Shut i replace my old I7 980X to a newer CPU for games?

[Intelfreak]

I have right now a X58 system i think i have optimized as much i can now and next step has to be new CPU,mobo and memory if any thing at all. Rest shut be up to date like storage, GPU and OS. Maybe PSU would be time to replace since its almost 9 years now, but so far i have no trouble with it.

 

I am thinking maybe new CPU for future games and those i want get now like Call of Duty®: WWII, Far Cry 5, Dead island 2, Star Wars Battlefront II, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and those for the near future.

 

What you think. New CPU for better game exsperience? I game at 2560 x 1600 by the way.

 

Current system Spec:

Core i7 980X @ 4.25 GHz

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Køler with 3 Silverstone FM121 120 MM fans

 ASUS P6X58D Premium second gen X58 mobo (secong gen means it has sata 3 and USB 3.0. First gen boards does not have these features))

12 GB DDR3 ram Corsair 1600 MHz triple channel

Samsung 950 PRO 256 GB M.2 NVMe SSD

Crusial M4 64 GB SSD

SAMSUNG EVO 250 GB SSD

CRUCIAL MX300 275 GB SSD 

WD Caviar Black 1 TB lager

WD AV-GP 2 TB

EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 GAMING

Thermaltake ToughPower 1500 Watt PSU

Antec Twelve Hundred.

Windows 10 PRO 64 bit

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

I would imagine they'd run fine, I'm just kinda shocked that the X58 platform wouldn't bottleneck a 1080Ti haha

[Armakar]

with a 1080ti and nvme ssd i am shocked how you haven't had the urge to upgrade that yet

[Majestic]

If you're not getting satisfactory fps look at the GPU load. If it's struggling and you really want to play that game, upgrade.

Otherwise, why bother.

 

Now with newer games becoming better multithreaded, those 12 threads go a long way still.

[Damascus]

I wouldn’t bother till at least zen2/9th Gen i7/second Gen x299

[Tabs]

Having 6 cores and running at 4.25 has definitely extended the life of that machine, but I would 100% recommend an upgrade to Intel's more recent platform, or ryzen/threadripper, depending on how high end you wanna go.

 

Moving from your i7-980x to an 8700K will give you the same number of cores/threads, same base clock (but with all the architectural improvements from sandy bridge, ivy bridge, haswell, broadwell, skylake, kabylake AND coffee lake) meaning it'll perform much, much better and use about 1/3rd the power at stock. Turbo boost means that at the high end you'd be expecting a 30-50% raw cpu performance boost before overclocking.

 

You will be able to properly utilise your nvme ssd, get the platform benefits of EFI (which weren't really fleshed out until sandy bridge+), and will give you the option of upgrading later to have a decent vr/4k gaming experience.

 

If you choose the AMD route - or decide to go x299 instead of z370 - you'll get far more cores, all the architectural and power improvements i just mentioned, and give you substantially better cpu performance if you heavily utilise non-gaming cpu heavy workloads.

 

I'd say the choice is yours. Unlike moving from one generation to the next, you'd be skipping 5 AMD or 6 Intel generations in one move and will get a massive performance upgrade just from that. 

[Intelfreak]

7 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I would imagine they'd run fine, I'm just kinda shocked that the X58 platform wouldn't bottleneck a 1080Ti haha

At 1080P there are some bottleneck, but as far i have read in review so is there even with the newest CPU´s.

But as you maybe know the higler resolution the more the GPU becomes the bottleneck. At 4K its the poor GPU having the hardest time and cpu load drops showing GPU is the bottleneck there.

 

3dmark Firestrike score of my system, but cpu runs here 4.7 GHz and GPU is oc to its max. But still you are not getting over 30K in GPU score with out oc the GTX 1080 TI and if the CPU is a bottleneck you deffently will not hit 30K+.

 

https://www.3dmark.com/fs/13514527

 

15 minutes ago, Armakar said:

with a 1080ti and nvme ssd i am shocked how you haven't had the urge to upgrade that yet

I have been very fond of X58 and over the year every new gen only came with a minimal performance boost. So dit not see any reason for upgrade to a newer platform. X58 gave all i need sata 3, USB 3.0, powerful GPU, windows 10 and even as you mention a fully working M.2 SSD.

 

Its first here AMD threadripper and intel skylake X i find it some what upgrade urge, but since its gaming its more will i feel a good boost so i not just waste money on new CPU with out getting the feeling of better game exsperince.

20 minutes ago, Majestic said:

If you're not getting satisfactory fps look at the GPU load. If it's struggling and you really want to play that game, upgrade.

Otherwise, why bother.

 

Now with newer games becoming better multithreaded, those 12 threads go a long way still.

So far FPS in games Arent to bad, its more for the future games i want to maybe upgrade.

 

14 minutes ago, Damascus said:

I wouldn’t bother till at least zen2/9th Gen i7/second Gen x299

Hmm so wait a year or so more?

[Froody129]

At this point I would only consider Coffee Lake if it's just games. I would really try stretch to the next gen with the rumoured core increased 10nm mainstream though. That'll give a massive performance boost and will last forever, while being no bottleneck to any high end GPUs for years

[Damascus]

1 minute ago, Intelfreak said:

Hmm so wait a year or so more?

Less, I would even consider x299/x399 if you like them as they are now.  I doubt the x299 refresh will have more cores - probably looking at higher clocks only.

 

TR4 on the other hand will get a huge bump in IPC, clocks and maybe even cores so I would wait for V2 in Q2 2018

[Qyoon]

Imo you should stick to your X58 for now.

Overclocked it's still pretty good and you have your 6 cores.

Ofc a new cpu would do better , but right now do you need it ?

Imo wait a bit more and go for next gen 8 core cpu.

You will feel a true upgrade.

[AnalogCanavity]

Stay with it until Zen+ or Intel 9th gen CPUs

[Intelfreak]

6 minutes ago, Tabs said:

Having 6 cores and running at 4.25 has definitely extended the life of that machine, but I would 100% recommend an upgrade to Intel's more recent platform, or ryzen/threadripper, depending on how high end you wanna go.

 

Moving from your i7-980x to an 8700K will give you the same number of cores/threads, same base clock (but with all the architectural improvements from sandy bridge, ivy bridge, haswell, broadwell, skylake, kabylake AND coffee lake) meaning it'll perform much, much better and use about 1/3rd the power at stock. Turbo boost means that at the high end you'd be expecting a 30-50% raw cpu performance boost before overclocking.

 

You will be able to properly utilise your nvme ssd, get the platform benefits of EFI (which weren't really fleshed out until sandy bridge+), and will give you the option of upgrading later to have a decent vr/4k gaming experience.

 

If you choose the AMD route - or decide to go x299 instead of z370 - you'll get far more cores, all the architectural and power improvements i just mentioned, and give you substantially better cpu performance if you heavily utilise non-gaming cpu heavy workloads.

 

I'd say the choice is yours. Unlike moving from one generation to the next, you'd be skipping 5 AMD or 6 Intel generations in one move and will get a massive performance upgrade just from that. 

If i upgrade i what more cores than 6. So AMD threadripper or Intel skylake-X would be my choice.

 

I am fully using that M.2 SSD. Its my c-drive/boots drive. Alright PCIe 2 holds it back a bit. getting around 1700 MB/s read while its rated for up to 2200 MB/s, that i need PCIe 3 for to get.

 

You can also se here that it is my boot drive.

 

But if i upgrade then i think i will go intel cause skylake X has better IPC than AMD ryzen and IPC is importens for games, specielt for those that cant use multicore so good like CS:GO.

[Intelfreak]

Looks like most people agreed to wait with new CPU. Coffee lake i will not go. if upgrade i want more cores aswell for future prof. As you guys can se i have my CPU for years so more cores i think is a good invest ment.

 

 

[Princess Luna]

I'd hold up to it until the i7 9700k 10nm 8c/16t processor on the z390 special chipset so you can go all that long with the same system again

[Intelfreak]

7 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

At this point I would only consider Coffee Lake if it's just games. I would really try stretch to the next gen with the rumoured core increased 10nm mainstream though. That'll give a massive performance boost and will last forever, while being no bottleneck to any high end GPUs for years

Want more cores so coffee lake is not for me. besides i want high-end socket cause that gives better upgrade possibilety latter just as X58 had offer me over the years. Its maybe waste of money for only games, but time changes and so does my need for a pc over the years.

 

I have seen people selling there pc because it cut no longer be useful for them cause at the time they got it, its configurated for games, but so 4 years later new job or goals and they need a pc with more cores or memory and with a high-emd socket i can do that later in time with out have to replace mobo and most of it.

 

12 minutes ago, Atsura said:

Imo you should stick to your X58 for now.

Overclocked it's still pretty good and you have your 6 cores.

Ofc a new cpu would do better , but right now do you need it ?

Imo wait a bit more and go for next gen 8 core cpu.

You will feel a true upgrade.

Its performence so far is not to shabby. The games i runs now it runs fine so far.

 

I think with alls comment its more whise to wait and keep X58 and wait to see how these newer games runs on X58 and then upgrade if nedded.

[Intelfreak]

1 minute ago, Princess Cadence said:

I'd hold up to it until the i7 9700k 10nm 8c/16t processor so you can go all that long with the same system again

haha I7 980X to I7 9700K. more like I7 980X to I9 9800K then .

 

But yeah i think most want me to wait, so i will do that.

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Intelfreak said:

haha I7 980X to I7 9700K. more like I7 980X to I9 9800K then .

 

But yeah i think most want me to wait, so i will do that.

The i7 9700k will be a lovely CPU don't get it wrong, a lot superior to the current i7 7820x on x299 since its 8 cores will be literally the latest and greatest IPC in the market, Intel's 10nm, that is the highest end possible single thread packed in actually 8 cores with hyper-threading, nothing to throw away that easy

 

It will also be in a fancier chipset since you're into that the z390.

 

I would definitively skip x299 if I were you though and wait for next year stuff regardless, maybe some Coffee Lake-X chips like the i9 8900x could be interesting purchases as well.

[Intelfreak]

6 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

The i7 9700k will be a lovely CPU don't get it wrong, a lot superior to the current i7 7820x on x299 since its 8 cores will be literally the latest and greatest IPC in the market, Intel's 10nm, that is the highest end possible single thread packed in actually 8 cores with hyper-threading, nothing to throw away that easy

 

It will also be in a fancier chipset since you're into that the z390.

 

I would definitively skip x299 if I were you though and wait for next year stuff regardless, maybe some Coffee Lake-X chips like the i9 8900x could be interesting purchases as well.

I see your point with the small socket has the latest arkitecture and by that the bedst IPC. But its only dual channel memory and only up to 8 cores. With X299 i have better chances for getting more cores and more memory later with out the need for new mobo/ram.

 

I will have to wait and see if i go cannon lake or X299 2 gen then. Features is just as importens to me as IPC. X58 offerd so many more features than the small socket at the same time had. more cores later (had a I7 920 the first years of X58, then got a I7 980X later) , sata 3, USB 3.0 and so on. I exspect X299 will offer better/more features than Z390 can at the time. But only time can tell if i am right or wrong.

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Intelfreak said:

But its only dual channel memory and only up to 8 cores.

This could change who knows, the i7 8700k already can support up to 64 GB of ram in dual channel, now that isn't little by any means, it could be further increase since we're talking about a whole new architecture at last, good bye 14nm.

 

8 cores does seems as far as it goes though... what kind of workload are you actually planning on in here? I would like understand better your needs because frankly from what OP reads you want as much future proofness as possible in gaming, and the i7 9700k is it because games are not even using 8 cores as for yet while they do benefit the most from fastest cores possible, best frequency and what not which is all that CPU is.

 

SLI'ing isn't much worth it either if you're all worried about pci-e, a 1080 Ti is absurd power and when Volta comes out you might be tempted to actually throw the buck on a TITAN X Volta to have the fastest GPU in the world for a year, it is coming by the same time of Ice Lake, make a dream PC allocating funds in the right directions.

[Qyoon]

You should stick to high end chipset.

I was running an I7 920 on a Rampage II extreme, so X58 too..

And then i went for for an I5 4690K on a Z97 sabertooth.

It was a great system, with very good performance but so limited...

In less than a year i occupied all the Sata ports and pci-e lanes...

I was basicly using it at it's full potential already...

So i went back on high end X99 then.

 

 

 

[Intelfreak]

1 minute ago, Atsura said:

You should stick to high end chipset.

I was running an I7 920 on a Rampage II extreme, so X58 too..

And then i went for for an I5 4690K on a Z97 sabertooth.

It was a great system, with very good perofrmance but so limited...

In less than a year i occupied all the Sata ports and pci-e lanes...

I was basicly using it at it's full potential already...

So i went back on high end X99 then.

 

 

 

Yeah that is why i stick to high end socket. More features, more of every thing = better future prof. Down side is more exspensive, but that will come back over the years as you dont have to upgrade so often as with a small socket/ cheaper board with less features.

 

I have been so happy with X58 that i think i will have a hard time going back to a small socket.

[Emberstone]

I went from an i7-980X (that unfortunately couldn’t go past 4.0 GHz) to a R5-1600X OC’d to 4.0 GHz, and honestly I wouldn’t bother unless your 1080 Ti isn’t seeing max usage. I say that because you’re gaming at a higher resolution, so CPU bottlenecking is less of a problem.

 

Im actually getting rid of my 1600X soon because it was a pretty anemic upgrade in the end over the 980X. Synthetic benchmarks only say so much it seems.

 

If you really want to upgrade, 8700K or wait IMO.

[Intelfreak]

10 minutes ago, Emberstone said:

I went from an i7-980X (that unfortunately couldn’t go past 4.0 GHz) to a R5-1600X OC’d to 4.0 GHz, and honestly I wouldn’t bother unless your 1080 Ti isn’t seeing max usage. I say that because you’re gaming at a higher resolution, so CPU bottlenecking is less of a problem.

 

Im actually getting rid of my 1600X soon because it was a pretty anemic upgrade in the end over the 980X. Synthetic benchmarks only say so much it seems.

 

If you really want to upgrade, 8700K or wait IMO.

Im shock that your I7 980X cut not go above 4 Ghz. You lost silicon lottery with that cpu i guess. X58 CPU´s are else well known for being great overclokkers and the I7 920 i had and I7 980X i have now is no difference. I7 920 cut go to 4.4 GHz and so far i have had my I7 980X all the way to 4.77 GHz still with all cores and HT on. But with a high vcore of 1.55 volts.

 

From your perspective with ryzen just comfirms it with IPC and that i shut go intel and still no 8700K. If now it will be X299.

 

You can see my cpu clocks below here. with GTX 970 SLI, before i got my 1080 TI.

 

[Emberstone]

4 minutes ago, Intelfreak said:

Im shock that your I7 980X cut not go above 4 Ghz. You lost silicon lottery with that cpu i guess.

I had a voltage ceiling of 1.35v since Googles at the time pointed to that being my max safe 24/7 voltage. I don’t know what people are suggesting nowadays.

 

But yep, wouldn’t go past 4.0 with that voltage. Rip.

[Intelfreak]

Just now, Emberstone said:

I had a voltage ceiling of 1.35v since Googles at the time pointed to that being my max safe 24/7 voltage. I don’t know what people are suggesting nowadays.

 

But yep, wouldn’t go past 4.0 with that voltage. Rip.

I also keep my cpu at 1.35 volts for 24/7 use but my can 4.25 GHz at that voltage so no complains there. Intels specific voltage range for I7 980X is 0.800V-1.375V and thats why people recomended max 1.35 volts to be safe. i also only runs volts above 1.4 for benchmark and at above 1.6 volts the cpu is in great risk of dying. So i never go above 1.55 volts.

 

https://ark.intel.com/products/47932/Intel-Core-i7-980X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-12M-Cache-3_33-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI