Yes, it is sufficient.
Yes, it is sufficient.
6 cores cover gaming needs well. The 8700k handles overclocking to 5ghz easily and performs nicely afterward. For pure gaming, no upgrade is necessary. A 3600xt paired with an Rx 580 will run smoothly without problems. You might be facing overheating, disabled XMP for RAM, or a heavy Windows setup—other issues could exist. The problem isn’t the CPU itself; you’ll need to diagnose hardware or software faults.
For clarity - 32GB RAM running at 2933 MHz CL15 SSD paired with two Samsung 850 EVO drives in RAID 0, CPU boosted to 4.9 GHz (stable). Temperatures stayed between 50-70°C during gaming sessions. Cooling solution: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black PSU, Chieftec 850W power supply. The RTX 3090 offers better performance compared to the RX 580, especially for CPU-heavy titles like Minecraft, CSGO, and 7 days to die. While the i7-8700K may provide slightly higher FPS than the i7-8700K, it runs smoother under demanding workloads. Overclocking proved reliable; previously, the stock speed was due to insufficient cooling, not a hardware issue. In games, CPU usage remained moderate, around 100%.
On usage, I haven’t seen any game consuming near full CPU capacity. My focus is on AMD options: Ryzen 7 5800X3D, Ryzen 5 5600X, and Ryzen 5 3600XT. The Ryzen 7 8700K seems smoother in AAA titles, possibly because I haven’t tested it yet.
Budget-wise, expect around 500-600 euros plus a few hundred euros for the motherboard. I’m avoiding new DDR5 RAM as costs are higher. I don’t want Intel units since the Noctua NH-D15 doesn’t fit their socket, though some sources suggest alternatives exist if needed.
I believe the cutoff should be around 50%, as it marks the stage where all equivalent cores are included and you're accessing what remains from HT. Noctua has offered free mount kits before, though some come with conditions. Even without qualifying for a free one, they’re reasonably affordable to purchase.
You keep emphasizing "smoothness," which isn't relevant here compared to a 3600xt. Clarify your real problem instead of rushing upgrades. Perform a clean Windows installation. Verify your RAM performance matches your settings. Avoid installing unnecessary apps like RGB lighting that drain CPU resources. Make sure your hardware isn’t overheating due to overclocking. Regarding temperatures, check your motherboard’s VRM stability—some early z370 boards had issues there.
I own an i7-8700k since the start of 2020 and had been running it without any overclocking on the CPU, only using its rated settings for RAM for about a year. In summer 2020 I bought an R5 3600XT which my brother used at lower settings. Both of us played on 1080p monitors with consistent frame rates. He seemed to be getting twice the frames, which led me to suspect the CPU was the issue. My system runs Windows 10, but after switching to Windows 11, I've had to reinstall it several times. For demanding games like Minecraft or 7 Days To Die, I often felt my FPS would drop, giving the impression of lower performance. This Christmas I upgraded to an RTX 3090 and everything ran smoothly except for CPU-heavy titles. Streaming in Discord became problematic with games lagging at 1-2 fps, while other titles streamed perfectly. My CPU usage tests showed it stayed between 50-60% during games, spiking to 100% in Minecraft and then dropping below 10%, causing minor freezes. I’m not sure if this is due to RAM or something else, but my motherboard is an MSI Z370 GAMING M5, which should provide good airflow even if it’s faulty. Upgrading would cost around 200-300 euros, which is a significant expense.