Sure, let's wait for the AM5 announcement!
Sure, let's wait for the AM5 announcement!
Perhaps delay a bit and get an AM4 board, so by then all the issues should be fixed. Joking though, it’s just as pointless as what everyone above thought. The next Ryzen model will be impressive, and in that time Intel might try to catch up. Still, with today’s choices, a top-tier PC can stay functional for a long while. CPUs at 3700x and higher are solid options for the foreseeable future. When I was studying, my only budget items were an i5 3350 and a GTX 970. That setup kept me playing games for years—even if not in ultra high resolution—and met my needs. A decent AM4 board will last you a long time. Regarding GPUs, I’m a bit torn. If AMD really steps up at the high end, we might finally see more affordable options. The 2080 Ti is powerful but still a bit too expensive. If Nvidia releases a better GPU without AMD’s competition at the top tier, prices could drop even more. On the plus side, swapping GPUs on eBay has become much simpler—I’ve sold four units easily so far—and it’s easier than replacing a CPU or motherboard. If you can afford a 3900X and a good GPU (2080 or higher), you’ll have a solid CPU option for some time.
In reality, a 3k budget isn't that high for top-tier components, so you might want to make some adjustments. Regarding Ampere, recent whispers suggest it could face delays until late 2020 or possibly early 2021, with leaks pointing toward an RTX 2080 Ti Super setup (possibly using a Titan core with reduced memory). I'm not entirely certain, so checking the details would be wise.
For durability, if you value more cores—especially those with solid IPCs—it could extend your system's life. A 3900X or 3950X might be worth considering. I installed an Intel i7 3960X in late 2011 and still play SP FPS games well today (though my experience is limited to that genre). I upgraded my GPU several times, starting with R9 290X and moving to a dual GTX Titan to the present VEGA64. If you're patient, next year's Zen 2+ or Zen 3 would offer better performance. You might save money by waiting, since current Zen 2 CPUs could drop in price like the Zen+ 2xxx line.
But honestly, why build a new rig just for gaming? Are you focusing on productivity too? How do your usage patterns compare between games and work?
I realized purchasing a mid-range PC every three years, including all components, would be cheaper than the amount I spend on beer.
I'm holding out for AM5, as I want to avoid the sin I committed last time I built a desktop PC - buying a motherboard with no real upgrade path. In January 2015, I built an LGA1150 system, with an ASRock Z97 Extreme6 and an Intel Core i7-4790K. Besides the dead-end socket (5775C doesn't count), it doesn't support registered ECC (and even if it did, still is too limited on max RAM capacity), has way too few PCIe x16 slots, some PCIe, M.2 & SATA ports have shared bandwidth (and can't be populated simultaneously) and was too expensive for what it was. Same happened with my laptop. Got a Clevo P750DM-G with 1st-gen LGA1151 and Z170 chipset. Started with an i3-6100 then 11 months later upgraded to a same-generation i7-6700K. I've never seen an official BIOS update, not even for Kaby Lake or Spectre fix, and as for a 9900 / 9900T or 10900 / 10900T? FUGGEDABOUTIT! I want a motherboard with a socket that will outlast a few Seasonic Prime PSUs (consecutive, not concurrent, and no in-warranty failures), and supports future CPUs that are several hundred times (not percent) faster than whatever the first generation is. Also, a 250X (two hundred fifty TIMES) or more price/performance boost over my 4790K is required for the CPU, in workloads that don't use newer instructions, assuming I buy in October 2021. (I have mentioned previously about my dad going from a 286 to a 486DX4; I'm not gonna rehash that here but that's the minimum improvement I require, in performance/$/time improvement.)
I'm just focused on gaming and finance topics. The need for a powerful CPU comes from the fact that some games I want to play require a lot of processing power.
I understand, and actually I’m not really tied to the Rtx 2080ti right now. My focus is on keeping this setup future-proof as much as I can. That’s why my top priority for the AM5 is the next generation of CPUs that support it. Also, financially speaking, the issue shouldn’t be a big hurdle in the long run since I used to be a student. Now I have a job and loans, which makes me try to balance both incomes.