Question Would it be horrible to pair an i5 8400 with a 7700xt or 7800xt?

[CoffeeStoreGuy]

How much of the performance of the card would be hit? I have a friend who is selling these cards barely used cheaper way cheaper than what they were at retail, and I've seen him use these cards. They basically sat in a pc unused. Although if I buy one of these cards I'm probably not going to have money for months for a new mobo and cpu.

I'm going to be playing most games at 1440p ultra mainly to avoid CPU bottleneck. How bad would it be if I did this?

 

[logainofhades]

A CPU bottleneck will not hurt anything, so don't worry about it. Get the best GPU your budget and power supply can handle, and reuse the GPU when you can get a new motherboard and cpu.

 

[Eximo]

Doesn't really matter. If they are good deal it won't hurt you to have the powerful GPU. Long as you have a decent enough PSU to run it.

It entirely depends on the game and the settings. You might be able to get away with all the eye candy if the CPU is the frame limit.

Worrying about bottlenecking is more about when putting together a new system. Don't want to leave performance on the table for many years.

 

[CoffeeStoreGuy]

A CPU bottleneck will not hurt anything, so don't worry about it. Get the best GPU your budget and power supply can handle, and reuse the GPU when you can get a new motherboard and cpu.

How much performance would I be leaving on the table though? I was watching a benchmark with a 4070 super on YouTube and he was getting 60 - 90fps at 1080p. Which I'll be playing at 1440p to help with it, but I don't know how much that will help.

 

[logainofhades]

1440p will lessen the CPU bottleneck, vs 1080p. Again, I wouldn't worry about it. Get the 7800xt and enjoy it.

 

[Eximo]

You'll get what you get. If the short term plan is to replace the CPU, don't worry about it.

If that system is similar to yours, and the GPU you get can handle 1440p at that FPS in that game, then you will see the same FPS. If in that scenario it was actually 1080 Ultra with Ray Tracing and everything on, then maybe less with a 7800XT since Nvidia is generally better at ray tracing.

Would need the specific game, settings, and hardware to get more into it.

 

[CoffeeStoreGuy]

I'm currently using an i5 8400, but I can get this 7800xt from my friend for significantly lower than current retail price and it's barely used, but I might be able to scrounge enough money to buy a decent CPU for my current socket. Then save up for the next 6 months for a better CPU and motherboard.

What is a decent CPU for my current socket? Or does it matter? Would it even put a dent in the bottleneck my current CPU will provide? Budget $150

Here is my current setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hHs9KX

 

[Eximo]

i7-8700k, basically adds hyperthreading, 6 cores, 12 threads, compared to your six cores six threads.
i9-9900k, 8 cores, 16 threads assuming the motherboard has BIOS support for it.

Would help if you mentioned the board.

Either change would also need a change in CPU cooler.

I should add, that the cost of these CPUs may exceed the purchase of something like an i5-12400 and a new motherboard.

 

[CoffeeStoreGuy]

i7-8700k, basically adds hyperthreading, 6 cores, 12 threads, compared to your six cores six threads.
i9-9900k, 8 cores, 16 threads assuming the motherboard has BIOS support for it.

Would help if you mentioned the board.

Either change would also need a change in CPU cooler.

I should add, that the cost of these CPUs may exceed the purchase of something like an i5-12400 and a new motherboard.

Here is the current motherboard I have: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QD...-atx-lga1151-motherboard-mpg-z390-gaming-plus

I'm not sure if I'm able to use the refresh of the CPUs or not. Not sure if I could afford an i9-9900k.

 

[Eximo]

That motherboard would support all the LGA1151_v1 CPUs. 9900k isn't really the wise choice and the 8700k is only a minor improvement.

As a comparison, the i5-12400 outperforms the i9-9900k

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...i9-9900K-vs-Intel-i5-12400-vs-Intel-i5-12600K

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($132.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $222.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-12-12 14:03 EST-0500

Ebay for the 9900k is looking to be about $200-250

 

[CoffeeStoreGuy]

That motherboard would support all the LGA1151_v1 CPUs. 9900k isn't really the wise choice and the 8700k is only a minor improvement.

As a comparison, the i5-12400 outperforms the i9-9900k

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...i9-9900K-vs-Intel-i5-12400-vs-Intel-i5-12600K

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($132.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $222.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-12-12 14:03 EST-0500

Ebay for the 9900k is looking to be about $200-250

I'll just buy the card and then worry about the CPU and mobo later. Thanks for the responses guys. Looking at 3dmark benchmarks right now and it is still a substantial upgrade over my current setup.

 

[80251]

There are 9900ks that are being auctioned on ebay for $52 and some for < $150. Buying such an old CPU now though wouldn't seem to be a very good idea.

 

[Eximo]

There are 9900ks that are being auctioned on ebay for $52 and some for < $150. Buying such an old CPU now though wouldn't seem to be a very good idea.

Pay attention to where they ship from. Bidding is low because they come from China so not only will it take a long time to get it, but the shipping costs are likely to be high.

I certainly wouldn't these days. 12th gen chips are still plentiful new and the DDR4 boards are still available for now.