Is Coffee Lake worth it for budget 1080 gaming?

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Baboon

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#223888 22-Oct-2017 22:52

Or am I better off (in terms of putting money elsewhere) sticking with the older Kaby Lake Pentium G4560 and it's far cheaper B250 motherboards?

I've been taking my sweet time buying parts for a new build (I've had a super busy time recently), and while I've already bought the Pentium G4560, it's no sweat selling it on, and I've not bothered buying my pick for a B250 motherboard - the ASRock B250M Pro4 - which I've not noticed any price movement on for the past month. It seems to be sticking at a low $139. But the cheapest Coffee Lake compatible mATX motherboards I can find are twice as expensive.

So - what d'ya reckon? For budget 1080 gaming, do I stick with the Pentium G4560 or get the Core i3-8100? There is no Coffee Lake Pentium as yet, and the Kaby Lake i3 strikes me as poor value for money vs the Kaby Lake Pentium G4560, and terrible value vs the Coffee Lake Core i3-8100.

Thoughts?

TIA! :-)

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Networkn
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#1887926 22-Oct-2017 23:27

That is a low end CPU, so I'd say it would depend as much on your GPU. I'd get the I5 Coffee lake an a GTX 1070 :)

Just so happens I have a 1070 for sale :)

Baboon

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#1887930 23-Oct-2017 01:10

networkn:
That is a low end CPU, so I'd say it would depend as much on your GPU. I'd get the I5 Coffee lake an a GTX 1070 :)

Just so happens I have a 1070 for sale :)

*perks up* :-) Which model 1070 are you selling?

I was thinking I'd go with the 1060 since it fits more into the budget value/performance bracket I'm aiming at, though none of the absurd pricing for graphics cards lately, is the least appealing.

Still, especially if I go with the Coffee Lake i3, I'd consider a decently priced 1070. Best of all one that won't take up multiple PCIe slots, as I've plans for the rest.

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Batman

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#1887940 23-Oct-2017 07:55

If you want to go on a "budget" GAMING (CPU clock speed is king), buy his 2nd hand 1070 and get a barely used 2nd hand sky lake or kaby lake 7/6600/K 7/6700/K

If you're in Dunedin I'm on a 6700K and drooling at the 8700K

Trouble with Coffee Lake and budget is the Mobos are very expensive. Very very expensive when mixed with the word "budget".

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#1887941 23-Oct-2017 07:56

networkn:

That is a low end CPU, so I'd say it would depend as much on your GPU. I'd get the I5 Coffee lake an a GTX 1070 :)

Just so happens I have a 1070 for sale :)

How much?

PANiCnz

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#1887943 23-Oct-2017 08:01

Have you considered AMD? If you’re budget constraint it’s better value. Doesn’t compete with Intel at the end but something like the R6 1600 is very good value.

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#1887958 23-Oct-2017 09:00

Umm ... 2 words - clock speed? ie single threaded speed is not as good for gaming?

PANiCnz

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#1887959 23-Oct-2017 09:03

1 word ... benchmarks! Have you read any?

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#1887960 23-Oct-2017 09:04

PANiCnz: 1 word ... benchmarks! Have you read any?

i always had the impression that AMD single core speeds isn't very good and that's what gaming needs ... but no I haven't googled gaming benchmarks

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#1887961 23-Oct-2017 09:08

i guess if you went the intel Ks you want to OC. I have a 6700K OC-ed to 4.7GHz with ease (it just won't do 4.8) - which would be very good for gaming. but yeah disclaimer - I still haven't looked at gaming and 1600X.

PANiCnz

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#1887996 23-Oct-2017 10:14

Cofeelake is probably worth avoiding because of the associated platform costs, the cheaper chipsets aren't due until the new year and currently you'll need to pay a premium for a Z370 board which is a waste of money for someone on a budget i.e. there are other ways to spend the money that will provide tangible benefits.

Before making any decision its worth reading some reviews/benchmarks to see how the CPU's perform in the real world. This Anandtech review is a good place to start. The performance vs cost graphs at the end of the review are telling. Ultimately if you've already got the G4560 then's it probably worth continuing on with it and spending any spare cash on the best GPU you can afford.

networkn

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#1888003 23-Oct-2017 10:24

@batman @panicnz

https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1448370279

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#1888004 23-Oct-2017 10:26

eh pricespy has 'em 1070s for under $700 quid

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#1888006 23-Oct-2017 10:28

PANiCnz:

Cofeelake is probably worth avoiding because of the associated platform costs, the cheaper chipsets aren't due until the new year and currently you'll need to pay a premium for a Z370 board which is a waste of money for someone on a budget i.e. there are other ways to spend the money that will provide tangible benefits.

Before making any decision its worth reading some reviews/benchmarks to see how the CPU's perform in the real world. This Anandtech review is a good place to start. The performance vs cost graphs at the end of the review are telling. Ultimately if you've already got the G4560 then's it probably worth continuing on with it and spending any spare cash on the best GPU you can afford.

i've read a few reviews comparing 1600X with i5s - the 1600X kills the intel in multithread as expected, but in gaming lags behind anywhere from 10-30% in FPS depending on how optimized a game is in using as many threads as possible, not sure about game loading, presumably in the same magnitude, but depending on price and how much effort you want (source 2nd hand intel vs don't care and just buy new AMD easy peezy) to put in, the AMD could be a winner.

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#1888007 23-Oct-2017 10:28

Batman:

eh pricespy has 'em 1070s for under $700 quid

Wow.

Baboon

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#1888029 23-Oct-2017 11:34

Yeah, I'm attracted by the performance benefits of the Coffee Lake i3's, though I realise they will largely be realised outside of gaming or multitasking while gaming. But it is a significant price increase for the motherboard. You're right about that - it is what puts me off. Otherwise spending a little over twice the cost of the Kaby Lake Pentium for two more real and faster cores, would be an easy decision.

Ehhh... the easiest thing to do is to forget Coffee Lake arrived mid-purchasing of my parts, and proceed with my original Pentium mATX GTX 1060 build. I suppose next year if there are then budget Coffee Lake boards available, I could upgrade for the same final cost as I'd pay to go all in right now. OTOH if I feel like doing that, I might as well jump now...

Darn you Intel. If only you'd stop making incompatible chips and motherboards every year or so lately...

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