cpu I5 8600K Upgrade It's time!

[Gurky]

Budget (including currency): £250

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (CS2, Hell Let Loose) 

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): Curren't have an i5-8600k with an RX 7800XT playing at 1440P 240hz, (Will be looking to go OLED 1440p in a while but still 240hz ish. 

 

Hi all! 

 

Me again. I've finally noticed my 8600K being pinned a lot, causing stutters in games like CS2 and HLL. It's 7 and a half years old, so I think I can warrant an upgrade! However, I don't game as heavily as I used to, so I can't afford a big spend! (Last CPU was £250!) Therefore, I'm thinking of an AM4 build, keeping the RAM I've got, which is 32GB at 3200MHz DDR5. 

 

Below is a little breakdown of my thinking! 

I can get a used ASUS Tuf X570 Plus Gaming WiFi ATX AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard for £80 (Good place I've sold and bought before, local to me with 30 30-day warranty) 

And a CPU from CEX (Now with a 5-year warranty) 

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2 CPU Air Cooler - £37 (Saw it in a recent video, seems good)

 

I've added a little breakdown below. I'd like to keep this sub £220?

 

 

Thank you all! For reading, and let me know your thoughts! 

 

[Why_Me]

Alternative

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£96.98 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 EVO DARK 70.4 CFM CPU Cooler  (£19.00 @ Computer Orbit) 
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (£109.79 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £225.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 13:00 BST+0100 

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-B760-P-DDR4-II

 

[xAcid9]

How much 5700X3D cost?

or go AM5?

[DoctorNick]

14 minutes ago, Gurky said:

Budget (including currency): £250

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (CS2, Hell Let Loose) 

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): Curren't have an i5-8600k with an RX 7800XT playing at 1440P 240hz, (Will be looking to go OLED 1440p in a while but still 240hz ish. 

 

Hi all! 

 

Me again. I've finally noticed my 8600K being pinned a lot, causing stutters in games like CS2 and HLL. It's 7 and a half years old, so I think I can warrant an upgrade! However, I don't game as heavily as I used to, so I can't afford a big spend! (Last CPU was £250!) Therefore, I'm thinking of an AM4 build, keeping the RAM I've got, which is 32GB at 3200MHz DDR5. 

 

Below is a little breakdown of my thinking! 

I can get a used ASUS Tuf X570 Plus Gaming WiFi ATX AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard for £80 (Good place I've sold and bought before, local to me with 30 30-day warranty) 

And a CPU from CEX (Now with a 5-year warranty) 

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2 CPU Air Cooler - £37 (Saw it in a recent video, seems good)

 

I've added a little breakdown below. I'd like to keep this sub £220?

 

 

Thank you all! For reading, and let me know your thoughts! 

 

Yes get 5800X and that board. Its a good combo. 5800x is awesome with PBO. Alternatively you could look at 5700X3D. It cost £196 at amazon though:

For comparison (with a 4090 at 1080p for maximum bottleneck)

https://gamersnexus.net/cpus/new-amd-ryzen-7-5700x3d-cpu-review-benchmarks-vs-5800x3d-more

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d/18.html

[Hinjima]

11 minutes ago, Gurky said:

Budget (including currency): £250

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (CS2, Hell Let Loose) 

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): Curren't have an i5-8600k with an RX 7800XT playing at 1440P 240hz, (Will be looking to go OLED 1440p in a while but still 240hz ish. 

 

Hi all! 

 

Me again. I've finally noticed my 8600K being pinned a lot, causing stutters in games like CS2 and HLL. It's 7 and a half years old, so I think I can warrant an upgrade! However, I don't game as heavily as I used to, so I can't afford a big spend! (Last CPU was £250!) Therefore, I'm thinking of an AM4 build, keeping the RAM I've got, which is 32GB at 3200MHz DDR5. 

 

Below is a little breakdown of my thinking! 

I can get a used ASUS Tuf X570 Plus Gaming WiFi ATX AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard for £80 (Good place I've sold and bought before, local to me with 30 30-day warranty) 

And a CPU from CEX (Now with a 5-year warranty) 

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2 CPU Air Cooler - £37 (Saw it in a recent video, seems good)

 

I've added a little breakdown below. I'd like to keep this sub £220?

 

 

 

Thank you all! For reading, and let me know your thoughts! 

 

Cool to see another HLL player!  I am a competitive tank driver and I am closing in on 2900 hours played.

 

HLL is incredibly CPU demanding.  I had a Intel-9900k and the game was unplayable.. Way too much stutter and below average framerate, I upgraded to a Ryzen 7700x and it improved the stutters dramatically.

I then upgraded to a overclocked 9800X3D and it almost doubled my framerate from a 7700x.

So from experience HLL really do like some extra 3D-Vcache.

 

I think what @Why_Me picked out is a decent build.

You said you didn't want to spend more than £220-£250.. But a 5700X3D would be highly beneficial for HLL however.

I also play with a 1440p 240hz monitor.

[Eighjan]

 

"If it ain't broken, don't fix it..." - well, looks like that slope has started. 

As mentioned above, I can vouch for the 5800X; solid unit but AM4, so...
Eight cores is typically sufficient, so even a 7700/X would be worth a look.

My 5800X is being scheduled for an upgrade to a 7800X3D, and will likely get added to a pile with my old 3600 & others...

 

Good luck, wherever you end up.

Edit:
Ohh... £250 for a 'full platform'?  Oops.

Edited June 24 by Eighjan

[PDifolco]

37 minutes ago, Gurky said:

Budget (including currency): £250

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (CS2, Hell Let Loose) 

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): Curren't have an i5-8600k with an RX 7800XT playing at 1440P 240hz, (Will be looking to go OLED 1440p in a while but still 240hz ish. 

 

Hi all! 

 

Me again. I've finally noticed my 8600K being pinned a lot, causing stutters in games like CS2 and HLL. It's 7 and a half years old, so I think I can warrant an upgrade! However, I don't game as heavily as I used to, so I can't afford a big spend! (Last CPU was £250!) Therefore, I'm thinking of an AM4 build, keeping the RAM I've got, which is 32GB at 3200MHz DDR5. 

 

Below is a little breakdown of my thinking! 

I can get a used ASUS Tuf X570 Plus Gaming WiFi ATX AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard for £80 (Good place I've sold and bought before, local to me with 30 30-day warranty) 

And a CPU from CEX (Now with a 5-year warranty) 

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2 CPU Air Cooler - £37 (Saw it in a recent video, seems good)

 

I've added a little breakdown below. I'd like to keep this sub £220?

 

 

Thank you all! For reading, and let me know your thoughts! 

 

Budget is too small for a good upgrade, you'll end up with a 5 years old system to replace an 8 year one ...

IMO baseline for a new rig is Ryzen 7500/7600, basic B650 board and 2x16GB RAM, that's £350

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£156.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650M-P Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard  (£109.98 @ Amazon UK) 
Memory: PNY XLR8 Gaming RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory  (£79.87 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £346.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 13:36 BST+0100

 

 

[tkitch]

do not buy into AM4.

Do not buy a platform that went EoL 5 years ago.  

 

AM5 or other new platforms only.  

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  (£156.99 @ Amazon UK) 
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler  (£29.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  (£129.49 @ Box Limited) 
Memory: *Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (£81.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Total: £398.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 14:59 BST+0100

[Gurky]

10 hours ago, xAcid9 said:

How much 5700X3D cost?

or go AM5?

£200 for the 5700X3D

[Gurky]

9 hours ago, tkitch said:

do not buy into AM4.

Do not buy a platform that went EoL 5 years ago.  

 

AM5 or other new platforms only.  

Call me mad but ive never upgraded just a CPU before every CPU and board ive had has always needed a upgrade at the same time

[tkitch]

14 hours ago, Gurky said:

Call me mad but ive never upgraded just a CPU before every CPU and board ive had has always needed a upgrade at the same time

well, for gaming, as well as many other tasks, the 7600x is going to be a fair bit faster than anything else on your list.

If you're trying to bargain hunt a CPU:  Look for a 7500f  (I hate f sku chips, but that's the cheapest viable AM5 entry point.)

[KidKid]

On 6/24/2025 at 7:55 AM, Gurky said:

Budget (including currency): £250

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming (CS2, Hell Let Loose) 

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): Curren't have an i5-8600k with an RX 7800XT playing at 1440P 240hz, (Will be looking to go OLED 1440p in a while but still 240hz ish. 

 

Hi all! 

 

Me again. I've finally noticed my 8600K being pinned a lot, causing stutters in games like CS2 and HLL. It's 7 and a half years old, so I think I can warrant an upgrade! However, I don't game as heavily as I used to, so I can't afford a big spend! (Last CPU was £250!) Therefore, I'm thinking of an AM4 build, keeping the RAM I've got, which is 32GB at 3200MHz DDR5. 

 

Below is a little breakdown of my thinking! 

I can get a used ASUS Tuf X570 Plus Gaming WiFi ATX AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard for £80 (Good place I've sold and bought before, local to me with 30 30-day warranty) 

And a CPU from CEX (Now with a 5-year warranty) 

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V2 CPU Air Cooler - £37 (Saw it in a recent video, seems good)

 

I've added a little breakdown below. I'd like to keep this sub £220?

 

 

Thank you all! For reading, and let me know your thoughts! 

 

$250 including CPU and mobo/entire upgrade?