Upgrading PC. Need help

[Sembo]

Hello everyone!

My current rig is:

CPU: i5-2500K OC @4.2Ghz
GPU: Nvidia Asus Strix 970 4Gb
RAM: DDR3 16GB Kingston Genesis
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Gene Z77
WaterCooler: Corsair GTX110i
PSU: Thermaltake 750W
Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos

The current monitor resolution is 1920x1080 at 60Hz

Here are a few builds i have in mind:

a)

CPU: i7-8700K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

b)

CPU: i5-8600K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

c)

CPU: i7-6700K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IX Formula
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

d)

CPU: i5-6600K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

e)

CPU: i7-7700K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IX Hero
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

f)

CPU: i7-7600K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Asus Maximus IX Hero
Watercooler: Same as origin
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

So...my question is which one of the above (or if you have a better advice) should i go for keeping in mind the screen resolution will be the same, i plan on keeping the new build over 2 years,
best cost effective option, exclusively gaming PC with the latest games able to run at Ultra 1080 @60 fps. I do not care about 4K!

Thanks in advance!
Cheers

 

[trents]

You say nothing about budget constraints so we assume that is not an issue. One thing I would say without hesitation is that you don't want to spend that kind of money for old tech. So I see no point in going with the Skylake or Kaby Lake platform unless that is, there are budget restraints. So go with either of the two builds at the top of your list, a or b. With present day games you will see no difference in frame rates with the 8700k v. the 8600k since the 8600k has six real cores now instead of the 4 cores in Sky and Kaby. My only suggestion would be to bump the video card up to a 1080 or 1080i. The GTX 1070 is getting a little long in the tooth. So if money is the issue, consider going with the 8600k instead of t he 8700k and use the savings to move up to a better video card.

 

[Sembo]

You are absolutely right i forgot the budget! The budget it around 1.500 Euro/ 1.800 Dollars / 1.350 Pounds if i did the conversions right!

- - - Updated - - -

You say nothing about budget constraints so we assume that is not an issue. One thing I would say without hesitation is that you don't want to spend that kind of money for old tech. So I see no point in going with the Skylake or Kaby Lake platform unless that is, there are budget restraints. So go with either of the two builds at the top of your list, a or b. With present day games you will see no difference in frame rates with the 8700k v. the 8600k since the 8600k has six real cores now instead of the 4 cores in Sky and Kaby. My only suggestion would be to bump the video card up to a 1080 or 1080i. The GTX 1070 is getting a little long in the tooth. So if money is the issue, consider going with the 8600k instead of t he 8700k and use the savings to move up to a better video card.

How about threads? I mean logic says gaming from now on will be more thread heavy (i hope). With that in mind would it be more ''correct'' to go for the 8700k or not?

 

[Johan45]

The 8600K will be fine for years to come thread wise, six real cores will be plenty. Also the 1070 is a great 1080p card

 

[wingman99]

It's going to take a long time for games to need more than 6 cores 6 threads at 1080p 60 FPS. I'm on a 4 core 4 thread i5 7600k for gaming and doing smooth as butter with the GTX 1070. I would go for B, it will last 3+ years.

 

[EarthDog]

The 8600K will be fine for years to come thread wise, six real cores will be plenty. Also the 1070 is a great 1080p card

This.

If it came down to a 1080 or 1070 vs a 8600K and 8700K, I would go down to 8600K for sure to get a 1080... if its primary use is gaming. That said, a 1070 is arguably the sweetspot for 1080p 60hz gaming at this time (talking 60 FPS+ High/Ultra + AA).

 

[Sembo]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I really appreciate it! I will probably go for

CPU: i5-8600K
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming
Watercooler: Corsair GTX110i
PSU: Same as origin
Case: Same as origin

Two last questions...1) Will the Corsair watercooler that i currently have(Corsair GTX110i) be able to handle the i5-8600k or should i change that? 2) Will the Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming and i5-8600k combo have any difficulties in the OC? Aiming for 4.7Ghz-5Ghz OC.

Cheers!

 

[trents]

The Corsair GTX 110i should be adequate for cooling the 8600k overclocked.

Which Coolermaster Cosmos case do you have? There are several versions of that one. Just do your research and make sure the GTX 110i radiator will fit in the case.

 

[Johan45]

Your cooler will be fine and the board OCs well, only limitation I found was memory speed it'll handle 3600 just fine

 

[EarthDog]

Two last questions...1) Will the Corsair watercooler that i currently have(Corsair GTX110i) be able to handle the i5-8600k or should i change that? 2) Will the Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming and i5-8600k combo have any difficulties in the OC? Aiming for 4.7Ghz-5Ghz OC.

It should, yes. You may be on the lower end of that range... it will depend on the quality of the CPU (what voltage it needs to reach those clocks), not the board though.

 

[Sembo]

The Corsair GTX 110i should be adequate for cooling the 8600k overclocked.

Which Coolermaster Cosmos case do you have? There are several versions of that one. Just do your research and make sure the GTX 110i radiator will fit in the case.

I already own the GTX 110i and fits OK!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Understood! Thanks a lot for the help once again! Highly appreciate it!

Final build i ll go for:

CPU: i5-8600k
GPU: Nvidia 1070
RAM: DDR4 16Gb Corsair or Kingston(2x8)
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z370 F-Gaming
WaterCooler: Corsair GTX110i
PSU: Thermaltake 750W
Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos

Cheers and thanks again!

 

[Suppressor1137]

1600x+ Ryzen with a B350 is also a solid option, But the 8600k is very good as well. It will serve you well!

 

[corpsejockey]

Edit: Option c Skylake and kabylake aint going to work on a z370 board afaik. (Without bios/microcode/me hack). Otherwise, final build looks good. Nothing wrong with a 1070, but I caution purchase atm cause of market price. My personal preference would be to upgrade platform to the best I could and hang on to that 970 till a good deal came along.

 

[trents]

I agree with corpsejockey about hanging onto the 970 until GPU prices come down. The 970 is not an irrelevant card by any means. The last several video cards I have purchased I resold on Ebay for more than I paid for them new.

 

[deathman20]

From a fellow i5 2500k that I just upgraded last year to a i7 6700k and really liked the jump. Speed boost, extra tech on the board, and liked the hyper threading aspect for additional performance especially in some games today. As well I do 1080p to 4k for res and VR so extra CPU threads/performance is very beneficial to me.

i5 8600k will prove nicely, while only 1080p is your goal, having a little extra headroom is nice. 1080 would be ideal with the performance or maybe even a 1070ti might suite you well and last you for a few years, but that is IF you can actually find them for proper prices.

 

[Sembo]

Hello again.

A couple of you guys keep saying that i should wait for the gpu prices to drop and that i should keep the 970. However, my question is, wouldnt the 970 bottleneck the i5-8600k?

Cheers

 

[deathman20]

Hello again.
A couple of you guys keep saying that i should wait for the gpu prices to drop and that i should keep the 970. However, my question is, wouldnt the 970 bottleneck the i5-8600k?
Cheers

Depends what your games your playing. The CPU could very well hold you back on some things and the GPU will hold you back in others. Since you only have a 60Hz display most likely the GPU will do pretty well keeping pace with some adjustments to keep it at 60FPS. If you really want that GPU and are keen on spending 60-100% markup on a GPU, go ahead. Though if you can hold off at least buying the GPU right now and do it later, continue with the build you'll still see an improvement in some things.

 

[corpsejockey]

Hello again.

A couple of you guys keep saying that i should wait for the gpu prices to drop and that i should keep the 970. However, my question is, wouldnt the 970 bottleneck the i5-8600k?

Cheers

If its in the budget, and you want it now, go for it. I'm just speaking personal opinion on current gpu market. 1070 is going for between 1080 and 1080ti price atm. $600 for a new 1070 now or wait it out a month or 2 for sanity to prevail or a good used deal to come along could net you a couple hundred in savings or better yet a stronger card for the same price. Again, that's completely personal opinion and I don't think there's too much harm in getting what you want now if you got the scratch and a couple hundred doesn't bother you.

 

[wingman99]

Hello again.

A couple of you guys keep saying that i should wait for the gpu prices to drop and that i should keep the 970. However, my question is, wouldnt the 970 bottleneck the i5-8600k?

Cheers

It depends on if the games you play, if they can use 6 threads with increased performance. All you need to do is look at the gaming benchmarks for coffee lake. links for all the benchmarks: https://www.techspot.com/review/1505-intel-core-8th-gen-vs-amd-ryzen/ also https://www.techspot.com/review/1546-intel-2nd-gen-core-i7-vs-8th-gen/

 

[EarthDog]

However, my question is, wouldnt the 970 bottleneck the i5-8600k?

To answer the question as asked, video cards have nothing to do with bottlenecking a CPU. The only limit a video card puts on your system is how many FPS it can achieve in games.