Is it worth upgrading my build to an i7-9700K from i5-9600K?

[Steven P. Administrators]

I mean the benchmark makes it look like an obvious no-brainer https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-9700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-9600K/4030vs4031

 

My build is the following:

 

Be Quiet Pure Base 500 Tower

Be Quiet! STRAIGHT POWER 11 550W Gold 80Plus

Aorus Z390 Pro WiFi

Intel i5-9600K

32GB DDR4 G.Skill Ripjaw PC3200

KFA2 RTX 2070 SUPER NVIDIA

2x M.2 (Samsung 970 EVO 250GB / Windows) (Intel 660p 1TB)

6TB Toshiba X300

 

I game on a Samsung CRG49 (Quake Champions @ 5120x1440) with FreeSync turned on at 100Hz (10bpc in Nvidia settings) and there's no noticeable lag, it looks great actually because the game supports widescreen 😛 But I can probably get the i7-9700K for around €300 (used) which is making me think about it, store price is still around €400 and up.

[Peresvet]

13 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

I mean the benchmark makes it look like an obvious no-brainer https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-9700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-9600K/4030vs4031

Don't know what you mean there.

 

It's a marginal +5% effective speed improvement at the cost of €300-400.

 

 

 

 

[trag3dy]

It's probably not worth it going by cost alone but if you were to turn around and sell the 9600k to further mitigate the price then maybe.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

I don't think so, unless you are getting down on performance. You can always go with a 2080 Super.

 

But if gaming/video-editing, is not a problem, well, not needed.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

For just gaming ... nope.

For everyday use ... nope.

 

Instead of using userbenchmark ... I would suggest reading reviews of the 9700k/9600k from various tech sites.  Look at their benchmarks and determine if the cost difference is worth it to you.  Even on eBay ... it seems to be around 80-100 bucks difference between selling the 9600k and buying a pre-owned 9700k.  Speaking of buying a pre-owned CPU, well that in and of itself brings a degree of uncertainty (is it *really* a 9700k or some fake/is the used CPU any good/has it been put through the ringer/warranty/etc)...especially the lower the price.  If you know what I mean.  To eliminate that risk .. you'd be looking about a 200 dollar difference (buying a new 9700k and selling the 9600k).  That is still a "nope", IMO.

[SnoopZ]

As others have said, not worth it.

[Mockingbird]

Userbenchmark is a joke.

 

 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

7 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

Userbenchmark is a joke.

 

 

As Jim said, look at several benchmarks, not just one. Gives you a wider idea.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Thanks guys.. I might max out this board later this year with an i9-9900K if those prices come down, seems it would be better to wait for that 😛 

[forster]

You just pre-empted my suggestion of the 9900, not worth the leap for the performance difference! In day to day you probably wouldnt notice much of a difference at all.

 

Intel will have new chips out this year so grab a 9900k once the new chips are out for a discount  

[inactive]

Like mentioned in the first reply... it's clearly not worth it. too much $ for not all that much real world performance gain. save the $ and put it towards future upgrades when you will get a solid performance bump for a reasonable price. it's pretty much all about bang-for-the-buck (or thereabouts) if you ask me as I can't see spending tons of $ on hardware when you can get something fast enough for a fraction the cost.

 

but in general... any decent hardware in fairly recent memory tends to last easily for several years before any real need for a upgrade. like with Intel CPU's... if you got at least a decent i5 range, your easily good enough for years to come as I can't see upgrading to a i7 being worth it overall.

 

p.s. hell, I still have a i3-2120, which I got in May 2012 (CPU is released in Feb 2011 I think), and I am going to try to milk that as far as I can as this way when I do upgrade (say in maybe 2-3+ years), ill get a rather large performance increase for minimal $.

Edited February 1, 2020 by ThaCrip

[forster]

Also, post a pic of your setup in the hardware hangout, that thread is DYYYYING.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

You can always get more  SSD! RAID 0!!!  

[Mockingbird]

3 hours ago, Steven P. said:

Thanks guys.. I might max out this board later this year with an i9-9900K if those prices come down, seems it would be better to wait for that 😛 

 

3 hours ago, forster said:

You just pre-empted my suggestion of the 9900, not worth the leap for the performance difference! In day to day you probably wouldnt notice much of a difference at all.

 

Intel will have new chips out this year so grab a 9900k once the new chips are out for a discount  

 

Intel don't cut prices.

 

That's why Core i7-7700K is still >$300 today.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

10 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

Intel don't cut prices.

 

WHAT?

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/03/intel-core-x-cascade-lake-x-processors

[forster]

32 minutes ago, Mockingbird said:

Intel don't cut prices.

If you say so, a 9700k is just over 300, which is much cheaper than when it first released. In the UK anyway. 9900k is 440, its expensive but not as much as they were at release - obviously YMMV.

 

Personally my latest rig is a Ryzen system, my last intel was a 4770k 5 years ago, it still performs like a champ but I wanted a Team Red system on the DDR4 platform. Its sweet!

[Mockingbird]

40 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said:

WHAT?

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/03/intel-core-x-cascade-lake-x-processors

Intel releases new processors that are cheaper, but it doesn't cut prices of existing processors.

[Mockingbird]

17 minutes ago, forster said:

If you say so, a 9700k is just over 300, which is much cheaper than when it first released. In the UK anyway. 9900k is 440, its expensive but not as much as they were at release - obviously YMMV.

 

Personally my latest rig is a Ryzen system, my last intel was a 4770k 5 years ago, it still performs like a champ but I wanted a Team Red system on the DDR4 platform. Its sweet!

Hmm...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($394.89 @ B&H) 
Total: $394.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-01 16:16 EST-0500

[forster]

Just now, Mockingbird said:

Hmm...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($394.89 @ B&H) 
Total: $394.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-01 16:16 EST-0500

Like I said... your mileage may vary - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-BX80684I79700K-I7-9700K-3-60GHZ-SKT1151-Noir/dp/B07HHN6KBZ

 

I'm not trying to catch you out dude. Prices vary from region to region, god forbid anyone is trying to build a PC in Australia, Id have to remortgage my house  

[Steven P. Administrators]

Yes they tend to hold their price far better than other components, but they do come down..

 

ANYWAY my decision has been made, instead of a CPU upgrade I ordered an NVIDIA Shield (2019) because I am fed up of constant streaming issues with Plex on my Xbox One X, which even Microsoft Devs have confirmed as a bug multiple times but they keep pushing new builds that break it. From one evening to the next after my Xbox seemingly updated I can no longer stream 1080p content without it buffering every 5 mins. My setup is fine, the Plex app on Xbox isn't. 

[Mockingbird]

4 minutes ago, forster said:

Like I said... your mileage may vary - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-BX80684I79700K-I7-9700K-3-60GHZ-SKT1151-Noir/dp/B07HHN6KBZ

 

I'm not trying to catch you out dude. Prices vary from region to region, god forbid anyone is trying to build a PC in Australia, Id have to remortgage my house  

With prices like that, no wonder that AMD is outselling Intel by 6:1

[forster]

4 minutes ago, Steven P. said:

Yes they tend to hold their price far better than other components, but they do come down..

 

ANYWAY my decision has been made, instead of a CPU upgrade I ordered an NVIDIA Shield (2019) because I am fed up of constant streaming issues with Plex on my Xbox One X, which even Microsoft Devs have confirmed as a bug multiple times but they keep pushing new builds that break it. From one evening to the next after my Xbox seemingly updated I can no longer stream 1080p content without it buffering every 5 mins. My setup is fine, the Plex app on Xbox isn't. 

Nice, Id love a shield - I run a Plex server on my WD PR4100 NAS, and client on my Apple TV and it's rock solid. If I had a shield I'd stock it full of emulators and roms and make it be my retro gaming bizztch  

[Steven P. Administrators]

4 minutes ago, forster said:

Nice, Id love a shield - I run a Plex server on my WD PR4100 NAS, and client on my Apple TV and it's rock solid. If I had a shield I'd stock it full of emulators and roms and make it be my retro gaming bizztch  

Yeah I am looking forward to just being able to throw content at it, Plex on Xbox is rubbish, the settings menu crashes and can only be recovered by force quitting the app and the reopening it, so that along with all the streaming bugs is doing my head in.

 

My TV is actually an Android TV but the Plex app on that does not pass through Dolby Atmos/digital properly to my receiver so I can't even default to using that.

 

I'm also going to do this for my Xbox One S upstairs in my bedroom, since that trick works for non HDR content (no good for the Xbox One X 4K setup).

 

Copying for reference:

• Install Kodi on your Xbox One
• Launch Kodi, goto addons; search for Plex and install Plex
• Run Plex Addon
• In Plex settings enable X265
• In Plex settings set remote quality to original
• Set Plex addon to run at Kodi startup.

[Daniel F. Administrators]

20 hours ago, Steven P. said:

Yes they tend to hold their price far better than other components, but they do come down..

 

ANYWAY my decision has been made, instead of a CPU upgrade I ordered an NVIDIA Shield (2019) because I am fed up of constant streaming issues with Plex on my Xbox One X, which even Microsoft Devs have confirmed as a bug multiple times but they keep pushing new builds that break it. From one evening to the next after my Xbox seemingly updated I can no longer stream 1080p content without it buffering every 5 mins. My setup is fine, the Plex app on Xbox isn't. 

You'll love it, its own built in plex server is nice and smooth. I rarely watch terrestrial tv anymore I just stream everything

 

 oh and while it's still free in beta, geforce stream gaming is way way better than stadia too!

[Steven P. Administrators]

4 hours ago, Daniel F. said:

You'll love it, its own built in plex server is nice and smooth. I rarely watch terrestrial tv anymore I just stream everything

 

 oh and while it's still free in beta, geforce stream gaming is way way better than stadia too!

Yeah I just signed up to it, will have a look at it tomorrow