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3700x or i7 9700K?

shredgodxp

shredgodxp

shredgodxp

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Looking to upgrade the PC this christmas to either a 3700x or the i7 9700k but not sure what the best purchase would be.

I only game on my PC so no Photoshopping or anything so on the face of it either one should be good, with a preference to the i7 however i'm drawn to the AMD based on reviews. I'll be upgrading from a 4690k (not OCd) and i'm running a 1080 with a 1440p monitor.

Anyone able to help me decide? I'm leaning towards the AMD as it's a newer format etc.
 
I would say the 3700X would have much better longevity than the 9700K, technically for most 'current' games the 9700K will pull ahead, but the margin isn't large. Going forward I genuinely believe the 3700X is the better purchase, you're looking at a 8c16t cpu for less money than a 8c8t cpu. It's also worth considering that the new consoles due to launch next year will be running similar AMD hardware.

AMD is really where it's at right now unless you're buying into the ultra-high end for gaming, where the gains are frankly negligible given the cost of the 9900 chips.
 
Gray2233 said:
I would say the 3700X would have much better longevity than the 9700K, technically for most 'current' games the 9700K will pull ahead, but the margin isn't large. Going forward I genuinely believe the 3700X is the better purchase, you're looking at a 8c16t cpu for less money than a 8c8t cpu. It's also worth considering that the new consoles due to launch next year will be running similar AMD hardware.

AMD is really where it's at right now unless you're buying into the ultra-high end for gaming, where the gains are frankly negligible given the cost of the 9900 chips.
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This
 
Gray2233 said:
I would say the 3700X would have much better longevity than the 9700K, technically for most 'current' games the 9700K will pull ahead, but the margin isn't large. Going forward I genuinely believe the 3700X is the better purchase, you're looking at a 8c16t cpu for less money than a 8c8t cpu. It's also worth considering that the new consoles due to launch next year will be running similar AMD hardware.

AMD is really where it's at right now unless you're buying into the ultra-high end for gaming, where the gains are frankly negligible given the cost of the 9900 chips.
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I agree with this also, I have just upgraded from a 4770K overclocked to 4.4 and have seen a nice gain across the board with the 3800X
 
How often do you build a new PC because I think a 3700X vs i7 9700K in gaming is mostly about longevity.
The 9700K usually outperforms the 3700X in games, but roughly speaking, that can be anywhere from a few fps to over 10 at 1080p, while its a tie at 1440p.

So the question is, will the 9700K still be overall faster in say 2-3 years after likely facing several future Intel security patches while games becomes better at utilizing more cores?
The 3700X does have 16 threads ready for it and AMD is still optimizing their drivers like we recently saw with the release of the AGESA 1.0.0.4B update, giving users an overall 2% improvement.

Don't forget that having a Ryzen system also means that you will be able to upgrade the CPU to a future 4000 series and that one will beat both a 9700K and 9900K ;)
 
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NinjaCool said:
How often do you build a new PC because I think a 3700X vs i7 9700K in gaming is mostly about longevity.
The 9700K usually outperforms the 3700X in games, but roughly speaking, that can be anywhere from a few fps to over 10 at 1080p, while its a tie at 1440p.

So the question is, will the 9700K still be overall faster in say 2-3 years after likely facing several future Intel security patches while games becomes better at utilizing more cores?
The 3700X does have 16 threads ready for it and AMD is still optimizing their drivers like we recently saw with the release of the AGESA 1.0.0.4B update, giving users an overall 2% improvement.

Don't forget that having a Ryzen system also means that you will be able to upgrade the CPU to a future 4000 series and that one will beat both a 9700K and 9900K ;)
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My last upgrade was in 2014 (CPU wise) so i'm not one to upgrade all the time, I want a CPU that will last me for a good 3-4 years at least.
 
Then I would say the 3700X looks to be a good choice for you :)
It's already faster than a 9700K in heavily threaded apps while using lower power and it has PCIE4 if you go for a X570 board.
 
Without a lot of tuning the RAM timings and a high IF oc the 3700x will not match a 9700k in games. Also the 3700x does not get that close to the 9900k. In games a 3800x will get close to a 9900k but only with tightening the RAM timings and OC IF to 1900. Both the stock 9900k and 3800x are 10k time spy cpu. A 9900ks with all cores 5GHz is 10700 time spy cpu (RAM 2667 stock) which is like a 3800x at IF 1800 3600CL16 RAM. With great RAM timings the 3800x will hit between 11000-11550+ (say 11300). The 9900k will keep increasing untill approx. 12k with RAM and clock speed increases if possible. In games a 3800x on water can match a 9900k because the all core boost is above 4.4GHz when running games. With decent tightened RAM timings IF 1900/3800. No 3700x can get that because the all core boost on the 3800x is above the maximum boost core of the 3700x.

The 9700k will hit 5GHz or more with good cooling and luck. With good RAM it will be hard to beat. Sure the time spy score will be less than many other cpu's but game fps will be good.
 
Having booth an Intel and Ryzen system I can tell you the 9700K will be marginally faster all round in games even at 1440p though if it were my money and I had to choose between the two I'd go with the 3700X as it gives more options should you be in a similar position a few years down the round. Something that Intel have pretty much stopped people doing for many years now.
 
MartinPrince said:
Having booth an Intel and Ryzen system I can tell you the 9700K will be marginally faster all round in games even at 1440p though if it were my money and I had to choose between the two I'd go with the 3700X as it gives more options should you be in a similar position a few years down the round. Something that Intel have pretty much stopped people doing for many years now.
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I have not had a 9900K but from all the benchmarks I have seen online I agree 100% with your post.
 
As prices stand now the 3700X and 3800X are the best options. The Ryzen chips offer 8 cores and 16 treads, PCIE-4 and future 16 core 32 thread options. The Intel platform is pretty much dead apart form the 9900 chips.

3700X £290
9700K £330
3800X £350

For me the 9700K needs to be sub 250.
 
Orange Nexus said:
Never seen a Ryzen 3000 beat my Gen 1+ in the measure of latency but the former is faster. Not just higher IPC but also it has twice the amount of L3 cache.
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This^
My 3770k has better latency, but my 3800X is faster at everything *including gaming*.
 
Surely a 3700x is the wisest choice using a 1080 at 1440p you will be more likely GPU limited well before CPU.

Just because 9700k and 9900k can perform slightly better with a 2080 ti, doesn’t mean that’s always the case.
 
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