Is the 9900k still a good buy going into 2021?

[adb1028]

Hi all. Im building my first PC in 9 years. This is a mid-high end pure gaming rig that I want to last for at least 3-4 years. I am going with a RTX 3080 (or big navi) and need help choosing a processor. My budget is $300 and up to this point my plan was to get a 10600k OC'd or the new AMD 5600x. I primarily want to play COD Warzone at high frame rates @ 1440p.

 

Micro Center just put the 9900k on sale for $299 and until now getting a top of the line CPU was a dream (even if it is a generation old). My question is, would a 9900k overclocked be a good buy @ $300 going into 2021? I picked up the 9900k and an Aorus z390 PRO Wifi for $470 total which would have cost $650 a week ago. I have 15 days to return it.

 

Thanks for the input!

[thebosserman34]

its an it ok  deal good for gaming i just suggest waiting for a 5800x 

[WereCat]

I would not pay $299 for a 9900k now when new Ryzen is not even 2 weeks away from release. I don't think thats a good choice at all right now.

 

I mean, it will work, it will give you great performance but its on an outdated platform with no upgrade path at all, no PCIe4, etc...

[Dedayog]

2 minutes ago, WereCat said:

I would't not pay $299 for a 9900k now when new Ryzen is not even 2 weeks away from release. I don't think thats a good choice at all right now.

 

I mean, it will work, it will give you great performance but its on an outdated platform with no upgrade path at all, no PCIe4, etc...

Isn't the 5800X on an outdated platform with no upgrade path tho?   This is the last chip for the AM4 socket, as far as I know.

 

9900k will still deliver comparative excellent gaming.  Not saying to buy it, but don't discount its raw performance.

 

From what I can tell, the 10600K is Intel's best bang/buck gaming chip.  Wait for the 5xxx AMD chips to see how how they all compare, then buy. 

[boggy77]

for pure gaming, the 10600k and the 5600x are better. 

[Stahlmann]

The reason for the sale is that they won't sell any more of these when the 5600X and higher are released. So i wouldn't go for a 9900K now.

[WereCat]

1 minute ago, Dedayog said:

Isn't the 5800X on an outdated platform with no upgrade path tho?   This is the last chip for the AM4 socket, as far as I know.

We don't know for sure. Chances are, yes. But at least you got all of the modern features on AM4 (B550/X570) that are not present on Z390 platform.

[Jurrunio]

For the price it's a decent deal. After all Intel has not improved their desktop CPU's architecture in any significant way since 6th gen, meaning 10th is barely better than the 9th. However you would need to spend more on cooling due to the sheer heat output and power draw, so it doesnt save you as much as the CPU + board alone would suggest

[Eggs-n-Jakey]

Did you keep it? I bet you kept it cause it is a good deal, and it's going to remain a good deal even if you can't upgrade the mobo, I'm about to do that deal next week, everyone who was like "you should wait for the new CPU's that cost more!" are probably still without the new new. So you done good lola

[jtraccsy]

Go to Amazon, and pick up the i9 10850k 10c/20t. I picked one up a few months back, this thing is a absolute monster. Overclocks to well over the 10900k speeds with ease. Modest 5ghz OC all core with 27-29 degree idle temps. 65-72 degrees while gaming depending on the game and how demanding it is. Couldnt be happier, all for $399 on amazon. I think this is the best bang for the buck IMHO. You won't regret it.

 

I pushed it to 5.2ghz, she ran fine, was stable, but the heat became too much for my nzxt kraken 240mm to handle. If I want to stay at 5.2ghz all core I need a 360mm Z73 version. I am happy with 5ghz all core, outstanding performance.

[ImBl0ndu1]

The difference between the i9 9900k and ryzen 5 5600x is not that big and it will depend on the games you ll play. From all the benchmarks i ve seen, i9 9900k delivers better in Warzone than the 5600x from AMD.

Also, from what i know, ryzen 5000 series won t have an upgrade path (correct me if im wrong).

I9 will sort you out and right now its cheaper and from what i ve read, more long term than the 5600x because of those 2 extra cores.

It depends on what you want. If you want top of the top, right now, you go ryzen. If you want a last gen flagship that won t have any problems and its kinda cheaper, you go for the i9.

 

It also depends on what mobo you have and how much money you want to spend. When i started my build, I went with Intel because i had found a deal for an i5 9600k which was way cheaper than the market price. Sold it for the same price i bought it, went for an i7 9700k and finally, i wanted to buy the I9 9900K so I did. 

If you have an intel mobo 9th gen and don t want to spend money on a new mobo, i would go intel i9. If you have money to spend, shoot for the top. At the end of the day, for gaming, you ll be good with both.

 

My I9 9900KF paired with an AMD RX 6800XT can do whatever the hell I want. I play warzone as well and I have around 140-200 fps, depending on the area im in, sometimes the drops go to 130 fps. Warzone is not exactly a well optimised game. I have a bit of lag inside the menu for whatever reason.

 

Go with what your pocket can pay. 

 

For the next 3-4 years, you should be just fine. Maybe in 4 years you won t be able to play everything at max, but the power of example is big. An I7 4th gen can still game.

And if you overclock your cpu you can boost it a bit. I got mine at 5.1 ghz with a kraken x73 aio 360mm. 

 

Either way, you won t regret it.

[Mister Woof]

The burning question is what did the OP end up doing?

We'll likely never know.