Building a PC that will be better for Minecraft, EU4, HOI4, Tarkov on a budget.
Posted by Burgermiester8@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Howdy! I'm doing some research as I'm soon building a new PC, since my current one has lasted over 8 years without any problems. My current pc has been running an I7-8700K 3.7GHz with a GTX 1060 6GB on an ASRock B360 Pro4 motherboard with 24 GB of DDR4 RAM and I have had 0 heat/reliability issues since I built it long ago. I'm currently running 2 MASSIVE 165HZ 2560x1440 LG32AG55x monitors which I intend on using for the new build.
I mostly play Minecraft, EU4, HOI4, games that don't rely on having insane graphics performance but rely instead on large amounts of processing power, especially with the rise of Minecraft mods that heavily increase CPU loads like Distant Horizons and Chunky. The only outlier that I like to play is Escape from Tarkov, which is the only FPS game I play, but even that is more CPU intensive than many other FPS games. I also plan on casually streaming Minecraft on Twitch/YT as a hobby.
After watching this video: No One Wants Intel Anymore…. I bought it and now I see why and seeing how the productivity of the Intel CPU is around 50% better than it's AMD counterpart, would it be safe to assume that, minus the downsides of higher temps and motherboard upgradability, an Intel CPU would be better for processing-heavy applications in my scenario, given my interests?
I should clarify that even if I end up getting an Intel CPU, I will not be buying a 13th or 14th gen because of the widespread degradation/power issues. I'm currently eyeing up the Intel I9-12900K, and on the AMD side, I'm looking at the Ryzen 7 7700X.
Or am I just overthinking it and I should go with the AMD CPU/Motherboard equivalent regardless?
My budget is around 1400$ for the new PC, any build suggestions will be a great help, especially ones that I can build at my local Microcenter.
ixAp0c@reddit
I was an Intel fanboy for years until Ryzen and AM4.
I've been very happy on the AMD Side of things, they tend to keep sockets for around a little longer - so you get more mileage out of your build later on / if you want to replace CPU.
Just looking at AM5 it's supported until 2027. I just upgraded my AM4 system to a 5700x3d for it's final upgrade.
And although your games are more CPU intensive, with a $1400 budget you could swing around $500 - 700 on a nice GPU.
Burgermiester8@reddit (OP)
I'm definitely going AM5 after careful consideration, still not decided on the GPU but I'm pretty confident that the 7700X is going to be the right choice for me.
ixAp0c@reddit
I'd splurge for the X3D honestly, that 3D cache does a lot of heavy lifting.
Stargate_1@reddit
Minecraft and escape from tarkov love the X3D chips, so those would severely benefit from going with AMD.
Burgermiester8@reddit (OP)
Can't afford the X3D chips, but yeah, I'm going AMD after careful consideration.
Stargate_1@reddit
What is a 7600X3D where you live? Here in germany it's "only" around 300 Euros, far more affordable than the 7800 or 9800
Burgermiester8@reddit (OP)
That one specifically is on sale on Newegg for 395$, it's going for 500$ on average.
The X3D stuff in the USA adds about 150-200$ on to the price.
Stargate_1@reddit
Damn, my condolences
lucagiolu@reddit
Tarkov is not very "budget" friendly sadly. The rest of the Games however are. And they benefit greatly from AMD's 3D cache.
Burgermiester8@reddit (OP)
The X3D stuff is too expensive for me, I'll likely be going with the 7700X.
althaz@reddit
Your best bet is probably to check benchmarks for those specific games and see what they say.
That said, I know for sure Minecraft is faster (and generally more stable as well) on Ryzen CPUs and the 7700X specifically outperforms the 12900k. For the other games I really don't have a clue :).
If I had to guess, I think it's pretty unlikely the 12900k can beat the 7700X in any of those games. The 12900k does well mostly in very heavily multi-threaded situations. That applies to almost zero games. Many games nowadays can use as many threads as you give them, but the limit is almost always the main thread. So long as you have enough other CPU processing power to do things that don't need to be on the main thread, then the main thread is your limit. HOI4 might be one of those rare exceptions, but I don't really know and I would side with the greater probability - eg: that the 7700X is faster.
Also it's worth mentioning that if you do go the Intel route, you're going to want to spend a bit more money on RAM - Intel systems are much more RAM-speed sensitive than AM5 systems are (which is the reverse of a few years ago).
In general, buying a 12900k isn't a good decision - AM5 offers better features and more longevity, the 7700X is much easier to cool and generally is faster in games or other single-thread-limited tasks and Intel systems need better RAM for you to get the best of them. But "in general" doesn't apply to everybody and there absolutely are tasks where the 12900k is significantly faster. I still wouldn't buy it in those scenarios because of the multitude of drawbacks (Ryzen 9 exists and isn't that expensive considering the upsides), but they do exist and yours *might* be one of them.
Burgermiester8@reddit (OP)
I saw a benchmark for Minecraft, the only thing the Intel did better at was chunk loading, it was 13% better, but that 13% was the difference between 162 chunks vs 141 chunks PER SECOND, anything above 100 is going to be lightyears ahead of what I'm looking for. Nemez - Minecraft CPU Benchmarks: Chunk Generation Speed (I'm not counting the Ryzen 9 7900X3D in the test because it's simply too far out of my price range.)
AM5 is also going to be way better for me considering the compatibility with new hardware all the way through 2027.
Thank you for your help, it's been a while since I have built anything and I'm learning all of this stuff for the first time again.