Hi all, I’m looking at upgrading my CPU from an AMD R7 2700 (non-X). I have a RTX 3070 and a 144hz monitor, and have gotten spoiled by having an at least 90 fps gaming experience at 1440p. My 2700 seems to be causing some bottlenecking.
My current mobo is a Gigabyte x470 aorus ultra gaming which is getting on to be 4 years old so I don’t trust that it would last, say, for the 5800X3D (maybe 2 years?).
I also just bought a solid G.Skill TridentZ 32GB, 3600 Mhz DDR4 kit at the end of 2020 so I’m hoping to get one big CPU upgrade out before going to DDR5.
So, with all that said, my plan is getting a 12700kf, B660 Mobo, which sets me back around $500. This would mean I’d have the following specs:
CPU: 12700k
MOBO: B660 (probably the ASUS Prime B660-Plus)
RAM: 32 GB, 3600 Mhz, DDR4
GPU: RTX 3070
And what I use my PC for (beyond normal browsing):
High-refresh rate, 1440p gaming
Mixture of programming on WSL2 and native Linux; mainly Go / general Docker and Kubernetes stuff. This is all personal / open-source stuff, so not in a “time == more money” situation, but any speed benefit from shorter Docker image build times is always a win in my book.
Since my current MOBO and CPU are working just fine, I would also use this as an opportunity to start a homelab and delving into my own NAS, virtualization, smart home, etc. This is one reason I’m not going with a 5900x / 5800X3D and just using my old MOBO, to get the best bang for my buck in terms of a good upgrade to my primary PC and to get the homelab setup running.
I’d appreciate any second opinions on an upgrade path I may be missing, any other things I should be considering?
I’d only suggest that you can avoid K versions of CPUs since the OC overhead is basically no longer there and that F versions don’t seem worth giving up the iGPU for debugging purposes.
12700
edit:
that said MicroCenter has good deals if you’re near one
Oof. Yeah, then you’re stuck with what you can get. But that seems like a good deal to me
haha maybe I should start a side hustle of acting as a middle man for MC? There’s two near me in GA
edit: non-F version is preferred, but you’ve already been running AMD without iGPU, so it’s not like you’re giving up a feature you were actively using?
I would suggest you go for something like 5800X. Because to be fair this is all you really need.
Upgrade the CPU, don’t buy new motherboard cause you don’t really need to and save your money.
Ryzen 5000 have made a nice jump in efficiency. 5800X is most likely gonna consume less power than your current 2700X.
All you really need to do is update BIOS, drop the new CPU in and be done with it.
The 5800x is a reasonable upgrade path, then using some older 10th or 11th gen (or even an i3 12th gen) Intel kit for the home lab. Just a thought.
One could even wait for AM5 to see what it offers before upgrading the main system, that’s where I’m at with my main system as its still on later AM4 hardware so no need to rush into Intel 1700 just yet.
I think the case could also be made for the 5900X with that motherboard. It all depends on where you want to go.
If you want a performance upgrade to last you another 18 months or so to then go for brand new Mobo+DDR5+CPU, the 5700G is probably your best bet. Those cost $300, you lose marginal performance compared to 5800X, but otherwise nothing lost.
If you need more cores, the 5900X also makes sense and offers 4 threads more than the 12700. While DDR4 on Alder Lake is a thing, from where you’re at I would probably rather just get the 5900X than skip to Alder Lake.
If you want to jump to Alder Lake and be mostly content for the next 3 years or so, yeah 12700+B660 sounds about right. If you are planning to upgrade sooner, then see above.
Just a note on the 5700G, those new APUs seem to run really cool, you could actually run it with the Stealth and have safe temps, though not as low as a better cooler obviously.
I have a 5700G with a Hyper-212 and it idles at a degree or two above ambient, and I can’t even get it to go over 62*, and the 5300G I got for my server will only get up to 64* when pushed (cooled with a Stealth).
lol