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£500 is not mid range CPU money![]()
What even is a mid range CPU these days :s you've got mid range performing parts priced like high end, mid range priced parts that have either less or more performance than you'd expect at mid range, parts that overlap with mid range which have all kinds of caveats like being strong in one area but weak in another, etc. etc. unfortunately you have to do your research really these days and buy the CPU which fits your specific needs and budget most closely.
7000, 9000 and even 5000 Zen parts offer very strong performance across the board. Every time I’ve looked to upgrade there has been some offering a significant improvement for less power at sensible price and usually as drop in upgrade into an existing system. You really are out of touch, the CPU market has never been healthier.
What even is a mid range CPU these days :s you've got mid range performing parts priced like high end, mid range priced parts that have either less or more performance than you'd expect at mid range, parts that overlap with mid range which have all kinds of caveats like being strong in one area but weak in another, etc. etc. unfortunately you have to do your research really these days and buy the CPU which fits your specific needs and budget most closely.
I don't even remember the last time that CPU choice felt like a lesson in specialisation rather than a quick web search for your budget prior to this.
7000, 9000 and even 5000 Zen parts offer very strong performance across the board. Every time I’ve looked to upgrade there has been some offering a significant improvement for less power at sensible price and usually as drop in upgrade into an existing system. You really are out of touch, the CPU market has never been healthier.
I did choose the 265K, it has been fine so far. A little hotter than I expected given all the chatter about efficiency improvements. The boost voltage is 250/250W not 125/250W which the Intel website claims.
AMD also is competing with itself:
1.)Ryzen 5 7600/7600X for around £125 to £135
2.)Ryzen 5 9600X has dipped below £170
3.)Ryzen 7 7700/7700X from £200 to £245
4.)Ryzen 7 9700X for around £260 to £270
5.)Ryzen 9 7900/7900X for around £265 to £275
6.)Ryzen 5 7600X3D for around £270 and is getting a general release so prices might drop
7.)Ryzen 7 7800X3D for around £330
8.)Ryzen 7 5700X3D is around £200 as a drop-in upgrade for AM4
9.)Ryzen 9 5950X for under £230 as a drop-in upgrade for AM4
Then you have all the Chinese special pricing if you want to go down that path.
With LGA1851,Intel basically made it a one generation socket - Nova Lake will need a new socket. There is a high likelihood of Zen6 being on AM5. So you could start on a Ryzen 5 7600/7600X on a B850 board and have potential to upgrade down the line to a 9800X3D or maybe a 10800X3D.
Then the fact,that the AM5 AMD CPUs generally keep more of their performance on lower end boards and B850 boards with PCI-E 5.0 start from under £120.
While Intel's E cores can be okay for things like video encoding, when my work laptop was "upgraded" to Alder Lake i5-1235U (2P/8E/12T), 15W according to Intel. Previously I was on Haswell i5-4330M (2C/4T) wth 37W TDP.
There were SQL queries which were crazily slower on the "upgrade". And turning off the E cores improved things - but still slower than the Haswell!
Anyway every success I've been really put off the E cores, and general benchmarking.
Then ask the Raptor Lake degradation issues, Intel releasing clocked to hilt, and consuming power like crazy, platforms which last 1 or 2 gens...
I would totally avoid Intel for the now expect for very specific workloads. And then only if you trust them (degradation etc.) and can cool them.
I also don't see the budget appeal - so least for anything which requires good VRMs and expensive cooling.
You can get a 5950X for a little over £200 and happily run it on a £40 motherboard. The performance per watt-£££ ratio of DDR4 AM4 builds are pretty silly just now. I can’t remember a better time to buy CPUs. As you point out you also have chips like 7900 non X for not a lot more money and those offer stupid levels of performance for 60 watts.
I think a large part of the reason for well priced AMD desktop parts is down to the introduction of the AM5 based EPYC parts for professional use. Unit prices is less of a concern to this market.
For £600 I’d be looking at a 9950X3D. For £500 a 9950X.
£40 might be pushing it with a 5950X unless it is TDP capped,but there are plenty of solid £70 to £90 boards which will be fine.