Upgrading to DDR5 - Gaming PC

[Robbie]

Hi guys,

I'm just looking to upgrade my gaming PC from my old i7 6700k. I currently have a RTX 2080, so no need to upgrade that just yet, so the rest of the build I was thinking something like this. Any suggestions on some changes/upgrades? Thanks!

Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY 2 LIGHT TEMPERED GLASS
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 12-Core Processor i7-12700KF (3.6GHz) 25MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR PLATINUM DDR5 5200MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Price: £1,992.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-ddr5-pc/RbAwgrWxaa/

 

[Scott]

To be honest I don't think you'll see much of an upgrade from the 6700K. It would be a bit better but minimal for gaming as most of the work will be done on the GPU.

I certainly wouldn't be spending ITRO £2k as it'll net you around 5 frames per £K.

 

[Steveyg]

Yeah honestly mate if I was you I would wait either until the next gen GPU's and jump in then or wait for the next batch of processors. You won't see a large enough improvement

Also DDR5 is still very early in it's lifespan so who knows where it's going to go. No telling your motherboard/etc you pick now will be compatible with future possible speeds. I would wait a year at least to be honest see how everything pans out

 

[B4zookaw]

Would there really be minimial gain in a CPU upgrade from 6th gen to 12th gen? I would have thought there would be, even in terms of single core performance?

 

[Robbie]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Ah okay, I thought it's been awhile since I upgraded so was time I did it. My current CPU doesn't even support the upgrade to Windows 11 which is mainly what prompted me that I might needed to upgrade.

Thanks for the advice though, I'll keep an eye on this space and try to hold off a bit longer.

 

[Steveyg]

Would there really be minimial gain in a CPU upgrade from 6th gen to 12th gen? I would have thought there would be, even in terms of single core performance?

It's a definitely chasm of a jump but in terms of potential bottleneck I don't think it's quite there yet. The 6700K can still be used effectively but you are on the edge. I'd say it's worth waiting to see what happens next as opposed to jumping into 12th gen now especially if the motivation is DDR5 which is still very early days

 

[Scott]

Would there really be minimial gain in a CPU upgrade from 6th gen to 12th gen? I would have thought there would be, even in terms of single core performance?

It depends on the task. For gaming, it would be minimal other than perhaps 1080p. But paired with the 2080 @ 1080p would see you able to hit silly FPS (probably a 200 fps average) which would make it a metric that's pointless for the eyeballs.

Most people would be using the 2080 for 1440p or 4k, by which point you are hitting a GPU bottleneck rather than CPU. Bumping the CPU frequency/performance would only make any real odds to the likes of a Flight Simulator

 

[B4zookaw]

@Scott @Steveyg Ok, makes sense from a gaming perspective. I guess where you would see a performance jump would be multicore use such as rendering, etc. Thanks for the info, helps build my knowledge.