5960X or 10900K
5960X or 10900K
You're evaluating your current setup and considering future upgrades. It seems the Intel 5820K is still performing well on a custom loop, but you're weighing the pros and cons of buying a newer model versus a full system rebuild. The 5960X offers a good balance, but if you're looking for savings, a used RTX Titan or RTX2080Ti might be more appealing. A 3080 could also work, though you may need to move away from custom cooling. Your budget isn't a major constraint, so you're open to using older hardware if it fits your needs.
Right now the RTX and 2080/ti/supers models are costly, but when AMD releases and Nvidia stabilizes production soon, people will upgrade their older GPUs, which should lower used prices. My main reason for upgrading is to enjoy HDR and ray tracing. I’m currently using 1440P at 165Hz.
CPU limitations completely rely on your gaming setup. At 1080p, no current processor can handle a 3080 without bottlenecking, but at 4K you’d manage with something like a 3600. Either AMD or the latest Intel will likely need a full system overhaul or a complete rebuild, so it makes sense to start fresh. I’d hold off until Zen 3 releases, it could even be interesting to observe Intel’s direction with the 11th generation, though that would mean waiting longer. AMD remains the more affordable option, but even its Zen 2 chips will soon be surpassed by the improvements in Zen 3—especially for gaming.
Consider staying in place or upgrading completely. It wouldn't be worthwhile to go for 5960X, as you won't gain more single-core performance than what you already have. The improvement would only be slight compared to the limited extra threads available for the 4 additional cores, which isn't enough for many games.
I'm using 1440P and not interested in AMD unless they significantly outperform the 10900K for gaming. A 3600 CPU would be redundant since my current setup is already similar without needing a full replacement. I'm keeping an eye on AMD's future releases for their premium offerings but am considering a modest CPU/GPU upgrade to extend my system's lifespan without spending around $3k on a new machine.
The Ryzen 5900x seems to offer superior performance across the board, especially for gaming. If you're mainly focused on gaming, a 5800X would likely perform even better, potentially surpassing the 10900K according to leaked benchmarks.