A bit "out of touch" with current build ideologies etc.
Posted by Viking-Geek@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 13 comments
My PC is... getting on a bit to be polite.
(can skip to the TLDR if you don't care for the backstory ;op)
When I built it it was that borderline "once in a lifetime build", where I had the disposable income to really splash out, go full custom water loop and just do everything how I wanted it etc.
And obviously over time things start to go from "annihilating everything on max settings never dropping a frame", to "Runs AAA well on max settings" and ever trending downwards until certain things start to struggle. While I've upgraded a few bits here and there, it has reached the point where it is 'almost' a full rebuild to upgrade further, as it is the almost 10 year old CPU starting to hold things back...
For ages I was watching a fair bit of PC building content on YouTube etc, which was passively keeping me up to date with the current trends, as well as what was either scheduled or rumoured to be releasing and when.
But the last few years I've been consuming less YouTube related content and thus no longer up to date on what's what in the world of PC building.
I'm likely to have to do a big update in the next year or so. And it is very unlikely that I'm going to go the full hog and max out everything again for the sake of it. As these days my PC gaming habits have changed a fair bit since when I originally built my current rig.
That's not to say I want to go the cheapest route - I want to spend my money wisely when it comes to it. Finding that middle ground of "Good performance" and "Solid Future Proofing Expectations" for the right cost, rather than buying the best of the best etc.
And the one mistake I made with my current PC was not taking into consideration the socket lifespan of the CPU - namely the CPU I got was one of the last generations using that socket - and while it was a good one, it meant I couldn't "just" upgrade my CPU - it would need a motherboard and RAM as well as a minimum.
Which brings to the questions...
TLDR:
- What are the current "go to" recommendations for that Upper-Mid to Low-Upper end CPUs and GPUs. I don't want to break the bank, but don't want to cheap out - and want it to have some future proofing to it etc.
- Are there 'new' CPU sockets on the horizon that would be worth waiting for (more for future upgrading rather than initial power factor)
- What are prices like for certain component types these days? I know a while back stuff like the crypto market was artificially inflating various prices, but no idea what things are like now.
(While it won't likely be a factor, given I'm not aiming for low end - but PC will also be used for 3D CAD type stuff as well, but typically decent gaming PC's handle that just fine I've found - aside from a couple of times doing some crazy renders I tried at home anyway)
PusheenHater@reddit
CPU: In the past decade, AMD has dominated and Intel wasn't even a consideration. Nowadays, AMD is still dominating for gaming, but Intel is catching up for non-gaming (productivity).
If you want gaming, go 9800X3D (or 7800X3D). It the go-to no-brainer for gaming, but also competent for productivity.
GPU: AMD has been complete trash. Nvidia has a complete monopoly, unfortunately. The minimum recommended VRAM is 16 GB VRAM. The cheapest Nvidia 16 GB VRAM of the latest gen is 5070 Ti. Don't get 5080 and especially do not get 5090 or 4090. The cable connectors will melt and brick the GPU. Not a maybe, it's a guarantee. It's designed by Nvidia to do so, so people will have to upgraded.
Pricing: The worst time to build a PC in the entirety of history. Prices are sky high, especially SSD and RAM.
Viking-Geek@reddit (OP)
Great breakdown, thank you kindly. I must say that while I'd heard that AMD was better than it was in the past, if I hadn't sought input I likely would've still gone intel - if nothing more because I've always understood their product naming while I never really took the time to get to grips with AMD's naming nomenclature.
After a quick Google, I see the 9800X3D was a 2024 release and using the AM5 socket - is it known if AM6 likely happening anytime soon? (Are the AMD chips ever backward compatible to older chipsets etc?)
I do remember seeing about the new power connectors for the recent nVidia cards being a problem.
I take it there are fewer concerns with mixing and matching AMD CPU's with nVidia GPU's these days?
Ah, good time for building then! As AI isn't likely to go away any time soon! Had best prepare the bank account =D
chsn2000@reddit
AMD's next generation (and according to rumours, next two) will be on AM5 so you're good for at least another 3-5 years in terms of a drop-in upgrade.
Have to push back on what the other guy said because AMD's GPUs are not that bad, especially for price/performance.
Mixing CPU/GPU isn't a concern, only Nvidia's drivers are...lol
For pure gaming, the 9800X3D is the obvious and only choice. For mixed use (productivity+gaming) the Intel 270K Plus is only just behind the 9950X3D in all-core workloads, while being about 75% in gaming compared to the 9800X3D or 9950X3D and being more or less half the price of a 9950X3D. That said, in most scenarios you are GPU limited so the CPU is almost never the bottleneck outside of certain very specific games (or trying to play counterstrike at 400fps)
However going with Intel will mean the motherboard is a one-and-done with no scope to upgade in the future.
Honestly I don't expect the tech to move too quickly over the next few years. We're at the limit of our manufacturing abilities, and all of the foundry time is being spent on AI so it's quite unlikely that CPUs will suddenly leap ahead in performance... would love to be proven wrong!
Viking-Geek@reddit (OP)
I had spotted in looking up some benchmarks etc that the 270K Plus was considerably cheaper than the other suggested offerings. Though will say it was more the GPU's that caught me off guard price wise (and RAM even though I KNEW that was high currently lol)
I daresay there will be some consideration on the CPUs when I come to order, weighing up cost to performance to longevity as well as specific performance in the games I mostly play xD
PusheenHater@reddit
Looks like you're in UK, that's unfortunate, governor. Microcenter has the best deals for CPU/mobo/RAM bundles. It would have saved you a lot of money. Consider it if you're going to the US any time soon.
AMD CPU: X3D = gaming, X = non-gaming.
9000 series = newest, 7000 series = previous, 5000 = previous previous.
Honestly, the PC building market is just so messed up now. I used to be a wait-er. Wait for better deals. But this whole AI pricing made me realize waiting might not be worth it. If you really want it then just go for it, that's what I say now.
Honestly, I don't think there's a real need to upgrade CPU within the same chipset, ever. Even a 5800X3D is "good enough" now. There's not much benefit to upgrading. If you need more GPU power then you upgrade GPU. By the time 5800X3D doesn't cut it anymore, it's time to upgrade completely to whatever the latest thing 10 years from now.
I don't think there was ever an issue with mixing CPU and GPU brands.
Viking-Geek@reddit (OP)
Funny you say that, I actually got my current GPU while on holiday in the states because it was so much cheaper over there!
It could just have been anecdotal stuff around the time of when I built mine (a chunk of my info was fed to me from friends) who used to say there were sometimes driver incompatibilities with the very early Ryzen stuff and nVidia. So could well have just been misinformed at the time - or could just well have been a misinterpretation of the fact that at the time Intel and nVidia was the go to combo.
I could be overthinking the CPU upgrading. When I built mine, there wasn't an i9 in that series. But obviously in later generations there was etc. And admittedly my CPU was a very good one (both in retail spec and overclocking capability). But did feel that there was a point where there might've been a point where I might've been able to go from the "first" CPU of a chipset to the "last" CPU of a chip set to upgrade "enough" to not need to do a full upgrade and that somehow I'd messed up by being on one of the last CPU's of that shipset. I suppose it could come down to if you're at a CPU bottleneck for the GPU or not.
Though not sure if CPU bottlenecking is even much of a concern these days?
And I'm not necessarily "waiting", especially if the consensus is that CPU upgrading within a chipset isn't worthwhile. More I know the upgrade is on the horizon, need to start saving pennies for it - and if there was a new chipset looming I'd potentially take that into consideration (Both from the aforementioned upgradability but also potential drops in prices of previous stuff to consider)
Sessomedusacazzo@reddit
I saw a few concerning comments. Am4 is still greatly fine as of now, but it's already a dead platform (don't even consider old intels) IF you find a reasonable am4 build to compared to the price you could also go for it, but if we go building from scratch, we talk am5 (or lga1851 for intel). Here I'd go am5 and the cheapest, but still good cpu you can get is the 9600x (what I use) if you find a discounted b650 or 850 mobo you can get it new for 150€, considering I got my 9600x for 180€ with little over 300 I got cpu and mobo, the 7800 x3d alone would've costed you alone the total, the 9800 x3d 100€ more. This a pair that will already last you a lot, it's a strong cpu, and when eventually it will get slower you'll have saved enough to get the newest x3d processor.
Gpu: it does depend on what your goal is, in the current market I have two suggestions: If your use is versatile, you do gaming, graphics, rendering, it gets complicated, the reasonable price goes the 5070, but the compromise is mainly the 12gb vram (in relation to the price), but if your task are heavy, and I mean heavy, you should at least consider the 5070ti If you only game: then cut everything and get the 9070xt. For the price of the 5070 you get 4 more gb of vram and get a performance between the 5070 and the 5070ti. Personally I also think in the future other softwares will be more compatible with amd, seeing how popular it's getting. This comment was really long
Elitefuture@reddit
If you're building this next year, then ask this again in a year. PC prices range wildly between each year.
Also, next year might be the worst time for upgradeability. I think AM5 has 2 more generations of CPUs left, so it'll get a new cpu next year and probably just 1 more after that. Maybe some refreshes, but nothing substantial after(I hope I'm wrong ofc). Intel already has a new socket lined up and they have historically only given like 1 good upgrade per socket. Your hope might be am6, but again you'd have to wait 2 more generations minimum of am5.
However, I wouldn't wait for a brand new socket to upgrade. I'd probably just get am5 and whatever the new ryzen 7 x3d CPU chip. Then in the future just get a used version of the next gen x3d.
Viking-Geek@reddit (OP)
It is more a case of "Within the next year", I'm starting the consideration now, to try and get a rough idea of what sort of cost it might end up being to figure out when my budget might allow.
Should go without saying that when the time comes to fork over the cash I'd do my research at the time to check the landscape hasn't changed =D
I'd only go out of my way to "wait" for a new socket etc if it was announced with a release date and was "soon". The socket question was more of a feeler than a hard rule.
Elitefuture@reddit
In that case, Am5 and currently a used 7800x3d is a reasonable mid-high end CPU. The 9800x3d and 9850x3d are the fastest for gaming and honestly not that expensive vs how GPUs scale.
As for GPUs, currently the 9070 xt is the only reasonable mid-high end GPU for gaming specifically and will be better in cad vs what you currently have. However, the 5070 ti is faster in cad, it just currently costs $300 more(40% more) for slightly better gaming performance, better cad performance, and dlss instead of fsr4. Given your current cad work, I'd go with the 9070 xt and save the $300.
As for prices, currently Ram is expensive due to AI, idk when that'll end. AI spending has bought memory chips till I think the end of 2027. So Ram + SSDs + GPUs are inflated. For GPUs, NVidia cards are extra inflated due to CUDA and AI. AMD GPUs are a bit inflated, but $710 vs $600 isn't too bad, especially since it was more realistically $650, so $710 vs $650.
Viking-Geek@reddit (OP)
The focus will be much more on gaming, 99.9% of any CAD work I do end up doing at home doesn't involve rendering and barely uses anything except the CPU anyway. Most CAD work is done at the office on a dedicated CAD machine. Was just something to note that when WFH earlier this year a rare instance of needing to render came up and it... took a while lol (thought technically handled it better than my dedicated CAD machine did due to better cooling!)
I certainly was thinking more along the lines of 70 or 70Ti range for GPU, vs the 80 or 90 range. Though my eyes did bulge earlier seeing the price of the 5070Ti here in the UK currently... And now looking at the 9070XT - that is about a £200 price difference here. which is pretty heavy!
Elitefuture@reddit
Yea, I'd recommend the 9070 xt given the price difference. 200 pounds is $271 USD, so it's rough. Back when the price difference was like $100 USD, it was more reasonable.
CZsea@reddit
My minimum recommendation for a new build is ryzen 7500+9060zt 16gb, prefer 9500+9070xt for a higher budget. (can go 5070/5070ti if you need nvidia resource)
am5 with ddr5 is probably a standard for a while, even am4 is still usable. It's a lot better than intel socket in the past.
ram + storage and gpu are in high demand so the price is higher than it should be, everything else is kinda fine I guess.