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4770k Upgrade

Associate
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I have a 4770k currently and I'm looking to upgrade to one of AMD's offerings. I had heard back in the Autumn that Zen 3 was due around Spring/Summer this year so decided to wait. But obviously we are still waiting and there's talk they may not arrive till 2021. Instead it's looking like a refresh of Zen 2 possibly in July.

As I have not upgraded for 6 or 7 years I would intend to keep my setup for a similar amount of time before upgrading. 85% of the time its used for gaming with the other 15% for AutoCAD and Photoshop work. So I don't know if I would really benefit from a 12core vs 8core, unless games start using more cores, what with the consoles now going 8core?

Is the general consensus that it's worth waiting for Zen 2 refresh to see what it brings or are they likely to be such minor improvements that jumping on a well priced Zen 2 would suffice?
 
Soldato
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Zen2 refresh is going to be minor clock speed boost, just like what Intel's been doing for years.
Zen3 is going to be lot more notable jump.

One path would be getting now good mobo and well priced and good for couple years 3700X and then upgrading CPU to 12 core Zen3 when prices of those decrease.
(might eventually go to £350 level in discount)
That would give much needed for heaviest games extra cores now and then per core and core count boost to keep CPU strong for longer time.
 
Caporegime
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8 core will be the main gaming cpu for consoles and pcs for 3-5 years. so thats what you should be looking at. as for buying now. no its a bad time with the new refresh and new amd cpus literally ready to drop. also amd 550 board on the 16th. maybe we will here more news very shortly. your cpu is more than good enough until the really good AMD cpus are out soon. just wait.
 
Associate
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There are already games coming that recommend 8 core, so i'd go for the 12core to have a bit of breathing room.

Er, no. Eight cores will be good enough for the entirety of the next gen of consoles - and hence games. And they aren't even out yet. And the 3700/3800 are also obviously multi-threaded, so the need for 12/24 in gaming is literally 10+ years away.
 
Soldato
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I will go with 3700x if you can afford it. If not using the 1600AF or 2600 as a stop gap and when 3700x price drops in new or used as 4000 hits the market then ditch the 1600AF or 2600 and get 3700x or even 4700x if you want.

definitely going forward min is 8c. But I am guessing that 8c will be the norm for a very long time. But if you also stream live or have chat apps and other running at the background you will need to be looking at 12c to not have CPU usage being taken away from games.
 
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I have recently upgraded from a 4770k to an x570 setup. My ‘stopgap’ CPU is the regular 3600, I managed to get one for £140 from a clearance deal.
The difference, especially in minimal FPS and overall smoothness playing games like RDR2, is quite considerable.

I've found it well worth the upgrade just for that, planning to get whatever 4000 series offers best BFB when released.
 
Soldato
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Since an i7 was within your budget last time, then naturally an i7 equivalant this time. So 4700X.

The 4700X is going to be a beast so worth waiting for. If your 4770k is bottlenecking you too much and you cant wait, then 1600AF as a stop gap until you get a 4700. I dont recommend getting a 3700X so close to end of life. It's value will plumit.

The refreshes are going to be premium products aimed at Intel for media attention.
 
Soldato
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I am going to 3700x and 2070 super combo from 4770k gtx 1070.

Once i've got the new asus 32 inch 4k monitor coming out i'll switch to a 3 series nvidia card and if the new amd cpus are a big difference can change to that too.
 
Caporegime
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16 minimum for 2021

12 cores can cause a hinderance in a few games out now. so ideally you want 8 soon. they should be good for 3-5 years. for gaming thats why you got that many in a console.

unless its a cheap deal right now i dont get why anyone would upgrade when we know there is super amd chips literally landing soon. yeah we can always wait but these will be the real deal. not the close to intel cpus. like now.
 
Associate
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12 cores can cause a hinderance in a few games out now. so ideally you want 8 soon. they should be good for 3-5 years. for gaming thats why you got that many in a console.

unless its a cheap deal right now i dont get why anyone would upgrade when we know there is super amd chips literally landing soon. yeah we can always wait but these will be the real deal. not the close to intel cpus. like now.

Are you referring to the Zen 2 refresh or Zen 3? I know that Zen 3 is slated for late 2020 (possibly September?) but I'm just not sure it wont slip into 2021 if they are releasing the Zen 2 refresh so close together.

I think based on the comments i'am leaning towards waiting a little longer for the new releases as I'm not one for stopgap upgrading. The consensus seems to be that 8core is the way to go, I mean 4core has had a long run and still performs reasonably, so if 8core provides similar performance for the same amount of time then i guess in theory it should see me through to the next upgrade.
 
Caporegime
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Are you referring to the Zen 2 refresh or Zen 3? I know that Zen 3 is slated for late 2020 (possibly September?) but I'm just not sure it wont slip into 2021 if they are releasing the Zen 2 refresh so close together.

I think based on the comments i'am leaning towards waiting a little longer for the new releases as I'm not one for stopgap upgrading. The consensus seems to be that 8core is the way to go, I mean 4core has had a long run and still performs reasonably, so if 8core provides similar performance for the same amount of time then i guess in theory it should see me through to the next upgrade.

refresh is very close and zen 3 hopefully end of this year. new b550 boards are available to buy tomorrow i think. 8 core is the way to go for anyone buying now. 12 core in some games offer worse performance than 8 in some titles as many games just dont cater for that many cores. so often in benchmarks they behind 8 cores. new consoles will also have 8 cores in. which shows you what you need for gaming for the forseeable future. if you needed 12 they would have done twelve.

AMD will want to get the 3000 cpus out before intel can retaliate. intel said a few years ago they have nothing for AMD until 2021. so leaving the 3000s till 2021 would be a risky move.
 
Soldato
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If you are going for 3000X or 3000XT I’d probably go for a 3900X or 3900XT. 12c 24t should keep you inline with the new consoles.
 

C64

C64

Soldato
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Just go 3300x and b550 can change out the 3300x as and when needed as of now its matching the 3600 and leaves it behind with tighter ram timings

imo though the 1600 af and a board that can get it to 4 ghz + comfortably is best bang for buck if you can pair it with cheap as possible ddr 4 and b450 board that can run one stable at 4ghz +

I am mid updgrading myself and trying to decide on things i think im better off putting more budget in to the gpu and just going 1600 af b450 and cheapest decent ddr 4 kit

diminishing returns seem to start around the 6 core ryzen @ 4ghz + area where you'll be better off putting in to gpu
 
Last edited:
Soldato
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As I have not upgraded for 6 or 7 years I would intend to keep my setup for a similar amount of time before upgrading. 85% of the time its used for gaming with the other 15% for AutoCAD and Photoshop work. So I don't know if I would really benefit from a 12core vs 8core, unless games start using more cores, what with the consoles now going 8core?

Honestly looking at your usage I'd say that the 4770K is still 'OK' but as already said an upgrade would help, but it is not the ideal time due to the circumstances unknown with AMD Ryzen 4xxx and the refresh XT CPU's landing in the next 3 weeks.

Ask yourself the question, does the system annoy you right now, and can you not play your games or complete your work/hobby on it with out it annoying you?

You can shift a 4770K, 16GB RAM with a decent motherboard for well over £200 on that auction site, or even Gumtree, for £300 you can get a R5 3600, 16GB 3200MHz RAM and a B450 board, which will be the same in most games, better in a few, worse in a few, and just better all round for your applications. It's not ideal, but you'd be essentially be spending less than £100 to tide you over until you could do a real upgrade in the next 12-18 months. It is worth considering.
 
Associate
OP
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22 Feb 2009
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Tunbridge Wells
So I've preordered a X570 Tomahawk board (not much in it between the B550 pricing really) and decided I'm either going to go for a 3600 at around £150 (from the jungle) and then upgrade to a 4700X or 4900X about a year down the line.

Or I did see on the jungle site that the 3900X was £390 last night, the lowest I have seen so far which was quite tempting. The offer was only up for a brief amount of time before reverting back to £440. I'am wondering if prices will regularly drop below the £400 mark bit more now the XTs are coming.

What do we think the prices for the 4700X & 4900X are likely to be? More than the 3000 predecessors?
 
Caporegime
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17 Mar 2012
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So I've preordered a X570 Tomahawk board (not much in it between the B550 pricing really) and decided I'm either going to go for a 3600 at around £150 (from the jungle) and then upgrade to a 4700X or 4900X about a year down the line.

Or I did see on the jungle site that the 3900X was £390 last night, the lowest I have seen so far which was quite tempting. The offer was only up for a brief amount of time before reverting back to £440. I'am wondering if prices will regularly drop below the £400 mark bit more now the XTs are coming.

What do we think the prices for the 4700X & 4900X are likely to be? More than the 3000 predecessors?

Good idea.

Ryzen 1000 / 2000 / 3000 have all ended you around the same price, but i do think Ryzen 4000 will be a little more expensive this time around, not much, maybe +10%. but they will be worth it.
 
Associate
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25 Nov 2013
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How much do you think the prices of the 3900X for example will drop when the new CPU's drop? I am looking to do a similar upgrade my self, Not sure if i should just wait or not.
 
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