Upgrade of pc for playing newer AAA titles

[quicky008]

I have a i5 9400f,16 GB DDR4 3000 mhz (8gb * 2),and a 3060 ti.

As the cpu lacks hyperthreading,it can't run many of today's cpu intensive titles properly. Games like cyberpunk phantom liberty etc causes massive fps drops in certain areas having numerous objects/characters on screen due to high cpu utilization.I experienced the same issue as well with the newly released Warhammer 40k Space marine 2 (which is a cpu heavy title).

So i've been thinking of upgrading only the cpu and the motherboard to be able to play such demanding titles.I am planning to get the following components:

i5 13400F,
Gigabyte B760 DS3H ddr4 motherboard

I intend to continue using the DDR4 ram sticks that i currently possess-will be upgrading it to 32 gb later on.

Will this configuration be enough to run most games properly for the next 4-5 years? Can using DDR4 with this new setup cause any performance issues or bottlenecking?

It would have perhaps been prudent to get DDR5 instead of DDR4,but cost of DDR5 is quite high at the moment and i don't want to spend another 10k in getting new ram (as the difference in performance between ddr4 and ddr5 doesn't seem too pronounced).

The costs could have been reduced further by opting for 12400F,but its already 2 years old at this point.Intel's 13th and 14th gen cpus are plagued by reliability issues (especially the higher end ones such as the i9s)-are such issues likely to be present in the 13th/14th gen i5 cpus as well?

Please share your suggestions here.

 

[shreeux]

Try game play with Ramboost

 

[omega44-xt]

Since all Intel 13th & 14th gen CPUs are affected with an issue, so just ignore them.

For budget rig, can consider i5 12400/12400F, still decent, but surely old. I use my i5 12400 rig with 7900GRE (surely there's some bottleneck but in most games at 70-80fps, I saw no bottlenecks yet).

If you want something thinking about 5 years down the line, spend 40k on R5 7600 + B650M mobo + 32GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 RAM.

So decide on your budget first. DDR5 vs DDR4 is becoming more apparent now in newer games & the gap will just increase in future.

 

[quicky008]

can 12400f handle cpu heavy games like phantom liberty etc with ease?In games like these the cpu utilization spikes,causing noticeable fps drops frequently in the game,thus making it unplayable (Despite having a good enough gpu) for people with older processors (like me).Have you tried this game on your setup?

 

[omega44-xt]

can 12400f handle cpu heavy games like phantom liberty etc with ease?In games like these the cpu utilization spikes,causing noticeable fps drops frequently in the game,thus making it unplayable (Despite having a good enough gpu) for people with older processors (like me).Have you tried this game on your setup?

Tried benchmark, 1440p ultra w/o upscaling nets me 100+fps.

 

[quicky008]

Tried benchmark, 1440p ultra w/o upscaling nets me 100+fps.

unfortunately the actual gameplay in the dogtown area (in phantom liberty dlc) is much more cpu-intensive than what typically appears in the benchmark.My pc can run the benchmark just fine but struggles a lot in dogtown,making it unplayable.

 

[Gollum]

Wait for bios updates on a suitable motherboard for the Intel 13/14 gen cpu you want to buy.
Intel has already released the microcode for the fix which all OEM's and board makers will implement on their next bios release. Most motherboard vendors will release the BIOS update on the more expensive models first.

 

[Gollum]

can 12400f handle cpu heavy games like phantom liberty etc with ease?In games like these the cpu utilization spikes,causing noticeable fps drops frequently in the game,thus making it unplayable (Despite having a good enough gpu) for people with older processors (like me).Have you tried this game on your setup?

What is your definition of unplayable?
Low fps or rough frametime?
If low fps, what do you consider low?

 

[quicky008]

low fps and stuttering (hitching). My cpu runs into this issue not only in cyberpunk but also in other cpu heavy titles as well.

 

[quicky008]

for this particular board,the newer bios update seems to have been released which apparently mitigates the issue with 13th/14th gen cpus.

*www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B760M-DS3H-DDR4-rev-10/support#support-dl-bios

 

[omega44-xt]

unfortunately the actual gameplay in the dogtown area (in phantom liberty dlc) is much more cpu-intensive than what typically appears in the benchmark.My pc can run the benchmark just fine but struggles a lot in dogtown,making it unplayable.

I know that in games like Starfield in its City area, I won't be crossing 75fps or so, but 75fps is totally fine for a SP game.

Currently I'm playing Horizon Forbidden West at 1768p maxed out settings, I get 70+fps. At 4K high I was getting some dips below 60fps. Even 1440p looks great on my 48" TV, so unless a game starts dipping below 60fps consistently, I am fine to live with some bottleneck. Considering PS5 pro is not upgrading the CPU, my i5 12400 is actually a bit better CPU considering PS5 uses something like an underclocked R7 3700X.