Is it worth upgrading an i7 8700 (non K) to an i9 9900k?

malccy · 1 Jan 2020 at 13:07

hi

I presently have an i7 8700 (non K) @ 4.3 ghz
16gb 3200 DDR4
Asus Prime Z370-P motherboard
2080ti

and am wondering if it is worth upgrading to an i9 9900k? I mainly use my pc for gaming.

If it is worth the upgrade any ideas how much I could expect to get for my 8700?

Many thanks for help.

bakes0310 · 1 Jan 2020 at 13:26

What games you playing, what resolution?

BruteforceJoe · 1 Jan 2020 at 13:29

malccy · 1 Jan 2020 at 13:39

bakes0310 said:
What games you playing, what resolution?

Am playing modern titles like COD MW, RDR2 etc at 1440p.

TJM · 1 Jan 2020 at 13:57

I have an 8700K and was considering replacing it with a 9900K variant since those are the last CPUs for my board. For gaming at 1440p at 60hz, it would make no difference at all. For higher refresh rates, you’d be hard pressed to notice any change outside of benchmarking.

Save the money for the next generation of CPUs (or the one after that if the benefit for gaming with more than six cores still isn’t there) or scratch the upgrade itch another way. I bought the Logitech G703 and G915 and it’s made a much bigger difference to using my PC than increasing my FPS from 130 to 140.

HangTime · 1 Jan 2020 at 14:19

Not worth it at that res, maybe at 1080p 240hz it would be.

DONOHUE07 · 1 Jan 2020 at 14:23

not worth it at all

malccy · 1 Jan 2020 at 14:24

HangTime said:
Not worth it at that res, maybe at 1080p 240hz it would be.

Am doing 27" 1440p @144hz.

Being a non-k chip am unable to get it higher than 4.3ghz which is great but have always overclocked my chips in past. I know the new AMD cpu's are very good but with personal preference i'd like to stick with Intel.

I guess it's just wait and see what Intel do next..

Kelt · 1 Jan 2020 at 14:39

Are you CPU bound playing games?

If yes then upgrade, if not then don't.

peahead · 1 Jan 2020 at 15:57

You will see some improvements in fps with a 9900k and if you like overclocking then why not jump to a 9900k because it will probably be the last chip intel will support on the z390 platform as no doubt the next intel chips will require a new motherboard again.

Drumroll · 1 Jan 2020 at 16:12

peahead said:
You will see some improvements in fps with a 9900k and if you like overclocking then why not jump to a 9900k because it will probably be the last chip intel will support on the z390 platform as no doubt the next intel chips will require a new motherboard again.

This. But if the CPU isn't holding your GPU, or you won't keep your motherboard for sometime, I wouldn't bother, thought. The z390 is EOL, and the 9900K or variants of it would be quite an expensive upgrade just for the sake of it. Considering the potential demand of more cores, I would keep your rig as it is now, and when the times come, either go Intel next socket or AMD, but won't pay 3900x prices for an EOL chip.

CuriousTomCat · 1 Jan 2020 at 17:09

If your games have a low framerate and stutter due to a CPU bottleneck then upgrade IMMEDIATELY.

Although if your framerate is silky smooth, dont upgrade. It's simple.

chaparral · 1 Jan 2020 at 17:13

I have also thought about upgrading my 8700k to a 9900k as it should only cost me around £250 to do the upgrade after selling my 8700k cpu

But am not sure how well a 9900k will work in my z370 Maximus X Formula motherboard

JarppaK · 1 Jan 2020 at 23:53

@malccy

If you only gaming. That I7-8700 is still good processor with 4.3Ghz. If I were you I wouldn’t spent that extra cash to upgrade for 9900k because advantage at 1440p is so minimal over money you need to invest.

I gotta tell you. I got 8700k delidded and I run that 4.7Ghz with AVX and non AVX load. Even I use Noctua NH-D15 to cool it down I could overclock it more if need be. CPU temps are only around 50-58C depending the game I play. But this point I do not need more overclocking. I got Asus RTX 2080 Strix. G.Skill 2x8GB 4000mhz memory. Motherboard is Asus ROG Maximus X Apex z370 what is made for hardcore overclocking.

All games what I play 2560x1440 with max settings I still get over 100fps. GPU is what runs first 100% usage, not a cpu with 1440p. No need 9900k processor or even wise to upgrade it.

You got RTX 2080 Ti so I believe you get more fps than I do because your GPU is way better than mine.

What I try to tell you. Even I got higher clocks in CPU than you have. I still got less fps at games because my GPU is not so powerfull than yours and it is a ”weak point” not a CPU.

CPU, if it works fine. You should keep it, not upgrade it.

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 00:29

Come on guys. Seriously recommending OP upgrades to a 9900k with a Asus prime z370p...with 1/3 of its vrms not heatsinked...and the rest with a puny heatsink...
LOL

malccy · 2 Jan 2020 at 07:50

tamzzy said:
Come on guys. Seriously recommending OP upgrades to a 9900k with a Asus prime z370p...with 1/3 of its vrms not heatsinked...and the rest with a puny heatsink...
LOL

Hey, don't dis my board lol. It's a reasonable board and iv'e got some amazing clocks in past on boards only half as good.

Joxeon · 2 Jan 2020 at 08:06

Just wait till the new Intel chips come out, grab one of those with a new motherboard, sell your old CPU and Mb and you're golden.

tamzzy · 2 Jan 2020 at 08:15

malccy said:
Hey, don't dis my board lol. It's a reasonable board and iv'e got some amazing clocks in past on boards only half as good.

Not when you're trying to shove 250w down the 9900k

You'll get VRM throttled faster than you can say 5GHz

JarppaK · 2 Jan 2020 at 10:39

Yes. VRM need to be very good. Or you get only trouble with 9900k as high Mhz overclocking. VRM is better to be a good or temps are getting too high and then start throttling.

@malccy your Asus Prime Z370-P VRM is around entry level cast motherboard. Not good at high overclocking. To be honest at start it's not a overclocking mobo.

My Asus Maximux X Apex z370 is top tear cast with a heavy VRM at Z370 motherboards. It can go much more further than your motherboard at overclocking. Actually there is not much better mobo at Z370 than this one. Only Asus Maximus X Extreme Z370 is same cast.

What I'm going to say. Overclocking mobo has way better VMR than standard low tier mobo. But also price is much more higher what you need to spent on it.

To be honest. You don't have to or needed to upgrade your 8700 to 9900k. Only waste of money when gaming. If you look test at 1440p you can see that there is so low fps gain for 9700k and 9900k over 8700 so not worth to upgrade. Like @Joxeon said upgrade next gen. Intel if need more out of a CPU.

I give earlier example of your 4.3Ghz and my 4.7Ghz difference only because I want you to see. That CPU 400Mhz higher clock do not give so much advantage to fps. RTX 2080 TI GPU is giving you more than I can achieve mine, even if I pull 5Ghz on my CPU with RTX 2080.

peahead · 2 Jan 2020 at 11:29

oops i never noticed what board he has hmm so maybe at stock setting it will be ok but overclocking may be more of a risk.