# Buying a new PC urgently



## cst1992 (Jan 17, 2022)

As the poll says. If you had no time to wait for newer generations, which one would you go for?

It should be a given that you don't wait for AMD to release new 3D Vcache CPUs or Zen 4 - you just go for whatever you find today.


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 17, 2022)

I think the safest bet is ALD right now they have good options at every price point and motherboards that offer pretty much any features one could want. Ryzen 5000 isn't really price competitive and the amount you save going with a $140 ish B550 board vs a $180 B660 or $230 Z690 board is mostly eaten up by the cpu cost difference.

If you already have a half decent AM4 board Zen3 makes more sense though.


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## cst1992 (Jan 17, 2022)

What about Rx 5000 plus an X570 board? I found some of those have pretty good features.


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 17, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> What about Rx 5000 plus an X570 board? I found some of those have pretty good features.



At $300 the 12600k is much better than the 5600x and at $400 ish the 12700k is much better than the 5800X is the problem... The 5900X needs to be closer in price to the 12700k to be viable and the 5950X isn't useful for most people.

I have both a 5800X/5950X both great cpus but at $400 and under ALD is much better at every tier right now till we see bigger price cuts from AMD which I doubt are coming.


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## kapone32 (Jan 17, 2022)

oxrufiioxo said:


> At $300 the 12600k is much better than the 5600x and at $400 ish the 12700k is much better than the 5800X is the problem... The 5900X needs to be closer in price to the 12700k to be viable and the 5950X isn't useful for most people.
> 
> I have both a 5800X/5950X both great cpus but at $400 and under ALD is much better at every tier right now till we see bigger price cuts from AMD which I doubt are coming.


While I totally agree with you, if you can afford it (you know) the 5950X is a joy to behold and use. 5.2 GHZ single core is nothing to sneeze at. I think that the mid tier boards like the B660 will force AMD to lower prices as their MB cost advantage will evaporate.


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 17, 2022)

Yeah, if the thread was urgently need a 600+ cpu then it really just comes down to the 5950X and 12900k. 

I think I would still lean towards the i9 considering they mostly just trade blows and the i9 is usually $100 cheaper money I'd rather put into ram, storage, or a better mobo.


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## HD64G (Jan 17, 2022)

Since GPU prices are where they are atm, only sensible solution for a PC imho is one with the 5600G and a mid-tier B550 board. When the market gets normalized, will check again what can be done to upgrade or get a new PC on a new platform.


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 17, 2022)

HD64G said:


> Since GPU prices are where they are atm, only sensible solution for a PC imho is one with the 5600G and a mid-tier B550 board. When the market gets normalized, will check again what can be done to upgrade or get a new PC on a new platform.



OP has a 3060ti pretty sure he's asking for himself.


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## kapone32 (Jan 17, 2022)

oxrufiioxo said:


> Yeah, if the thread was urgently need a 600+ cpu then it really just comes down to the 5950X and 12900k and I think I would still lean towards the i9 considering they mostly just trade blows and the i9 is usually $100 cheaper money I'd rather put into ram, storage, or a better mobo.


I had a X570-E Strix, that was a great MB until it got Gremlins. So bad that I actually thought my $1400 6800XT was broken, I had one of those store Warranties on the MB and I paid a little extra and replaced it the MSI X570S Ace Max. The thing with that board is it is wired with a bunch of PCIe switches and a super beefy VRM. It allows me to have 2 RAID cards in my PC without losing any bandwidth (chipset yes). I have long transitioned away from HDD and have all the SATA I need so losing 4/8 SATA ports to link 2 PCIe 4 NVME Drives in RAID 0 is joy. As a Gamer I appreciated it when I have to reinstall Epic Games after Windows 11 and now a MB update. This should satisfy me until AMD or Intel impresses me enough to move to AM5 or 13th Gen. If I had any lower class CPU like a 3600, 2700x, 5600x I would spend my money on a 5900X or 5950X from today until AM5 launches. What I am really looking forward to is official Direct Storage support in Win 11.


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## cst1992 (Jan 17, 2022)

oxrufiioxo said:


> OP has a 3060ti pretty sure he's asking for himself.


Yeah. I'm just tired of the cat and mouse.


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 17, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> Yeah. I'm just tired of the cat and mouse.



Pretty much anything is going to be a massive upgrade over your 4th gen i5 I still think with the much better ST and very good MT ALD is the better bet. Your money though there are enough benchmarks out there from reputable reviewers that making an informed decision shouldn't be too difficult.


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 17, 2022)

B550 Mobo R7 5800 OEM


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## Why_Me (Jan 17, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> As the poll says. If you had no time to wait for newer generations, which one would you go for?
> 
> It should be a given that you don't wait for AMD to release new 3D Vcache CPUs or Zen 4 - you just go for whatever you find today.


Let's cut to the chase and allow posters to back up their choices on here.

1. What is your budget.
2. What country are you located.
3. Will you be reusing and/or do you already own any components.
4. What will be the primary uses of your computer.


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## cst1992 (Jan 18, 2022)

1. $250-$300 on CPU; $150-$200 on motherboard
2. India (budget according to US pricing but prices of Alder Lake are prohibitive).
3. For the sake of discussion, assume I own everything apart from CPU, mobo and RAM.
4. Gaming primary; video editing secondary; office use tertiary.


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## Chomiq (Jan 18, 2022)

Zen3D doesn't exist yet, so that option is out. 5600X in that case.


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## Why_Me (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> 1. $250-$300 on CPU; $150-$200 on motherboard
> 2. India (budget according to US pricing but prices of Alder Lake are prohibitive).
> 3. For the sake of discussion, assume I own everything apart from CPU, mobo and RAM.
> 4. Gaming primary; video editing secondary; office use tertiary.


If you can wait for the Alder Lake cpu's and B660 DDR4 boards to arrive in India I would look at the i5 12400F + B660 DDR4 board + 2x8GB set of DDR4-3200mhz CL16 RAM.

https://www.primeabgb.com/buy-onlin...ards/?filters=motherboard-chipset[intel-b660]   <--- the B660 DDR4 boards are just now beginning to arrive in India.

If you cannot wait until then I would do something like this.  Check Amazon for these same items.

https://www.primeabgb.com/online-pr...aming-b560m-plus-intel-b560-matx-motherboard/
ASUS TUF GAMING B560M-PLUS ₹12,499

https://www.primeabgb.com/online-pr...ion-rocket-lake-processor-12m-cache-4-40-ghz/
Intel Core i5-11400F ₹13,499

https://www.primeabgb.com/online-pr...x-400-v2-blue-cpu-cooler-dp-mch4-gmx400v2-bl/
DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX 400 V2 CPU COOLER ₹1,300

*+*

2x8GB 3200mhz CL16 RAM.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/intel-core-i5-11400f-processor-review,1.html









						Intel Core i5-11400F Review - The Best Rocket Lake
					

The Core i5-11400F is Intel's most affordable Rocket Lake processor. While its multiplier is locked, you can still adjust the power limit. Once we did that, the CPU ran over 15% faster and almost matched the Core i5-11600K. We also made an interesting discovery regarding Gear 1 vs. Gear 2.




					www.techpowerup.com
				






Chomiq said:


> Zen3D doesn't exist yet, so that option is out. 5600X in that case.


Have you seen the prices of the 5600X in India?  Lisa Lu and the rest of that AMD lot cater to the wealthy.


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## cst1992 (Jan 18, 2022)

The 5600x is actually my choice - it's not very expensive as compared to what it is in the US.

At about INR 24,000 it's equivalent to roughly $320, an amount which I am prepared to pay. My only concern is that if I go for it, will it be competitive with future i5s and Ryzens?


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> The 5600x is actually my choice - it's not very expensive as compared to what it is in the US.
> 
> At about INR 24,000 it's equivalent to roughly $320, an amount which I am prepared to pay. My only concern is that if I go for it, will it be competitive with future i5s and Ryzens?



I think that is a good way to look at it, because even if Alder Lake did arrive there tomorrow, who knows what the cost would be. It does seem like USA gets preferential treatment on cost of electronics regardless of any other country. So if you can get something at MSRP USA price, that is probably fair.

I don't know what Intel is like overseas anymore though as far as stock goes.


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## cst1992 (Jan 18, 2022)

the i5 12600k(and other Alder Lake CPUs) is going to arrive at the end of this month.








						Intel Core i5-12600K 12th Gen Alder Lake Processor BX8071512600K
					

10 Cores & 16 Threads  3.7 GHz P-Core Clock Speed  4.9 GHz Maximum Turbo Frequency  LGA 1700 Socket




					www.primeabgb.com


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## Why_Me (Jan 18, 2022)

lynx29 said:


> I think that is a good way to look at it, because even if Alder Lake did arrive there tomorrow, who knows what the cost would be. It does seem like USA gets preferential treatment on cost of electronics regardless of any other country. So if you can get something at MSRP USA price, that is probably fair.
> 
> I don't know what Intel is like overseas anymore though as far as stock goes.


The 11400F is going for $180 USD in India vs the 5600X which goes for $320 USD there.  No way will the i5 12400F go for anywhere near $300 in India or anywhere else for that matter.

This board in the links down below is going for less than $200 USD.  That's on par with US pricing.

https://www.primeabgb.com/online-pr...re-series-cpu-max-128-gb-ddr4-5333mhz-memory/ 









						TUF GAMING B660M-E D4｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global
					

TUF Gaming series distills essential elements of the latest AMD and Intel® platforms, and combines them with game-ready features and proven durability. Engineered with military-grade components, an upgraded power solution and a comprehensive set of cooling options, this motherboard delivers...




					www.asus.com


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> the i5 12600k(and other Alder Lake CPUs) is going to arrive at the end of this month.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



10 cores and 16 threads? am i reading that right? i don't know much about alder lake but that seems weird to me on the numbers.

anyways, thats only like $30 more after conversion from my math than the 5600x. seems like you should get the 12600k honestly. almost doubling your cores and your increasing your IPC for $30 more... seems like a no brainer, regardless of brand.


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## Why_Me (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> the i5 12600k(and other Alder Lake CPUs) is going to arrive at the end of this month.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The i5 12400F will most likely sell for at or under $200 USD in India.  









						Core i5 12400 processor review
					

With six performance cores and hyper-threading, the Core i5 12400 might be the most desired budget-friendly and properly performing Alder Lake series processor as a gaming platform. It offers heaps of... Introduction




					www.guru3d.com


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

Why_Me said:


> The i5 12400F will most likely sell for at or under $200 USD in India.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



OP said they are willing to spend $320,  the 12600k coming on that website is listed at ₹29,999  which is like what $30-50 more than what they are willing to spend. 

Seems logical to me should just try to save up a little bit more, 10 cores and a bit better IPC, makes a lot of sense. I'm not a fan of Intel, but if that price/conversion is correct, I would pay $30-50 more for a 10 core vs 6 core of similar generations.


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## Why_Me (Jan 18, 2022)

lynx29 said:


> OP said they are willing to spend $320,  the 12600k coming on that website is listed at ₹29,999  which is like what $30-50 more than what they are willing to spend.
> 
> Seems logical to me should just try to save up a little bit more, 10 cores and a bit better IPC, makes a lot of sense. I'm not a fan of Intel, but if that price/conversion is correct, I would pay $30-50 more for a 10 core vs 6 core of similar generations.


Agreed but finding a Z690 DDR4 board for $200 or less in India might be a chore.  If he can find one then the 12600K would be the logical choice.


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

Why_Me said:


> Agreed but finding a Z690 DDR4 board for $200 or less in India might be a chore.  If he can find one then the 12600K would be the logical choice.



Fair point.  I mean it's only 10-15 days away until it should all be in stock, so if it were me personally, I'd just wait and see what is physically on the self last week of January/first week of February and go from there.  An upgrade like this should not be taken lightly, as the future is very uncertain...


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## Hyderz (Jan 18, 2022)

if i do buy a new gaming pc, id get i5 12600k, 32gb ram ddr4/5 dont matter, and a rtx 3080ti


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## bug (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> The 5600x is actually my choice - it's not very expensive as compared to what it is in the US.
> 
> At about INR 24,000 it's equivalent to roughly $320, an amount which I am prepared to pay. My only concern is that if I go for it, will it be competitive with future i5s and Ryzens?


It's not a slow CPU by any means, but 12600k beats it _today_.


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## damric (Jan 18, 2022)

AM4 B450 +5700G all the way.


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

damric said:


> AM4 B450 +5700G all the way.



I disagree with this, OP already has a 3060 ti, ipgu will be useless. better to get max frames, and that would be with the 12600k (assuming he can find a decently priced mobo and the 12600k is no more than $50 more than the 5600x)


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## cst1992 (Jan 18, 2022)

bug said:


> It's not a slow CPU by any means, but 12600k beats it _today_.


By how much? Because it's 25% more expensive, just for the CPU. I'm sure a Z6xx series motherboard won't be cheap either. Would I be able to find one for <$250?



lynx29 said:


> the 12600k is no more than $50 more than the 5600x


5600X $320; 12600k $400.


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> By how much? Because it's 25% more expensive, just for the CPU. I'm sure a Z6xx series motherboard won't be cheap either. Would I be able to find one for <$250?
> 
> 
> 5600X $320; 12600k $400.



$80 isn't much honestly, assuming you can get a mobo at a decent price. You have to keep in mind, this is something you will be using for possibly 5-10 years if not longer.


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## cst1992 (Jan 18, 2022)

Hyderz said:


> A rtx 3080ti


Ahem... I would like to keep both my kidneys, thanks.



lynx29 said:


> $80 isn't much honestly, assuming you can get a mobo at a decent price. You have to keep in mind, this is something you will be using for possibly 5-10 years if not longer.


I don't want to go with Windows 11 right now. Is that going to be necessary for Alder Lake?


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> Ahem... I would like to keep both my kidneys, thanks.
> 
> 
> I don't want to go with Windows 11 right now. Is that going to be necessary for Alder Lake?



No, check gamers nexus all their testing is done on 10. Regardless of platform you'll want to be on windows 10 at a min anyways.


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## Space Lynx (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> Ahem... I would like to keep both my kidneys, thanks.
> 
> 
> I don't want to go with Windows 11 right now. Is that going to be necessary for Alder Lake?



win 10 support ends in 2025 (i think). so you will have to go to win 11 then.


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## mama (Jan 18, 2022)

Ryzen 5000 is the stable platform at the moment.


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## bug (Jan 18, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> By how much? Because it's 25% more expensive, just for the CPU. I'm sure a Z6xx series motherboard won't be cheap either. Would I be able to find one for <$250?


You couldn't be bothered to look, could you? https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i5-12600k-alder-lake-12th-gen/23.html


cst1992 said:


> 5600X $320; 12600k $400.


That sucks for you, 12600k is cheaper in most places (that's what makes it such on obvious buy). If you could give it a month, chances are prices will settle down over there, too.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Jan 19, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> By how much? Because it's 25% more expensive, just for the CPU. I'm sure a Z6xx series motherboard won't be cheap either. Would I be able to find one for <$250?
> 
> 
> 5600X $320; 12600k $400.


What resolution and frame rate would you be gaming at ,it might not matter that much either way.
10 doesn't support ADL as well, I think.


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## Why_Me (Jan 19, 2022)

Intel Core i5-12400F 12th Gen Alder Lake 6-Core 2.5 GHz LGA 1700 Desktop Processor BX8071512400F
					

With the highest clock speeds and a groundbreaking new architecture, you’ll be able to push your gameplay to new heights while secondary apps run seamlessly in the background.




					www.primeabgb.com
				



Intel Core i5-12400F ₹16,999 / $228 USD


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## oxrufiioxo (Jan 19, 2022)

Why_Me said:


> Intel Core i5-12400F 12th Gen Alder Lake 6-Core 2.5 GHz LGA 1700 Desktop Processor BX8071512400F
> 
> 
> With the highest clock speeds and a groundbreaking new architecture, you’ll be able to push your gameplay to new heights while secondary apps run seamlessly in the background.
> ...



Still seems like the better bet.... I would get a decent B660 board and call it.... 5600X definitely isn't worth 100 usd over it.


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## Why_Me (Jan 19, 2022)

oxrufiioxo said:


> Still seems like the better bet.... I would get a decent B660 board and call it.... 5600X definitely isn't worth 100 usd over it.


This ^^  that extra $100 can be put towards a set of RAM and/or cpu cooler.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 2, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> Ahem... I would like to keep both my kidneys, thanks.
> 
> 
> I don't want to go with Windows 11 right now. Is that going to be necessary for Alder Lake?


Yes


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## Atomic77 (Feb 6, 2022)

Hmm at this point I would not go much better than what I currently have. My Laptop is 1 year old and my desktop is still really new.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 6, 2022)

oxrufiioxo said:


> Still seems like the better bet.... I would get a decent B660 board and call it.... 5600X definitely isn't worth 100 usd over it.


So get a 5800 OEM for $262 like I did


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## Selaya (Feb 6, 2022)

unless you buy one of the SKUs w/ E-cores ADL will work perfectly fine w/ 10.


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## Recca29 (Feb 6, 2022)

Buy a second hand 5600x : ~20K.
Get a new Asrock B550, it should cost about ~11K.


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## cst1992 (Feb 6, 2022)

CallandorWoT said:


> 10 cores and 16 threads? am i reading that right? i don't know much about alder lake but that seems weird to me on the numbers.


The i5 and the 5600x are both 6-core CPUs, but the i5 has 4 efficiency cores.

So it comes out to 10(6+4) cores and 16(12+4) threads. Efficiency cores do not support hyperthreading.


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## Space Lynx (Feb 6, 2022)

cst1992 said:


> Efficiency cores do not support hyperthreading.



This is what I did not understand, thanks.


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## oxrufiioxo (Feb 6, 2022)

Why_Me said:


> No it doesn't.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Pretty sure he is referencing the 12600k not the 12400F at least that's how I took it.


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## bug (Feb 7, 2022)

Selaya said:


> unless you buy one of the SKUs w/ E-cores ADL will work perfectly fine w/ 10.


You can buy an SKU with E-cores, disable them and you'll still be fine. Not very smart, but that's what I did.


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## Selaya (Feb 7, 2022)

i mean you can do that too but why not just buy one w/o? The only SKU that doesn't have an E-core less counterpart's the 12700(K) ...


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## Kissamies (Feb 7, 2022)

I'd probably just get a 5800X (with or without the 3D cache) as I'm not in a hurry of moving away from AM4. Though my current 3600 is more than enough for me for a while.


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## Selaya (Feb 7, 2022)

and your point is ... ?
this thread is about building a new computer, from scratch obviously if you're already invested into the AM4 ecosystem you'd just do a pop-in upgrade but for those who aren't, generally in like 95% of all cases ADL > Vermeer


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## bug (Feb 7, 2022)

Selaya said:


> i mean you can do that too but why not just buy one w/o? The only SKU that doesn't have an E-core less counterpart's the 12700(K) ...


Stock (or lack thereof). Or, in my case, spending most time on Linux and hoping that a proper scheduler will pop-up some day.
Once again, not something you'd normally do, but the option is there.


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