Choosing between 9900kf and a 5600x upgrade can be tricky.
Choosing between 9900kf and a 5600x upgrade can be tricky.
You're considering a upgrade to improve performance and future-proof your setup. The i7-7700K with an ASRock Z270 Pro4 is showing signs of bottlenecking even at 60 FPS. You're evaluating options like a 5600X and a MSI B450 Tomahawk Max, which are priced around $485 and $485 respectively, though the latter is currently more expensive than expected. Recently, a 9900KF model has dropped significantly in price, with a Gigabyte Z390 UD + 9900K offering around $440. This setup seems to balance cost and performance, especially since it supports 5GHz at 80°C without throttling—something the older models struggled with. Given the current market and your long-term plans (3-4 years before a potential CPU upgrade), the Gigabyte Z390 UD appears to be a solid choice over the 5600X + MSI board, balancing budget, stability, and future readiness.
PCPartPicker list shows various components. Intel offers a Core i7-10700KF processor at 3.8 GHz with eight cores for $297.99 on Newegg. The ASRock Z590 PRO4 ATX motherboard is available for $159.99 on Newegg. All figures include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts. Combined total before mail-in rebates is $467.98. After applying a $10 rebate, the final amount is $457.98. Data compiled by PCPartPicker on March 25, 2021 at 6:20 PM EDT.
For top gaming performance, the 5600X stands out as the best choice. 6c/12t remains sufficient for most daily tasks and workflows. 8c/16t CPUs seem misaligned for gaming; if you need strong multicore capabilities, consider starting with a 3900X or 5900X.
It's roughly $480 in Serbia, near the $5600x+B450 range, though I aimed slightly lower to preserve budget for other upgrades. The 9700k is even more affordable at $236, but I'm uncertain if missing hyperthreading will affect its worth over time compared to others.
You were aiming for the 9900kf mainly because it's more affordable locally and it performs well for RPCS3 emulation. Pairing it with a budget 390U board might not add much value if you're not running OC or heavy usage.
The absence of hyperthreading is definitely an issue. What GPU do you own and what resolution are you using? Many users exaggerate the CPU's impact on frame rates. The GPU plays a much bigger role, and if your GPU is slower than a 3070 while running at 1440p, the differences between models like R5 3600, 3700x, 5600x, 5800x and i5-10600k, i7-10700k, 9900kf, etc., will be negligible.
The target is 4k 60 atm and I currently have a 1080 Ti, but only until a 3080 becomes available at a sane price over here ($2400 right now lol). I was trying out a friend's 3090 in my PC for a few days and I noticed that my 7700k bottlenecks often in Horizon Zero Dawn, most recent AC games, and I've been noticing it even with my 1080 Ti from time to time in games like Witcher 3 etc. It's also possible that I'll go for a 1440/144hz monitor by the end of the year so I'm looking for a CPU that's a competent above 60 fps too, 144fps is maximum I'll go for thought.
Playing at high resolutions like 1440p or 4K often lets the GPU handle most tasks, so CPU speed isn't the main issue. For cost-effective options, consider a 3900X if you need more cores. At your chosen resolution, performance will be similar to a 5600X.