Best bang for buck CPU - i7 4790k upgrade

[dlockers]

Hi folks,

It has been a while since I upgraded, and it was a pretty simple task from what I remember (went from an i7 920 D0 Stepping to an i7 4790k). Both were "top end" CPUs easily identified and paired to a Mobo, RAM. Maybe I am just getting older, thicker, or the brand naming schemes have indeed got way more complicated to follow but I am feeling a bit lost .

I think I am looking for an inexpensive mobo, RAM, CPU jobbie that is at least comparable for single core performance but offers something in higher productivity loads (usual home worker stuff - PPT, XLS, streams etc). I love CS:GO which is pretty low end but I may get into something higher end as my kid grows up and I get some time back.

I was tempted by the 5600X but I can see it is slightly worse for single thread performance. I then looked at the Ryzen 7700 but it is quite spenny. I have then looked at the 7600 which seems to be a significant jump over my i7 but once I add mobo, RAM, etc. I am into £500 territory.

Ideally I'd like to stay at £350 total. Is there a workhorse CPU I should be looking out for? Intel or AMD to be fair; although I hear horror stories about BSOD on the newer Intel stuff.

 

[dlockers]

With the price of the 12700k currently something like this:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-12700K 3.60GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-69Z-IN) = £199.99
• 1 x MSI B760 Gaming Plus WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03047) = £124.99
• 1 x Team Group 8Pack Edition 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-8PK-02585) = £39.95

Total: £364.93 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

Wowza - that 12700K does seem like great value. Is there any benefit to go sans graphics (I assume that is what the KF means?).

You can get a 14400F for around £150, which performs similar to the 12600K and then pair with a cheap B760 board and 32GB of DDR4:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus Prime B760-Plus D4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6KF-AS) = £116.99
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £55.99

Total: £176.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

About £20-£30 over budget and there's a cooler in the CPU box.


It shouldn't be, the single thread performance of a 5600X is way higher than a stock 4790K.

I will check that out - is £50 "top-up" worth it for the 12700k that Glanza suggested?

And you're right RE: 5600X, I misread the graph!

Thanks both. Helped me immensely