How should I go about upgrading my CPU (while staying DDR4 compatible), should I go Intel LGA1700 or AMD AM4?

Posted by TurnAggressive6954@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 6 comments

My current main desktop is now 10 years old and I'm really noticing it's age now with games like baldurs gate 3. Upgraded the GPU to an RX 9060 XT a short time ago, but I'm definitely CPU limited so I'm looking to upgrade the CPU/motherboard.

Current specs:
Asus Z170 Pro Gaming Motherboard with an i5-6600K CPU and 24GB of DDR4 RAM. Dual booting Windows and Zorin OS on separate drives.

Main upgrade requirements:
Would like to keep the cost under $500, but the way costs are skyrocketing I don't know if that's feasible.
Motherboard needs 6 SATA ports & 6 back I/O USB ports for all the different drives, printers, etc. I have plugged into it, and must support DDR4 RAM because there is no way I'm buying DDR5 with current prices.

With these requirements it really pushes me to either

A:
13th gen intel (probably an i5-13600K with a z690 motherboard, specifically an MSI pro z690-A). (I know about the potential bios version update issues and have contacted the seller to check which bios it ships with)

I would go 14th gen, but none of those motherboards seem to have enough sata ports, instead they have a bunch of m.2 ports (or are extremely expensive).

B:
AMD Ryzen 5000 series (probably a 7 5800XT with a B550 motherboard, looking at an Asus ROG STRIX B550-F for this one).

or C:
I could keep the same motherboard and buy an i7-7700K or something like that (would have to update my bios to run 7th gen CPU). This seems like it would not be a very good option, though probably the cheapest.

So, here is the big question. Do I go Intel or AMD? I would love to get another decade out of this, but that is probably hopelessly optimistic. Is there a fourth/fifth option besides the ones I listed that I am completely missing? Are the options I've listed reasonable, or maybe terrible ideas? Maybe wait out the price hikes and then do a completely new build? I mainly use this computer for games (mostly rpg or strategy) or CAD. I've been out of the PC build loop since pre-Covid and am struggling to get caught up on what is or isn't considered reasonable quality.

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StunningPush8421@reddit

z690 boards support 14th gen chips.

lga 1700 is just better so I would go with it just make sure to update bios

TurnAggressive6954@reddit (OP)

Looks my research betrayed me. I wonder if I mistyped something the first time I put it in partpicker. Just started fresh and put it in again, and sure enough it supports 14th gen.... If that's the case it seems a much better option. Though I have had some people in other reddits suggest the AMD option would be better?

I mean that is pretty odd because the 13600k is just strictly better than the 5800 xt in pretty much every task

Yeah, I've been going through benchmark results and the AMD did a little better on a few multicore benchmarks but most of them the 13600k did better on both. Could just be situational for some people.

deTombe@reddit

12600K/14600KF + MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 or any B aeries board with 8-14 phases. You will need an air cooler atleast 200-250 watts.

I looked at that board, and it looked promising, but only has 4 sata ports. I need 6 for all the drives I have.