Picking a new Intel CPU - 8086k or 9700k?

[Uleepera]

I have a 6700k on an Asus z170 deluxe along with a 970 gtx. I've been debating upgrading as of late and am a little overwhelmed with all the CPU choices currently.

Initially I was looking at an 8086k from earlier this year and possibly holding out for an z390 mobo. After more reading i may skip the z390 in favor of a z370 as there are a lot of predictions that the z370 will have some pretty steep sales once z390 is released and I'm perfectly fine with 3rd party wifi and usb.

As for CPUs however, I see an i7 9700k is supposed to be released next month with 8 cores and a peak at 4.9ghz before overclock. I've also found a couple reports that the i7 won't include hyperthreading. The 8086 I was originally looking at is 6 core with hyper and up to 5ghz before overclock. Cursory math puts the 9700k at 39.2ghz and the 8086k 30ghz without counting hyperthreading. I have to assume there will probably be a cost difference as well but I'm just speculating there.

So I'm leaning towards the 8086k and wondering if anyone has any thoughts otherwise?

 

[richiestang_78]

The small performance increase of the 8086k over the 8700K IMO isn't worth the price difference.

 

[kraelic]

I7 9700K is 8 core 8 thread, the I9 9900K is 8 core/16 thread.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-9000-series-cpu-faq,37743.html

Z370 will run the new chips, but will need a bios update. Z390 works with the new chips off the bat.

And the IHS is going back to solder instead of TIM

 

[volkgren]

He said 9700K.

 

[larrycumming]

if your primary use is gaming you will be much better off with a newer graphics card maybe gtx 2080

 

[geofelt]

8086k is essentially a well binned 8700K, and not considered worth the price premium.
I would pass on that.

The 9th gen processor in that price range will likely be the i7-9700k with 8 cores.
That is going to be as good as it gets for gaming.
It will likely oc better than the current 8th gen k processors which reach a clock about 5.0.

Your key question is how many threads your games can usefully use.
Most top out at 4 threads.
Try an experiment with YOUR games by
removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.

 

[vMax]

It all depends, if gaming is your priority, money saved and spent on a GPU will give you the biggest gains and an 8700K will be more than good..It is a great CPU with 5GHz with fairly easy reach. That being said, if money is not an issue, then the 9700K will do a stellar job, though I would move heaven and earth to find the extra bucks for the 9900K!!!

 

[Uleepera]

It all depends, if gaming is your priority, money saved and spent on a GPU will give you the biggest gains and an 8700K will be more than good..It is a great CPU with 5GHz with fairly easy reach. That being said, if money is not an issue, then the 9700K will do a stellar job, though I would move heaven and earth to find the extra bucks for the 9900K!!!

I do multiple tasks gaming is one but other CPU intensive graphics and video work encompass the rest so threads/cores do matter. The i9 is intriguing but I assumed (got I hate saying that" that moving from the i7 to the i9 would probably push it outside my price range. If it is affordable the 9900 would definitely be my target.

 

[vMax]

It all depends, if gaming is your priority, money saved and spent on a GPU will give you the biggest gains and an 8700K will be more than good..It is a great CPU with 5GHz with fairly easy reach. That being said, if money is not an issue, then the 9700K will do a stellar job, though I would move heaven and earth to find the extra bucks for the 9900K!!!

I do multiple tasks gaming is one but other CPU intensive graphics and video work encompass the rest so threads/cores do matter. The i9 is intriguing but I assumed (got I hate saying that" that moving from the i7 to the i9 would probably push it outside my price range. If it is affordable the 9900 would definitely be my target.

Okay so you will be doing a mix of gaming and productivity which includes video editing...This is a tough one...Bottom line, if you want to save a bit of money and put it towards a better motherboard, SSD etc...,then the 8700K would be my bet as it will give you a lot of performance across the board for your mixed use case and as importantly, when you are next ready to upgrade, you can then go the 9900K route as all Z370 motherboards have received the BIOS update for the 9th Gen Intel CPU's...so no issues upgrading at a latter date.

The 9700K will not be that much of a difference, yes in gaming it will be just a little better but the 16 threads from the 8700K/8086K will make up the difference in the productivity side over the 8 cores 8 threads of the 9700K...A tough choice but you cant lose either way..

 

[Rodrigodrt]

8700k is the go choice, 8/16 is a better idea overall, 8086 is just a moot, not worth the price at all, 9900k, better, yes, though expensive and the 8700k will handle literally anything with flying colors, pair with a good GPU and you're as golden as golden gets.

Furthermore, intel is a bit overdue with their die shrinking, 9-series are a refresh of the refresh, its very likely that they will come with their 10 nm cpu next year when they solve their no-can-shrink issues, 9 series is just so that they don't have anything to offer really.

 

[volkgren]

8086K is only good if nostalgia is something you like. Otherwise, the 8700K seems to be your better choice, even better than the 9700K since you do multi-threaded tasks such as editing.

 

[DFWallace]

Our new anticipated rig (@ 5 months from now) is strictly a gaming (FPS and RTS) machine for my son and I. Extra funds will make me a bad boy... so I'm thinking 8700K/9700K/9900K with one of the new Z390 MB's due from Asus, and the nVivida 2080ti with the Phanteks Evolv X case. Interesting discussion here about the CPU's...

I will get an AIO CPU cooler... have a few in mind after reading reviews here, Anand, Overclocking, and TBG. > Reeven Naia 240, Alpha Cool Eisbaer 240, Corsair H100i Pro, and EK-MLC Phoenix.