CPU Upgrade time?

Largoh

Largoh

Largoh

Associate
Joined
19 Feb 2014
Posts
5
Hi all,

I currently have an i7 8700k. I was planning on upgrading my CPU next year some time when Intel 12th Gen comes out (depending on if they're any good). However, we've recently found out my wife is pregnant so plans have changed and I'm looking to upgrade now.

The question is, Is the 11700K worth upgrading to or should I just stick with 8700K? It's unlikely I'll be in a position to be able to upgrade for a good few years unless I do it now.

I'm not set on Intel, I've just had Intel CPUs since my Q6600!

CPU will be paired with 32GB RAM and a 3080 FE

Cheers
 
11th Gen is a stop gap, look up Alder Lake, due out Q4 2021.

If not, get the 11400 or 11600K if budget and time are an issue.

8 cores is good for multi-tasking, but gaming on 6 cores is quite fast in 2021.

Look at B560 motherboards, the Z590 motherboards are overpriced.
 
IMHO YOLO, lifes too short. If you spend a lot of time / get a lot of enjoyment out of your PC do it now, if you're constantly waiting for the next new thing you'll never upgrade.
 
modd1uk said:
IMHO YOLO, lifes too short. If you spend a lot of time / get a lot of enjoyment out of your PC do it now, if you're constantly waiting for the next new thing you'll never upgrade.
Click to expand...

There are bad and better times to upgrade. It is a bad time to buy something old just a few months before a whole platform upgrade - new memory DDR5 type, new PCIe 5 standard, new architecture with higher processor core counts, etc.

There is a very high risk of getting obsolete soon.

Largoh said:
Hi all,

I currently have an i7 8700k. I was planning on upgrading my CPU next year some time when Intel 12th Gen comes out (depending on if they're any good). However, we've recently found out my wife is pregnant so plans have changed and I'm looking to upgrade now.

The question is, Is the 11700K worth upgrading to or should I just stick with 8700K? It's unlikely I'll be in a position to be able to upgrade for a good few years unless I do it now.

I'm not set on Intel, I've just had Intel CPUs since my Q6600!

CPU will be paired with 32GB RAM and a 3080 FE

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hi,

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is faster and more power efficient - 105 watt vs 125 watt. It is the technologically superior product.
 
I don't there is enough of a performance increase to justify an upgrade just yet. The 11 series is disappointing so better to wait until the end of this year when the 12th series should be appearing. Either that or go AMD.
 
I'd probably stick to the 8700k until the DDR5 platforms start launching. Rumour mill says that should start seeing such in less than a year.

It's especially so, given that the next group of intel processors are on a node shrink, and should be their biggest generational leap in some time.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

By the time DDR5 is available I think it'll be too late to upgrade for me, so I'm between upgrading to a 5800X or just sticking with the 8700K and hoping I'm able to get the opportunity to upgrade in a year or two.
 
Largoh said:
The question is, Is the 11700K worth upgrading to or should I just stick with 8700K? It's unlikely I'll be in a position to be able to upgrade for a good few years unless I do it now.
Click to expand...

How hard is it to just take the money y you were going to spend now, and put it in a sperate account then not touch it until you are ready to buy?

As already stated, waste of money upgrading now the 8700K is a good CPU still and you'll gain very little other than a smaller bank balance (or debt if you are doing it that way)
 
Stick with the 8700K if gaming is your main use as upgrading now isn't going to get you any extra performance at 1440p or above.
 
Largoh said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

By the time DDR5 is available I think it'll be too late to upgrade for me, so I'm between upgrading to a 5800X or just sticking with the 8700K and hoping I'm able to get the opportunity to upgrade in a year or two.
Click to expand...

Some rumours put Alderlake coming Q3 2021 with DDR5 support.
 
Thanks for the responses all. I've going to stick with the 8700K for the time being and hope that money I put to one side for an upgrade doesn't get soaked up by other things with the wife being off work on Maternity leave.
Worst case is that I'm stuck with the 8700K for a couple more years which isn't the worst thing in the world when my priorities will obviously change anyway.

Thanks again
 
Largoh said:
Thanks for the responses all. I've going to stick with the 8700K for the time being and hope that money I put to one side for an upgrade doesn't get soaked up by other things with the wife being off work on Maternity leave.
Worst case is that I'm stuck with the 8700K for a couple more years which isn't the worst thing in the world when my priorities will obviously change anyway.

Thanks again
Click to expand...

You've made a good decision, whilst a 5800x etc might be faster, I wouldn't personally say the sheer outlay is worth the performance uplift and think you'd probably be a bit disappointed. The 8700k will almost certainly still be a good viable gaming CPU for years still, especially at resolutions above 1080p.

Wait til your kid is 3 and you get the 30 free nursery hours, you'll feel like a millionaire when it comes.
 
KungFuSpaghetti said:
You've made a good decision, whilst a 5800x etc might be faster, I wouldn't personally say the sheer outlay is worth the performance uplift and think you'd probably be a bit disappointed. The 8700k will almost certainly still be a good viable gaming CPU for years still, especially at resolutions above 1080p.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I game in 1440p and have no plans to change my main display. Thinking about hooking the PC up to my 4K TV for chill games but those won't require top graphics or 100+ FPS anyway.

KungFuSpaghetti said:
Wait til your kid is 3 and you get the 30 free nursery hours, you'll feel like a millionaire when it comes.
Click to expand...

Ha. I'm already looking forward to that.
 
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