Marathon - i5-8600k and 2070 Super. Upgrade CPU?
Posted by nathan118@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Hi everyone. Been trying to get into Marathon, but my machine is getting a little long in the tooth. CPU getting pretty darned old. No matter what settings I change, 1080p/1440p, hi or low quality...I top out at about 60fps if I'm lucky.
Since everyone is saying the game is severely cpu bound, and my cpu is crazy old, I started looking at building a whole new pc, but a nice 5070ti build is gonna put me over $2k easy.
So was thinking, maybe I'd just crank my cpu up to a 9800x3d with a new mobo/ram. Could do that at micro center for a LOT cheaper, and could always upgrade gpu later.
Anyone running something like that with Marathon?
Nebyl_@reddit
The 9800X3D is definitely the right move if you're CPU bound in Marathon. That chip is a monster for gaming and will get you way more fps than what you're hitting now. The i5-8600K is ancient by comparison, so yeah, a mobo and ram upgrade along with that CPU should help a ton.
Thing is though, a 2070 Super is also pretty dated at this point. It's gonna become a bottleneck pretty quick once you fix the CPU side, especially at 1440p. Marathon is demanding and you'll probably find yourself wanting more GPU horsepower sooner than you think. But if budget is the constraint right now, CPU first makes sense since it's your immediate problem. You can always grab something like an RTX 4070 Super or RX 7800 XT down the line when you've got the cash.
For comparing what upgrade path makes the most sense for your situation, https://best-gpu.com has a tool where you can see how your 2070 Super stacks up against newer cards with benchmark scores and current pricing side by side. Might help you plan that GPU upgrade for later.
nathan118@reddit (OP)
9800x3d installed, and it's running so much better!
nathan118@reddit (OP)
Thanks. Yah, it all needs an upgrade, but like you said...mobo/ram/CPU now could be a good stop gap, and then can do gpu later. That's why I'm leaning towards going big on the cpu and getting a 9800x3d. Then in a year or two I could do gpu and won't feel like CPU is weak.
oOmegaOo@reddit
Yes you do need a new cpu at the very least. With that being said, even on a new build with a 9800x3d and 5070ti there are going to be major performance drops especially on Dire Marsh, Outpost and Cryo. Hoping Bungie will get this fixed 🤞
nathan118@reddit (OP)
Yah, it's crazy that a top of the line machine is still having issues.
HayesBrewery@reddit
I just upgraded to a 9800x3d and 5070ti cause yolo.
I don't regret my decision, and it's a dream to game on.
nathan118@reddit (OP)
Sounds good to me! I'll see if my wife agrees. 😆
SatisfactionKlutzy18@reddit
Do you have 32gb of DDR4? Because you could honestly get away with a cheaper build around a 14600k if you do and pair that with a 5070 Ti my friend.
nathan118@reddit (OP)
Yeah, I've already got 32gb of ram in the current build.
I was looking at mobo/cpu/ram combos on microcenter for $500ish. A 5070ti alone is gonna run me $1k, plus that 14600k and new mobo.
SatisfactionKlutzy18@reddit
That makes sense and really worth considering as well. I just mentioned the 14600k option since this could be around 300ish for you if you recycle the ram. It also depends here how fast your ddr4 is, if it’s 3200 or above it’s an option you can consider.
I see a 500ish option for a 7800x3D combo with a mobo and 32gb of DDR5. I would take a look at that one if it’s in the budget. No matter what you go with I just hope you have a good time with your new built friend 👌
aragorn18@reddit
That would be a great upgrade. Your GPU will hold back the CPU, but that's not technically a problem. It just means that when you later upgrade the GPU, you will get even more performance.
changen@reddit
Even a cheapo 5500 is probably faster than a 8600k. I wouldn't go crazy with a 9800x3d unless you have a 300+hz monitor or something.
A 7500x3d would run the game just fine and they are a bundle with mobo and ram at microcenter.