I am trying to help my friend upgrade from my old rig. He is currently using a 4770k, 32gb 2133 ddr3 ram, and a 3070ti. He will only be using this pc for gaming.
He games at 1440p 175hz. Would like the cheapest possible cpu, mobo, and ram upgrade that will last a good a mount of time without needing to be replaced soon. Currently he is unable to play battlefield redsec because of stupid tmp 2.0 requirement. His current mobo has a tpm header, but I do not think a 2.0 tpm chip will work on it(uncertain).
I do have a spare ddr4 3600 16gb kit laying around that he could use if needed to help keep costs down(if you think 16gb is still enough in 2025/2026). I know dual channel is better than quad channel. I feel like 32gb ram and 8 cores is the new standard(I could be wrong). I would like to try to get as many newer features as possible to prolong the life of the system. Meaning tpm 2.0 built into the mobo, 2 or 2.5gbps Ethernet port, as many m.2 slots and pcie lanes as possible(I know this costs more),etc if possible.
I am open to all suggestions or advise. No rush on getting this now. Probably will wait until the holiday sales. Just trying to see what I should keep an eye out for. We live next to microcenter so their bundle deals seem to be the best currently.
AMD https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/bundle-and-save.aspx
Intel https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/intel-bundle-and-save.aspx
Considering this or the bundles at microcenter(7600x3d, 7700x, 9700x, ultra 7 265kf, 12900k)
Either work off, the Intel Z690 [DDR4] or AMD 550/570 platform
thanks I will look into this.
Is “Upgrade CPU to latest and greatest in 2028” good enough?
In that case, a Ryzen 5 9600X + 32 GB of RAM + B850 motherboard is possibly the best deal you can get today, that will last you for quite a while. Cost is roughly $200 for the CPU, $150 for a decent B850 mobo like the ASRock B850 Pro RS WiFi, and another $175 for memory, with a total of $525-ish.
Microcenter 9900X + MSI Tomahawk bundle for $500 seems like a really good value proposition, too. Not a huge fan of paying $200 extra for Corsair memory, but for $700 you will have a great PC core that could possibly last until the AM7 socket is released (AM6 is rumored to be released in 2027-2028 sometime, with AM7 following 2032-ish?)
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you do not like any of these options to save some money? Was hoping to spend $300-400.
Seems like you would recommend newer models which I agree with, but cost is first priority. If going with the 9xxx series I like the current price for microcenter 9700x bundle.
Like I mentioned before I will try to hold off until holiday sales to hopefully get costs down and or more performance.
The above bundles are perfectly fine, but, they will not last you long enough.
An AM4 build with a 5700X and B550 board is possible but will only be a good PC until AM6 comes out… 3 years from now.
AM5 is better, but since you want something that last 9700X is probably going to necessitate an upgrade once AM6 is out, again - however then you only need to upgrade CPU and ride AM5 until AM7 is out. Better then to pay $350 for a decent B850 Motherboard and a 9600X, than $350 for a bad Motherboard and great CPU.
A 9900X is possibly good enough to last until AM7, but yeah that will get expensive, unfortunately.
The big cost driver right now is the RAM - 32 Gb went as low as $80, now AI is pressing prices up up up to double and beyond.
Well, I do have a 16gb kit laying around I could give him for free to keep costs down if you think 16gb is enough for right now. Might be able to wait until 32gb kits go down. Right now I see a decent 32gb kit for $100-106 USD. Hopefully things will go on sale during the holidays.
I am not as worried about the motherboard as you. As long as it has tpm 2.0 built in and 1Gbps or higher lan and at least 1(would love 2) m.2 slots for ssd he should be good. Do not need a motherboard that is overkill for him. Just needs a motherboard that wont die on him.
Upgrade path and all that is just a nice bonus if it works out. If not, all good. Just need something to keep up with his 3070ti and last a decent amount of time while keeping costs down.
Decent system for something that will feel as outdated in 2030 as the 4770k system does right now. But if it’s good enough for now, it is good enough for now. 
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Thank you for the help. Hopefully the parts you suggested go on sale enough to get them.
I’d say bite the bullet and try to get an AM5 board , that looks like it may get 1 more even 2 more generations of CPU’s to the ones available at the momenet ( 7000/9000 series) , the down side to this is that CPU’s and Ram are more expensive like say Intel.
If you are dead set on using the Ram kit you have then you can get a cheap 12th gen board , like B640 ish board. And you can get a cheap I5 / i7 depending on the buget. It will be a dead end tho. With no future upgrade path but you get cheap ram / cpu ( I know Intel is “cheap” ). It how ever does over more modern conforts like , multiple M.2 slots, maybe 2.5gb Lan or Wifi 6/7, and USB-C front and back, even on relatively cheap boards. This also applies to the AM5 boards . Generations wise there’s not that much of a difference as I recall between 12/13/14 , just core counts go up. May remember incorrectly tho , also we are also talking about CPU that came out nearly 4 yeras ago in some cases.
Getting an AM4 platform will retain the ability to use said memory kit. But it is a dead end platform none the less. How ever , you can get 5700x3D with a bit more investment and whould generally bring it nearly on par , gaming performance wise , with a more modern 7600/9600 option on AM5. Even the more cheaper CPU’s are still decent , just keep in mind that they are not the latest and gratest, no upgrade path and they are 3-5 years old CPUs .
If you can’t find anything that catches your fancy direcly on PCPP feel free to ask
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Upgrading path is a nice to have, but not a necessity. I am trying to get a good cpu as cheap as possible, but also would like it to perform well for as long as possible(I know they go hand in hand and is basically not possible to do both). I feel like when he needs to upgrade again he will replace everything and not stay on the same platform. So getting AM5 just for the upgrade path is not needed because he may just do an entire new system when the time comes.
He is trying to keep it under $400 USD. I may try to convince him into getting a 9800x3d and dropping $720ish. That way he wont have to worry about upgrading for like 7+ years.
Do not need the latest and greatest, but would like to not have to worry about upgrading again for a while. Like I mentioned before, it will be only used for gaming. So a good cpu that will last a bit would be nice. The cheaper the better.
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Cheapest you can get 12400/12500 and get an H board with it but that will be bare bones . And again you can use your Ram. Do keep in mind that 12500 has only 6 cores , while the 13500 or 14500 has 6+8. Around my parts of the world the 14600K was literally the best bang for the buc going for just shy of 200 euros.
Also what I was trying to tell you with the AM5 is , that even if he does a minimum of an upgrade it will be a significant one think : Ryzen 1000/2000 to 5000 . There was a significant uplift there. As for the 9800x3D if he is thinking about cheap then you can get board + cpu + cooler for that price . And a 7600/9600 is nothing to sneeze at tbh. even if you splurge on an 8 core part you will still be under the x3d tax.
Try to balance the system , dont get a baller CPU / GPU while skimping out on the other .
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I think 8 cores and 32gb ram are both important to keep this system good for a longer period of time.
Looking like we might up the budget a little to get 8 cores. Part List - AMD Ryzen 7 7700X - PCPartPicker