Can't choose between these two upgrades (500€ Midrange build dilemma, with FREE cpu upgrade next year!).

[maxrosciano]

Hello there,

I have roughly 500-550€ to upgrade my PC, I use it for gaming at 1080p120hz and very light student work (Solidworks and simple programming).

 

My current specs are these:

i5 3570k 4.4GHz + Noctua NH-U12P SE2

ASUS p8Z77-v pro

16GB RAM

SAPPHIRE R9 390 NITRO

 

I need to upgrade the base platform (mobo, cpu, ram) because for the first time ever I've started to feel heavy CPU bottlenecks in games that cause stutters and random drops to 40-50fps. (Particularly BLACKOUT and BF5).

 

Now I have made two builds but I can't decide between them.

There's one important detail: I will be able to get a full 100% refund on whichever CPU I decide to buy within one year thanks to a friend's store. Only the CPU however.

 

BUILD 1 (Intel)	BUILD 2 (AMD)
i5 8600k (270€)	R5 2600X (200€)
midrange Z390 MB (140€)	midrange B450/x470 MB (140€)
16GB 3000c15 RAM (130€)	16GB 3200c14 B-die (200€)
Total: 540€	Total: 540€

I'll be buying the CPU from my friend's store and the rest from Amazon.it/.de

 

The Intel system gives me better gaming performance right now especially considering my 120hz monitor, however, I won't be able to do very much with the free CPU upgrade, the best I can hope for is a better priced 8700k/9700k next year than it is now.

The AMD system, on the other hand, is set up to greatly benefit from a free upgrade to Zen 2, however, I'd be losing out on performance for the moment... (even with the great benefits that the more expensive low latency ram has on FPS it would still be behind the i5)

 

What would you do? Any better options considering my situation?

[r2724r16]

For gaming, get the 8600K rather than the R5 2600X.

[Firewrath9]

you dont really need fast ram on intel.

[maxrosciano]

47 minutes ago, r2724r16 said:

For gaming, get the 8600K rather than the R5 2600X.

What about the free CPU upgrade I can do next year? Would you still choose the intel even if there's nothing new coming out?

 

@Firewrath9 Yeah that's why I go for the cheaper RAM on the Intel system if you look at the builds.

[r2724r16]

7 minutes ago, maxrosciano said:

What about the free CPU upgrade I can do next year? Would you still choose the intel even if there's nothing new coming out?

Free CPU upgrade?

 

I'd still choose Intel because they are ahead of AMD in terms per core performance which is more important for gaming than the number of cores.

[Firewrath9]

8 minutes ago, maxrosciano said:

What about the free CPU upgrade I can do next year? Would you still choose the intel even if there's nothing new coming out?

 

@Firewrath9 Yeah that's why I go for the cheaper RAM on the Intel system if you look at the builds.

what i mean is ddr4-2400 is fine. just get the cheapest kit. there are 85$ ddr4-2666 kits in germany. You can prob OC to 3000.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/wvsmP6/adata-xpg-gammix-d10-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-2666-memory-ax4u266638g16-dbg

[maxrosciano]

2 minutes ago, r2724r16 said:

Free CPU upgrade?

 

I'd still choose Intel because they are ahead of AMD in terms per core performance which is more important for gaming than the number of cores.

Yes what I said in the OP. Where I'm buying it I have a deal which allows me to get a full refund on the CPU within one year. Therefore I could upgrade for free to zen2 if I get the AMD system. However you are right right now I'd be getting better performance out of Intel.

[r2724r16]

Just now, maxrosciano said:

Yes what I said in the OP. Where I'm buying it I have a deal which allows me to get a full refund on the CPU within one year. Therefore I could upgrade for free to zen2 if I get the AMD system. However you are right right now I'd be getting better performance out of Intel.

But for your workloads (gaming and solidworks), Intel CPUs will beat AMD CPUs in general. So stick with the Intel system IMO.