9900K (keep old Z390 board) or new(er) platform?

[STRMfrmXMN]

Hey all, hope you're well.

 

I've been out of date with PC hardware for a bit, but my 8600K is starting to show its age and I need something a bit better. I run into performance issues in Forza when playing it at 144 Hz and running a Youtube video or the like in the background with CPU usage hitting 100% even while the CPU is overclocked. I have a Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX board and 3200 MHz Samsung B-die RAM. I'd ideally pop a 9900K in this system to keep it going but they're stupid expensive for how old they are and much better IPC comes with newer stuff while still allowing me to keep my DDR4.

 

I'm eyeing a used 12900K for $250 and finding a used Z690/Z790 board with Wi-Fi 6/6E to pair it with as a potential replacement. It would probably cost $120 bucks more or so, but will absolutely eat power and is currently overkill for me, plus I'd need to get a new adapter plate for my Noctua cooler. A 9900K would be an easy drop-in but is nowhere worth it's price in performance. It still would do everything I'd need of it without issue (I'm rocking a 1660 Ti... so there are some other more serious bottlenecks to be found poking around in my system).

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

but will absolutely eat power and is currently overkill for me

Then run it with a power limit. At idle the 12900K isn't that bad with power consumption, and under load it a power limit could keep it at whatever power draw you wanted (65W, 125W, etc.). You can always remove that power limit in the future if you do need more horsepower, but for the time being it'll keep your power consumption down.

 

Just go 12900K, I don't see a single reason to stick with a 9900K other than it's a little more convenient not to swap the board. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

9900k not worth it

 

If the 12900k is too much then buy yourself a used 5800x for the 120-150$ they usually go for or a used 5800x3d around 200$, used 12600k seem to float around 170$ and used 12700k may go as low as 200$ but i see those around 250$, these are just prices from the last time i checked us fb marketplace deals

 

5800x is the weakest out of all these cpus but its main benifit over the 12600k is cheaper used boards where you can find used b3/450 for like 50$ whereas used z690 float around 100$ iirc and not completely garbage b660 are a tad below that but didnt check b660 pricing since the z690s are pretty cheap and you can overclock + usually better i/o + better vrms

[aisle9]

Assuming you're US-based, a 9900K can be had on eBay for around $250-350. If you've got a bead on a 12900K for $250, well, in my book, spending the same amount on a five-year-old CPU that you would on a one-year-old CPU with more power behind it just doesn't make sense. And really, even at $200, the 9900K just isn't a tremendous value on the used market. Unless you come across a $150 9900K or something ridiculous like that, I'd go for the 12900K.

[STRMfrmXMN]

36 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Then run it with a power limit. At idle the 12900K isn't that bad with power consumption, and under load it a power limit could keep it at whatever power draw you wanted (65W, 125W, etc.). You can always remove that power limit in the future if you do need more horsepower, but for the time being it'll keep your power consumption down.

 

Just go 12900K, I don't see a single reason to stick with a 9900K other than it's a little more convenient not to swap the board. 

 

24 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

9900k not worth it

 

If the 12900k is too much then buy yourself a used 5800x for the 120-150$ they usually go for or a used 5800x3d around 200$, used 12600k seem to float around 170$ and used 12700k may go as low as 200$ but i see those around 250$, these are just prices from the last time i checked us fb marketplace deals

 

5800x is the weakest out of all these cpus but its main benifit over the 12600k is cheaper used boards where you can find used b3/450 for like 50$ whereas used z690 float around 100$ iirc and not completely garbage b660 are a tad below that but didnt check b660 pricing since the z690s are pretty cheap and you can overclock + usually better i/o + better vrms

 

24 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

Assuming you're US-based, a 9900K can be had on eBay for around $250-350. If you've got a bead on a 12900K for $250, well, in my book, spending the same amount on a five-year-old CPU that you would on a one-year-old CPU with more power behind it just doesn't make sense. And really, even at $200, the 9900K just isn't a tremendous value on the used market. Unless you come across a $150 9900K or something ridiculous like that, I'd go for the 12900K.

Thanks all. It's insane how expensive the 9900K is on the used market. This would very much be a different discussion if that CPU weren't so expensive when i7s on the same platform can be had for around $100. Anyhoo. I think I'll be grabbing a 12900K here shortly!

[aisle9]

9 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

Thanks all. It's insane how expensive the 9900K is on the used market. This would very much be a different discussion if that CPU weren't so expensive when i7s on the same platform can be had for around $100. Anyhoo. I think I'll be grabbing a 12900K here shortly!

I don't get it either. An 8700K will set you back as little as $125. Also, the 9900K is a legit forest fire. Trying to cool it is like putting a heatsink on a volcano. It's no worse than the higher-end stuff of today, sure, but even my 8086K can really easily be air cooled on a slight overclock. A 9900K was a challenge for me to air cool even at stock.

[STRMfrmXMN]

8 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I don't get it either. An 8700K will set you back as little as $125. Also, the 9900K is a legit forest fire. Trying to cool it is like putting a heatsink on a volcano. It's no worse than the higher-end stuff of today, sure, but my even my 8086K can really easily be air cooled on a slight overclock. A 9900K was a challenge for me to air cool even at stock.

I do have a D15S and it takes a seriously crazy amount of voltage for my 8600K to get to 100C, but I don't doubt a 9900K would trouble it a bit. It's a shame my 8600K requires 1.405V to run steady at 5 GHz, hence I run 4.9 @ 1.37. 

[aisle9]

9 hours ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

I do have a D15S and it takes a seriously crazy amount of voltage for my 8600K to get to 100C, but I don't doubt a 9900K would trouble it a bit. It's a shame my 8600K requires 1.405V to run steady at 5 GHz, hence I run 4.9 @ 1.37. 

I decided a couple years back that there's just no point overclocking high-end stuff anymore. The performance benefits are too small for the energy consumed and heat generated. Then I bought a Ryzen 5 5600 and an RX 6700 (non-XT) and decided that there's no point in overclocking anything anymore when you can significantly undervolt it without any performance penalty. I don't know if that says modern silicon is just that good, or if it says that manufacturers just don't bother to optimize anything anymore.

[Mick Naughty]

I'd upgrade. 9900k doesnt really perform well. Holds back my old card enough to make me wonna change it. But not worth the upgrade for 2 games. Not worried about the temps in either case though. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

3 hours ago, aisle9 said:

I decided a couple years back that there's just no point overclocking high-end stuff anymore. The performance benefits are too small for the energy consumed and heat generated. Then I bought a Ryzen 5 5600 and an RX 6700 (non-XT) and decided that there's no point in overclocking anything anymore when you can significantly undervolt it without any performance penalty. I don't know if that says modern silicon is just that good, or if it says that manufacturers just don't bother to optimize anything anymore.

 

25 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

I'd upgrade. 9900k doesnt really perform well. Holds back my old card enough to make me wonna change it. But not worth the upgrade for 2 games. Not worried about the temps in either case though. 

 

13 hours ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

9900k not worth it

 

If the 12900k is too much then buy yourself a used 5800x for the 120-150$ they usually go for or a used 5800x3d around 200$, used 12600k seem to float around 170$ and used 12700k may go as low as 200$ but i see those around 250$, these are just prices from the last time i checked us fb marketplace deals

 

5800x is the weakest out of all these cpus but its main benifit over the 12600k is cheaper used boards where you can find used b3/450 for like 50$ whereas used z690 float around 100$ iirc and not completely garbage b660 are a tad below that but didnt check b660 pricing since the z690s are pretty cheap and you can overclock + usually better i/o + better vrms

 

13 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Then run it with a power limit. At idle the 12900K isn't that bad with power consumption, and under load it a power limit could keep it at whatever power draw you wanted (65W, 125W, etc.). You can always remove that power limit in the future if you do need more horsepower, but for the time being it'll keep your power consumption down.

 

Just go 12900K, I don't see a single reason to stick with a 9900K other than it's a little more convenient not to swap the board. 

I think the plan makes sense to go 12900K, but it seems like a heat brick. Will I have issues cooling it at stock clocks with a Noctua D15S?

[RONOTHAN##]

34 minutes ago, STRMfrmXMN said:

I think the plan makes sense to go 12900K, but it seems like a heat brick. Will I have issues cooling it at stock clocks with a Noctua D15S?

With a contact frame and an undervolt, probably. The main issue is going to be full load scenarios, so if you're not going to be at full load that frequently and will be an exclusively gaming chip it shouldn't be an issue.