What upgrade path to take?

[TurboToast]

Hi!

I'm looking to upgrade my existing rig to a more modern platform in the near future, but I'm not sure what CPU I want to go with, and consequently, what motherboard. I'll need to swap out CPU, motherboard, RAM and if I get an AMD CPU, the cooler.

I'm currently running:
Intel Core i5 4670K @ 4.2 Ghz (Scythe Mine 2 air cooler, compatible with LGA115X)
16GB GEiL DDR3 1333Mhz RAM
MSI Z87-G43 board

My GPU is an ASUS GTX 1070Ti Strix Advanced at ~2Ghz, so that's getting bottlenecked a fair bit by my old i5.

I'm a comp sci student and this computer is my main work machine, but I play games on it a lot too, and I occasionally render a video or two. The main games I play are Overwatch and heavily modded Bethesda titles. My main display is a 144hz 1080p panel.

I'm looking at a budget of around 600€, and if I need to swap out the cooler, I'm looking at a ~40€ EKL Alpenföhn Brocken 3. 16GB of RAM is a must at this point. I'd also like to get a 9th gen Intel chip if possible (and if I get an Intel chip) for the inbuilt Meltdown protection.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[NelizMastr]

With current Intel pricing in Europe, there is no justifiable reason to go with Coffee Lake at the moment, so I'd honestly grab a R5 2600 and OC it.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  (€164.90 @ Alternate) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B450-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€104.90 @ Caseking) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (€137.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Total: €407.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-22 15:27 CEST+0200

[dizmo]

9600k, some form of compatible motherboard from ASRock, Asus or Gigabyte, and you're good to go.

 

Welcome to the forum!

[TurboToast]

Thanks for the welcome!

Hm, I'm not sure I'll get the same longevity with a Ryzen 5 as I would with a slightly higher-end chip... The i5 I'm using now has held up very well for 5 years now, and I'm sort of looking for the same long-term usage in the upgrade. I can't pull the trigger on it right now, so I'm sure prices will fluctuate by the time I can. I also heard that Ryzen benefits massively by faster memory.

Here's what parts I'd choose for an Intel-based build:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Kph4GG

(I don't need the additional features from a Z390 chipset, but I'd like to be able to OC should I need a bit more performance)

I agree that Intel pricing is ridiculous though. Nowhere near MSRP. Almost 400€ for an i5? Really? I paid 200€ for mine, brand spanking new.

Here'd be my AMD based "power fantasy":

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor	€315.00 @ Amazon Deutschland
CPU Cooler	Alpenföhn - Brocken 3 60.6 CFM CPU Cooler	€44.90 @ Caseking
Motherboard	MSI - X470 GAMING PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard	€147.60 @ Mindfactory
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	€144.90 @ Amazon Deutschland
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€652.40
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-22 22:04 CEST+0200