Need advice on choosing a CPU

[Chakes]

Hi guys,
I'm looking to upgrade my CPU since the i5-6500 currently in my PC clearly starts to reach its limits even after overclocking it via the Skylake-BCLK-OC thing. The latest games coming out just need more than 4c/4t as it seems.

 

My budget is rather tight at the moment. So I'm considering to either get me a used i7-6700k for the extra threads and official overclocking support while I could reuse my current motherboard and cooler, or to spend the extra money and get
me a Ryzen. 

I use my computer purely for gaming. Ideally, this CPU upgrade should do me well for the next 2-3 years before I have to consider the next upgrade.

What would you guys recommend? Would a i7-6700k be enough for now or should I save a bit more money and get me something like a Ryzen 5 3600 or a Ryzen 7 3700? Or maybe something else entirely?

[Senzelian]

Depends on what you have and what exactly it is you're doing.

 

With Ryzen you will need a new motherboard and most likely also new RAM to get the most performance out of it.

3600Mhz RAM is the sweetspot for 3rd gen Ryzen and if you don't have that, you should probably buy new RAM.

 

In that case it might be best to simply stick with Intel and get a 9700K or a 6700K.

But that depends on pricing of current motherboards and chips - same with AMD.

 

So I suggest you do some research and find out, what the options you have would cost you and what the performance increase would look like.

[MrSushiGaming]

Recommend go 3700x, use the wraith cooler (or your old one) and b450 mobo like the steel legend or tomahawk.

[Chakes]

Going Ryzen I will definitely need a new mobo and Ram, yeah. I'm currently using a Gigabyte Z170-HD3P, so really only sticking to Skylake or Kaby Lake would work for that.

So basically my question comes down to "would a i7-6700k do good enough for now or would it make more sense to completely switch over to Ryzen?" :0

The need for an upgrade only came up recently anyway ever since I realized my CPU gets pinned to 100% usage on all cores in games like the new CoD:MW or Detroit: Become Human. So I wonder if just getting additional 4 thread for cheap migh tdo enough for now. Because in the end, spending less cash for something that's obsolete doesn't save you money at all. ;(

[MrSushiGaming]

6 minutes ago, Chakes said:

Going Ryzen I will definitely need a new mobo and Ram, yeah. I'm currently using a Gigabyte Z170-HD3P, so really only sticking to Skylake or Kaby Lake would work for that.

So basically my question comes down to "would a i7-6700k do good enough for now or would it make more sense to completely switch over to Ryzen?" :0

The need for an upgrade only came up recently anyway ever since I realized my CPU gets pinned to 100% usage on all cores in games like the new CoD:MW or Detroit: Become Human. So I wonder if just getting additional 4 thread for cheap migh tdo enough for now. Because in the end, spending less cash for something that's obsolete doesn't save you money at all. ;(

Sky lake and Kaby lake are straight up bad options considering ryzen.

[Chakes]

1 minute ago, MrSushiGaming said:

Sky lake and Kaby lake are straight up bad options considering ryzen.

That much is clear, I'm not wondering if 3rd gen Ryzen beats Skylake or Kaby Lake in performance.

What I'd like to know is if I could go the cheap way and just get a second hand 6700k for like 180€ which would do fine in games that heavily rely on multiple threads or if I should rather spend four times the money and go Ryzen right away.

If money wouldn't matter I'd go Ryzen right away. Bud sadly, it does, so I have to make a choice. If, however, a 6700k turns out to struggle just as much as my current 6500, then I'd just have spent money for nothing. Ideally I'd like to know from someone who has or had a 6700k or a comparable CPU how well it puts up with ther most recent games.

[MrSushiGaming]

7 minutes ago, Chakes said:

That much is clear, I'm not wondering if 3rd gen Ryzen beats Skylake or Kaby Lake in performance.

What I'd like to know is if I could go the cheap way and just get a second hand 6700k for like 180€ which would do fine in games that heavily rely on multiple threads or if I should rather spend four times the money and go Ryzen right away.

If money wouldn't matter I'd go Ryzen right away. Bud sadly, it does, so I have to make a choice. If, however, a 6700k turns out to struggle just as much as my current 6500, then I'd just have spent money for nothing. Ideally I'd like to know from someone who has or had a 6700k or a comparable CPU how well it puts up with ther most recent games.

Did some research and found out that it is suuuuuper bad getting a 6700k. If you go for a 3600 or 2700x, you not only get a performance boost but also a better upgrade path, and yes, I bet the 6700k will start chugging in 2020 games especially games like cyberpunk 2077.

[boggy77]

51 minutes ago, Chakes said:

next 2-3 years

the 6700k will be good for now, but not for 2-3 years. depends on your budget and what you find. 

a new ryzen platform will likely cost around $400 (if going for the 3600) or $500 (for 3700x).

If you find a 6700k used for $100, it might be a good short term option that should keep you going for a year or so until you save more money for a significant upgrade.

[Chakes]

1 minute ago, boggy77 said:

the 6700k will be good for now, but not for 2-3 years. depends on your budget and what you find. 

a new ryzen platform will likely cost around $400 (if going for the 3600) or $500 (for 3700x).

If you find a 6700k used for $100, it might be a good short term option that should keep you going for a year or so until you save more money for a significant upgrade.

Yeah that's what I thought. Guess I'll see if I can afford to go Ryzen right away or if I rather look for a used 6700k as a short term option.

Thanks guys!

[Geoff35674567]

1 hour ago, Chakes said:

get me a Ryzen

AMD's CEO picked the right name to get old gamers ryzing!

2600 is at bargain bin prices. I dont know how long the AM4 platform will be good for but you can start at a very budget price with the 2600 and a mATX B450.