Need advice on CPU upgrade

[Sleep]

Hi all. I'm looking to upgrade my CPU. Recently upgraded my PSU and GPU and looking to find the best match. Not set on an amount (£££) yet, would just like to know my options. I realise my Motherboard might be too old for certain CPUs which is why I'm asking. Any help would be much appreciated. My PC's current CPU and Specs:

Case	FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7740X (4.3GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® PRIME X299-A: ATX, USB 3.1, SATA 6 GB/s, RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)	32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3070 - HDMI, DP, LHR
1st Storage Drive	3TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
2nd Storage Drive	2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply	CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	INTEL SOCKET 2011/2066 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste	EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card	ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card	WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

 

[Sleep]

EDIT: My CPU Cooler was upgraded to a 'be quiet! Dark Rock 4'

 

[SpyderTracks]

EDIT: My CPU Cooler was upgraded to a 'be quiet! Dark Rock 4'

You can go up to a 10900x which is a downclocked 10900k with additional PCIe lanes at about 3 x the cost. You could go above that, but it's not a gaming platform so actually you'd reduce gaming performance as the clocks gradually reduce each step up but more cores are added.

Problem will be finding one, they were end of life many years ago, and Intel didn't release many as Threadripper from AMD were about double the performance for a fraction of the cost.

But you'd need a different cooler, and definitely a new PSU and case as well to accommodate it.

TBH, I wouldn't bother upgrading that system, X299 was never a good platform, and with how expensive the CPU on it's own would be you'd get far better bang for buck upgrading the whole system, or just making do with that CPU until you start getting bottlenecks.

 

[Sleep]

Thanks. I was thinking of building my own PC for the first time next year. I'll probably keep the GPU, PSU and get a new MOBO and perhaps a new case. My PC is performing well overall. Just some frame drops in what I assume are more modern CPU dependant games.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks. I was thinking of building my own PC for the first time next year. I'll probably keep the GPU, PSU and get a new MOBO and perhaps a new case. My PC is performing well overall. Just some frame drops in what I assume are more modern CPU dependant games.

You should be good for a few more years on that system just to see you through.

I’d always suggest building a pc yourself, just for that extra satisfaction of having total control over the parts, plus building it is just so much fun. I’m sure a few of our users will attest, it becomes quite addictive into customising things and modding bits, it’s so much fun.

That’s absolutely no disregard to PCS, if I didn’t know how to build, I’d be very happy using them, I’ve had experience with their laptops which I’m still using daily almost 10 years later, so I’m aware of their customer service.

 

[Scott]

I'd look to spend around £800-1k for a meaningful upgrade. You'll want a motherboard, a CPU & RAM. I wouldn't be surprised if the RAM is a bottleneck just now, it's very slow and an unfortunate choice at the time of building.

Always good to get advice when purchasing/building. Could have saved yourself a headache and a ton of cash if you had when speccing that build initially.