I'm currently running an I7 9700K on an Asus Maximus Hero XI motherboard with an EVGA 3080 and 32GB of DDR4 3600 RAM. My setup is housed in a cool Fallout Nuka-Cola themed case that I want to keep. I've been noticing some CPU bottlenecks while gaming, especially at 4K resolution capped at 90FPS. I usually adjust settings to maintain this performance with DLSS in games. I'm considering upgrading my motherboard and CPU since they are getting older, but I prefer sticking with Intel and have a budget of around $300-$350 for a second-hand upgrade, possibly looking at 12th generation CPUs. I'm not into overclocking unless it's significantly beneficial, as I'm fine running my I7 at stock. I missed out on a good eBay deal for a Prime z690-p d4 with an I5 12600K for $300, which seemed like a solid upgrade. While I'm not playing competitively, I'd love to get a little boost in performance without going overboard on costs. If DDR5 isn't a game-changer, I'd like to stick with DDR4 so I can use my existing RAM. Any suggestions?
1 Answer
I’d definitely recommend sticking with the 12th gen Intel as you mentioned! A Z690 motherboard supporting DDR4 would be perfect since you can reuse your RAM. I suggest going for the I7 12700 instead of the I5 for more longevity. It's a solid choice for your setup, especially for 4K gaming.
Sounds good! Any recommendations on a specific motherboard? I'm familiar with Asus but don’t need anything too fancy, just support for XMP.