Buy 8700K Now Or Wait ?

[eddiew]

Im assuming we are talking about 1080p gaming? If that is the case then fine a CPU like an 8700k would be a good upgrade however anything beyond 1440p you gain nothing even against my 2600k. This is primarily the reason why I haven't upgraded as many tests show that at 1440p the CPUs are not the bottleneck the GPUs are.

That's game-specific really. At least two of mine are capped by single thread performance at pretty much any resolution. Which, admittedly, is probably down to poor coding but it doesn't change the facts that those are the games I keep coming back to over and over

 

[eddiew]

Recommend the 8700k. Easy to get to 5ghz (unless your unlucky) Great performance with fast ram but you'll need to tinker with volts as mine requires 1.37 v to hit 5ghz (no avx offset). Runs about max 79 on a Noctua DH15 with a Gigabyte Gaming Ultra and 32gig DDR4 3000mhz clocked to 3200.

Is that without a delid? Pretty sure OCUK's pre-lidded price has increased of late, don't fancy £550 to guarantee a 5ghz overclock... If I can get 4.7-4.8 on all cores out of the box without exotic cooling, I think I'll be happy with that.

 

[prjwebb]

I dallied too long, last week's deals ended and the RAM I was looking at is now £15 more and the 8700K £12 or so! To the rainforest! Will a Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming K3 be sufficient for mild overclocking (4.8GHz or so)? It's a cheaper model but still has the higher quality Realtek audio chip (my Asus Xonar DG is PCI so will become obsolete after 7 years of faithful service).

I just went for the Asrock Z370 Extreme4. Good price atm at the same place, and all the reviews were very positive and spec wise it's up there with the higher priced boards.

 

[Boomstick777]

Buy 8700K Now Or Wait ?

To add an alternative option (If your open to other options)

Do neither, get a 2700X and a platform you can upgrade with in the future. Rather than having to buy new socket for Intel chip each time.

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X fully outpaces the Intel Core i7-8700K, thanks to serious improvements made with Zen+ and higher clock speeds ending Team Blue’s frequency advantage.

With the Ryzen 7 2700X, however, AMD wins the whole kit and caboodle.

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700X is undoubtedly the best consumer processor on the market right now. It’s only fair competitor ,the Intel Core i7-8700K, is slower on the single- and multi- core front and doesn’t offer much better gaming performance to justify its slightly more expensive price tag.

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-7-2700x

 

[eddiew]

Although we are having some folks say their 2700X isn't stable at stock speeds with the stock cooler so... personally I'd wait a few weeks even if I was sure that was the right choice

 

[Dicehunter]

To add an alternative option (If your open to other options)

Do neither, get a 2700X and a platform you can upgrade with in the future. Rather than having to buy new socket for Intel chip each time.

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-7-2700x

That review seems a tad odd considering it goes against the numbers of many other reviews.

Cinebench score being 1 that looks fishy, Single threaded scores of the 8700K that I've seen pre and post security patches are only within 1-2 points after the patch, Not 30 points lower, Unless they are downclocking the 8700K to the same speed as the 2700X ?

 

[Radox-0]

That review seems a tad odd considering it goes against the numbers of many other reviews.

Cinebench score being 1 that looks fishy, Single threaded scores of the 8700K that I've seen pre and post security patches are only within 1-2 points after the patch, Not 30 points lower, Unless they are downclocking the 8700K to the same speed as the 2700X ?

Yup, considering in their own 8700k review it scored 204 with 3200 MHz kit of Ram in single threaded Cinebench test: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-8700k Broadly similar to what I see at stock on mine and compares with other reviewers landing in 200 sort of range at stock: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i7_8700k_processor_review,7.html

 

[Dicehunter]

Yup, considering in their own 8700k review it scored 204 with 3200 MHz kit of Ram in single threaded Cinebench test: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-8700k Broadly similar to what I see at stock on mine and compares with other reviewers landing in 200 sort of range at stock: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/intel_core_i7_8700k_processor_review,7.html

Yeah their scores a tad odd, I asked a workmate to test the single thread in cinebench on his 8700K with the spectre and meltdown patches and he got over 200 so no clue what TechRadar are doing to lower it by so much.

 

[jonjay]

That's game-specific really. At least two of mine are capped by single thread performance at pretty much any resolution. Which, admittedly, is probably down to poor coding but it doesn't change the facts that those are the games I keep coming back to over and over

It is very rare however and I would never condone outlay of hundreds of pounds especially in today's market for a badly coded game. A vast majority of titles past 1080p are GPU limited and the facts and figures are out there.

 

[Boomstick777]

As long as the OP isn't limited purely to Intel, the 2700X really is the best sub £300 CPU you can buy.

Stomps on the Intel 8700K in almost everything, with a minimal difference in gaming at 720P / 1080P. Plus you get the bonus of a chipset that will be supported for a few years VS a few months.

R:E Gaming,

which is why I'll keep saying it, that differential is trivial at best

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_ryzen_7_2700x_review,30.html

Honestly worth considering the 2700X. My 2 cents.

If OP is set on Intel than 8700K is an ok choice, probably better to wait for the upcoming 8 core Intel chip and a newer chipset so you get a few months more support.

 

[Kirby Wurm]

I just went for the Asrock Z370 Extreme4. Good price atm at the same place, and all the reviews were very positive and spec wise it's up there with the higher priced boards.

The jungle couldn't cancel and I can't be bothered to return the Gigabyte otherwise that looks a great board. RAM wise I've bought 16GB Corsair LP stuff, 3000MHz CL15 (once at or over 2666MHz latency becomes more beneficial according to an article I read).

The 2700X was tempting but the single threaded performance isn't quite there yet. It's true I'll likely have to grab a new mobo/CPU when I next upgrade but as I'll have this for 3-4 years that would be the case anyway. Plus 1440p 144hz will expose the difference in some games now and moreso when I upgrade my graphics card.

 

[prjwebb]

Having a look at that board I prefer the aesthetics and the power delivery looks like it could be beneficial. Plus I have a soft spot for Asrock so I've cancelled the Gigabyte and gone for that instead. RAM wise I've bought 16GB Corsair LP stuff, 3000MHz CL15 (once at or over 2666MHz latency becomes more beneficial according to an article I read).

The 2700X was tempting but the single threaded performance isn't quite there yet. It's true I'll likely have to grab a new mobo/CPU when I next upgrade but as I'll have this for 3-4 years that would be the case anyway. Plus 1440p 144hz will expose the diffeediff in many games now and moreso when I upgrade my graphics card.

I've got a screenshot of my 1080ti only pushing 55fps in certain areas on Destiny 2 even at 1080p with the Ryzen 1600 at 3.8ghz.

I figured screw it, I'm not limiting a top end GPU anymore and ordered the 8600k and the Asrock board.
Will test D2 in same area when I'm up and running hopefully tomorrow.

 

[Kirby Wurm]

I look forward to the results! My gains will be more modest with the slower GPU but stuff like War Thunder and some others should see a nice boost.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

I've got a screenshot of my 1080ti only pushing 55fps in certain areas on Destiny 2 even at 1080p with the Ryzen 1600 at 3.8ghz.

I figured screw it, I'm not limiting a top end GPU anymore and ordered the 8600k and the Asrock board.
Will test D2 in same area when I'm up and running hopefully tomorrow.

Was your Ryzen at 100% usage at the time?

 

[prjwebb]

Was your Ryzen at 100% usage at the time?

Of course not.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Of course not.

Then in what way was it limiting your CPU?

 

[gavinh87]

Then in what way was it limiting your CPU?

Ryzen 1st gen sucks at 1080p that is why. What these reviewers don't show are games like this in multiplayer where anything can happen.

This is my video of my 1700 and destiny - it was holding back even a 1070 nevermind a 1080ti.

 

[prjwebb]

Then in what way was it limiting your CPU?

I can only assume it's speed or latency related. Not many games that are going to fully utilise 12 threads...

 

[prjwebb]

Ryzen 1st gen sucks at 1080p that is why. What these reviewers don't show are games like this in multiplayer where anything can happen.

This is my video of my 1700 and destiny - it was holding back even a 1070 nevermind a 1080ti.

Ah they put so much effort into that opening section of the game.

 

[chrcoluk]

the value for money graph is flawed, it uses CB and CB is not relevant to most desktop users. Its kinda sad the most popular benchmarking is app is detached from most workloads.

Personally I dont see a problem with the Z370 chipset, the idea Z390 is better because of slightly better future proofing is only relevant if you upgrade your cpu every year, the OP like most people has said he aims to keep it much longer then that.

Relevant parts of Z390

• 
  Upgraded audio interface
  
  
• Integrated Wireless/Bluetooth
  
  
• Integrated USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Previously, Intel was late to upgrade beyond 3.0, so they were the driving force in 3.0 being renamed 3.1 Gen 1, which is utter marketing BS)
  
  
• improved standby power features

The only thing in that list that would make me consider waiting is the USB upgrade. But most boards still give usb 3.1 gen 2 via asmedia.