I'm planning a CPU upgrade and would like advice on which LGA1700 processor makes sense for my system. My current build includes an APNX V1 case, an EVGA RTX 3090 Ti FTW3, a 1400W power supply, a Gigabyte Z790 motherboard, a 360mm AIO cooler, 13 case fans, and 128GB of DDR4 memory. My previous Core i5-12600K has been sold. I'm keeping the motherboard and DDR4 for now because they were free, so switching platforms is not currently appealing. I mainly play BeamNG.drive, Star Citizen, and flight simulators in VR. Would a Core i9-14900K or another i9 provide a noticeable improvement, or would a lower-end chip such as the 13600K, 14600K, 13700K, or 14700K be a better choice? I'm also hesitant to buy a used 13th- or 14th-generation processor because of the history of BIOS voltage problems and possible degradation. What would be the best LGA1700 upgrade for this system?
4 Answers
The 14900K is extremely fast, but it also runs hot and requires careful power and voltage management. Make sure the Z790 BIOS is fully updated and use Intel’s recommended power limits rather than unlimited motherboard settings. A new chip should be less risky than an unknown used one, but the extra cores won’t help much in most games compared with a 14600K or 14700K.
I’d lean toward the Core i5-14600K or 14600KF. In gaming, especially when the RTX 3090 Ti is the limiting factor, the 14900K usually won’t provide a large enough improvement to justify its price and extra heat. The 14600K gives you a strong upgrade without the same concerns associated with the higher-end i7 and i9 chips.
Honestly, keeping the 12600K is also defensible if your games are running well. The 3090 Ti is still a capable card, but it can become the limiting component before a 14900K does. For a sensible upgrade, I’d choose a new 14600KF, or a 14700K only if you also have heavily threaded workloads beyond gaming. The 14900K is mostly worthwhile when you specifically need its additional productivity performance.
A Core i7-13700K or 14700K would be a reasonable middle ground, and their gaming performance is fairly close to the 14900K. However, don’t expect a dramatic jump from the 12600K unless you’re clearly CPU-limited. At 1440p, 4K, or demanding VR settings, upgrading the graphics card may have a bigger effect than replacing the processor.
The 13700K can be cheaper, but 13th-generation chips also have some additional manufacturing and degradation concerns. If buying new, I’d favor a 14600K or 14700K with an updated motherboard BIOS.
My main concern with used processors is that a previous owner may have run aggressive voltage or overclocking settings for a long time. I’d rather pay a little more for a new chip than gamble on one that may already be unstable.