It seems you're planning to retire your 6600K. Let me know if you need help with the process or any other details!
It seems you're planning to retire your 6600K. Let me know if you need help with the process or any other details!
Hello everyone! I hope everything is going smoothly in your areas and you're all staying safe. I really don’t want this to turn into an Intel vs AMD discussion, unless it’s unavoidable. My main focus is on the products available and what fits my needs and budget best. Let's move on to the subject at hand... Back in 2016, high-end CPU competition wasn’t established yet. A younger version of me was planning to assemble his first gaming PC a few years later after I had overcome some financial challenges. I had two choices: a 6600K or a 6700K. After reading numerous forum discussions and watching many tech videos, I saw that most people agreed on four cores with four threads being sufficient for gaming in the near term. I kept repeating this idea—spending extra on the 6700K would bring minimal performance gains. That day came, and what I thought was a distant future turned out to be here. My 4-thread 6600K is now struggling in most AAA games. A major factor for me was Half-Life: Alyx. While playing it, I noticed frequent stutters. I thought my GTX1070 had hit its limit. But upon closer look, it was using only 60-70% of its capacity while my 6600K ran at full power. I realized I was CPU-bound! I had expected to be limited by GPUs before my CPU, but here it was the other way around. This mirrors a similar situation in 2020, except now we’re choosing between Intel and AMD options instead of just two brands. With some savings planned for my birthday next week, I’m considering upgrading either the Intel 9700K or the Ryzen 3700X. Both offer big leaps over my old model. I’m thinking of using my existing Corsair memory and an AM4 cooler, and I’ll stick with ROG STRIX boards from their chip sets. The build is ITX, so cost comes into play. I’m still debating which board to pick, but both look solid. My gaming setup runs 1440p at 165Hz on a Gsync monitor and I enjoy VR with the Oculus Rift S. I plan to upgrade my GTX1070 soon and want to minimize bottlenecks. Right now, I’m torn between the higher clock speed of the 9700K and the extra threads of the 3700X. It’s unclear if more threads will become a problem soon. In Half-Life: Alyx and similar titles, heavy CPU usage comes from running VR apps alongside games. Having more threads might not help much. X570 boards generally handle rear I/O better, possibly due to newer PCI-E 4.0 support or newer hardware. Z390 is passive cooled, while X570 uses internal fans for VRM and chipset cooling—do they usually run loudly? My 8GB memory works with both CPUs, but I’m not sure about the Ryzen version. The 3700X uses less power thanks to its 7nm process, which could be useful in my compact case with just an intake fan. I’m hoping either chip will keep me gaming for another four years or more. I’m still confused and going in circles. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
What resolution and refresh rate do you use? Which graphics are you prioritizing (always at their best performance)? Your 6600K shouldn’t limit your GPU’s capabilities much, and upgrading the GPU is far more beneficial than improving the CPU for gaming. Are you playing at full 1080p or reduced settings? If you’re a dedicated gamer, everything else can be skipped—both chips perform similarly unless you upgrade your GPU. Ryzen offers significantly better thermal handling. Edit: It seems I overlooked the mention of 1440p earlier. Your main performance issue is your GPU during games, not your CPU. Especially if you plan to use your screen extensively, a stronger GPU will be essential. For CPU speed, moving up to a 3600 will greatly enhance your experience simply because additional threads reduce strain on other tasks while gaming that heavily impacts the 6600K. Overall, the 3700X looks like the best choice moving forward—not just for thread usage, but to avoid slowdowns from background processes. If you don’t upgrade your GPU, the 9700K won’t be used to its full potential. But if you do, the 9700K offers a solid performance boost in pure FPS. However, it runs very hot. Ryzen is much more manageable in compact, poorly ventilated builds (and all ITX boards struggle with heat). Also, avoid costly X570/X470 motherboards—they’re not worth the investment for your intended use. Just get a B450 with an updated BIOS; MSI Tomahawk works exceptionally well and is budget-friendly. To be honest, I’d recommend a 3600 as your CPU and switch to a 4600 or 4700 later if you want more performance without a big jump in cost. Last thought: we’re approaching the end of the 4-year AM4 era. Next year it’s likely to be the first of four years of AM5 for Ryzen. If you need a future-proof path, consider a 3600+B450 or wait until then.
I’d keep that cash for a while longer—spend it on a GPU instead. There are rumors about new GPUs arriving soon from NVIDIA. Use this money plus any extra funds to secure the top next-generation GPU available. I’d hold off upgrading your CPU another year or two; by then, your current one will clearly show its age. Intel might make a comeback, and AMD has likely advanced beyond AM4 into AM5, offering much more appealing upgrades.
I play at 1440p on a Gsync 165hz display. I’m thinking about upgrading my GPU this year or next. I’ve set aside a separate fund for this purpose. The 6600k isn’t always the issue, but it’s increasingly becoming a problem. My CPU upgrade is partially aimed at preparing for a future GPU, as I might become more CPU-bound then. This change also aims to improve my HL: Alyx experience, since I’m currently seeing high CPU usage with minimal GPU activity, suggesting heavy reliance on the CPU.
Yeah it's an approach I'm always kind of tempted by but I have found there is always something around the corner that you could justify waiting for. But at some point it's time to bite the bullet. I am planning to upgrade my GPU anyway, I am also saving in to a separate pot for this purpose. (Will be something from Nvidia as I have not long spent £500 on a Gsync panel.) The issue is I am currently already intermittently CPU bound. So a GPU upgrade will currently only make me even more CPU bound.
I started with the same assumption, so I attempted a clean Windows setup using only drivers, Steam, and Oculus Home. Despite my efforts, the issue persisted. I’ve been searching online and noticed many users facing similar challenges with 4-core processors. It looks like the game needs more threads to function optimally.
Well, the CPU options available today aren't all bad. I’d lean toward an AMD R5-3600 or even a 2600, as they beat out your usual choices and offer double the cores plus double the threads. Pairing them with an X570 board would let you move up to a 3900 or 3950X later, especially if prices drop around the time the Ryzen 4000 hits the market. If that doesn’t work, go for the Ryzen 3700X with a B450 motherboard—it’ll keep up well past the Intel era and still handle the 4000 upgrade without needing a full switch. The X570’s fans are usually quiet, so you won’t have to worry about noise. Your RAM should fit, but upgrading to faster speeds would be wise, as Ryzen tends to favor higher performance. If you do go faster, consider adding more memory since the 32GB range is starting to overlap with the 16GB capacity.
The 3600 definitely stands out as a strong choice. It offers impressive performance at a reasonable price. My decision to go with the x570 board came mainly from evaluating the available AM4 ix boards and the Strix x570i’s capabilities, particularly its robust rear I/O options—every USB port is 3.1 Gen 1 or newer. I’m not expecting PCI-E 4 to provide any real benefit for internal data transfer in my setup. For expanding storage, I currently use two 850GB SSDs in RAID 0 and plan to switch to a larger NVMe drive once the size requirements increase. I won’t upgrade to PCI-E 3 unless the performance gains are clear enough to justify the cost. Regarding RAM, I intend to upgrade later, but my existing DIMM should suffice. The 9700K isn’t necessary right now; it depends on the CPU I select, which will guide my future GPU plans.
These threads, they’re not as crucial right now, but they seem to gain importance soon. Since you need a z370 motherboard for this, I’d suggest going with the 9900k instead—it’s just $150 more. I’m currently using Intel, and I really appreciate their products, but it doesn’t make financial sense at the moment. Also, don’t think the 9700k is bad; it does offer better single-core performance, but newer games from 2020 onward will support more threads than it does.