PC build futureproofing

[Cathrao]

Hey there, PC enthusiasts. Currently in the process of replacing the oldest parts of my PC, as that setup has been with me since 2012, but found myself wanting to hear other opinions first. This post is a bit long, so please forgive that if you can. If anything mentioned below is factually wrong, please do correct me. It's been a strenuous 4-day research, and I'm sure I've missed something. But first the build specifics.

 

Current build (• stays, ○ to be replaced):

Spoiler

•Case - Coolermaster HAF 932  [RC-932-KKN1-GP]

•PSU - Corsair AX860 - 860W  [CP-9020044-EU]

○Motherboard - GIGABYTE Z77X-UD5H-WB WIFI  [GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WIFI]

○CPU - Intel Core i7-3770 3.4GHz (Turbo 3900GHz)  [BX80637I73770]

•GPU - ASUS GeForce ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-11G-GAMING, 11GB GDDR5X  [90YV0AM1-M0NM00]

○RAM - HyperX Savage 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 CL9  [HX316C9SRK2/16]

•Sound card - SC Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro (PCIe ) [70SB088600000]

○SSD OS - Samsung SSD 850 Pro - 256GB  [MZ-7KE256BW]

•SSD 2 - Samsung SSD 860 EVO, 2,5" - 1TB  [MZ-76E1T0B/EU]

•HDD - Seagate BarraCuda Pro, 3,5" - 4TB  [ST4000DM006]

The PC still easily holds its place, running everything at 1440p, which also stays as my target res for gaming. But it does slowly show its age, as I do love to have many things running at once. Streaming is a tad difficult, browsing with lots of tabs open is a pain if I also game. But most of all, I simply want to refresh the PC internals and futureproof them for the next 6+ years, during which I'd have to upgrade the GPU only. The current build still runs on Win7, which I consider a big plus, but I'll have to eventually switch to Win10 for continued software support.

 

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The original thought was to follow the AMD Ryzen 7 path:

Spoiler

Motherboard - ASUS TUF GAMING X570-PLUS - AMD X570  [90MB1180-M0EAY]

CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz (Turbo 4.4GHz) 8C16T  [100-100000071BOX]

RAM - G.SKill Trident Z Neo 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3600 CL16-16-16-36  [F4-3600C16D-32GTZN]

The pros are the multicore performance of the 3rd gen Ryzen, as well as the CPU being only 65W TDP. The cons found in single core performance, as well as lower FPS in general during gaming. I read that the Ryzens require higher speed RAMs compared to Intel, so that also got reflected in the price in an unpleasant way (more on that later). I'm also not sure if the Motherboard in question is a high enough tier for the remaining hardware. Still, best price overall.

 

In terms of futureproofing, it also means that the X570 board is PCIe 4.0, supporting upcoming NVMe SSDs, as well as any possible GPUs in the coming decade or longer, probably. Yet it seems PCIe 3.0 will still last a very long time regardless, especially considering GPU performances? Two other points against this move is that the PCIe 4.0 boards do have chipset fans to combat the extra heat; an additional component to worry about, in terms of faulty equipment, as well as the fact, that the X570 boards are the first gen implementation of PCIe 4.0. I'm sure better solutions will come over the coming years.

 

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Nontheless, there is still the fps problem (, if it is a problem to begin with), so I looked over at Intel, specifically their i7 9700K. But the complete lack of Hyper-threading was a sad revelation, marking this CPU useless. The budget had to grow, so next I've pitted the Ryzen 7 3900x against the i9 9900k. Both containing 8 cores and 16 threads, they should easily provide for all my needs. And while Ryzen's still better overall for other tasks, I noticed Intel stays ahead with the fps counter, looking at several benchmarks on the net (5-15 fps difference).

 

Right now, the "final" replacement build seems to be:

Spoiler

Motherboard A - ASRock Z390 PHANTOM GAMING 9 - Intel Z390  [90-MXB8Z0-A0UAYZ]

Motherboard B - ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO - Intel Z390  [90MB0XS0-M0EAY0]

CPU - Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6GHz (Turbo 5.0GHz)  [BX80684I99900K]

CPU cooler - Be quiet! Dark Rock PRO 4  [BK022]

RAM - Kingston HyperX Predator 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 3200 CL16  [HX432C16PB3K2/32]

SSD OS - Samsung SSD 970 PRO, M.2 - 512GB  [MZ-V7P512BW]

The Predators were 50% off, so that seemed like a very easy choice to make, especially given that people seem to say Intel isn't so speed hungry for RAMs. That still leaves the Motherboard decision. From one of the pinned threads, I've noticed the Phantom Gaming 9 is rated higher when it comes to housing and possibly overclocking the i9. It also seems to be slightly cheaper than the Hero. Although both are currently out of stock in most shops, hope I can still get one. However, how necessary would such high-tiered mobos be? If I'm going to overclock at all, it'll be small boosts. The case is air cooled, and will remain so.

 

Price-wise, the situation is:

AMD Ryzen 7 3700x rebuild - €1174

AMD Ryzen 9 3900x rebuild - €1382 or more, if better mobo needed

Intel i9-9900K rebuild - €1226

 

+€72 for 3× BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm and 1× Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax for better case cooling.

 

 

Now the question is; is there anything I grossly overlooked? Or the other elephant in the room; would waiting for AMD's Ryzen 4/Intel's 10000 series of CPUs be a better idea? Is there even anything big to look forward to at all? Also, I'd love input from everyone who made similar upgrades and possess real numbers, as to how the performance got improved.

 

Huge thanks in advance for any responses whatsoever!

[Meganter]

3700x all the way, it will be way better than the CPU you actually have anyway  

 

The motherboard is really good and for the ram you can still go for 3000-3200 and overclock them with the infinity fabric.

 

I personally went from an i5-2500k/560Ti to an i7-8700k/Vega 64 and it was insane !

[Cathrao]

You'll have to forgive me if I'm looking for a little more info than that. Especially considering the mobos.

 

But nice to hear your latest upgrade has been such a massive difference. That's always great to see!