Looking to purchase a 9900k soon—thoughts on what games await next?
Looking to purchase a 9900k soon—thoughts on what games await next?
We're all aware that upcoming consoles will support up to 16 threads, so many newer titles should run smoothly on PCs with that level of power. Regarding the 9900k, it might still be capable for gaming a few years ahead, but as a 3080 Ti uses 16 PCIe lanes, its performance could be limited by bandwidth rather than raw speed. Upgrading every 5-6 years seems reasonable to maintain good performance.
The machines are being built with processors at a very low cost. AMD secured the contract... This doesn't imply game makers will focus heavily on thread counts while most titles don't exceed 4-8 cores per thread. Still, the 9900k should perform better without being limited to older clock speeds like consoles.
Choose 3700x or 3900x if you prefer not to upgrade soon. Could it become saturated, possibly depending on your workloads?
I'll hold off until Intel releases its new chips. The latest i7 is the 9900K and it's also more affordable at stores. It feels like I'm choosing between the i7 and i9 based on performance, but I really appreciate the 10 cores and 20 threads.
It should work well during that timeframe. Console generations tend to last a long time, and they rarely refresh with fresh CPU models. The 9900k already outperforms what’s coming in the latest Xbox and PS. They’ll never match the performance you get from those new systems, and the last major generation was around 6-7 years ago.
Three good alternatives are:
- Hold off until the 10th-gen release and people start trading in their 9900k (sales are expected soon, maybe within two weeks).
- Purchase a 3700x, which offers similar performance at a lower price—great value for budget 8/16 models.
- Opt for a 10700k or 10900k, both priced similarly and set to become the next big gaming CPU.
Most friends I know follow this advice and are satisfied. For now, sticking with a 9900k seems reasonable unless you find a strong discount.
GPUs haven’t reached the point where they fully saturate PCIe 3.0 yet. The Intel 3350-P 4-core from 2012-2013 still felt smooth until it jumped to the RTX 2080. If you’re aiming for a CPU that keeps up with upcoming consoles, you’re safe for a while.
You won't be let down—choose 3700x, 3900x, or 3950x. Excellent processors that will serve you well for a long time.