Question Upgrading from an i7-7700K, limited budget over the course of a few months ?

[ccoo84]

Hello, I have a RTX 3090, EVGA 1000w PSU, a i7 7700k CPU & 32GB of DDR4.
I want to upgrade my 4 core CPU, but only have a few hundred dollars left over per month to buy parts.. That is like the motherboard then the CPU & then the Ram.

I am wondering what I should upgrade to I want at least 8cores & have the CPU/Mother board last a few years with the option to be upgradeable.

What should I get as far as the CPU to stay relevent & worth the investment, at this point I don't mind going AMD or Intel.
I have a CPU bottleneck right now at 4k gaming.

 

[faalin]

Given the rest of your specs...

I would go with a i7 12700k with a Asus TUF Gaming H670-pro wifi D4 this will let you retain your DDR4 ram along with your GPU and PSU.

Your other move would be to an AMD AM4 platform but they are picky on ram so your ram might not work. To be fully upgradeable down the road you would need to move to the AM5 socket and AMD will have that around for another 2-3 years at least. Downside is you will need to change your ram for DDR5. Intel still seams to only keep a socket for a few years while AMD tend to keep them for a lot longer.

 

[ccoo84]

Yeah thank you so much for the reply, I will look into that CPU.

 

[Bob.B]

Yeah thank you so much for the reply, I will look into that CPU.

Think you will find that the cpu and mobo will need to be replaced as a combo.

 

[geofelt]

It is unusual for a cpu to be the performance limiter at 4K gaming.
Usually the graphics card is.

Try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

Your I7-7700K has 4 cores, but 8 processing threads. That is usually enough for most games.
It is the strongest processor supported by your motherboard.
What is the make/model of your motherboard?
If it is a Z170 motherboard, you can probably overclock your processor for perhaps a 35% cpu boost.

Past that, you are looking not only at a cpu upgrade, but also a motherboard and possibly a ram upgrade.

 

[PiersPlowman]

Your other move would be to an AMD AM4 platform but they are picky on ram so your ram might not work.

Run the RAM at JEDEC defaults and it will be okay in pretty much any system. With an XMP profile maybe, maybe not - but that is the same for any given system.

It is better to say that if you are planning to *overclock* your RAM, AMD is more picky.

Other than that, I agree with your post.

 

[logainofhades]

It is unusual for a cpu to be the performance limiter at 4K gaming.
Usually the graphics card is.

Try this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

Your I7-7700K has 4 cores, but 8 processing threads. That is usually enough for most games.
It is the strongest processor supported by your motherboard.
What is the make/model of your motherboard?
If it is a Z170 motherboard, you can probably overclock your processor for perhaps a 35% cpu boost.

Past that, you are looking not only at a cpu upgrade, but also a motherboard and possibly a ram upgrade.

It's not that unusual with more modern titles wanting more resources than a 4c/8t cpu can provide. Games have become more CPU dependent as of late. Cyberpunk can nearly fully utilize an 8 core cpu now, for instance.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/cyberpunk-2077-phantom-liberty-will-be-very-cpu-intensive


A 3300x was about on par with a 7700k, and even with a 3080, said 3300x was starting to show some performance dip, vs a 10900k. The fact they have a 3090 would widen that gap.

Even a 12600k had a slight lead over 10th gen, with a 3080, at 4k.

OP, I would say a 12700k with a DDR4 Z690/Z790 board would be a perfect fit for your 3090, if you don't plan on a GPU upgrade anytime soon. Would save a considerable amount of money not needing to buy ram too.


PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($219.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 S WIFI DDR4 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $339.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-07 19:21 EDT-0400


If you want something with an upgrade path, and can afford to, AM5 is the way to go.


PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($302.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B850 LiveMixer WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $575.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-07 19:24 EDT-0400

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I agree. Get an i7 12700 series cpu and ddr4 board.

 

[thestryker]

Without knowing the specifics of your DRAM I'm not sure keeping it is a great long term plan. If keeping it isn't a great option then moving on to a DDR5 system is going to be a better choice. If you're considering Intel's LGA 1700 platform it's not likely to have anything down the road which makes sense to get over what is available now (I highly doubt a 12 P-core part is going to matter at all for gaming).

If your current DRAM is good enough speed and latency wise then buying a 12700K system with DDR4 is definitely going to be the best route from a value perspective.

LGA 1700 can use either DDR4 or DDR5 depending on the motherboard selection with DDR5 as the better choice for overall performance.

Buying a new AM4 setup at this point doesn't really make a whole lot of sense given that anything on LGA 1700 is going to be faster and can still use DDR4 if that's on the table.

AM5 will have the best longevity of any current platform as it should support Zen 6 at the very least (one further generation beyond what is available now). Looking at current pricing if you're set on getting an 8 core part the 9700X as suggested above would be the way to go (based on current US pricing).

Keep in mind you'll also likely need to buy a new CPU cooler no matter which you go with so keep that in mind budget wise. Thermalright's Peerless Assassin, Phantom Spirit and Royal Knight are all good budget dual tower coolers which should be more than sufficient for any CPU you're looking at.

 

[ccoo84]

Wow guys thank you for responding, I really noticed this when I turned on Oblivion Remastered for the first time. it gave me a warning that the game requires 6 or more cpu units. to quote it exactly.. I am looking at maybe biting the bullet & buying a AM5 board with ddr 5 one month then getting a AMD processor the following. I like the idea of upgrading & not finding myself in the same predicament in a year or so.

 

[ccoo84]

I have the ASUS Strix z270h gaming motherboard.