Question Upgrading to a better CPU?

[lukadebevec366]

Hello!

I've recently bought an NVIDIA 1070 Ti GPU since my old R9 390 died and I noticed a CPU bottleneck in various applications or games. I've decided to upgrade my CPU from my old i5 6600k to an i7. I have a GIGABYTE Z170X GAMING 5 motherboard which supports a 6700k or a 7700k processor. I've looked at the prices on Amazon and found that 6700k is around 50$ cheaper. I wonder if it's worth saving 50 bucks and losing some performance and going for the 6700k. I also saw that 9700k retails for the same price as the 7700k at around 350$ but I would need a new motherboard for that and I'm not sure if it's worth the cost since I mostly do gaming on my computer and I don't know if I would notice a big enough improvment with the 9700k that it would be worth spending extra 150$ or200$ for a new motherboard.

I'm also looking at Ryzen 3600 (190$) and Ryzen 3600x (240$).

I would like your opinion on this and which CPU would be a better fit for my needs.

If you have any other questions about my build feel free to ask

 

[vMax]

This is a tough one...The 6600K is still a good gaming CPU and if you have not overclocked it, do overclock as it will definitely overclock very well and get more out of the 1070Ti. The 6700K and 7700K are very similar so I would save the money and get the 6700K and just overclock though only if you are getting it cheap....and go second hand if you can for a 7700K! This will be the most cost effective route.

Otherwise I would look to the Ryzen 3rd gen if you go for a complete overhaul in CPU and motherboard. The 3600 instead of the 3600X is the better option as again overclocking will get you to the 3600X. Couple the 3600 to a B450 motherboard like the Tomahawk and you are good to go at quiet a low cost. The 9700K is a beast for gaming though you will be paying a significant premium but it will get the best out of the 1070Ti and provide the best FPS.

Choices, choices!!!!

 

[lukadebevec366]

This is a tough one...The 6600K is still a good gaming CPU and if you have not overclocked it, do overclock as it will definitely overclock very well and get more out of the 1070Ti. The 6700K and 7700K are very similar so I would save the money and get the 6700K and just overclock though only if you are getting it cheap....and go second hand if you can for a 7700K! This will be the most cost effective route.

Otherwise I would look to the Ryzen 3rd gen if you go for a complete overhaul in CPU and motherboard. The 3600 instead of the 3600X is the better option as again overclocking will get you to the 3600X. Couple the 3600 to a B450 motherboard like the Tomahawk and you are good to go at quiet a low cost. The 9700K is a beast for gaming though you will be paying a significant premium but it will get the best out of the 1070Ti and provide the best FPS.

Choices, choices!!!!

Was asking the same question on reddit and some guys also recommended me a 3600 with a B450 motherboard. It costs 150$ dollars less than i7 7700k or 9700k and the performance per $ is also much higher in my opinion. I'm not sure if it getting the 9700k would be worth considering I would have to pay 150$ for the CPU alone.

 

[j3ster]

well you would have bottleneck since there would always be one depending on use case, but by bottleneck what do you mean? 100% cpu usage and a lowered gpu usage in games?
but which resolution do you play at?
and what is your whole system specs?

i used to have i7 3820 with a gtx 1070 ti and that cpu is slower than yours in modern standards and it worked well, huge improvement over my r9 290. so i dont see the need in your case to upgrade since i doubt your cpu (which is faster than my old cpu) would be a bottleneck for the 1070 ti in most cases mind you there will always be some form of bottleneck like in BFV i think it likes more cores so if you play that game you might feel the hit so going back to my point i feel like you are still good with your current cpu and gpu combo.

but personally id just save up for a whole new system, probably migrate to ryzen the r5 3600 is the sweet spot the X version is not worth it at all.

other options can be r7 2700 which are a steal for its price and would last you for a while. if you love intel you can also go with 8th gen z370 and 8600k or 8700k kinda expensive route but if all you really do is play games and not do REAL work on your pc this route can be great.




PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.79 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $314.78


*probably the best option in my opinion.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($177.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $297.88


*totally not ideal but i just wanted to show you a intel based upgrade on your system
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($259.99 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($179.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $479.87
(you can chose a different cpu cooler if you want also add 50USD for 8700k if you fancy that)


here are some projections on the pricing you would need to switch to a more modern build this is assuming your powersupply is good enough along with your other components. also to point out Ryzen loves specific ram kits i think you would want to have a samsung memory like the new trident z neo from g.skill to really get the most out of ryzen so you would have to probably buy a new ram kit so it would add somewhere around another 100USD to the ryzen builds.