Upgrading CPU in current PC

[TheNorsePantheon]

Budget (including currency): $2,000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I currently have an Intel i7-9700k that I bought around mid-2019. Over the last couple years though, I've been having issues with it and I don't want to deal with it any more. I've been thinking about upgrading my PC in two stages, first the CPU, then probably my GPU next year or towards the end of this year as I have a RTX 2080 Ti and it's still more than enough. The CPU I've been looking at is AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X. It has the higher clock speeds I'm used to but with twice as many cores and four times as many threads which should really help with x265 re-encoding and other CPU bound tasks.

Because I'm upgrading CPUs, I'll obviously need to upgrade my motherboard as well, and if I go AM5, I'll need to upgrade my RAM to DDR5. I will likely need a new cooler as well (currently eyeing the NH-D15).

While I don't necessarily need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable motherboard, it's definitely a nicety that I have used and enjoyed with my current board.

I have put together a PC Part Picker list with the four items I'm currently looking at but I'd love to hear any recommendations or comments from the community.

List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/gz2DW4

[Dr. Will0hlep]

6 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Budget (including currency): $2,000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I currently have an Intel i7-9700k that I bought around mid-2019. Over the last couple years though, I've been having issues with it and I don't want to deal with it any more. I've been thinking about upgrading my PC in two stages, first the CPU, then probably my GPU next year or towards the end of this year as I have a RTX 2080 Ti and it's still more than enough. The CPU I've been looking at is AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X. It has the higher clock speeds I'm used to but with twice as many cores and four times as many threads which should really help with x265 re-encoding and other CPU bound tasks.

Because I'm upgrading CPUs, I'll obviously need to upgrade my motherboard as well, and if I go AM5, I'll need to upgrade my RAM to DDR5. I will likely need a new cooler as well (currently eyeing the NH-D15).

While I don't necessarily need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable motherboard, it's definitely a nicety that I have used and enjoyed with my current board.

I have put together a PC Part Picker list with the four items I'm currently looking at but I'd love to hear any recommendations or comments from the community.

List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/gz2DW4

I think you'd be better off with a 7800X3D, you don't need the extra cores for gaming (they will just sit there doing nothing) and the 3D vcache would give your PC a good kick.

[filpo]

2 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Budget (including currency): $2,000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I currently have an Intel i7-9700k that I bought around mid-2019. Over the last couple years though, I've been having issues with it and I don't want to deal with it any more. I've been thinking about upgrading my PC in two stages, first the CPU, then probably my GPU next year or towards the end of this year as I have a RTX 2080 Ti and it's still more than enough. The CPU I've been looking at is AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X. It has the higher clock speeds I'm used to but with twice as many cores and four times as many threads which should really help with x265 re-encoding and other CPU bound tasks.

Because I'm upgrading CPUs, I'll obviously need to upgrade my motherboard as well, and if I go AM5, I'll need to upgrade my RAM to DDR5. I will likely need a new cooler as well (currently eyeing the NH-D15).

While I don't necessarily need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable motherboard, it's definitely a nicety that I have used and enjoyed with my current board.

I have put together a PC Part Picker list with the four items I'm currently looking at but I'd love to hear any recommendations or comments from the community.

List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/gz2DW4

I would get the arctic liquid freezer ii 360 instead as a cooler (if you case allows for a 360 rad) https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/YxG7JM

[DEADPOOLSMOM]

7 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Budget (including currency): $2,000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I currently have an Intel i7-9700k that I bought around mid-2019. Over the last couple years though, I've been having issues with it and I don't want to deal with it any more. I've been thinking about upgrading my PC in two stages, first the CPU, then probably my GPU next year or towards the end of this year as I have a RTX 2080 Ti and it's still more than enough. The CPU I've been looking at is AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X. It has the higher clock speeds I'm used to but with twice as many cores and four times as many threads which should really help with x265 re-encoding and other CPU bound tasks.

Because I'm upgrading CPUs, I'll obviously need to upgrade my motherboard as well, and if I go AM5, I'll need to upgrade my RAM to DDR5. I will likely need a new cooler as well (currently eyeing the NH-D15).

While I don't necessarily need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable motherboard, it's definitely a nicety that I have used and enjoyed with my current board.

I have put together a PC Part Picker list with the four items I'm currently looking at but I'd love to hear any recommendations or comments from the community.

List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/gz2DW4

PCPartPicker Part List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/mPFJJM

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 4.5 GHz 16-Core Processor  ($875.00 @ Amazon Australia)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($325.00 @ MSY Technology)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($242.00 @ Skycomp Technology)
Total: $1541.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-04-18 04:47 AEST+1000

[filpo]

Just now, will0hlep said:

I think you'd be better off with a 7800X3D, you don't need the extra cores for gaming (they will just sit there doing nothing) and the 3D vcache would give you a good kick.

 

7 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

This 

[PDifolco]

5 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Budget (including currency): $2,000 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): I currently have an Intel i7-9700k that I bought around mid-2019. Over the last couple years though, I've been having issues with it and I don't want to deal with it any more. I've been thinking about upgrading my PC in two stages, first the CPU, then probably my GPU next year or towards the end of this year as I have a RTX 2080 Ti and it's still more than enough. The CPU I've been looking at is AMD's Ryzen 9 7950X. It has the higher clock speeds I'm used to but with twice as many cores and four times as many threads which should really help with x265 re-encoding and other CPU bound tasks.

Because I'm upgrading CPUs, I'll obviously need to upgrade my motherboard as well, and if I go AM5, I'll need to upgrade my RAM to DDR5. I will likely need a new cooler as well (currently eyeing the NH-D15).

While I don't necessarily need a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capable motherboard, it's definitely a nicety that I have used and enjoyed with my current board.

I have put together a PC Part Picker list with the four items I'm currently looking at but I'd love to hear any recommendations or comments from the community.

List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/gz2DW4

Good part list , but if you're mostly playing games you really don't need 16 cores and will do better with a 7800X3D, or even a 7700X

 

[filpo]

7 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Good part list , but if you're mostly playing games you really don't need 16 cores and will do better with a 7800X3D, or even a 7700X

 

 

15 minutes ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

Not a big gamer but most of the games I do play are CPU bound (Civilization, Stellaris, etc.). x265 re-encoding is important to me.

Read the games, programs etc

[TheNorsePantheon]

21 minutes ago, filpo said:

I would get the arctic liquid freezer ii 360 instead as a cooler (if you case allows for a 360 rad) https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/YxG7JM

Unfortunately, my current case only supports up to a 280mm radiator. I have the NZXT H500. I'll probably be upgrading the case with my GPU due to clearance issues.

[cmndr]

I'd probably go 13700k at this point. It's "close enough" to the Zen 4 x3D parts in gaming and generally ahead in productivity. Also cheaper. It's like... $416 USD vs $590 USD. 
Similar story with RAM. You can re-use DDR4 RAM. Also cheaper boards. 
You'll basically get 85-99% the way there for half the price. You can upgrade 2x as often that way. If needed. 
 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-13700k/18.html

 

 

 

 

It's also effectively tied in CIV6 and ahead in AOE

 

Similar story with Factorio

 

 

The 7800x 3D and 7950x 3D are undisputably the gaming champs and they're no slouches on MT performance, but AMD isn't pricing themselves as a value option these days. 

[SorryBella]

2 hours ago, cmndr said:

I'd probably go 13700k at this point. It's "close enough" to the Zen 4 x3D parts in gaming and generally ahead in productivity. Also cheaper. It's like... $416 USD vs $590 USD. 
Similar story with RAM. You can re-use DDR4 RAM. Also cheaper boards. 
You'll basically get 85-99% the way there for half the price. You can upgrade 2x as often that way. If needed. 

Honestly yeah, the 13700K is a productivity monster in all regards. It basically in class with 7900X in certain scenarios and that thing is almost 600$.

[TheNorsePantheon]

13 hours ago, cmndr said:

I'd probably go 13700k at this point. It's "close enough" to the Zen 4 x3D parts in gaming and generally ahead in productivity. Also cheaper. It's like... $416 USD vs $590 USD. 
Similar story with RAM. You can re-use DDR4 RAM. Also cheaper boards. 
You'll basically get 85-99% the way there for half the price. You can upgrade 2x as often that way. If needed. 
 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i7-13700k/18.html

 

The 7800x 3D and 7950x 3D are undisputably the gaming champs and they're no slouches on MT performance, but AMD isn't pricing themselves as a value option these days. 

If I didn't mind the price difference at all and was willing to spend my entire budget, would you still recommend the 13700k over the 7950X or would you recommend the X3D variant at that point?

[cmndr]

8 hours ago, TheNorsePantheon said:

If I didn't mind the price difference at all and was willing to spend my entire budget, would you still recommend the 13700k over the 7950X or would you recommend the X3D variant at that point?

The 7950x and 7950x 3D are generally better parts. 

With that said, if you're in a financial situation where you're even thinking about budgets, it's probably better to spend half as much. 

Most people are better off saving cash. If you toss $500 or so into the S&P in around 5 years, you'd expect it to be more like $750ish (with a huge level of variance)

 

Pretty much no one ever said "man, I wish I spent twice as much for a difference I wouldn't notice"

 

This is not a 3700x vs 9700k vs 9900k comparison. The differences in performance (ST and MT) are less meaningful. 

I say this as someone who is trying to convince himself to not get a 13700k or similar. I don't have a use case for it.