Intel 8700K and planning a future build

For a few months now I've been planning a new 8700K based build.

My current system is coming up on 6 years old now and is a 3770K based build, overclocked to 4.5 with a Corsair AIO. The use of my system is primarily Flight Sims (DCS) in VR (Oculus Rift) so I always need all the CPU power I can get. I realize that there haven't been gigantic leaps in CPU since the 3770K but my current system has been getting long in the tooth and I was thinking it was getting to be about that time.

I started researching this build in the fall. However, it hasn't been the best time to build a new PC lately - RAM prices, video card prices, Spectre/Meltdown, etc. So I've been holding off.

It looks like the video card prices might be starting to come down a bit and at least some of these factors might be starting to normalize a little.

Given that some time has passed since I started planning this build, combined with the fact that it seems almost weekly that there is some new Spectre/Meltdown thing that they are patching, combined with the various CPU rumors in the rumor mill and technology news, combined with possible release dates for future CPU's and what those CPU's might be...

In your opinion, is a new 8700K based system still a wise choice for someone who is primarily using flight sims (DCS) in VR as of May 2018? Or is this a poor choice now and it is wiser to wait? If so, how long do you think? If the advice was "to wait" I can probably put it off until September or so.

I always hate that "wait" question because all of us know that the new latest/greatest CPU/Video Card/Whatever is always right around the corner and usually it seems best just to build the thing or you'll always end up waiting for that next "thing" released in a month or two or three.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I'd at least wait for the i7-8086K, which is rumored to be the first ever Intel CPU with stock turbo boost past 5 GHz. That would be great for single-threaded speed in Sim games.

In the meantime, if we're lucky, memory prices will also start going down.

I live by the same rule as always - wait until something provably sucks because of component X before replacing component X.

You have have a few less FPS, so you'll have to decide how important that is to you. If it isn't critical, and there's more of a "I just want an upgrade" sort of itch, i'd advise waiting. If nothing else, for some of the meltdown / spectre mitigations to make it into silicon.

What phasenoise said and also by the time you have waited for that to be fixed, Zen2 will be around the corner and worth considering.. it will likely close the small 5%-10% gap between AMD/Intel in single thread and likely offer far more cores for the same $.

I just built an 8700K for a workstation. The motherboard died after just two weeks, what a pain in the arse.

I also went from an X58 to X99 and upgraded my lounge PC to a 7700K on Z270. Based on my experience so far, I would consider the 8700K to be a great upgrade from the 3770K, the newer platform plays way nicer with VR. I got a Vive Pro and had major issues trying to get it to run on my X99 platform but the Z270 was utterly flawless.

The newer implementation of M.2 for SSD running nvme feels a bit snappier than my X99 for some reason as well, and all round the 7700K and 8600K output a lot less heat than my fire-breathing 5960X.

Presonally, I'm holding out for the X299 refresh CPUs and I'll be ditching my X99. I'm sick of this platform as nothing really works properly.

are they really going to push out that 8086 chip?

I was kind of in the same boat as you.

Had a 3770 system for 5 years or so, and just decided to jump in with an 8700k, because I got tired of waiting.

In my opinion, the 8700k is really the first "significant" upgrade from the 3770k.
For the record, its a beast and will last a long time.

Can't speak for flight sims, but I've got both chips and I agree with the others, the 8700k is a significant improvement all around over the 3770k. Especially apps that benefit from AVX2.

Just did this exact same upgrade. 3770K since 2011 with multiple GPU upgrades to my current 1080 Ti FTW3's in SLI. My old system has been rock solid, so this was a more itch scratch upgrade. I wanted to hold off until Z390, new chips, etc....but finally said F-it. Built my new rig with Asrock z370 extreme 4, 16GB

DDR4, 8700K, 960 evo nvme, and a 2 TB SSD. I always suck with my luck and the silicone lottery, and same goes with this build. I go for completely stable or nothing. Seems like 5GHZ on this chip needs a lot of voltage, and diminishing returns, so I opted to stay at 4.7 which is very stable. That being said,

this new system rocks! Same video cards, but I can tell the difference. I don't regret upgrading. Hell, I might upgrade again to the new 9 series and throw this one downstairs to use while gaming on the couch!

I'd wait a few weeks for computex. A lot of rumors intel has announcements coming on z390 and 8700k successor.