Intel Ultra 250K Plus or 7600X3D
Posted by Least-Photo-3165@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 38 comments
I’m currently building a mid range PC for a friend. I was about to pull the trigger on a Ryzen 5 7600X3D and a B650 mobo that is discounted, i was going with that CPU since he mostly plays competitive games like Fortnite or Valorant, and as far as i know the X3D processors are very helpful for that kind of games.
Idk why but i checked Newegg before actually pulling the trigger to see if maybe there was a good combo available, and there i found this unreal $300 combo with the 250K Plus that also includes a free ASRock PSU, and now i don’t know what to get. I’ve seen some reviews about this new CPU and seems pretty solid, but i’m still concerned about going Intel since AMD has been leading CPU market, and also cuz i’ve heard that these Intel processors can’t be cooled by air (for example with a Phantom Spirit), and that maybe i should need a memory set of like 7000Mt/s or something.
If i stick to my original plan, those three components would cost around $470, if i go with the Intel i can save $170 and maybe get a better GPU (i was planning to get the 9070 non XT) and even i could get a 1440p monitor instead of a 1080p one, but i don’t really know if it’s worth it since i can’t find a lot of info about the 250K Plus.
PS: just for instance, i’m not able to spend more than those $470 in CPU, MoBo and PSU combined if someone’s willing to give me other ideas that can meet my needs.
coolboy856@reddit
That 250K plus combo is really damn cheap, get it!
Can be cooled with air no problem, this is no 13900/14900(K/S)
raydialseeker@reddit
A decent aio is also like $50-60 if that's what op prefers
coolboy856@reddit
Indeed
kaptainCrook@reddit
Whats your budget? If you can spare a little more, go with 270k plus.
StunningPush8421@reddit
for 170 less the 250k is a no brainer IF you aren't planning on upgrading within the lifespan of am5.
yes it can easily be cooler on air
itsforathing@reddit
To be fair, am5 could last another 2 years, or another 8 years.
AM4 lasted a long time but am2, am3, am3+, etc weren’t all that dissimilar to Intels socket refreshes.
Intel makes a lot of money off motherboard chipsets which incentivizes constant platform launches. At any point AMD could do the same thing for that extra cashflow. There is no guarantee that am5 will last as long as am4. But I do honestly hope it surpasses the longevity of am4
Naerven@reddit
With DDR6 due out late 2027/early 2028 it's more likely that AM6 will launch to support the new memory standard.
AceLamina@reddit
for the 2 people who can afford it
King_Gatorade@reddit
That made me laugh harder then it should have followed by sad silence
BoiCDumpsterFire@reddit
The 7600x3d hands down. There is no future for the Intel LGA 1851 socket but AMD just said they’re hoping to get close to 10 years out of AM5 so you can easily make up the difference in a single upgrade down the road.
greggm2000@reddit
I agree.
In addition, the mainstream Zen 6 X3D part will have 2x the cores of the 7600X3D, have much higher IPC, much higher clocks, more 3D cache (all those things adding up to much better performance), a new/improved IOdie, additional LP cores, an NPU, and perhaps other things as well. If you go AMD you'll have access to that as an option AND perhaps access to Zen 7 on the same motherboard as well, later on. If you go Intel you have.. what you have rn, and nothing more.
MrAToTheB_TTV@reddit
This should be the top comment. I was going to say the same and had to scroll to the bottom to see someone say the same.
Go for the upgrade path, you'll thank yourself later.
AceLamina@reddit
ik I'll get downvoted, but I'll never get this, if you're getting a high-end CPU now, when you upgrade many years later, you'll most likely buy a new motherboard anyway since you'll probably want core than just a CPU upgrade or if DDR6 lives up to the hype somehow
I know it's just popular to hate on intel, but when you consider that, plus the deal OP found, Intel is just a no brainer
TristheHolyBlade@reddit
I've never once been in a situation where an upgrade path would make any sense. Most people aren't upgrading every 2 years
IANVS@reddit
That upgrade path has to be meaningful, otherwise it's a waste of money. Ryzen 9000 was not worth switching to for anyone with Ryzen 7000 and we don't know if the next AM5 lineup will be either.
Not to mention, by the time 250K becomes too weak and you need to switch, both AMD and Intel will have fresh platforms to upgrade to (AM6 and whatever Intel puts out), which makes AM5 just as dead as LGA1851...
MrAToTheB_TTV@reddit
That's not a great take. Going from a 7600 to a 7800x3d is a decent jump. Now imagine a 11950x3d or whatever they end up making.
Just because it isn't available now, doesn't mean it won't be available later. Upgrading a cpu will always be cheaper than a cpu, mobo and possibly ram.
IANVS@reddit
I prefer not to base my purchasing decision on "imagine this...". And people don't use PC exclusively for gaming, X3D is not the holy grail of processors...
If you don't change your CPU every 6 months for fun, both AM5 and LGA1851 will be obsolete by the time whatever the OP gets now becomes weak. It's as simple as that.
MrAToTheB_TTV@reddit
That's fine but then you miss out on the upgrade path.
I don't agree that the next version of AM5 will be "obsolete" when OP decides to upgrade. If they get a midrange CPU now and want to upgrade in a few years, a higher end next gen am5 cpu will be a great improvement.
IANVS@reddit
A great improvement? I don't think so. Maybe if you do some workload that requires more cores than 6 but looking back, 12-16 core Ryzens really don't provide a noticeable improvement over 6-8 parts in anything that's not rendering or compression/decompression and such...similar goes for Intels. I'd argue that an used Ryzen 7700(x) is the best value CPU there is right now becuase it's so well rounded and dirt cheap for what you get...
MrAToTheB_TTV@reddit
Okay buddy
aminy23@reddit
I got a ~$220 250KF recently from Newegg to upgrade my 5+ year old 5900X which I can sell for around $200. I was fortunate to have spare parts including DDR5 as I routinely build many PCs.
At the ~$220 price, they offered it with a 750W PSU that's reasonably decent and an ATX 3.1 model with Japanese capacitors. I use a 3090, so it's not going in my main build, but it's going to trickle down into some older builds with aging PSUs.
It's important to consider what GPU you plan on pairing it with as well. If it's a weak GPU, you can save hundreds more going with a DDR4 platform.
If it's a mid GPU, $100+ in savings might cover a substantial GPU upgrade.
Least-Photo-3165@reddit (OP)
Right now the idea is to pair it with a 9070, but again, if i go with the Intel option the difference would probably let me get a 9070XT but idk if it’s too much for 1080p
Action3xpress@reddit
9070xt is pretty overkill for 1080p unless you are a esports gamer and trying to push 700hz or something crazy like that. But it would allow for a 1440p upgrade in your future no problem.
Serious-Map-1230@reddit
If you (also) do productivity work, like Blender, video editing, etc 250K is a a good option.
Gaming wise the 7800x3d blows it out of the water.
And AMD can be upgraded later, intel cant
Accomplished-Yam7430@reddit
7800x3d combos also blow the price outta the water lol, 250k plus is a great deal if you won't upgrade till am6/nova lake
Serious-Map-1230@reddit
Oh I see a typo on me part, was 7600x3d.
Yes I agree that 250k deal for the price is nice. But gaming wise it's only just above 9600x. It doesn't even come close to the x3d.
I also dont know what deal we are talking about. I see a 250k with a free psu, and a 300 usd deal with a mobo (no ram) but not both deals together.
So from what I see it's the price of a motherboard in difference, but also a bunch of performance difference.
Least-Photo-3165@reddit (OP)
I just checked again on newegg and it still says that both offers can be purchased together, idk if maybe it’s available in some places or accounts or what, but yeah, it says it is the 250K Plus + the ASRock mobo + the free ASRock 750w power supply
kmkm2op@reddit
Wait do you have ram already? Because a microcenter bundle would be way better value if you don't and are going to one anyways.
Least-Photo-3165@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately i need to buy memory too, the thing is that i’m actually buying at Microcenter but through their amazon store, and there the RAM combos are not available
MiniDaCorgi@reddit
Newegg Rep Here
The X3D chips like you said ARE very good for gaming. Especially for 1080p gaming, the games do rely on the cpu for that resolution. Any free add ons you get definitely make a difference in planning, I'd always keep that in mind.
Saving some money to get a monitor is definitely a good idea. A good monitor elevates the gaming experience overall.
Training-Cup4336@reddit
people are saying that LGA1851 is dead, but it does not matter to me because my next upgrade will most probably be at least 7 years away.
itsforathing@reddit
As a ryzen owner myself, I’m honestly leaning towards the 250k plus. There wasn’t a huge leap in performance between zen 4 and zen 5 (7000 and 9000 series). And if you’re buying a mid range cpu now, you likely won’t be upgrading every generation or even every 2 generations.
Hell I upgraded to AM5 from a Z170 + i5 6600 a year ago. That’s 14 Intel generations across 5 socket platforms.
The 3d v cache is great, but it doesn’t seem to perform all that much better than the 9600x from the benchmarks I’ve seen. I might need to be fact checked on that. But the 250k plus has absolutely rocked so far. It’s honestly Intels comeback moment along with the 270k plus.
I only upgrade once my performance suffers on the games I’m playing, for me that 4 core 4 thread i5 6600 from 2015 was perfectly usable up until late 2024 when unreal engine 5 games required more cpu performance. At the time the ryzen 5 9600x was half the price of the 9700x, a 1/3 the price of a used 7800x3d, and also far cheaper than anything Intel had in the same tier.
That’s flipped, the Intel now has stellar performance at the price point that makes it very compelling. If I’d held out with the i5 6600 a little longer, I would have gotten the 250k plus over the 9600x.
Maybe 6 months from now AMD revolutionizes the cpu market again with huge performance uplifts in the new generation, or maybe we see marginal improvements like we did with 7000 to 9000 series… but that won’t matter to you, you’ll already have a cpu and probably won’t have any need to upgrade for years to come.
TL:Dr, platform longevity is great, but doesn’t matter unless you upgrade at least moderately frequently, get the better price to performance option as it currently stands
Serious-Map-1230@reddit
This is all nonsense, so don't worry anout it. For the memory: ryzen's memory controller is shit and the 250k memory controller is a lot better allowing itbto run stable with higher memory speed. Doesn't mean you have to get faster memory.
Lunam_Dominus@reddit
I’s get the 250k
kawaii_Summoner@reddit
If it was AAA single player games, I would lean towards the worse CPU and better GPU. Since he plays competitive esports, I would recommend the better CPU.
For his use case, I'd go 7600x3d
FantasticBike1203@reddit
The 7600x3d for gaming, intel for gaming and workloads, if you mention those specific games, the 7600x3d seems like the no brainer choice.
Nordic_Painter_1933@reddit
https://youtu.be/aeweNYELwkY?si=t7xAm_8gQo7Ze-MH
This video reviews the new 250K in detail and compares it with the 7800X3D and many more.
I would recommend getting the 250K+RX 9070 XT+1440p monitor. Rest all depends on you.
According_Spare7788@reddit
If he exclusively games, i would pick the 7600x3d. If he also does some other cpu heavy tasks on the side that can take advantage of that multi thread performance of the intel chip, then i would go with ICU.