Question Need a small (cpu) upgrade

[Blitzknall]

Hi all,

I need some advice. I'm still playing BF1 after years but i have the feeling that my system comes something short. Especially during a chaotic and full server i expierence some small lag. I think its caused by my CPU as its not powerful enough to handle the busyness during gaming in a full server.

Also, i would like to prepare my system with a upgrade for the upcoming BF6.

What do you guys prefer for the LGA 1151 platform if we also have to keep the upcoming Battlefield 6 in mind? Also the upgrade in the CPU shouldnt bottleneck the GPU. After BF6 is released there is a big chance i will upgrade the GPU also.

My current system:
i5 7600K 3.8ghz
Radeon RX 480 4GB
16GB ddr4
Samsung 250GB SSD
Seasonic Focus Gold 750 watt
MSI Z270 Tomahawk motherboard

Thank you

 

[Lutfij]

The only processor you can drop in without changing out the motherboard is the i7-7700K. If you're looking at BF6, they are traditionally known to be CPU intensive. In 2025, the system you have will be capable of gaming but not at 60FPS @ 1080p which is the baseline in 2025...more so above 60FPS. You're going to need a platform upgrade eventually.

16GB ddr4
Got a link to this? If you're not on DDR4-3200MHz, that's some performance lost from your platform.

 

[palmsaresweaty]

You could put an i9-9900K in it as long as your bios supports it.

 

[SkyNetRising]

You could put an i9-9900K in it as long as your bios supports it.

No. You could not.
Z270 boards are limited to 6th and 7th gen Intel core cpus.
9th gen cpu requires 300 series board.

 

[USAFRet]

You could put an i9-9900K in it as long as your bios supports it.

That will not work on a Z270 motherboard.

And this motherboard specifically:
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z270-TOMAHAWK/support#cpu

"i7-7700K" is the max.

 

[logainofhades]

As already stated, a 7700k is as far as you can go. To be honest, you really need a whole platform upgrade.

 

[geofelt]

You indicate that your slowdown happens on full server.
It suggests that more cores would be a good boost.
Look into a i7-7700K processor. It boosts the available threads from 4 to 8.
Probably $120 or so on ebay.
Past that a new motherboard and cpu will be required.

 

[Eximo]

Yeah, I would say just swap platforms. You can stick with DDR4 with Intel, and their older chips are pretty well discounted.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 S WIFI DDR4 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($121.01 @ Amazon)
Total: $261.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-19 11:01 EDT-0400

12700K ($200) / 12700KF ($180) are also quite reasonably priced.

 

[Blitzknall]

The only processor you can drop in without changing out the motherboard is the i7-7700K. If you're looking at BF6, they are traditionally known to be CPU intensive. In 2025, the system you have will be capable of gaming but not at 60FPS @ 1080p which is the baseline in 2025...more so above 60FPS. You're going to need a platform upgrade eventually.

16GB ddr4
Got a link to this? If you're not on DDR4-3200MHz, that's some performance lost from your platform.

Hm, i understand.

I have 2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000Mhz

 

[Blitzknall]

Yeah, I would say just swap platforms. You can stick with DDR4 with Intel, and their older chips are pretty well discounted.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 S WIFI DDR4 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($121.01 @ Amazon)
Total: $261.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-19 11:01 EDT-0400

12700K ($200) / 12700KF ($180) are also quite reasonably priced.

Yes, i think this will be the best solution. A second hand i7-7700k is already around $120 so a total of $261 with a new CPU and Motherboard will be a better investment.

I do not know how the RX480 will perform with a I5-12600KF but maybe i will swap the GPU too then.

The corsair vengeance 2 x 8 GB ddr4 3000Mhz (DIMM 288-PIN) i already have will fit in that motherboard right?