i7 9700k, i9 9900k or Ryzen 3900x

[JamesA]

I just don’t know which way to go!

Logic would say go for the Ryzen, but almost all the benchmarks I’ve seen suggest the i7 is faster and uses less power. It’s also cheaper. The i9 is a curveball I don’t know much about.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

This is what I’m looking at...

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275Q QUIET CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF X570-PLUS GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0, CrossFireX) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 5400RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 660p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 1800MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W VS SERIES™ VS-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series RGB High Performance Liquid Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
2 PORT (1 x TYPE A, 1 x TYPE C) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK540 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days

 

[SpyderTracks]

Without knowing certain things it's impossible to advise...

What's it for?

What's your max budget?

What screen are you pairing it with, what resolution and refresh rate or make and model if you're unsure?

Basically the only Intel chip that's worth buying is the 9900k and only when used for 1080p 244Hz gaming, otherwise in almost every use case, AMD is the better option.

If you're looking at sites like userbenchmark or cpubenchmark, they're nonsense figures that heavily favour intel with no real relevance to actual performance. Basically they lie through their teeth and the data means absolutely nothing. They favour high frequency and single core performance which would have been relevant about 10 years ago, but isn't at all relevant today as IPC is more important and most applications (even gaming) now rely on multicore.

Updated: Userbenchmark Responds to Criticism Over Score Weighing Revisions

Userbenchmark's new scoring mechanism has stoked controversy in the enthusiast community.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[JamesA]

Thanks for replying.

It’ll be used for gaming (sims almost exclusively) and some video editing. I’d be looking to get a 4K monitor at at least 60hz, 144hz if I can stretch the budget, although I suspect that might be a step too far. I’d like to get the whole thing for under £3000. This build is circa £2400 at the minute with the Ryzen.

I’m guessing the Ryzen is far more future proof?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I’m guessing the Ryzen is far more future proof?

100% correct.

Ryzen 3000 use X570 chipset at the high end which includes PCIe 4 which allows for much faster memory speeds and faster speeds for NVME SSD’s, as well as allowing for PCIe 4 GPU’s whenever they hit the market.

there’s also the factor that AMD are much more lenient with CPU sockets so it’s very likely future generations of CPU’s will fit in an X570 board, whereas with Intel they almost always create a new socket for each generation so you have to update the entire platform of mobo, ram and cpu plus cooler etc etc.

AMD’s current 3000 series fit of 3 generations of motherboard.

Give me a mo and I’ll do you a spec around the 3900x for 4k.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This is an absolute monster... with notes by selections:

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY S2 BLACKOUT TEMPERED GLASS One of the all out airflow cooling winners but obviously personal preference
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core CPU (3.8GHz-4.6GHz/70MB CACHE/AM4) Would absolutely destroy the 9900k in multithreaded workloads and keep up in single threaded
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING (USB 3.2 Gen 2, PCIe 4.0) - RGB Ready! Far better Mobo with PCIe 4 support
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (4 x 8GB) The extra 16Gb would come in handy for video editing
Graphics Card
11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - RTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
4TB SEAGATE IRONWOLF PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE Selected the Pro version as it's 7200rpm whereas the normal is only 5400rpm
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 520 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 5000MB/R, 4400MB/W) Fastest SSD available
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET Much better quality which improves airflow in the case and runs silently unless under full load
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H115i RGB PLATINUM Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler The CPU requires serious cooling
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING Cooler comes with it's own high performance paste pre applied.
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK540 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 12 to 14 working days
Price: £3,007.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/JbKma64fzG/

 

[JamesA]

That’s brill, thanks.

I’m trying to get the build + monitor under £3000 but will take onboard what you’ve said, particularly regarding the motherboard.

Really appreciate you taking the time to respond.