Upgrade path from Skylake

[Sophodot]

My current specs and purchase dates:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz (Nov 2016)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon RX 580 PULSE 8GB GDDR5 (Nov 2018)
RAM: HyperX Fury 2x8 GB DDR4 2133MHz CL14 (Jul 2016)
Mobo: GIGABYTE H110M-S2H-CF (Jul 2016)
SSD: ADATA SP550 120GB (Jul 2016)
[not used] Intel 665p 1TB M.2 NVMe (Mar 2021)
HDD: Toshiba DT01ACA200 2000GB (Aug 2017)
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GX1, 80+ Gold, 700W (Nov 2018)
Cooler: Gammax 300 (Jul 2016)
Monitors: Samsung LU28E570DS (Nov 2018); ASUS VC279H (Nov 2016)

The parts I'm most interested in is a new motherboard and CPU.
My goals are as follows:
- Buy something future-proof for 5 years, until 2026
- Best bang for the buck, ideally 10% below MSRP, but I don't have high hopes in the current conditions

My use case is very mild because I quit gaming almost entirely, but I like to have the headroom if I decide to do something more demanding. A 4-core i5 can still handle my daily tasks fast enough. I'm not pressured to upgrade, I'll wait months for a decent price to show up. I'd like to buy the latest-gen available, but not at the inflated launch prices or when it's about to be superseded by the next-gen.

As such, my candidates are:
i5-11600 – This was my original intention. It's the most attractive for my budget. I like the extra clock speed over the i5-_400 while the i7-_700 is too high-end for me. I don't mind the higher power consumption compared to Ryzen.
i5-11600K – In the past this would only get you an unlocked multiplier, and I don't want to pay the extra for a Z-chipset, but on Rocket Lake there's a 300MHz difference in all-core boost between the K and non-K version, which seems significant enough to consider.
i5-11600KF – This skips the iGPU which sounds like a pretty big sellpoint for Intel. I can live without it, but it might come in handy either for QuickSync or to have in reserve in case of a dGPU failure.
Ryzen 5 5600X – More powerful and more expensive than Intel. No iGPU. I've never overclocked but I might give it a try if I get a Ryzen.
Other Ryzen 5? – I expect AMD will release a 5600 non-X with better price/performance or some sort of Zen 3 refresh eventually. Should I wait for that? Or go even further and skip Rocket Lake and Zen 3? I'm not expecting Alder Lake to come out this year, more like in Q2 2022.

For motherboards, I don't have any special requirements and could probably get by with the absolute cheapest mATX available, although I'd rather not do that again. Right now I have an M.2 1TB SSD I bought for just $88 that I can't install because my current motherboard doesn't support it. At this rate, it might sit unused for months so I'm wondering if I should just return it and find a potentially faster SSD after I eventually buy a new motherboard. I've also considered buying a better LGA 1151 mobo but it wouldn't see long-term use. My current SSD is very small and shows 81% remaining life, I'm always making sure I keep at least 45% free space on it.
For me a budget B550/B560 motherboard is probably the most appropriate. Exactly which one I'll buy will still depend mainly on which I can find for the best price from the local retailers. I'm in Romania.

The RAM is a concern for me, because it's old and slow, but I would like to pair them the last gen of DDR4 CPUs instead of waiting for DDR5 to become widespread and affordable or replacing them with higher frequency DDR4. I splurged years ago on 16GB but I barely ever used anything that required more than 8GB. Could I just increase the Infinity Clock on Ryzen and run them desynced? Now B560 from Intel also supports memory overclocking, but I don't know if I can get anything extra from some 5 year old 2-rank sticks. I've also heard that you can disable power limits on B560 with a non-K CPU which yields extra performance, but I'm not certain.

I have a second PC used by a family member, it has an i5-7500, 2x4GB DDR4 2666MHz, GTX 950 2GB, Intel 540s 480GB. I was also wondering how I could upgrade it down the line while still keeping the better parts for myself. But then I'm worried about making too many hardware changes to my PC and losing my genuine Windows activation.

 

[dirtyferret]

The parts I'm most interested in is a new motherboard and CPU.
My goals are as follows:
- Buy something future-proof for 5 years, until 2026
- Best bang for the buck, ideally 10% below MSRP, but I don't have high hopes in the current conditions

future proof and bang for the buck for what? Running MS office, playing World of Warcraft, running Red Dead Redemption 4 on ultra settings?

Will the Samsung LU28E570DS be your main gaming monitor for the next five years?

 

[GerKNG]

10700KF (normally below 300€ which is way below MSRP)

 

[dirtyferret]

My use case is very mild because I quit gaming almost entirely, but I like to have the headroom if I decide to do something more demanding. A 4-core i5 can still handle my daily tasks fast enough. I'm not pressured to upgrade, I'll wait months for a decent price to show up. I'd like to buy the latest-gen available, but not at the inflated launch prices or when it's about to be superseded by the next-gen.

If the i5 handles your daily tasks why upgrade? If you like to buy last gen when available for non-inflated prices I would say your question of if you should wait is redundant.

 

[dgianstefani]

If you want a 5 year PC get an 8 Core.

Either 10700k or 11700k, or a 5800x.

16GB DR ram, preferably 32GB, 3200/16 or 3600 ideally.

I would pair that with a high end noctua/bequiet air cooler, your gammax isn't great.

Keep the rx580 and wait for a year or so to upgrade GPU.

 

[flatty]

Some years ago Ive read (sorry, I couldn't never reach again that "place") a "comparative study" (of coursed based on benches) between 6 generations I7 2600k-7700k. The final conclusion was a 14% overall gain of performance (of course NOT in specific tasks). I can swear that this will apply to I5 too. So, for an average of 2.5%/generation and a 30-50% difference in price for 2-3 generations, I think buying lets say 2-3 generations ago components will be the best bang for the bucks.

Last tought, I don't see why you can consider an upgrade related with what youre using PC

 

[phanbuey]

So if you want $/buck then:

Amazon.com: Intel Core i9-10900F Desktop Processor 10 Cores up to 5.2 GHz Without Processor Graphics LGA 1200 (Intel 400 Series chipset) 65W: Computers & Accessories
$350 - $50 more than 5600x and faster with power limit tuning - MUCH faster in multicore (better for future games) great MIN fps.

Also instead of the 11600K, maybe an 11700F non K would be a good candidate.

Otherwise a 5800x and a cheapish b550 is a great way to go too. If you want something that will last 5 years then the extra $150 is worth I think...

 

[birdie]

I wouldn't upgrade if I were you.

DDR5 is coming for Alder Lake later this year and Zen 3 next year.

I upgraded from Core i5 2500 to Ryzen 3700X almost two years ago but it was totally worth it.

 

[phanbuey]

I wouldn't upgrade if I were you.

DDR5 is coming for Alder Lake later this year and Zen 3 next year.

I upgraded from Core i5 2500 to Ryzen 3700X almost two years ago but it was totally worth it.

But for a mid-range upgrade? idk...

DDR5 is going to be super expensive for the first year, plus availability and supply issues. If you're going to wait for DDR5 mid-range you're waiting for another year at least.

It is kind of a bad time since both sockets are dead, but in 6+ months.

 

[dirtyferret]

But for a mid-range upgrade? idk...

mid- range for what? You have just released high end parts. The OP has an i5-6600 that "can still handle my daily tasks fast enough" but "I like to have the headroom if I decide to do something more demanding". The OP doesn't describe what "more demanding" is just what his baseline daily task needs for fast enough performance. Your definition of "mid-range" may be hundred of dollars different than the OP's.

 

[phanbuey]

mid- range for what? You have just released high end parts. The OP has an i5-6600 that "can still handle my daily tasks fast enough" but "I like to have the headroom if I decide to do something more demanding". The OP doesn't describe what "more demanding" is just what his baseline daily task needs for fast enough performance. Your definition of "mid-range" may be hundred of dollars different than the OP's.

What?

 

[thesmokingman]

What?

OP is just looking to spend money, which on its own is his and anyone's choice. However now is a foolish time to be buying. And thus I concur with the ferret. It's not a smart move to buy now just for a "headroom" to do something that the OP doesn't even know what it is yet.

 

[Sophodot]

Thank you for your responses.

mid- range for what? You have just released high end parts. The OP has an i5-6600 that "can still handle my daily tasks fast enough" but "I like to have the headroom if I decide to do something more demanding". The OP doesn't describe what "more demanding" is just what his baseline daily task needs for fast enough performance. Your definition of "mid-range" may be hundred of dollars different than the OP's.

My daily tasks primarily consist of office-level work, like web-browsing. I use OBS daily to record online classes, but at very-low bitrate which only takes 10-20% CPU. No demanding games in the last few months. I may transcode videos once a week. So yeah, that's a lot of idle time for both CPU and GPU.

The thoughts about an upgrade are more of a personal itch because any 5 years build will soon start to show its age and because of the SSD and slow DDR4 concerns I wrote about. Seeing other people struggle with poor PCs left its mark on me. I feel the urge to always keep mine well-maintained and overperforming for my needs, low as they are. An i3 would be more than enough right now, but an i5 means it will still be more than enough in 5-6 years.

But for a mid-range upgrade? idk...

DDR5 is going to be super expensive for the first year, plus availability and supply issues. If you're going to wait for DDR5 mid-range you're waiting for another year at least.

It is kind of a bad time since both sockets are dead, but in 6+ months.

I also believe it's best to wait and make a definitive decision in about 6 months, when we'll know more about the transition to the new sockets and memory type. I was closely evaluating local retailers lately not because I was in the market for something, but to see what trends I could expect when I would be ready. I posted a thread to make sure I wasn't missing any options I didn't consider.