I'm looking to upgrade my old PC to a DDR5 platform and need some advice. My budget is around $410, which would cover the Intel 14600K along with a Z790 PG Lightning motherboard, or I could go for the Ryzen 7500F with an Asrock B650M Pro RS for about $310. I've seen benchmarks showing the 14600K is about 10% better in various games and even competes closely with the 7800X3D in some aspects, though the 7800X3D is out of my budget at $400 just for the CPU. My main focus is gaming, especially competitive FPS and open-world MMORPGs, along with some video editing. I plan to keep using my 5700 XT for now before upgrading to a faster GPU card later. Since I expect to hold onto this setup for 6-7 years, I want to make a good choice. Also, I'm not too concerned about power consumption if I can cool it with a solid air cooler. I'm considering options like the ID Cooling Frozn A620 Pro SE or the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE. Any thoughts on which CPU to choose?
1 Answer
I'd say go for the 14600K without hesitation. It's a fantastic CPU, but just remember to update the BIOS to avoid any hiccups later on.
Do you really think the $100 difference is worth that 10% boost in performance? I personally don't mind upgrading my motherboard down the line.