Intel 9900K, 8700K or 2700x ryzen: game development

News & General Discussion
1

Hi everybody,

I have some experience in Unity3D, C# and app development with this engine, and now I need to buy a new desktop.

The main question I would like to ask you is what you think it would be better for game development, VR and normal games, in Unity: 8700k or 2700x. maybe 9900K but it is a really hot CPU…and for 600€…

This will also involved working with other graphical design, modelling and rendering tools.
GPU will be 1080ti or 2080.

I have been thinking about ryzen, due to the high number of cores and threads, and multicore features Unity has introduced in last updates, but when coding I do not know if I would use them…who knows.

On the other hand, if I sometimes play games, I would also have a good performance, but the main objective is to save time when compiling, rendering, baking, etc. and works fluently.

What is the best CPU, among the ones I have mentioned above, for game development in Unity?

Thanks.

2

Currently the best CPU is the Intel 9900K. The Ryzen series was only king for the relatively short time period that they had more cores than Intel. Once Intel caught up in core count their higher IPC (Instructions Per Cycle) won the race for them.

That said the 2700X is fantastic value (and realistically it’s only behind by 20%) and you will have an upgrade path to the 3000 series when it launches in Spring whereas Intel often requires a new motherboard for new generations.

Both companies are excellent for gaming. You only truly need the additional power from Intel when you start playing with refresh rates beyond the normal 60 Hz. Stepping into 1440p and 4K territory tends to quickly eliminate the advantage of choosing Intel.

3 Likes
3

let the battle begin :hushed: I am waiting for zen2 (ryzen3000) and for now as Ryiah have said - both ok.

4

The AMD should be the best performance per dollar, the Intel i9 the best for performance overall. In a few years even though the specific CPUs will change, that relationship will most likely still be the same, just like how it was a few years ago as well.

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5

Thanks dude.

I was going to buy 9900K, but hot temperatures reviews show are making me choose between 2700x and 8700K…

I have read AMD is going to launch threadripper 2920x and 2990x with dynamic local mode, I can wait a bit more, but i need pc as soon as possible.

So, in your opinion, overall, AMD 2700x over 8700K for game development and other graphical design tools?

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I suppose, but i9 9900K they say it gets really hot?

I would do the same if waiting was an option, but i need a desktop asap.

Thanks for recent and following comments.

7

The 9900k is almost twice the price of the 2700x and it runs hot. I have the 2700x and I love it.

8

Do you not have enough room for a CPU cooler designed for the i9? I don’t understand why this is a concern otherwise.

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And what about game development in UE4 or playing games?

I do not know if you have had the opportunity to work in UE4 and play games in both Intel and AMD CPUs.

Thanks dude.

10

I do not want to use liquid cooling and most reviews recommend using it for this CPU. I prefer air coolers.

11

The i9 does not in any way require liquid cooling.

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Yeah, but some reviews claim it gets really hot, above 80ºC and sometimes over 100ºC with full load. I do not know how that will impact motherboard lifetime or what could happen when summer arrives and ambient temperature rise.

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Hot temps are very much expected at this point since Intel is stuck on 14nm and they’re using an architecture that was never designed to go beyond 4C/8T. You would basically have to pair the CPU with a good air cooler (eg Be Quiet or Noctua) and that just drives the price up even further.

By comparison AMD’s stock cooler is actually good enough to use if you didn’t want to invest in an aftermarket air cooler.

Threadripper is a beast but the top tier models have lower clocks per core. Unity’s lightmapper will still benefit from it massively because it’s very heavily threaded, but just about everything else will suffer from it including gaming.

Yes.

1 Like
14

Thanks dude. As you point out, lower IPC is the problema of threadripper.

80% AMD 2700x vs 20% Intel 8700K…I will decide in the following weeks what to choose.

I am going to buy a bequiet cooler for this new build.

Do you think a be quiet dark rock 4 would be enough to refresh 9900K without problems?

…i am neither an expert nor an amateur in hardware world, but as far as I have read, it seems Intel has been in a hurry to launch these new 9th gen processors, and although they have soldering, the temperatures for 9900K seems to be so high that the addition of soldering has been a must.

Thanks.

15

Yes. It’s rated to handle heat twice as hot as the 9900K.

16

So between 2700x and 9900K without considering money difference?

Thanks.

17

The 9900K. Only reasons to consider the 2700X are the price and the upgrade path.

1 Like
18

Ok, thanks, I will consider it. Between 8700K and 2700X without considering price?

Thanks.

19

For heavily threaded tasks the 2700X is generally faster than the 8700K. For everything else they’re basically tied.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12625/amd-second-generation-ryzen-7-2700x-2700-ryzen-5-2600x-2600/10

20

Ok, thank you dude. 8700K also do well in all scenarios, no doubt.

I will think about them.