My workplace is getting rid of some older PCs, and one of them has an i9-9900K, 32GB of DDR4-2666 memory, and a Quadro P2200. I currently use an i7-7700K with an RTX 3050 8GB. I would only need to buy a compatible motherboard, which I expect to cost around £150 used.
I mostly play older games, with Skyrim probably being the most demanding title I regularly play, so modern gaming performance is not my main concern. I'm also interested in experimenting with small local AI models. My plan would be to use the P2200 for video output and dedicate the RTX 3050 to AI workloads, although I may need a larger power supply for both GPUs.
Would moving to the i9-9900K be a worthwhile upgrade that could last another several years, or would it make more sense to keep the 7700K for another year or two and eventually spend around £1,500–£2,000 on a completely new system?
5 Answers
For your stated use, upgrading to the 9900K makes sense, but don’t expect the RTX 3050 to suddenly perform better in games. The graphics card will usually be the limiting factor, especially at higher settings. The 9900K should give you a few more comfortable years, but I wouldn’t plan on it being a guaranteed eight-to-ten-year solution for new games. It also gives you official Windows 11 support compared with the 7700K.
If the processor is free and the motherboard is your only real expense, the 9900K is a reasonable drop-in upgrade. It has twice as many cores and threads as the 7700K, along with more cache, so you should notice the improvement in multitasking and CPU-heavy workloads. For older games, it will be more than adequate. A tested Z390 board around £150 makes the upgrade fairly low-risk.
That’s reassuring. I’m considering a tested Aorus Z390 Ultra because it includes Wi-Fi and several M.2 slots.
Another option is to sell the 9900K rather than building around it. The chip can still command a premium because it is the fastest processor for its older socket. If the sale covers much of a newer CPU and motherboard, a 12th-generation Intel system or a Ryzen 5000 setup would give you a stronger platform. If keeping the free machine only costs £150 and you’re happy with older games, though, using the 9900K now and doing a full rebuild later is perfectly sensible.
The dual-GPU plan could be useful for experimenting with local AI, but check the power supply, case airflow, motherboard slot spacing, and whether both cards can receive enough airflow. The P2200 and RTX 3050 have limited memory for larger models, so a future 12GB card such as a used RTX 3060 could be a more meaningful AI upgrade. Your 32GB of DDR4-2666 can stay with the 9900K; you probably don’t need to mix it with the older 2400MHz kit unless you need extra capacity.
The 9900K is still usable, but it is not especially good value if you have to buy the platform. Since it remains the top-end chip for its socket, you could sell it and put the money toward something like a Ryzen 5600/5700X or an Intel 12400/12600K. Those platforms can offer better performance for similar total cost, though they may require different memory or a larger rebuild depending on the deal.
I’ll compare the resale value of the CPU and the replacement-platform cost before deciding. I haven’t used AMD in a long time, so I’ll need to look into the current options.
What sort of GPU would you suggest keeping an eye out for later? I may upgrade graphics once I’m ready to spend more on the system.