Recommended i7 7700 upgrade option.

[bmbpdk]

Hello all, my old i7 7700 is beginning to show its age in DCS, and especially in DCS Liberation, i can only barely run a 1/3 performance scenario relatively smoothly.

Which CPU and motherboard do you recommend, it does not matter if its a AMD or Intel?
I dont want to pay extra for LED or fancy "gaming" stuff/options, so it should be a practical and worth the money upgrade.

I live in Denmark, and our prices can in no way be compared to other countries, so giving you a maximum price is pretty much pointless, since the exact same piece of electronic in the US or UK can be very different from the prices in Denmark.
But in Danish Kroner, my budget would be around 6000DKK, motherboard and CPU.
Please remember that you cannot use any currencytranslater to get your currency in DKK, we have too many taxes and fees in Denmark so a direct translation of the currency is useless.

The answer im looking for would, preferably, be one from a person who have themselfes made that upgrade/close to, so im getting a realistic and real world performance picture, not just a "chart x vs chart x".
I dont want to overclock my CPU and i want to use aircooling.

My current PC is:
Intel i7 7700
RX 7700XT
32GB RAM
DCS World on a M.2
Gaming in 1440P


Thank you.
Brian

[kksnowbear]

If I'm following, you're saying that any response would have to disregard costs, as there's (almost) no reliable way for anyone to include costs in whatever they might propose.

Note I'm *not* saying "money is no object" (it always is lol)...rather, I'm saying it would be exceptionally difficult to factor in cost, given the constraints you've outlined.

I just wanted to make sure my understanding is correct.

That said, you indicate running a fairly dated CPU (7700) with a current-gen GPU (7700XT).  These two components are really mismatched (even at 1440p) - what most people refer to as 'bottleneck', just not a term I care for, and your case is the reason I say that:  You're able to play and do OK in most cases...but there are times when it's obvious the CPU is "showing it's age" as you put it

So the task (in my eyes) becomes finding a CPU that matches reasonably well with the RX7700XT when running at 1440p.

You don't mention new or used parts, just something else to consider - and I'll tell you why:

The CPU you have now was great for it's time, but that was some time ago as you've intimated.  Considering that, even something from a generation or two back from present day would be an enormous improvement.  And there's something else to consider; bear with me.

Your 7700 probably runs on a Z270 board; in any event it is almost assured you are running some type of DDR4 RAM - and you have a reasonable amount, too (32G).  You don't mention the actual speed of the RAM you have, and this will definitely matter.  If it's not fairly fast, it's probably not worth re-using, and thus more or less invalidates what I'm outlining here - so we need to know the RAM specs.

If you buy into the latest generation platforms - either Intel or AMD - you're looking at having to replace your RAM with DDR5 as well (there are a few exceptions but these should be avoided IMHO). You can always just go latest gen Intel or AMD and replace the RAM as well (though you only specify CPU and motherboard).

By comparison, there are platforms/generations from both AMD and Intel that can re-use the DDR4.  If we're ruling out the more recent gen stuff that also uses DDR4, then the choice becomes almost automatic:

Buy a good, quality AM4 board (AMD) and a 5800X3D - new or used.  Matches well with the 7700XT at 1440p and you can (hopefully) keep your DDR4 RAM.  TBH, the 7700XT isn't going to be up to a resolution much higher than 1440p anyway, so not worth going too crazy with the CPU/motherboard to match with it.  (Note: If you're considering a GPU upgrade in the not-too-distant future, that changes all this, please advise).  The 5800X3D is widely regarded as the best gaming CPU of it's generation, either AMD or Intel.  And you can save a bit of money buying *not* buying the latest generation stuff; even more if you're willing to consider used stuff.

Alternatively, if you prefer an even more capable setup, you can also go to more recent generation platform (AM5 for AMD or 13th/14th gen Intel, but of course this will increase costs.  You can probably find very good deals on AM4 boards and 5800X3D CPUs now, if you prefer to be more "budget conscious"

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

Edited January 13, 2024 by kksnowbear

[bmbpdk]

Hi kksnowbear.

Thank you for your detailed reply.
And i totally forgot about the DDR4 RAM that may need to be upgraded to DDR5, thank you for reminding me of that.
My RAM specs are DDR4 3000MHz, 4 x 8GB in four slots, sorry for not specifying that in my first post.
Im not interested in buying used electronics, ive done that many years back and i lost a lot of money, so i have always bought new the last two decades.
And yes, you are correct, the CPU is definately the bottleneck, she is old but ploughs through everyday.


I will take a look at the CPU/MB combo you mentioned.

Thanks!

[kksnowbear]

I think the DDR4 3000 is adequate for what you're doing, and particularly well-suited if you want to keep the costs down.

If you prefer to go with strictly new components vs used, totally your prerogative.

You do not indicate plans to do a GPU upgrade soon, as I gather.

So, for me, the best choice is an AM4 platform including a 5800X3D CPU. That will match well with your current GPU and 1440p resolution.

If you don't mind spending slightly more, you can also go to a more recent generation and still keep the RAM you have (although not my recommendation tbh).

You can also go with the most recent generation platform which will perform better still, but at the cost of having to buy new RAM. I would consider this as a reasonable option if you have the budget now *and* foresee having budget for a GPU upgrade in the near future.

Best of luck

 

Edited January 13, 2024 by kksnowbear