Poll: Upgrade or replace? Unique situation for me.

[Blaylock]

So, sadly my better than average i7-8700k has taken the long rest. Naturally it is still under warranty but Intel currently does not have any in stock so they offered me a refund. My question is should I buy a direct replacement 8700K, upgrade(ish) to an i7-9700k, switch to a Ryzen 7 2700x, or wait another 3 weeks for a new Ryzen 5 3600x?

The rig is a multi-purpose one for me. I use it for gaming (Diablo3, Doom, Warhammer 3 Vermintide, ect), light office stuff, and Handbrake.

Current Specs:
Case: Phanteks Evolv ITX TG
CPU: i7-8700k ([email protected])
MB: Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming ITX/ac
Ram: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x8GB 3200 CL16
GPU: Gigabyte 2070 Gaming OC 8Gb
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 256GB
Media storage: 4TB Network storage

Custom Loop:
Radiators: 2x240mm 35mm thick (1 swiftech, 1 XSPC)
CPU Block: EKWB Supremacy EVO full copper
Pump/res: EKWB 140 X-Res D5 CSQ (w/XSPC D5 pump)
Tubing: Primochill ADV LRT Blk1/2" ID 3/4" OD
Coolant: TBD (Currently distilled w/silver)
Fans: 4x Cougar Turbine Blk/Blk CF-T12SB4

What do you all think?

 

[bigtallanddopey]

It’s tempting to say wait for zen2 benchmarks if you can. If you are willing to go to the best performance for your budget then waiting maybe best. Especially as AMD have shown the 3700x beating the 9700k. Obviously that will need independently verifying.

The obvious downside is you need a new motherboard. But i suppose you will need that for the 9700k too.

 

[Blaylock]

I agree with you BT&D. The $140ish motherboard replacement would be doable in my current situation. Otherwise this would be a much simpler decision.

Actually 8th and 9th gen INtel CPU's are interchangable. So, my current motherboard would still work fine for a 9700k.

 

[bigtallanddopey]

Actually 8th and 9th gen INtel CPU's are interchangable. So, my current motherboard would still work fine for a 9700k.

I remember now, it was the 9900k you ideally needed a new board for. Mainly for the extra power requirements at high frequencies.

Yeh it would be an easy decision if you couldn’t get the motherboard. And it would also be an easy decision if zen2 was 2-4 months away.

 

[Bustos]

If you were happy with the i7-8700k, I'd say stick with it. Was it bottle-necking anything? Not seeing much in the way of performance gains with the i7-9700k that makes the jump up worth it, imho.

 

[Blaylock]

In game performance was great. No issues there. With handbrake any improvement is worth it as it was far more demanding than any game I play, also pushed the temps to the max.

 

[don256us]

For me, the cheaper entry into large numbers of PCIe lanes and M.2 NVMe cards, higher core count and low TDP is why I'm waiting for the Zen2 core to come out. I personally may stick with a gen1 Threadripper for my daily rig for those reasone hoping that Zen2 will cause Zen1 to drop in price.

Ryzen7 3700x looks to be a winner to me. Higher core count lower TDP than the 3600x same boost speed at 4.4.

 

[maxfly]

the economic route is to stick with the 8700 or go with 9700. waiting for zen2 is by far the most exciting route but far more expensive due to needing a new mb and cpu block. tough choice man!

 

[UltraTaco]

Bigger question is how did you make a poll?!

I'd stick with intel since you already have mobo...besides, who would want that dreaded rebuild? Easier to do a drop in replacement
Wait, how much is that 9700k? Because I voted for it and dunno how much extra you'll pay.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Upgrade.
You know you want new Ryzen.

 

[Alaric]

.besides, who would want that dreaded rebuild?

Almost every single person at OCF.

 

[Blaylock]

Thank you for the replies. Here are some of my further thoughts as well as some more info.

@Don the extra pcie Lanes won't help in my case as it's itx and I'll only have 1 drive installed.

@maxfly I can reuse my supremacy Evo. I'll just need to order an AM4 mounting plate for $6.50. No worries. As far s the MB I consider a $140ish board to be a cheap cost for an upgrade.

@scotty & Alaric, if it sounds like I'm trying to talk myself into it you'd be right. I posted here to see if my desire for new gear is a sound choice. The gear bug is a big one for us.

@Taco. At the very bottom of New post is the option to make it a poll. Make your post and enter and it will take you to a section that allows you to pose your question and choices.

 

[Bustos]

Where is the $140 number coming from for a mobo? x570 mobos are going to be pricey. I assume we're talking about the 3600x since no one has voted for the 2700x.

 

[Blaylock]

Since I'll only use a single gpu with this build I won't need anything more than a b350/b450 motherboard. Here's my choice of I were to buy today. $120. Naturally I would wait and see what the new boards be to offer but from what I've read the latest chipset has a higher voltage draw from the massive increase in lanes. That's just going to equate to extra heat in a small case.

 

[Robert17]

Sounds like the "more cowbell" fever is gonna win this one.

 

[UltraTaco]

No one likes i7 9700k? it will too fit his existing bored...
Pretty sure extra 2 cores will win out over extra 4 threads, given ips improvememt..

 

[Woomack]

No one likes i7 9700k? it will too fit his existing bored...
Pretty sure extra 2 cores will win out over extra 4 threads, given ips improvememt..

IPC improvement is like non-existent, 2 more cores are not faster in multithreaded operations in this case. I still have 8086K and 9700K (sold 9900K as it was a total pain and I maxed it out in benchmarks anyway) and I wouldn't pick 9700K over 8086K because of higher temps (maybe my luck), worse overclocking and worse IMC. Of course it's a matter of luck but why stay in the same place when can move to a new generation CPU which will heat up less and probably offer higher performance? (I mean new Ryzen).

I wouldn't buy any Gigabyte motherboard for a new Ryzen without a long list of confirmed stability. There are too many issues with random Gigabyte boards and I just don't trust them. It's mostly because of power section and memory support issues which are sometimes fixed and sometimes Gigabyte simply drops support and releases new revision of the same motherboard.
X570 motherboards are ready for some time. It's just that CPU premiere won't let them hit the market earlier. I will probably get some review samples but not sure what (probably one higher ITX and one ATX mobos). I guess I won't buy anything additional if prices will be like expected.

 

[Johan45]

I would go for a Zen2 but the iTX format is typically released later than sooner so you might be waiting 2-3 months. Or just get a real board LoL

 

[UltraTaco]

But isn't itx a real board?

 

[Johan45]

But isn't itx a real board?

It's just a baby! Besides, it was supposed to be funny.