Thread title. No budget but lets stick to consumer grade electronics please. I wouldn’t mind spurring a side conversation about Ryzen vs 10th gen Intel, purely for WoW. Purely for WoW, what is more important? Clock speed or core count? How many cores will WoW REALLY use and is more than X number of cores not going to help? Better off with clock speed? Other things to consider? Thank you.
Get a Ryzen 5 3600 and be happy. The extra cache is as important as the clock speed for WoW.
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So AMD then. Would a 3900 o r 3950 be better then?
Either intel or AMD is fine. You won’t see a benefit for wow past 6 cores unless you’re streaming. I said 3600 because it’s about 100 bucks less than a 10600k.
3900 is a great processor if you wanna go up the range. 3950 isn’t worth it.
You won’t see any difference.
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Used to be Intel was always better vs 2nd gen, but AMD is pretty close today.
This guy does CPU comparisons for WoW.
Vs. 2nd gen
Vs. 3rd gen
Intel still technically provides better average FPS, especially when overclocked, but AMD can be a bit smoother in some scenarios.
In this test, your typical 5ghz 8700k was 18% faster (9% faster at stock) in average FPS than a 3900x in a raid setting, but only matched the minimums when overclocked.
In the dungeon setting, the 5ghz 8700k provided 13% better average FPS, but the 3900x had 28% better 0.1% minimum FPS.
The 3600 is the real choice here, since it’s dirt cheap, IMO.
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Let me ask this question then.
I currently run a 7600k i5 which is just 4 cores 4 threads. I won the silicon lottery on it, for what it is. It runs hot, but water cooled comfortably at 5.1ghz. Would I even see much improvement with a modern CPU? The clock speeds I see from team red and blue both don’t knock my socks off for where I think we should be.
For some context, I literally would not even own a PC if I did not play WoW. It serves no other purpose for me. I am trying to build the ultimate 2020 WoW Shadowlands machine, including the not ye released nvidia 3000 series for the allegedly coming ray tracing.
Thanks but 9th gen intel is not even a condideration for me. I am not concerned the cheapness or value, I am looking for the top of the top for WoW.
well considering 10th gen is basically 9th gen with better thermals and built in-microcode updates (and that 9th gen is just 8th gen with uh…different marketing), its still relevant. Essentially an equally clocked Skylake will perform core-for-core the same as anything up to 10th generation, barring some minor differences in security mitigations.
There’s no real meaningful IPC difference between 6th through 10th generation Intel. Just better frequency capability, core count, thermals, and security mitigations.
That said, generally speaking for gaming, the i9-10900k will be the best at the most cost. However, there will probably be a few scenarios where a Ryzen CPU would give a smoother experience like described above.
Thank you so much for this reply. Truth be told if I could find a decently priced 7700k to replace my 7600k I would go that route, preventing me from having to replace my board. I have regretted every day buying the i5 of skylake instead of the i7 so I promised myself I would never skimp out on processor again.
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YouTube a comparison with your cpu vs ryzen 3600 and your cpu wins/ties for gaming.
If the Nvidia 3000 series proves to be worth getting I’d go that route but then AMD is supposed to be even better… The never ending war lol.
Honestly my 1080ti is absolutely more than fine for WoW and everything else I do. I had zero intention of upgrading until I read that Shadowlands will maybe support ray tracing.
As it stands, my 1080 ti stands a 0%-1% usage in WoW Lol with CPU AT 100%
Regarding the new AMD cards are you talking about big navi? Will they do ray tracing? Is there a good site to learn about those? I thought they wouldnt be out until 2021 with Nvidia 3080s coming as soon as September.
The game absolutely will saturate a 1080 ti in areas where you allow it to, assuming you are playing at an appropriate resolution.
For example, in the open world, if you are playing at 1440p or 4k, it should saturate that GPU.
If you’re playing at 1080 capped at 60fps, then yeah I could see low utilization, but 1% seems to be a bit hyperbolic.
Realistically, even in dense or raid areas at 1080p with a 1080 ti that is CPU limited, your GPU should still be hanging around the 30-40% utilization range.
My 5700XT, which is only slightly slower (single digits) than the 1080 ti, will absolutely saturate to 99% in the outside zones at 1440p/120hz.
In raids and such, yeah, it is lower.
I wouldn’t even consider upgrading your GPU. It’s your CPU that’s holding you back in most areas, or at least your resolution that is holding you back.
The only reason I would upgrade the GPU is if Shadowlands is confirmed to support ray tracing. If not, It seems like I still need a CPU upgrade.
well, at least this time around rumor is the RTRC in the 3000 series seems to be actually usable.
So it might be worthwhile anyway. Plus the 1080 ti could still fetch a premium on the used market.
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For comparison, my i5 8600k + gtx 1070 @ 1440k max settings is just about the exact same performance as my wife’s amd 3700x + rtx 2070 super @ 1440k.
If you’re looking for a WoW machine, an intel CPU is still going to offer better performance. That may change with next gen CPUs coming out by AMD, but for the time being I wouldn’t waste my money on more than a 3700x unless you intend to make use of additional cores for other tasks.
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I personally use the Ryzen 7 3700X but that’s mostly for getting the most out of other games. Any of the newer AMD CPU’s are great for WoW.
This is all I needed to know Intel 10th gen it is…if I can ever find one in stock, thank you.
I would personally get the 10700k over the 10600k because it would feel bad to buy an 8700k in 2020
WoW does not use more then four cores so any fast 4C/8T would easily handle the job. On the AMD side there is the Ryzen 3300x while Intel counters with their current 10th gen i3. If you really want to go all out any modern Intel processor K processor (8600k and newer) that you can push to 5ghz+ will give you the best possible WoW CPU performance.
All that is purely from a WoW perspective and with street prices. Other games have other needs and availability may increase CPU prices.
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Why would you feel bad, it still runs through every game you toss at it.
WoW is what I use the PC for 90% of the time but Im going for a 10900K For future proofing, Diablo 4 etc. Thanks all again.
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