Best cpu for a fluid gaming experience

[Incognito Clown]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm looking to upgrade my i5 6600k for something more powerful, with more headroom.

 

My i5 (which is overclocked to 4.5GHz btw) did the job fine for my first build, but since I upgraded to a GTX 1080Ti (came from a GTX 1070), I do notice the cpu bottlenecking the gpu. This is especially noticeable in the form of frame stutters (1% and .1% lows) when the cpu is at 100%. I'm also having input stutters: I'm normally able to do a 360 in-game, swiping the mouse from the left to the right on my mouse mat, but if the cpu is at 100%, this can go as low as to only turn 180 degrees in some games (r6 siege for example). Closing down all background applications and processes does reduce these a little, but I kinda just want to be done with all this hassle.

 

So I'm looking for a cpu that allows me to game with as less hick-ups and stutters; as fluid of an experience as I can get. I also want more cores or threads than I have now (4c4t) so I'm able to game while Chrome, Discord and some game clients are still running. Currently I even have to close down Corsairs iCUE if I want less stutters 

 

I've initially looked at an i7 8700k or 9700k, i9 9900k or an AMD 2700x. I more or less want to avoid the 9700k since it does not have hyper threading, like my i5 lacks right now. Maybe (most) games can not take advantage of them (right now), but background processes can, so I'm hoping that having more threads does reduce the influence background processes have on in-game performance.

I think the other 3 named processors are all great options.

 

I don't care about their cost much. I just want to go for the one that can deliver the most fluid experience (less and less extreme frame dips).

I do realise the AMD is cheaper, but on a €2500-ish build the €200 difference is negligible in my opinion (€349 for the 2700x, €449 for the 8700k, €549 for the 9900k).

 

What cpu would you recommend me and why?

 

I'm btw looking at combining the cpu with a ASUS ROG Maximus or Crosshair Hero. Don't have much experience with motherboards but I know their BIOS is amazing and their software seems the most intuitive and least bloatware like. The bios of my current MSI motherboard is fine, but the software for controlling stuff in Windows is slow, full of bugs (sometimes it doesnt want to start) and uses much cpu. What is your take on ASUS software?

 

i5 6600k @4.5GHz with Corsair Hydro H110i

16GB DDR4-3000

GTX1080Ti Lightning X

3x 25" 60Hz 1440p IPS monitor

750W Corsair PSU

[Bruno_A]

The best gaming CPU out there is the Core i9 9900K, so, if you don't care much about the price and want the best of the best, this will be your best option. You could also wait for RYZEN 3 to launch, as it may bring a cheaper alternative to the Core i9 9900K. But if you don't wait, you won't go wrong with the i9. With 8 cores and 16 threads at 4.7GHz (turbo speed on all 8 cores, if I remember correctly), it will give you great gaming performance. The extra threads, compared with the i7 9700K, will also be useful if you get into things such as virtualization, video editing, etc.

[Incognito Clown]

Thanks for your reply @bruny06!

 

I did see a lot of benchmarks showing that the intel cpu's did out perform the AMD a little, when it comes to AVG fps. I've not seen much info about which one is more consistent. Do you know if there is a difference here and which one would then be the winner? Would it be as simple as "the i9 has the highest clockspeed and (together with the 2700x) the highest core+thread count and delivers therefor the most consistent framerate"?

[BetterThanLife]

Just grab a 6700K.

[Bruno_A]

5 minutes ago, Incognito Clown said:

Thanks for your reply @bruny06!

 

I did see a lot of benchmarks showing that the intel cpu's did out perform the AMD a little, when it comes to AVG fps. I've not seen much info about which one is more consistent. Do you know if there is a difference here and which one would then be the winner? Would it be as simple as "the i9 has the highest clockspeed and (together with the 2700x) the highest core+thread count and delivers therefor the most consistent framerate"?

For games, clock speed is quite important, and Intel has higher clock speed and single-core performance than RYZEN, which is great for games.

[Bruno_A]

9 minutes ago, BetterThanLife said:

Just grab a 6700K.

A 6700K is not worth getting now, in my opinion, unless bought for dirt cheap.

[Incognito Clown]

11 minutes ago, BetterThanLife said:

Just grab a 6700K.

Quote

A 6700K is not worth getting now, in my opinion, unless bought for dirt cheap.

It still retails for €300 new, though there might be some used available for less. However, I do prefer to just go with a new platform. This does mean I have to upgrade my motherboard as well, but since my current motherboard was really on the budget side of things (less than 100 euros/dollars), thats not a big deal.

 

Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Jurrunio]

27 minutes ago, Incognito Clown said:

I more or less want to avoid the 9700k since it does not have hyper threading, like my i5 lacks right now.

9700k does have 8 cores which is more than the 8700k. In benchmarks these two have similar multicore scores as well, so there's no reason why the 9700k is any worse than the 8700k. In fact the worse one here is the 2700X, higher latency in the CPU means it only plays games as well as Haswell i7s (though more cores means more stable frame rates). It's only advantage is its platform, 3rd gen Ryzen gives people hope.

 

Do you have needs for high frame rates (say past 300fps in csgo, past 120fps in BF5)? If you do, get the 9900k. It might have the same vulnerabilities like all other Intel CPUs, it may be hard to cool, but it is the fastest and gives the most stable frame rates. Otherwise the 2700X is the best option, for future upgradability.

 

31 minutes ago, Incognito Clown said:

I'm btw looking at combining the cpu with a ASUS ROG Maximus or Crosshair Hero. Don't have much experience with motherboards but I know their BIOS is amazing and their software seems the most intuitive and least bloatware like. The bios of my current MSI motherboard is fine, but the software for controlling stuff in Windows is slow, full of bugs (sometimes it doesnt want to start) and uses much cpu. What is your take on ASUS software?

So far not even Asus has made a Windows software that works flawlessly. Their BIOS is indeed better than MSI's (arguably the best), but their hardware and price aren't impressive. Let's use the semi-flagship boards as example, in terms of CPU overclocking and feature set the MSI Z390 Ace ($269), Asus Maximus XI Extreme ($590), Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master ($290) and Asrock Gaming 9 ($234) are about equal. Similar things goes on in other countries. That's what sucks about Asus, they are like Apple in the world of custom PCs.

[Incognito Clown]

Otherwise the 2700X is the best option, for future upgradability.

I believed I read somewhere that the current socket is only supported up till 2020 (they are gonna change to another socket at some point). So I'm not sure how much of a benefit that still is.

30 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

So far not even Asus has made a Windows software that works flawlessly. Their BIOS is indeed better than MSI's (arguably the best), but their hardware and price aren't impressive. Let's use the semi-flagship boards as example, in terms of CPU overclocking and feature set the MSI Z390 Ace ($269), Asus Maximus XI Extreme ($590), Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master ($290) and Asrock Gaming 9 ($234) are about equal. Similar things goes on in other countries. That's what sucks about Asus, they are like Apple in the world of custom PCs.

Hmm if basically none of them are able to make good software, I might be better off going for a semi-flagship MSI, Gigabyte or Asrock board for the same price as Asus' entry ROG board (the Hero). I can of course just don't install any motherboard software at all.

 

I don't care much about the bios btw. I did mention it cause I knew they have (subjectively) the best (read: most intuitive) bios, but I'm not gonna try to break world records or anything. Only thing I'm gonna use the bios for is to enable XMP, change the fan speeds and maybe apply a slight overclock if I feel like it.

[HoneyBadger84]

9900k is "the best", if price is no issue, period. In the majority of games it provides higher frame rate, and, more importantly, higher 1% and 0.1% lows, which means a smoother game play experience. 

 

I recently upgraded from an i7 3930K to a i9 9900K, and I can tell you my eVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid feels like a brand new card again. Especially if you play cpu-dependent games, it's not quite as big of an upgrade for you, but it should still be noticeable. 

 

If you don't want to pay that high a premium, the 8700k or 9700k are cheaper but still very good alternatives. 

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, Incognito Clown said:

I believed I read somewhere that the current socket is only supported up till 2020 (they are gonna change to another socket at some point). So I'm not sure how much of a benefit that still is.

Indeed if 3rd gen Ryzen isn't good then upgradability part isnt really useful for a gaming rig.

 

1 hour ago, Incognito Clown said:

Only thing I'm gonna use the bios for is to enable XMP, change the fan speeds and maybe apply a slight overclock if I feel like it.

then why do you even need these high end boards? Even an Aorus Pro Wifi board already has all the features 99% of users ever want with a VRM stronger than the Hero in current and thermal output.

[Mick Naughty]

After upgrading to my 8700k it was a great experience. Even went out and bought a new monitor just because of it. 

 

But I only have a 1080. If I had a 1080ti still, I’m sure I’d have an issue again as it sits at 90% in the games I still play. I’m sure it would do well on 1440p at the cost of frames. 

 

I’d go 9700k or 8700k for stuff like RS6. 

[Mister Woof]

Get a second hand 6600k or 7700k if you have a z270

 

 

[Incognito Clown]

8 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

After upgrading to my 8700k it was a great experience. Even went out and bought a new monitor just because of it. 

 

But I only have a 1080. If I had a 1080ti still, I’m sure I’d have an issue again as it sits at 90% in the games I still play. I’m sure it would do well on 1440p at the cost of frames. 

 

I’d go 9700k or 8700k for stuff like RS6. 

Thanks for your reply Mick

What cpu did you have before you upgraded to the 8700k?

[Mick Naughty]

2 minutes ago, Incognito Clown said:

Thanks for your reply Mick

What cpu did you have before you upgraded to the 8700k?

I have a 4790k and 4770k currently. 

[Incognito Clown]

8 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

I have a 4790k and 4770k currently. 

Oh did you return the 8700k, or what happened?

[Mick Naughty]

12 minutes ago, Incognito Clown said:

Oh did you return the 8700k, or what happened?

No, running my rigs they sit in my sig. The 4790k is wrapped in a rag sitting in one of my drawers.