What CPU should I upgrade to?

GTechGeorge · April 20, 2020

I first upgraded my CPU from an i5-4690K (4c4t) to an i7-6850K (6c12t) in 2017 when I realized I could get much better performance video editing and found a sick deal on said i7. Plus it got me onto the enthusiast X99 chipset which gave me quad-channel RAM capability and lots of PCIe lanes (and a ton of USB ports haha) It's been 3 years since then and I've been considering upgrading again because I've started video editing a lot more now, in 4k nonetheless. I mostly do video editing nowadays as I haven't had a lot of time to play games, but I'd still like to be able to get good frame rates regardless. I have a GTX 1080 Ti and I'm not worried about upgrading it for a few more years still.

Ideally I've been holding off until the 10th-gen Intel release just to make sure there aren't going to be any surprise releases that would screw me over in the long run. But with the rumors that 10th-gen Intel's still not gonna be too great compared to the Ryzen offerings and that 4th-gen Ryzen's coming soon anyway, I'm rethinking my choice to wait.

I've considered:

-Used Intel Core i7-6950X if I can find one for a good deal, but that's been near impossible recently. That way I save money not upgrading motherboards.

-AMD Threadripper 2950X because I don't mind the X99 enthusiast platform and quad-channel RAM would be nice to have as an upgrade path. Still cheaper than the 3950X but worse performance comparably.

-AMD Ryzen 9 3900X would give me 2x the cores and 4x the threads. Not a bad starter choice.

-AMD Ryzen 9 3950X would be my balls-to-the-wall futureproof of choice and would ensure I wouldn't have to upgrade for another 5+ years.

I'd like to not spend an arm and a leg if possible, and I think the R9 3950X & X570 mobo combo would be my absolute maximum (~$1000-$1200) budget in this case.

Let me know your guys' thoughts and I'm open to discussion. Willing to answer any questions if needed.

My current setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/StrikerX1360/saved/gWLjpg

P.S. would my 3000MHz RAM pose a problem with 3rd-gen Ryzen? I know 3600MHz is typically a good starting point for it but I really don't wanna buy a whole new RAM kit if I don't need to.

SavageNeo · April 20, 2020

1 minute ago, StrikerX1360 said:

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X would be my balls-to-the-wall futureproof of choice and would ensure I wouldn't have to upgrade for another 5+ years.

this is the best choice. pretty much on par in gaming with i9 9900k but better in any other scenario.

Escapenz · April 20, 2020

Cost more up front but i would so go the 3950x. As you said would ensure you wouldnt have to upgrade for a while

Damascus · April 20, 2020

As a 6950x owner, definitely the 3900x/3950x. You'll get way stronger stock single core performance, 20-60% more cores and an easier to cool CPU.

Jurrunio · April 20, 2020

19 minutes ago, StrikerX1360 said:

-Used Intel Core i7-6950X if I can find one for a good deal, but that's been near impossible recently. That way I save money not upgrading motherboards.

-AMD Threadripper 2950X because I don't mind the X99 enthusiast platform and quad-channel RAM would be nice to have as an upgrade path. Still cheaper than the 3950X but worse performance comparably.

-AMD Ryzen 9 3900X would give me 2x the cores and 4x the threads. Not a bad starter choice.

-AMD Ryzen 9 3950X would be my balls-to-the-wall futureproof of choice and would ensure I wouldn't have to upgrade for another 5+ years.

I dont think you noticed (likely you dont overclock), but Broadwell-E CPUs cannot overclock at all due to Intel's secuity patch. For this reason, 6900k, 6950x cant hold a candle in performance than all the Ryzen options or even the 5960X. Also for this reason, Haswell-E CPUs jumped up in price significantly so 5960x will be really expensive and not viable as a result (unless you got really lucky)

2950X is definitely not cheaper when you consider the much more expensive X399 board it uses comparing to those on AM4 socket

so best value option will be the 3900x, absolute best will be 3950x. 4th gen likely wont give ground breaking improvements (as AMD's target gain is like 10-20%? In other words, more like 1st gen to 2nd gen rather than 2nd gen to 3rd gen) so that's a point to 3950x, but 3900x has a per core price much closer to mid range 3600 and 3700x than 3950x, a rare thing for high end products.

I would recommend the 3950x if you can afford to spend that much, or 3900x if you dont.

19 minutes ago, StrikerX1360 said:

P.S. would my 3000MHz RAM pose a problem with 3rd-gen Ryzen? I know 3600MHz is typically a good starting point for it but I really don't wanna buy a whole new RAM kit if I don't need to.

That could hurt performance anywhere from 0-10% depending on the workload, but it's usually within 5% so not ground breaking. you could try overclocking the memory but since you havent touched the CPU I doubt you'll do it to the memory as it's more difficult.