Question Scouting New Build - Upgrade (Intel?)

[MrN1ce9uy]

It's difficult to find a replacement CPU/Mobo/RAM combo to replace this. If I were going to upgrade, AMD has some clear choices. However, if I did want to go Intel, the choice seems somewhat difficult due to the problems 14th-gen has had (are they still an issue? is 14th-gen long in the tooth? What about Ultra series? What are the benefits?).

What are the best options (waiting or buying now) if I did want to go Intel?

Purpose is rather mixed between casual gaming, productivity, and multi-monitor support. I'm okay with the same/similar core/thread count. I'm keeping the RTX 4070 Ti Super for now. Probably going 4k or multi-1440p in the future. Probably the monitor is the best upgrade, but I want to see the discussion on Intel CPUs.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor (Purchased For $329.00)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $79.95)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX-4 4 g Thermal Paste (Purchased For $7.27)
Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero (Wi-Fi) ATX AM4 Motherboard (Purchased For $273.96)
Memory: Mushkin Redline Lumina 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-4000 CL18 Memory (Purchased For $119.99)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $159.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $54.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $57.99)
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card (Purchased For $829.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $99.99)
Power Supply: Corsair AX1600i 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $242.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Retail - USB 64-bit (Purchased For $25.00)
Case Fan: Corsair AF140 Quiet 66.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (Purchased For $12.80)
Case Fan: Corsair AF140 Quiet 66.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (Purchased For $12.80)
Monitor: Acer XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor (Purchased For $599.99)
Monitor: AOC U2879VF 28.0" 3840 x 2160 60 Hz Monitor (Purchased For $264.98)
Keyboard: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $141.69)
Mouse: Logitech G403 Prodigy Wired Optical Mouse (Purchased For $29.99)
Headphones: Razer Barracuda X 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $69.00)
Custom: Xbox Controller + Wireless Adapter for Windows (Purchased For $55.00)
Total: $3467.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-24 19:09 EDT-0400

*Edit: I actually don't have the 4K monitor in this list. It went out on my a couple months ago. And for transparency's sake, the extra data drives are sitting in a box, because I don't actually need the space at the moment. But, will install them at some point when I need them.

 

[Aeacus]

What about Ultra series? What are the benefits?

Only benefit - less power draw compared to Intel 14th gen,
review: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-ultra-9-285k/25.html

In everything else, including cheaper price, Ryzen 9000-series does better.

At current day and due to such poor performance of Core Ultra 200-series + added cost, there is 0 reason to go with any of the Core Ultra 200-series CPUs. You will get far better price to performance ratio with any Ryzen 9000-series chip.

Current king of games, R7 9800X3D vs U9 285K comparison in games: https://www.techspot.com/review/2921-amd-ryzen-9800x3d-vs-intel-core-ultra-285k/
While price wise, you will be paying more for the Intel chip, pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/VHYRsY,fPyH99/

So, your call if you want to pay more money for worse performance.

Here's something to consider;
(Replaced only CPU-MoBo-RAM combo.)

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($565.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $79.95)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX-4 4 g Thermal Paste (Purchased For $7.27)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B850-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws M5 RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL36 Memory ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $159.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $54.99)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $57.99)
Video Card: Asus TUF GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card (Purchased For $829.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $99.99)
Power Supply: Corsair AX1600i 1600 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $242.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Retail - USB 64-bit (Purchased For $25.00)
Case Fan: Corsair AF140 Quiet 66.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (Purchased For $12.80)
Case Fan: Corsair AF140 Quiet 66.4 CFM 140 mm Fan (Purchased For $12.80)
Monitor: Acer XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor (Purchased For $599.99)
Monitor: AOC U2879VF 28.0" 3840 x 2160 60 Hz Monitor (Purchased For $264.98)
Keyboard: Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $141.69)
Mouse: Logitech G403 Prodigy Wired Optical Mouse (Purchased For $29.99)
Headphones: Razer Barracuda X 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $69.00)
Custom: Xbox Controller + Wireless Adapter for Windows (Purchased For $55.00)
Total (Not Yet Purchased): $960.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-25 00:01 EDT-0400

 

[geofelt]

Do you now own the parts listed in the original post?
In what way is your current system not doing the job?

To answer your question, the 13/14th gen issues are now gone.
Some year ago, Intel finally identified the root cause and has delivered bios updates to prevent further issues.
Only if you buy used or did not update your bios to currency would you be exposed.

Similarly, the ultra launch a year ago was scorned because gaming was not as good as hoped.
Over time, software learned the peculiarities of dispatching the different types of ultra cores and performance got better.
User reviews on newegg are quite positive about the ultra chips.
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-ultra-9-285k-arrow-lake-lga-1851-processor/p/N82E16819118505

The AMD X3d processors are very good at gaming, but the base processors were better for general use.

To do better with AMD, a motherboard platform change is needed. Ditto for Intel in the future since the lga 1851 looks like it will have a limited life also.

If you have a need now, buy now.
If you wait for the next best thing, you will wait forever.
New and better price performers are constantly being introduced.

 

[Aeacus]

User reviews on newegg are quite positive about the ultra chips.
https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-ultra-9-285k-arrow-lake-lga-1851-processor/p/N82E16819118505

Yes, and so does the other poor hardware in retail store feedback.
E.g Apevia Galaxy PSU,
amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Apevia-ATX-GX650W-Galaxy-Certified-Semi-Modular/dp/B094278HKG?th=1

Retail store customer feedback is the worst info source for products. Many reviews are fake/bot generated. Then, there are payed reviews as well. And many are also posted by folks who know little about said products. Moreover, retail stores can delete honest feedback as well. E.g amazon deleted my, purchase verified, honest feedback about AeroCool X-Vision fan controller. Reason - just because.

Proper source of info about any product is 3rd party unbiased review, especially reputable review.

 

[CelicaGT]

I'm running the same basic system, R7 5800X3D but 4070 Ti non Super. There is only one case where my CPU is the limiter and that's MSFS2020 where the CPU (no matter what it is) is nearly always the limiting component. The 5800X3D already being such a strong part I doubt you'd see any benefit to a platform upgrade yet, or until you upgrade the GPU to something substantially faster. Doubly so if you are going to 4K, where the CPU will be even less of a factor. I'm at 1440p, 165Hz (frame rate varies, capped at 165 for those games that can achieve it) and my CPU does little more than idle most of the time gaming, with all core spikes during loads and transitions.

 

[geofelt]

Yes, and so does the other poor hardware in retail store feedback.
E.g Apevia Galaxy PSU,
amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Apevia-ATX-GX650W-Galaxy-Certified-Semi-Modular/dp/B094278HKG?th=1

Retail store customer feedback is the worst info source for products. Many reviews are fake/bot generated. Then, there are payed reviews as well. And many are also posted by folks who know little about said products. Moreover, retail stores can delete honest feedback as well. E.g amazon deleted my, purchase verified, honest feedback about AeroCool X-Vision fan controller. Reason - just because.

Proper source of info about any product is 3rd party unbiased review, especially reputable review.

Newegg can filter reports only on verified buyers.
I would agree that Amazon reviews are suspect.

 

[Aeacus]

Newegg can filter reports only on verified buyers.

In the Egg, U9 285K has 81 reviews, with average at 4.7.
R7 9800X3D in the Egg has 357 reviews, with average at 4.8 and is also "Best Seller",
link: https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-7-...-zen-5-socket-am5-processor/p/N82E16819113877

So, based on the Egg alone, which CPU is better? I'd say R7 9800X3D and miles as well.

 

[geofelt]

If you look closely, there are not 81 reviews for the the 285K. Actual number is 27. The average review is 4.9
There was only one zero egg review who was complaining about how newegg Canada delivery was stolen from his front door.
9800X3d reviews had some negative reviews relating to DOA
Tom's reported on that:
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-com...r-100-cases-documented-based-on-user-feedback

Problems are likely with ANY new product.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Do you now own the parts listed in the original post?
In what way is your current system not doing the job?

The system in my original post is my current system. That motherboard I bought in 2018, and I have no complaints in system performance or capability. I don't see the benefits of PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 for my use cases, and I don't seek the highest frames, because frames are sufficient to not notice a difference. Also, I would like a 4K gaming monitor at some point, so that further minimizes CPU importance for gaming.

You all practically answered the question I had. If I want better performance, there are options. However, my performance is not lacking in my opinion. So, I have no need to upgrade.