Intel vs AMD CPU for gaming

[CptNoodleArms]

I am looking to upgrade my cpu from an I9-9900k in a z390 pro mobo. I have 32gbs of 3000 mhz ram, an RTX 3080 10gb and a RM850 psu. I have no idea if I should go for intel or amd, but I am leaning towards amd. I mainly use my PC for gaming ( Escape from Tarkov and other fps games). I have a budget of 250 usd for a cpu and whatever a decent mobo for said cpu costs. Please help

[Hinjima]

2 minutes ago, CptNoodleArms said:

I am looking to upgrade my cpu from an I9-9900k in a z390 pro mobo. I have 32gbs of 3000 mhz ram, an RTX 3080 10gb and a RM850 psu. I have no idea if I should go for intel or amd, but I am leaning towards amd. I mainly use my PC for gaming ( Escape from Tarkov and other fps games). I have a budget of 250 usd for a cpu and whatever a decent mobo for said cpu costs. Please help

Ryzen 7600x, no question.

[RONOTHAN##]

3 minutes ago, CptNoodleArms said:

I have a budget of 250 usd for a cpu and whatever a decent mobo for said cpu costs.

If it's $250 total, don't bother with the upgrade, basically any motherboard/CPU pairing you can get for that will be a side-grade from your 9900K. If it's just $250 for the CPU and some amount for the motherboard, give us the total budget instead as platform costs are a thing (a B850 board, for instance, is generally a bit cheaper than a B760 board, so an AMD setup might be a bit more expensive for the CPU but still cheaper overall)

[YoungBlade]

As said, if it's $250 for the entire platform (CPU, motherboard, RAM) then you're stuck. There is no upgrade from what you currently have for that price.

 

If it's $250 for just the CPU, and you're able to drop another $200 or so on the motherboard and RAM ($450 total) then you can look at a Ryzen 5 7600(X) or perhaps a 7500F if that's available in your region or you're willing to risk it and wait for shipping on AliExpress.

 

For Intel, if you're just gaming, there's nothing in that price range that's faster. You need to go all the way to the 13600K(F) or 14600K(F) to match the gaming performance of the Ryzen 5 7600, and that's a fair bit more expensive, plus the motherboards cost more. You could pair them with the DDR4 you already have, though, although that will cut down on your performance a bit since you're not pairing them with DDR5.

[CptNoodleArms]

17 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

As said, if it's $250 for the entire platform (CPU, motherboard, RAM) then you're stuck. There is no upgrade from what you currently have for that price.

 

If it's $250 for just the CPU, and you're able to drop another $200 or so on the motherboard and RAM ($450 total) then you can look at a Ryzen 5 7600(X) or perhaps a 7500F if that's available in your region or you're willing to risk it and wait for shipping on AliExpress.

 

For Intel, if you're just gaming, there's nothing in that price range that's faster. You need to go all the way to the 13600K(F) or 14600K(F) to match the gaming performance of the Ryzen 5 7600, and that's a fair bit more expensive, plus the motherboards cost more. You could pair them with the DDR4 you already have, though, although that will cut down on your performance a bit since you're not pairing them with DDR5.

Would a Ryzen 5 7600x paired up with a MSI B55-A PRO ATX be a good combo? 

[SorryBella]

Just now, CptNoodleArms said:

Would a Ryzen 5 7600x paired up with a MSI B55-A PRO ATX be a good combo? 

Remember you need compatible socket and chipset motherboard for a CPU to work. You need 6xx or 8xx series AM5 board.

[RONOTHAN##]

23 minutes ago, CptNoodleArms said:

Would a Ryzen 5 7600x paired up with a MSI B55-A PRO ATX be a good combo? 

The 7600X wouldn't fit in the B550-A Pro. 

[starsmine]

There is no AM5 Mobo that isnt e-waste that you can get that cheap paired with AMD and end up with a 250 dollar build. 

Like yoiu may run into something like this, do not buy it, the motherboard isnt just low end, its e-waste. AND you are downgrading to 16GB Single channel ram. 



 

  

56 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

As said, if it's $250 for the entire platform (CPU, motherboard, RAM) then you're stuck. There is no upgrade from what you currently have for that price.

 

If it's $250 for just the CPU, and you're able to drop another $200 or so on the motherboard and RAM ($450 total) then you can look at a Ryzen 5 7600(X) or perhaps a 7500F if that's available in your region or you're willing to risk it and wait for shipping on AliExpress.

 

For Intel, if you're just gaming, there's nothing in that price range that's faster. You need to go all the way to the 13600K(F) or 14600K(F) to match the gaming performance of the Ryzen 5 7600, and that's a fair bit more expensive, plus the motherboards cost more. You could pair them with the DDR4 you already have, though, although that will cut down on your performance a bit since you're not pairing them with DDR5.

Dont even have to go to 450, its not the fastest ram being CL 36 but its good enough

[Somerandomtechyboi]

15 minutes ago, starsmine said:

There is no AM5 Mobo that isnt e-waste that you can get that cheap paired with AMD

b650m pg lightning, hdv, etc. also shown in that chart for vrms, albeit at 250$ probably gonna have to buy an 8400f/7500f off aliexpress

 

overclock the 9900k run the rams at 4400-4600 or whatever you can hit with 1.45v vccsa/io and wait till you have enough for a 9800x3d which will be a significant upgrade over the 9900k

[starsmine]

3 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

b650m pg lightning, hdv, etc. also shown in that chart for vrms, albeit at 250$ probably gonna have to buy an 8400f/7500f off aliexpress

 

overclock the 9900k run the rams at 4400-4600 or whatever you can hit with 1.45v vccsa/io and wait till you have enough for a 9800x3d which will be a significant upgrade over the 9900k

I mean you can get GREAT motherboards for 250, its just also getting the CPU and the RAM as well and staying in that budget.

Actually like here you get a great motherboard. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 minutes ago, starsmine said:

I mean you can get GREAT motherboards for 250, its just also getting the CPU and the RAM as well and staying in that budget.

cpu is pretty easy off aliexpress with 86$ 8400f 120$ 7500f and 168$ 7700

 

rams if it really becomes desperate i guess you can look for hynix/teamgroup 5600c46

 

heck theres probably used b650s at this point so that might also be worth looking at

[YoungBlade]

27 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

cpu is pretty easy off aliexpress with 86$ 8400f 120$ 7500f and 168$ 7700

 

rams if it really becomes desperate i guess you can look for hynix/teamgroup 5600c46

 

heck theres probably used b650s at this point so that might also be worth looking at

The 8400F is going to at best trade blows with the 9900K. It is not an upgrade. It's at best a side grade and arguably a downgrade.

[YoungBlade]

1 hour ago, CptNoodleArms said:

Would a Ryzen 5 7600x paired up with a MSI B55-A PRO ATX be a good combo? 

The B550 is not compatible with AM5 CPUs.

 

You'd need an A620, B650, B840, B850, X670, or X870 board.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 minutes ago, YoungBlade said:

The 8400F is going to at best trade blows with the 9900K. It is not an upgrade. It's at best a side grade and arguably a downgrade.

Thats the issue and the reason why i dont reccomend swapping to am5 as it wont be any better with the current budget although this might just be budget before factoring in resale cost and that 9900k + mobo + rams should easily get 200$ or atleast 150$ so wont have to save up for too long to get a 9800x3d though might still have to wait since theyre still being scalped

[xg32]

3 hours ago, CptNoodleArms said:

I am looking to upgrade my cpu from an I9-9900k in a z390 pro mobo. I have 32gbs of 3000 mhz ram, an RTX 3080 10gb and a RM850 psu. I have no idea if I should go for intel or amd, but I am leaning towards amd. I mainly use my PC for gaming ( Escape from Tarkov and other fps games). I have a budget of 250 usd for a cpu and whatever a decent mobo for said cpu costs. Please help

i do not recommend the 7600x over the 5700x3d, use the existing ram if u want to, best choice is to keep the 9900k, oc it, and upgrade when you are ready to get a new gpu.

 

 

[David A. Tatum]

Okay, to actually answer the question:

Spending about $50-100 more, you could get a much better AMD set-up, and AMD makes the best current-gen and next-gen processors on the market.  But while you could get one for under $250, you wouldn't also be able to fit the motherboard -- not at any price I've found, lately.  To actually fit both at or under $250, it might surprise some to see that a 12th gen Intel is probably your best bet.

 

Newegg is listing an i5-12600kf for US$145.59 (this is a sale price, but it's a pretty typical one; without the sale, this price goes up about $10).

 

I'm assuming your 32GB of RAM are DDR4.  A cheap e-waste tier LGA-1700 DDR4 compatible motherboard could be found for as low as $60, but spending up to the limit of your budget, there's decent option in the MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 motherboard for $99.99.

That all assumes you also have an adequate CPU cooler, PSU, GPU, SSD and\or HDD, and case, but it fits a legitimate upgrade over your current set-up's CPU and Motherboard BOTH for your $250 budget.