Upgrading i5 6600K (with a GTX1080) : gaming focus

[lapino]

So I'm currenly using a Core i5 6600K with an Asus Maximus VIII Hero mainboard and an EVGA GTX1080. I'm playing games on an ultrawide 3440x1440 screen. I've noticed that in games like BF1 or BF:V, when I do not cap the framerate and using ultra settings, the cpu tends to go to 100% on all four cores. When I disable some settings for the gpu, I see the frames go up a bit and manage to keep the cpu usage around 95%. GPU usages is mostly around 95%.

So I'm thinking maybe a cpu upgrade mainly for multithreading and more cores might be an option. I know for the resolution I'm playing in, the GTX1080 usually won't be held back by the cpu but the MSI graphs seem to show otherwise. So what do you guys think? Would it be 'wise' to upgrade to an intel 8700K. I may be able to sell my current mainboard/cpu, making the cost of the upgrade around 400 Euro (a 6700K would cost me around 300 but remains an "old" processor).

Or do you think this would be an 'unwise' upgrade? I might save up a bit for an RTX2080 but I have a feeling this might be held back even more by my 'aging' cpu.

ps: not considering Ryzen

 

[27MaD]

Upgrade to at least a 8400 , 8 thread CPU would be better.

 

[Vayra86]

You could use the additional cores but you're already on DDR4 and a good single thread performance, your gains from moving to a 6 core or 8 core are going to be minimal on a GTX 1080. I think when you notice games are stuttery, that is the time to think about upgrading. Right now all you stand to gain is a few FPS, and only situationally. Whether that is worth it, is up to you. Worst case you'll be out 15% of the max performance on that 1080 right now, which isnt a lot.

 

[lapino]

Thx for the advice, since I'm gaming on ultrawide resolution 3440x1440, what would be the "best" upgrade then to get around 100fps in BF:V and BF:1 at (max-ish) settings? I might put the budget towards the RTX2080 and sell my eVGA GTX1080 but not sure if the 6600K would hold back the RTX2080.

 

[Vayra86]

Thx for the advice, since I'm gaming on ultrawide resolution 3440x1440, what would be the "best" upgrade then to get around 100fps in BF:V and BF:1 at (max-ish) settings? I might put the budget towards the RTX2080 and sell my eVGA GTX1080 but not sure if the 6600K would hold back the RTX2080.

Yeah that is the dilemma you're at right now, if you upgrade the GPU, you won't have the budget to do CPU+board, which would then definitely be worth doing. And if you upgrade CPU+board, the gain is minimal - right now - but you will have a good platform for a future GPU upgrade.

Given the horrible price/perf of Turing I would suggest the CPU route at this point, and the 8700K is a good choice. But the best option is really to just wait, since your gain today is minimal. Time is your friend with upgrading, the longer you wait, the more you usually get for your $

 

[hat]

Or just sit on the 6600k? It's not like you're missing much. You're looking at getting what is basically the same cpu, only with more cores, even if you upgraded to the 9900k. Whether you need those cores or not, I'm not sure...

 

[lapino]

Right, this is the same feeling I have right now. The Ryzen 2700x might be interesting too, but my cooler is lacking the right bracket for that (and it's an expensive one, threw away the box, stupid me). Might be stupid, but I'm checking out the prices for the (non-ti) RTX2080 over here, and seems the MSI RTX2080 would cost me around 850 euro. I figure I might get around 500 for my GTX1080 EVGA FTW). Since I read a lot that on higher-resolutions usually the gpu isn't cpu limited, especially with higher fps, I might go that route and see what that brings. The RTX2080 should get me just over GTX1080ti performance and being a bit more future proof. The GTX1080ti is about the same price where I live, so the RTX is a no-brainer then.

Am I wrong in my thinking that a 6600K + RTX2080 might give me better fps/performance at 3440x1440 compared to a 7800K + GTX1080 ?

 

[cucker tarlson]

it'll bottleneck rtx 2080 at 3440x1440.

 

[lapino]

Are you sure about that? Especially at 3440x1440?

 

[thebluebumblebee]

You never mention if this is actually affecting game play, or that some numbers aren't where you want them. According to W1zzard's reviews at 1440p with a GTX 1080 Ti, the i5-7600K is only 8% slower than the i9-9900K, and when you look at 4K, the difference is only 4%. Anything under 10% is normally unnoticeable.

Am I wrong in my thinking that a 6600K + RTX2080 might give me better fps/performance at 3440x1440 compared to a 7800K + GTX1080 ?

Nope.

 

[trog100]

the better gpu is your best option..

trog

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

Today's games dont use more than 4 cores. A pentum g4560 can give you 50-60 fps in MOST AAA titles if paired with decent GPU ( 1060 max limit ). i would say halt the upgrade until next gen consoles ps5 and next xbox release, cause only then games will become much more CPU demanding and you can upgrade to whatever latest unicorn releases during that period. As of now 4 cores is all you need man truly and yours is a good quad core i5 from intel with DDR4 support so there is also that to keep in mind

 

[lapino]

Yeah well, I see my core usage almost constantly at 100% in BF:1 and BF:V, same in Hitman (2016) for example.

 

[londiste]

With a GTX1080 on 3440x1440 you will be almost completely GPU-limited so I would not worry about the CPU.
In gaming, 4c/8t and 6c/6t Intel CPUs are about on par. 4c/4t is getting a little old and slow but you will realistically only see that in a handful of games with a high-end GPU.
The cheapest upgrade where you will not need to touch the platform would be 6700k or 7700k that go for pretty cheap these days.
RTX2080 will be more limited by your 6600K that GTX1080

Battlefields and Hitman are definitely one of the handful of games that will benefit from more CPU, from more than 6-8 threads so 8700K would be a clear benefit for these. same applies to Rise/Shadow of Tomb Raider, Watch Dogs 2 and some more that I can't exactly remember right now.

Thx for the advice, since I'm gaming on ultrawide resolution 3440x1440, what would be the "best" upgrade then to get around 100fps in BF:V and BF:1 at (max-ish) settings? I might put the budget towards the RTX2080 and sell my eVGA GTX1080 but not sure if the 6600K would hold back the RTX2080.

Specifically for BFV - and probably for BF1 at this stage as well - you will also need a better GPU to get to around 100fps on Ultra. RTX2080/GTX1080Ti/RTX2080Ti. TPUs own tests give an idea what to look for:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Performance_Analysis/Battlefield_V/4.html
Note that these results are with an overclocked 8700K that definitely does benefit this game.

 

[Vayra86]

Lots of people have real problems getting a handle on CPU performance, and reviewers are no different.

The fact is, if you've played lots of varied games, of different qualities and dev budgets, you just know that the CPU is pivotal to the experience, and another fact is that these days game performance can scale well above 4 cores. When those game threads saturate those cores you will definitely want to have more of them and in those cases even HT/SMT enabled CPUs fall off; you want the physical core count then. Already there are a number of games that do this, its a writing on the wall, because it surely won't get less. 4c/8t can still do OK, but is no longer optimal. 4c is really just obsolete.

Another fact about CPU performance is that running a canned bench is in no way representative for ingame performance. Two important factors: many games get heavier on the CPU as you progress further, when more enemies appear on screen for example, or your character is capable of doing more actions in the same time, you can spawn more monsters, etc etc etc. Another one is the fact that every PC runs background tasks and isn't a pure bench rig.

The last important factor in CPU performance is that single thread still matters and for high refresh, it matters that much more. Both AMD and Intel CPUs are fast enough to require faster RAM (DDR4) to really extract the best performance out of that single thread.

The problem with CPU performance is that people look at averages, but you don't notice a 3-5 FPS lower average, you do notice however the outliers, that show as stutter, or hangs. This is why I say that when you notice thát happening, its a good time to look at a platform upgrade; even if there is just a small perf boost to be had.

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

Yeah well, I see my core usage almost constantly at 100% in BF:1 and BF:V, same in Hitman (2016) for example.

So you play on unlocked frame rates not locked 60 ?

I mean if you like super high frames then by all mean do what you feel is right for you. as for someone looking for stable 60 frames on all titles your possessor is more than enough. cheers.

 

[JalleR]

Hmm sadly there is no CPU scaling test in the BF1 Game test... :I ? @W1zzard

But at 3440x1440 CPU is less of a problem

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Performance_Analysis/Assassins_Creed_Odyssey/4.html