Is upgrading your i5 11400F to the Intel Core i7-11700KF with a 4070S worth considering?
Is upgrading your i5 11400F to the Intel Core i7-11700KF with a 4070S worth considering?
Currently I own the following setup:
i5 11400F (unlocked power limits).
32 GB DDR4 3333 Mhz
4070 Super (upgraded from 3060 Ti a couple of months ago)
700W mid-range PSU with 80 bronze certificate
I’ve been using the GPU mainly for 3D OptiX rendering inside Blender, but I also play games at 1440p on a 165 hz monitor.
I’m not sure if there’s a major bottleneck, though I’ve read about some issues in CPU-heavy games. My GPU usage typically stays between 85 to 99%.
I’m a bit concerned about not using the graphics card at full capacity.
Looking into the PC parts market lately (ram prices, etc.), I started searching for possible upgrades or workarounds. Right now I have an option to upgrade the 11400F with a 11700KF for around $150 (not sure what average prices are for used LGA 1200 CPUs worldwide, but $150 is what I need here).
Is this worth it? Or should I wait and upgrade to a completely new system eventually?
What kind of motherboard are we discussing?
RAM costs are projected to remain stable for at least a year and possibly up to a year and a half. You can expect a modest increase of around 10 to 15%, and you might even recover some money by selling your old chip, with a net loss not exceeding 100. A new system featuring 32GB RAM would cost between 600 to 700 plus, where about 400 of that budget goes toward RAM.
It seems the main advantage of a 11700 versus a 11700F isn't significant since you can't overclock the K SKU on that board. You might want to consider getting either the 11700 or the 11700F. Without power limits and overclocking, the differences between them are minimal.
Technically yes, but the 11700 is also slower, around 25% behind the R5 7600X. Upgrading would cost a lot. I’d prefer to keep the system unchanged if you’re satisfied with the performance when you turn it off, as that avoids unnecessary numbers.
But don’t stress if you’re only at 85% GPU usage—just as long as you’re happy with the results. For instance, I often cap my frame rate at 120FPS in BO3 zombies; this reduces GPU load, lowers temperature, and cuts noise.
Please share your thoughts on switching platforms for the LGA 1700 and using the existing DDR4 components. For instance, you mentioned having an MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II with an i5 14400F and a 32 GB ADATA XPG Gammix D10. This setup would require a small investment but would save significantly compared to moving to AM5 with DDR5. Given the current market conditions, is this a sensible approach?
Essentially you're relying on 100% performance in one area to translate to full performance elsewhere. Also, boosting the CPU by up to 15% for a better FPS doesn't add up—it's not worth it, especially when changing the whole platform only slightly.
I'm more concerned about that... in my view, only a handful of bronze PSUs are truly suitable beyond basic low-cost setups. (Would you mind telling us the make and model?)