9600KF Upgrade

Antony101 · 30 Mar 2024 at 07:15

Hi guys,

I've currently got a 9600KF sat in an MSI Z390 MEG ACE with 32GB of DDR4 memory. I recently upgraded my 3060Ti to a 7800XT and it now appears I'm getting some CPU bottlenecks in certain games.

What would be a budget friendly upgrade I could make to bring the PC more up to date? Please be honest however as I'd rather have to spend more money than end up with something that won't last me a couple of years at least.

I currently game at 3440 x 1440 if that has any bearing on what CPU I'd look at. My PSU is an old Corsair AX750 that has served me extremely well, I'd rather not have to replace this if possible but understand it's getting on a bit.

EDIT: I'm not sure if this should be in the "New to PC gaming & upgrade advice" section instead.

Tetras · 30 Mar 2024 at 13:59

Unfortunately upgrades on the same socket are usually stupid prices used, so you're probably looking at a new motherboard and a 12600K, 13600K or better (if you want to keep your memory). You can get a 12600KF for just over £150 in the sales, so perhaps one of those with an affordable B760 DDR4 motherboard like MSI's B760-P.

Antony101 · 30 Mar 2024 at 16:07

If I could source a 9900k second hand would that be a decent upgrade or would you say save the money and just go for the full socket change?

Tetras · 30 Mar 2024 at 16:46

Antony101 said:
If I could source a 9900k second hand would that be a decent upgrade or would you say save the money and just go for the full socket change?

Very unlikely to be worthwhile, since they're the highest CPU on the socket (apart from the KS), they cost far too much to buy.

Antony101 · 2 Apr 2024 at 09:38

Just a quick question, with me having a 7800XT would there be any benefit from getting an AMD processor? Is there any benefits unlocked from both components being AMD?

mickyflinn · 2 Apr 2024 at 09:48

Antony101 said:
Just a quick question, with me having a 7800XT would there be any benefit from getting an AMD processor? Is there any benefits unlocked from both components being AMD?

No .

Antony101 · 3 Apr 2024 at 15:22

Okay, so I'm looking at grabbing these two;

Intel Core i5 12600KF
MSI PRO B760-P WIFI DDR4

All in it's £292 delivered.

Would you say this is a good call or should I hold out for further drops?

Are the MSI PRO boards any good, I see they are aimed at workstations and not gaming?

Tetras · 3 Apr 2024 at 15:32

Antony101 said:
All in it's £292 delivered.

You could do a bit better than that, just FYI.

Antony101 said:
Would you say this is a good call or should I hold out for further drops?

I doubt the KF will get any cheaper, since the 12400/12400F is setting a floor.

Antony101 said:
Are the MSI PRO boards any good, I see they are aimed at workstations and not gaming?

The B760-P looks better than the cheap ones, since it has chunky heatsinks, 2x M.2 slots and a rear USB Type-C, but admittedly it doesn't have many USB 3 and the sound is basic (though it does have SPDIF and plenty of jacks).

Antony101 · 3 Apr 2024 at 15:52

Motherboard wise I just need it to drive my DT770s via the 3.5mm jack and then rear USB is just speakers and wireless mouse and keyboard. I quite like how understated it is. My MEG ACE has a load of random LEDs and RGB and it's a bit annoying to be honest.

I don't mind paying a few quid more if I'd see some noticable difference but the PC is used soley for gaming so it doesn't need anything too fancy.

mickyflinn · 3 Apr 2024 at 15:56

Overclock that 9600kf

Antony101 · 3 Apr 2024 at 15:58

mickyflinn said:
Overclock that 9600kf

I can get it running reasonably stable at around 4.8GHz / 4.9GHz but anything above that and it either stutters or blue screens. I'd rather just upgrade to something straight forward and stable as I don't have the time to put much effort into getting a stable overclock.

mickyflinn · 3 Apr 2024 at 16:01

Antony101 said:
I can get it running reasonably stable at around 4.8GHz / 4.9GHz but anything above that and it either stutters or blue screens. I'd rather just upgrade to something straight forward and stable as I don't have the time to put much effort into getting a stable overclock.

If you don't mind spending then go all out 7800x3d.

Blackwhite · 12 Apr 2024 at 14:51

Go for 9900K it is still decent CPU and in this res will be more than enough

Dg834man · 12 Apr 2024 at 15:15

Blackwhite said:
Go for 9900K it is still decent CPU and in this res will be more than enough

Cost prohibitive they ain't worth £250 when you can buy better new CPU + mobo for that.

Antony101 · 12 Apr 2024 at 19:08

My upgrade plans are now on hold as my car is looking like it'll need a new turbo so I'm going to have to pour my money into that pit.

Once the car, the missus and the kid are all happy I'll revisit this :cry:

Thanks for the help so far though, with a bit of luck they'll be a few more options around when I look again in a month or two!

Antony101 · 2024-07-24T14:42:06+0100

I'm starting to revisit this now as the car is hopefully sorted now. I thought maybe a 7600X maybe a better option than putting money into a dead Intel socket. What are people's thoughts on this?

mickyflinn · 2024-07-24T14:48:11+0100

Antony101 said:
I'm starting to revisit this now as the car is hopefully sorted now. I thought maybe a 7600X maybe a better option than putting money into a dead Intel socket. What are people's thoughts on this?

31st AMD will be releasing there newest CPU's 9000 series, hopefully that will push down prices.

ED209 · 2024-07-24T14:54:21+0100

Antony101 said:
I'm starting to revisit this now as the car is hopefully sorted now. I thought maybe a 7600X maybe a better option than putting money into a dead Intel socket. What are people's thoughts on this?

New AMD processors are due out at the end of the month so maybe worth waiting

Antony101 · 2024-07-24T14:56:18+0100

mickyflinn said:
31st AMD will be releasing there newest CPU's 9000 series, hopefully that will push down prices.

ED209 said:
New AMD processors are due out at the end of the month so maybe worth waiting

I had heard something was coming but didn't realise it was so soon, thank you.

If I'm looking at a budget upgrade to get me into DDR5 and AM5 is a cheap 7600X worth it these days? I'm assuming the 9000 series isn't going to be "cheap" on release.

Tetras · 2024-07-24T15:01:01+0100

Antony101 said:
I had heard something was coming but didn't realise it was so soon, thank you.

If I'm looking at a budget upgrade to get me into DDR5 and AM5 is a cheap 7600X worth it these days? I'm assuming the 9000 series isn't going to be "cheap" on release.

7500F, 7600 non-X or 7600X are all fine, whatever you can get a good deal on.

Probably best to wait since there may be discounts on the old ones, or the newer CPUs come in cheaper than expected.