Is it a good time to upgrade my CPU?

[Josquius]

The 5 means higher level graphics cards won't work? Whats the blocker there?

[Grey Fox]

One of my work machine has 2 m2s. It works fine and boots fast.

[Norgy]

I have found that there never really is a good time to upgrade CPUs. A lesson hard learned. The best processor, for its time, I have had was the Intel 2600K. Never ran hot, never budged despite being overclocked.

The AMD setup for the next year looks rather impressive. Intel's, well, a little less so. I bought the 7800-3D thingie from AMD, and for gaming, it is superb coupled with an AMD graphics card. You obviously do need some liquid cooling loop that will set you back close to 200 EUR, because if I was into conspiracies, I would think chip manufacturers were trying to make alternatives to the traditional stove.

25 minutes of CK3 and already at 85 degrees celsius. I'll just fry some eggs while getting that extra support for my murder scheme of that wife.

[Josquius]

How is liquid cooling to install? I've never had that and I think my image of it is from the days when it was very unorthodox and required insane custom mods.
But strikes me as quite scary.

[Norgy]

How is liquid cooling to install? I've never had that and I think my image of it is from the days when it was very unorthodox and required insane custom mods.
But strikes me as quite scary.

The ready made loops are really just plug and play. The software offered with it isn't amazing. Screwdriver, a bit of patience, and when that runs out, swearing, and you'll be good to go. They do come with what most specialists consider way too much cooling paste, though. The Corsair ones have never failed me, but now there is a plethora to choose from.

Also, the M2 drives are a dream. Run like clockwork, you just turn on your rig, and all is well.

[viper37]

The 5 means higher level graphics cards won't work? Whats the blocker there?

No higher level graphic cards will still work.

But GPU and CPU are linked with performance.

At 1080p, the CPU does the heavy lifting.
At 4k, the GPU (video card) does the heavy lifting.

However, when there is the sweet spot of 1440p, the middle ground, where both CPU and GPU will contribute about equally to your performance, and what's more, when you increase your texture resolution in game (higher graphic details), even at 4k, there is more strain on the CPU.

Right now, you have a very old GPU, so even if you bought the best CPU out there (9800X3D), you couldn't run your games at max detail, even in 1080p, unless it's a very old game.  You'd need a graphic card with at least 8gb ram that supports DX11/12 for more modern games.

But when you change your GPU and you want to increase your resolution, suddenly, your CPU becomes a bottleneck: it's not powerful enough.  It will work, it will just be a tad slower than a Ryzen 7.

If you're ok with that, that's fine.

[viper37]

You obviously do need some liquid cooling loop that will set you back close to 200 EUR, because if I was into conspiracies, I would think chip manufacturers were trying to make alternatives to the traditional stove.

No, you don't really.

A Thermalright Peerless Assassin is just enough.  Regular fan cooler.  These processors don't produce much heat.

I kept mine because I had it since before AM4, but it's unnecessary.

[Josquius]

Thanks a bunch.

Updated.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/WgVm8Q

Considering if I do get a graphics card now (priority is for processor intensive tasks, but I will at some point in the next few years so might just do it now) there's the consideration of memory vs. clock speed which is a head scratcher.

[viper37]

On second thought, this cooler might be a little bit better, it spins faster:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/BRMMnQ/thermalright-phantom-spirit-evo-69-cfm-cpu-cooler-phantom-spirit-120-evo

I think you're good to go outside of that.

The memory is function of your CPU.
I.E, it has to match your CPU's capacities, it's totally irrelevant to your GPU.

Right now, AMD can support memory up to 6000mhz- 6200mhz without any hassle (enable XMP in BIOS and the memory timings are set up automatically).  For speeds beyond that, like 8000mhz, it requires manual tuning.  Not something I advise for beginners, even by following a Youtube guide.

6000mhz is considered to sweet spot for most CPU.

The speed difference you gain is minimal going from 6000 to 6200 or 6400 anyway.

Don't worry about it.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Prices just go up? I swear in the course of a day I rechecked my prospective new rig on PCPartsPicker and the CPU had gone up by 100 bucks.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Its gone up by 10, down by 20, and then back up by 15 in the last few hours. Bastards.

[Josquius]

On second thought, this cooler might be a little bit better, it spins faster:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/BRMMnQ/thermalright-phantom-spirit-evo-69-cfm-cpu-cooler-phantom-spirit-120-evo

I think you're good to go outside of that.

The memory is function of your CPU.
I.E, it has to match your CPU's capacities, it's totally irrelevant to your GPU.

Right now, AMD can support memory up to 6000mhz- 6200mhz without any hassle (enable XMP in BIOS and the memory timings are set up automatically).  For speeds beyond that, like 8000mhz, it requires manual tuning.  Not something I advise for beginners, even by following a Youtube guide.

6000mhz is considered to sweet spot for most CPU.

The speed difference you gain is minimal going from 6000 to 6200 or 6400 anyway.

Don't worry about it.

Gpu memory I meant.
Seems to be a situation with some having higher memory, some higher clock, and so on.
I think real black friday is next week? Will see if anything happens.

[viper37]

On second thought, this cooler might be a little bit better, it spins faster:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/BRMMnQ/thermalright-phantom-spirit-evo-69-cfm-cpu-cooler-phantom-spirit-120-evo

I think you're good to go outside of that.

The memory is function of your CPU.
I.E, it has to match your CPU's capacities, it's totally irrelevant to your GPU.

Right now, AMD can support memory up to 6000mhz- 6200mhz without any hassle (enable XMP in BIOS and the memory timings are set up automatically).  For speeds beyond that, like 8000mhz, it requires manual tuning.  Not something I advise for beginners, even by following a Youtube guide.

6000mhz is considered to sweet spot for most CPU.

The speed difference you gain is minimal going from 6000 to 6200 or 6400 anyway.

Don't worry about it.

Gpu memory I meant.
Seems to be a situation with some having higher memory, some higher clock, and so on.
I think real black friday is next week? Will see if anything happens.

Ah, sorry.

Well, 8gb vram is becoming a bit too tight even for 1080p gaming.
12-16gb is preferable.

Nvidia, AMD and Intel are launching their next generation of cards soon.  Nvidia for the high end, Intel for the mid-range and low end.

1080p gaming: 12-16gb  (AMD 6700XT, 6800XT, Nvidia 4070 Super)
1440p: 16-20gb (Nvidia 4070 Super, Nvidia 4070 TI Super, Nvidia 4080 Super, Nvidia AMD 7900XT)
4k: >20gb ( Nvidia 4080 Super, Nvidia AMD 7900XTX, Nvidia 4090)

Then there's ray tracing, which is mostly a gimmick, from the gamer's point of view, since it doesn't make much of a difference outside of a very few titles (3 or 4 titles as we speak).  On this, Nvidia is the king.  But you need their upscaling technology DLSS to make it work decently.

Upscaling: 
FSR is made by AMD, compatible with Nvidia's card.  to make it short, your game is rendered at 1080p and upscaled real time in 4k.  It saves on GPU rendering power then to display elements.  DLSS is the same, but exclusive to Nvidia.  DLSS is still better looking than FSR, but both technologies introduce artifacts/ghosting in the image when there is fast movements, something purist will always contest, but my eyes can still see.  I prefer native.

Framegen:  Frame generation.  The GPU's algorythm calculates frames and interpolate a "fake"* frame to speed up the rendering process.  It is transparent to the eye.  Both AMD and Nvidia have the tech with different names and it's working great on DX11/DX12/Vulkan games.


* they really just calculate the frame in advance