Question Is moving from an i7-9700 to an i9-9900k worth the effort?

[Imacflier]

I am limited to 9th generation cpu's. My current processor is an i5-9500T and on-board graphics.

My use case is primarily transcoding and rendering...needless to say I am short on processing power, and gaming other than in the browser is simply impossible.

Next week I will receiving a box with an I7-9700. I have in hand an i9-9900k and appropriate heatsink and power supply (sunk costs). Can I justify the effort of swapping out the I7 for the I9? I also will be mounting an rtx3060 externally via an m.2 to pcie adapter, so please keep that in mind in your recommendation.

I really look foreword to your recommendation of which processor to use and your rational for that recommendation. I realize I could get more performance at a possibly lower price with a new build and newer parts, but I am determined to go in this direction.

TIA

Larry

 

[Lafong]

Passmark single thread benchmark says 6.6% advantage to 9900k over the 9700.

Multi thread advantage: 38.7%, due to 16 threads rather than 8.

Among your qualifiers are "worth the effort?" and "determined to go in this direction".

I wouldn't even consider it.

But....in favor of the 9900k might be any or all of these:

You make money with the PC and so every little bit helps.

You are an inveterate tinkerer ("determined") and don't mind the effort

The 9900k is apparently a sunk cost.

Your specific tasks might be able to take considerable advantage of the added threads. I have no idea.

If you didn't go with the 9900k, you always be haunted by the idea that you should have....you missed out on something that was a free lunch other than the time expended.


Of course, I don't know how many of those reasons apply to you. You have to live with yourself.

 

[DSzymborski]

I am limited to 9th generation cpu's. My current processor is an i5-9500T and on-board graphics.

My use case is primarily transcoding and rendering...needless to say I am short on processing power, and gaming other than in the browser is simply impossible.

Next week I will receiving a box with an I7-9700. I have in hand an i9-9900k and appropriate heatsink and power supply (sunk costs). Can I justify the effort of swapping out the I7 for the I9? I also will be mounting an rtx3060 externally via an m.2 to pcie adapter, so please keep that in mind in your recommendation.

I really look foreword to your recommendation of which processor to use and your rational for that recommendation. I realize I could get more performance at a possibly lower price with a new build and newer parts, but I am determined to go in this direction.

TIA

Larry

What is the *exact* motherboard? You saw CPUs like this mostly in prebuilts and quite frequently, the motherboard that came with a 9500T won't actually worth with a 9700 or a 9900K.

 

[Moonstick2]

The situation is a bit confusing. Your post makes it sound like you've got some kind of mini PC with an i5-9500T which doesn't seem relevant, you're going to be getting a PC next week with an i7-9700 that I'm going to assume is second-hand not under warranty, and you've got lying around an i9-9900K plus suitable PSU and cooling. When you say you're limited to 9th gen, do you mean because of the box you've got arriving next week?

The i9 has twice the threads, higher base frequency, higher turbo frequency and more cache. If I've got the above right then if it were me I'd first test out the i7 system to make sure there's no fault with it and then without a doubt swap the i7 for the i9 and probably sell the i7.

But you might want to explain in a lot more detail what this "box" you're getting is in terms of components and where you're getting it from in case that changes things.

 

[Imacflier]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your thoughts. To your questions: the gory detail.

I am a long retired engineer. I was forced by disability into retirement and miss it, which does make me an "inveterate tinkerer" <sigh>

The boxes involved are HP EliteDesk 800 Mini's. I currently have three of them I purchased off lease: One is my personal unit, one is my wife's, and one is my TVPC. The are all I5-9500 units and have served me quite well over several years. They use a proprietary sub-ITX mother board, and are socketed for CPU and Memory with two m.2 sockets. Typical specs are found here: https://www.google.com/search?q=eli...OYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwE3oAekFw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

The EliteDesk 800 mini G5 was also supplied by HP with I7 and I9 cpus. Those are rarely found off lease and only at a substantial premium. I recently purchased one with an I7, refurbished and with a one year warranty at what I considered a reasonable price. It is in process for shipping preparation currently. That unit is the one I will upgrade to one degree or another.

Over the years I have gathered a rather well stocked parts cabinet, and applicable to this computer I have as 'sunk costs':

CPU: I9-9900k 125 watt TDP

230 watt HP power block (from a Pavilion, but compatible with the G5)
Note that HP uses a 65 watt powerblock stock for the I7 version of the G5.

Heatsink: An HP 125 watt unit which HP installs in their I9 versions of
the G5.

A 4 TB m.2 nvme to upgrade the installed 512 GB unit.

An m.2 -> pcie adapter to externally mount an ITX sized GPU

An RTX 3060 12GB GPU, single fan ITX sized, with appropriate power block.

And I think that answers most of the clarification you all requested.

I am pretty sure all these parts will "play nice" together with the only real functional difference in my user case is CPU power to support the RTX 3060. Naturally, upgrading the CPU and heatsink are the most difficult and time consuming tasks.

SO,

Whatcha think?

TIA

Larry

 

[geofelt]

I don't think a I9-9900K can be used in such a low profile case.
The socket may be compatible, but the motherboard is likely not capable.
The supplied Bios may not permit a 9900K anyway.
The original processor was a I7-9700T. The T stands for a low power version of the 9700 which was probably required for the case.
Then, also, a i9-99ooK with any sort of a load is going to generate too much heat for a low profile case to handle.
I think you are looking at a whole new build if you want to use the 9900K.

 

[logainofhades]

A 9900k would be a waste of money, even if your system was compatible. You can get a 12600k, and Z690 board, for a similar cost to some 9900k's, on Ebay.

 

[bill001g]

A 9900k would be a waste of money, even if your system was compatible. You can get a 12600k, and Z690 board, for a similar cost to some 9900k's, on Ebay.

I think this is more the case he has a 9900k laying around and is trying to find a use for it.

As most the above posts mentioned lots of details will make big differences. Lots of reading tedious details making sure the BIOS is compatible. HP at least keeps very old stuff on their site for download. The large problem with HP prebuilts is they will at times use very proprietary parts so you can not be 100% sure generic compatibility rules apply to some particular board.

Even though these old business machine are really cheap sometimes I am not so sure they are really a value unless you can use them as is.

 

[Imacflier]

Gentlemen,

Please note that I already HAVE most all parts required (SUNK COST!).
Also note that HP puts a 125 watt capacity heatsink into that tiny case.

Not previously detailed is that a 140mm fan fits perfectly on the unit and I will add that to maximize ventilation across that heatsink.

Larry

 

[Richj444]

The 9900K draws a lot of power and generates a ton of heat. I'm pretty skeptical that the PSU and motherboard can handle the power demands and I know for a fact that a cooler rated at 125 watts will be overwhelmed. Especially in a small case.

You can certainly give it a try, but don't be surprised if it causes you nothing but problems.

 

[sonofjesse]

Not worth the effort.

 

[NedSmelly]

I think everything depends on the BIOS of the motherboard and the cooling capacity of the case design in this prebuilt. Turbo/PL2 on a 9900K can actually hit 210W. So if the BIOS power limits to 125W or so (to complement the cooler you mention) then meh, the performance gains might be equivocal. You'll have to tell us, not the other way round.

I suppose if you already have the parts lying around, then sure why not. 🤷‍♂️ Just try it and see what happens. But watch those temps and the power consumption. I remember Apple sticking i9s in their MacBooks and they were slower than the i7s because they were thermal throttling all the time.

 

[Moonstick2]

I think what's missing now is your definition of something being "worth the effort"?

Since you've got all the parts lying around, if you enjoy tinkering and would be happy to try it even if maybe after a few days/weeks of messing around you find you have to go back to the original CPU anyway, then go ahead. Reading around, it's something that might work, but there's no guarantees in relation to cooling etc.

It's a difficult thing to advise on. For example, I've never seen overclocking as worth the effort for me, so I've never bothered. But for some people they love the messing around with cooling/voltages/etc so it's well worth the effort for them. Here it depends on whether trying and failing would still be an enjoyable endeavour for you.