So what CPU if were building a brand new system right now to go with a 3080/3090 ?

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Dahkoht

Limp Gawd
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I know this is a CPU/system question but figured it would fit here as tightly related to the new 3080/3090.

In my case I've got a 7700k/32GB RAM/Samsung 970 TB drive with a first gen Pascal Titan that OC'd nicely , and the system has done well for 3+ years. It's 100% for gaming , I've got another rig for work , browsing, VM's etc beside it.

So was holding out for the new Nvidia cards. I've been gaming this time on a BenQ 32" at 4k at 60hz and been fine with that but of course would like to eventually have faster refresh in a 32" 4k IPS form if they ever come (just can't quite do the 48" inch , on the edge of too big).

I know AMD seems to be the huge recommendation in the CPU world atm , and new Ryzen's in Dec'ish , but I'm not really up for waiting till Jan or so for a video upgrade.

So if you were building a new system right now , 100% for gaming , as in ZERO other from it (no streaming , no multitasking , it's running a game and nothing else other than Discord occasionally ) what would you go with ?


(and slight side option for me , I wonder even without PCIEx4 should I just grab a 3080 and keep the same rig for now waiting to see if there's a 3080ti and/or better CPU options in spring.
 
Well, Nvidia's presentation mostly benchmarked their GPUs on an "Intel i9 system" fwiw.

It's really hard to say. For a RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW NO CONCERN ABOUT THE FUTURE AND ONLY GAMING FOR THE LAST PERCENT OF PERFORAMNCE AT ANY COST, obviously an Intel setup can do you pretty well. Stuff like directstorage is still a ways away (so the bandwidth limitations of Intel's entire Z490 platform is less relevant, everything from CPU-GPU, CPU-NVMe, Networking, etc).


As it stands, we don't know. Nvidia may have benchmarked that way for continuity purposes against their older cards. Benchmarks are only a couple of weeks away, might as well wait until then. If you are buying a new GPU anyways, then just get the GPU and see if your desktop still holds up. Should buy you enough time to figure out (with actual performance numbers, not speculation) what's what.
 
We don't have the cards, we don't have AMDs next GPU release, and we don't have either AMDs next CPU release, nor Intels.

Unless you have something that just doesn't run right now, why bother upgrading anything?
 
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-9700KF-vs-Intel-Core-i7-10700K/m710154vs4070

Try to find a deal on a 9700xx under $250, $200 preferably. Find a 2nd highest or highest tier z370/z390 Mobo for $100.

It's a gaming focused build, so try to save a few $ to out towards your gpu.

I'd keep an eye on independent reviews. Maybe you'll luck out and 9600k OCd will be fine with 3070/3080 and it'll saturate your monitor. $100 for a 9600k would be nice, and you could step down to a mid tier z370/z390 board in the $50-100 range.

Hopefully the 3300x guys don't find they ran out of steam when you reviews come in.
 
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The cheap way to switch would be a good B550 / x570 then a cheap Ryzen 3 3100 ( PCI Express 4 Key piece needed = CPU) and it's hard to tell your not on a Ryzen 5 3600 once you overclock it to 4.2 Ghz also . .then get the video card you want as you are waiting for Zen 3 release and just a drop in part .
 
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If hes going to go that route why not 4600 start, assuming the next 6core is the average 1 and done for most people option?
Gaming focused build AMD wouldn't be my first choice.
 
Thanks much for the suggestions so far , figured I'm not the only one with a 5ghz 7700/8700 wondering same type of thing.

I'm actually hoping some sites will test out the 3080 with something along the lines of a 7700k and see how it does without the newest PCIE etc , not like my machine is a slouch , but it does require tweaking in certain games to do 4k with zero drops below 60 , some others like World of Tanks/Warships etc it thrashes still with no worries.

I would think there will be others with 7/8/9 series Intel interested in the 3080 to see what it can do , enough where folks will bench it anyway.,

Originally I thought I would be going for the 10x and 3090 and whole new system , but the price point of the 3080 if its still a big leap for me has me considering just getting it and holding out till spring to see what the CPU and possibly 3080ti with more memory.

(on side note the B550 route and upgrading the CPU with the next Ryzen if it is better than the 10x Intel for pure gaming is interesting option)
 
Whatever you do, don't change the CPU... YET. Go ahead and order the video card you want it'll still give you vastly improved results on a 7700k, 8700k, or 9700k.

The other big unknown right this second (other than Big Navi) is whether PCIE 4.0 will give a little performance gain on AMD systems. Rumors suggest that IF there is one at all, it could be 3 to 5 percent. If it did happen to add around 5% on average, then the performance of AMD's entire lineup of major CPUs will close the gap with the Intel 10600k and 10900k for gaming. The 3900x only needs another 5% or so to be close enough to a 10900k that it won't really have a meaningful gaming lead. And it will still be faster for every other use. The 3700x and 3600 would suddenly be serious contenders with the 10600k within a couple FPS... but less expensive and/or more cores for other uses.

So even without considering Zen 3... at least wait on the CPU upgrade until benchmarks are in comparing PCIE 3.0 and 4.0 with the entire 3000 lineup just in case there's a free performance surprise hidden in there.

It's been WAY too quiet on the marketing front. Nvidia is barely talking about PCIE 4.0 as a bullet point feature which seems off. My gut tells me Intel may have leaned on everyone not to play it up this year. The question is why? Is Intel just pissed they are behind on features for marketing or is there a real performance difference about to be shown? We will find out soon.
 
somebrains said:
If hes going to go that route why not 4600 start, assuming the next 6core is the average 1 and done for most people option?
Gaming focused build AMD wouldn't be my first choice.
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With indicators of 20% per-core performance increase, Zen 3 is going to embarrass Intel's gaming advantage. Rocket Lake is going to have to be one miracle chip to keep-up with that!
 
I’ll believe that when I see dead flat frame times in Afterburner holding under 10ms with a steady 200fps @1080p.


350fps should be even harder to push flat.
 
defaultluser said:
With hopes of 20% per-core performance increase, I hope Zen 3 is going to equal Intel's 10+ year gaming advantage. Rocket Lake is going to be one miracle chip to top that! Shucks!
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Fixed. You can't just pull from your you know what, when ever you what, without some kind proof of the what your talking about. Tiger Lake 11 Gen just released. Gaming has been Intel's thing all along. I am a 3900X owner who doesn't believe that one bit. Not till AM5.

I actually have buyer's remorse because I don't Render Monkey heads and Cinebench enough to justify owning this 3900X. Did some home video conversion, sure great for the weekend I spent doing that. I play at 4K on a true 4K projector (4096x2160) and the raw power of the 10900k or even the 10700k would have been better now that I am off work with injury again, playing everything game wise 12 hours a day.
 
SnowBeast said:
Fixed. You can't just pull from your you know what, when ever you what, without some kind proof of the what your talking about. Tiger Lake 11 Gen just released. Gaming has been Intel's thing all along. I am a 3900X owner who doesn't believe that one bit. Not till AM5.

I actually have buyer's remorse because I don't Render Monkey heads and Cinebench enough to justify owning this 3900X. Did some home video conversion, sure great for the weekend I spent doing that. I play at 4K on a true 4K projector (4096x2160) and the raw power of the 10900k or even the 10700k would have been better now that I am off work with injury again, playing everything game wise 12 hours a day.
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At 4k, would you really have noticed the difference? Seems like you'd be more GPU limited than anything.

Anyways, OP, if you can't wait, then grab a 10700k and the fastest GPU you can get your hands on. The 10900k just produces more heat for almost no benefit over the 10700k if you're not doing any other work loads. If you can wait a bit, it may be worth seeing what AMD has coming out. While it's all speculation at this point, there should be an uplift in IPC closing that gap a bit more in gaming and giving you the performance at less cost and power. My 3700x is a 65w part, in AMD terms around 88w. Intel uses slightly different math where there 125w 10700k can draw over 200watts (*1), although with 14nm I would say it's not really any more difficult to cool than the 7nm AMD parts (just due to larger surface area allow heat to be pulled out more easier). For gaming only though, right now i'd still vote the 10700k hands down.

My question though is, what games/resolutions are you playing that your 7700k @ 5GHz isn't keeping up? You said you have a 4k monitor, so if you're 4k gaming you aren't really losing anything with your current CPU and most likely won't be losing anything with a 3080 at 4k, heck a 5ghz 7700k can best a stock 10900k in some games (*2, but not all games), but the differences are so small it's almost not worth spending that much $. If you play at 4k, I would take/save the money for the CPU upgrade and get the 3090 instead of the 3080, that'll give you more performance than upgrading your CPU with a 3080. If you play low resolution twitch games, then it may be worth looking at the newer 10700k.

*1 - https://www.anandtech.com/show/15785/the-intel-comet-lake-review-skylake-we-go-again/5

*2 - https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3587-intel-core-i9-10900k-cpu-review-benchmarks
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SnowBeast said:
I actually have buyer's remorse because I don't Render Monkey heads and Cinebench enough to justify owning this 3900X. Did some home video conversion, sure great for the weekend I spent doing that. I play at 4K on a true 4K projector (4096x2160) and the raw power of the 10900k or even the 10700k would have been better now that I am off work with injury again, playing everything game wise 12 hours a day.
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Lol, yeah I still have no idea why people get so hyped for Ryzen's "productivity" benchmarks as if they actually use those apps. It's a bunch of crock. I can't justify going Intel right now though. I keep my motherboard and CPU for a long, long time and no PCIe 4.0 is a big problem for me.
 
Your current setup as actually still very, very good. In your situation I would wait for zen 4 next year which is rumored to be backported to the AM4 platform. Just get an 3070 or 3080 and enjoy. You won’t be held back in most games by much. Anything less than 10% is basically not noticed unless you have a frame counter on.
 
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