7 and i5 or even the r7 are all better values. Furthermore in a few months AMD is launching Ryzen2, which likely will match or outperform that i9 at a lower price point. At that point you'll probably feel the pain from shelling out for the i9. If you need to upgrade now, get the new i7 or i5, or even go AMD with the r7-2700 (the new Ryzen coming out in a few months will work on the same motherboard the r7-2700 will). I wouldn't go for the i9.

 

[atomicWAR]

^this

 

[snownight7]

I pre-ordered the 9900k to realize that in some benchmarks the 9700k out performed it in games. the extra money just isnt worth it with the fact that it runs so hot at stock frequency. I ended up going with the 9700k and it'll be here Tuesday. The only thing im worried about is that i'm not sure how much i'll be able to OC it with the CPU already running hot at stock. have a Corsair 280MM 115i Pro so hopefully that AIO will be good enough to get it over 5ghz on a couple cores.

 

[terry4536]

I pre-ordered the 9900k to realize that in some benchmarks the 9700k out performed it in games. the extra money just isnt worth it with the fact that it runs so hot at stock frequency. I ended up going with the 9700k and it'll be here Tuesday. The only thing im worried about is that i'm not sure how much i'll be able to OC it with the CPU already running hot at stock. have a Corsair 280MM 115i Pro so hopefully that AIO will be good enough to get it over 5ghz on a couple cores.

I wouldn't necessarily assume that it is going to run that hot. Unlike the 8000 series the 9000 series are supposed to be soldered (not thermal paste).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyleather/2018/10/08/intels-new-core-x-series-processors-announced-a-return-to-using-soldered-heat-spreaders/#6a997a254d7d
https://www.pcgamesn.com/intel-soldered-cpus-1-august

Here it was good on temperatures.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13400/intel-9th-gen-core-i9-9900k-i7-9700k-i5-9600k-review/22

 

[theonerm2]

I'd just return or sell the motherboard, get my money back, and wait and see what Zen 2 brings to the table with 3rd gen Ryzen. It's sounding like it's going to be a massive upgrade over Zen and Zen+. I believe at that point AMD may be the leader in IPC. 9th gen Intel is barely an upgrade over 8th gen unless you want to go with the i9 9900K which will probably be beaten pretty badly by Zen 2. The 4790K is still plenty enough to get by on until Zen 2. I wouldn't upgrade yet. I know it's tempting with a new CPU release but resist the urge to upgrade and wait for Zen 2.

 

[ElectrO_90]

The 7nm Ryzen 2 will be great, but when Intel finally gets their act together and release a 10/7nm chip they will again be ahead of AMD in IPC.
The 9th gen chips I would buy if I wanted to waste money, but I have a i7-4790k and my next upgrade will firmly be AMD when Ryzen 2 comes out.

 

[Redneck5439]

As others have stated in this thread, the best option considering how close we are to the launching of 7nm from AMD is waiting for the Zen 2 arch launching probably April on 7nm. AMD is poised to get ~13% greater IPC over current Zen+ which will place them well ahead of Intel. Will Intel launch 10nm? Probably at some point. Will it happen in 2019? Doubt it. We know AMD will be launching because they already have engineering samples on 7nm. Intel has nothing on 10nm and some "in the know" are saying they are abandoning 10nm. Personally I think Intel hit a wall with iCore that they don't want to publicly admit and can't make the transition to 10nm without basically a whole new arch (which would definitely explain the delays, I mean 10nm has been "coming" for years now). Basically you can believe Intel propaganda that 10nm is coming with huge performance gains (which they have been saying for a few years now) or go with what is a 100% fact AMD has engineering samples of Zen 2 on 7nm and will be releasing next year with leaked performance gains of 13% IPC on early engineering samples.

If you need to upgrade now and can't wait six months or so then the best "bang for your buck", "performance for your dollar" for a pure gaming processor is the i7 8700K. It is reasonably priced (especially for an Intel processor) and its performance in most games will be the equal of the i9 9700K or i9 9900K with a little simple overclocking. Most game titles don't utilize more than 6 cores so the extra cores in the i9 series won't matter much in gaming. Right now the best pure gaming processor for the money is the i7 8700K.

Now if you also have workstation needs then the best overall processor (gaming, workstation use and price) is the Ryzen R7 2700X. Going with AMD now would mean that you can always upgrade to Zen 2 as it will still be on AM4. If you want to stick with Intel and just want a gamer you really can't do better than the i7 8700K.

 

[Redneck5439]

The 7nm Ryzen 2 will be great, but when Intel finally gets their act together and release a 10/7nm chip they will again be ahead of AMD in IPC.
The 9th gen chips I would buy if I wanted to waste money, but I have a i7-4790k and my next upgrade will firmly be AMD when Ryzen 2 comes out.

Its possible that 10nm on Intel will have greater IPC than Zen 2, but I sure wouldn't bet the farm on it. Intel has had nothing but problems and delays with 10nm and have had years to get it straight and still haven't. There are even credible rumors that Intel is abandoning 10nm. I think the easiest real reason for the long delay is that iCore, which has been around a very long time (especially in the computer world), has been pushed as far as it can and as it is now can't transition to 10nm. I think Intel is looking at needing nearly a whole new arch to transition to 10nm and are now way behind in the game because they were content to stay on 14nm because they had no competition. When AMD came out of nowhere with Ryzen being a real contender Intel was caught totally unprepared and have had to do refreshes and stop gaps to remain on top while knowing their next truly big thing is a long way off.

Even if Intel comes up with 10nm next year AMD will still have an advantage at 7nm and Intel hasn't shown IPC gains from generation to generation of more than 5% in a very long time. Another 5% IPC gain will leave them behind Zen 2 and relying solely on clockspeed to compete.