Nothing seems future proof..it highly/often depends on how long would you want use the product (as you see it fit for your current needs)

if anything I can help you with, is to advice you to hold on for a bit more as the end of the year would be more enticing to us PC Consumers, Intel would be releasing a new platform on DDR5 and their 1st Dedicated GPU, AMD "might" also have something up their sleeves (3D V-cache thing, refresh for Zen3), that is if you can still hold out, otherwise any platform from both (Intel and AMD) should still give you a solid system that should last you up until the time DDR5 is already mature or upto the point where you most likely on the next next gen platforms (probably pre-dating DDR6)

 

Nothing... Ddr5 is releasing next year, dx12 with raytracing is taking off so you would need a next gen gpu to last.

 

My advise is just buy an used intel 10900/amd 5000 series from here cheap. This place is overclock.net with lot of people updating on frequent basis. So i predict whole slew of people jumping to Alderlake/V-Cache Ryzen. Once DDR5, etc matures then go into it. In meantime, you save money. The super interesting stuff is suppose to come out in 2024/2025 so Zen 5 (suppose to be big/little) and Intel LunarLake/NovaLake (replacement for ringbus). Lot of stuff coming including next gen NVME.

 

I wanted to go the same route as you prior to learning more. The reality is, nothing is future proof, however, I tried to make my machine as "future proof" as far as current gen limitations go, meaning I aimed to build a machine that will push 240fps at 1440p, or over 360fps on 1080p in any competitive shooter. It depends entirely on what you are looking for. Next gen AMD coming out next year along with DDR5 (although it'll probably suck for a while and be ****y). Of course, you can buy things second hand for cheap. I'm running a 5900x, 3080ti, and 4266cl17 ram. Haven't found a game in my lineup that doesn't hit 400fps consistently meaning I get full use of my 390hz monitor.

My plan is to just replace things as they come out and sell the part being replaced to make back most of the money. You can build "cheap" systems that will run any FPS title at above 240fps consistently for 1k USD to 1.5k USD, completely depends on your budget and what your use case is. I'd look at a lot of reviews, benchmarks, etc of different combinations of parts to see what is going to fit your use case best.

 

I wanted to go the same route as you prior to learning more. The reality is, nothing is future proof, however, I tried to make my machine as "future proof" as far as current gen limitations go, meaning I aimed to build a machine that will push 240fps at 1440p, or over 360fps on 1080p in any competitive shooter. It depends entirely on what you are looking for. Next gen AMD coming out next year along with DDR5 (although it'll probably suck for a while and be ****y). Of course, you can buy things second hand for cheap. I'm running a 5900x, 3080ti, and 4266cl17 ram. Haven't found a game in my lineup that doesn't hit 400fps consistently meaning I get full use of my 390hz monitor.

My plan is to just replace things as they come out and sell the part being replaced to make back most of the money. You can build "cheap" systems that will run any FPS title at above 240fps consistently for 1k USD to 1.5k USD, completely depends on your budget and what your use case is. I'd look at a lot of reviews, benchmarks, etc of different combinations of parts to see what is going to fit your use case best.

I wouldn't even buy CPU/Mobo/Ram atm. Wait for the fallout of Alderlake and Ryzen V Cache. The goal being picking up the previous Ryzen3000 or 5000/Intel 9th-10th Gen stuff from them on the cheap. Coupled with ever dropping cpu/mobo prices, the resale value is going to lot lower.

 

As has been said this is not a great time to build a future proof PC with DDR5 right around the corner. 2 years from now when DDR5 is out and has had a little time to mature would be the best time IMO.

Considering that the hardware you're on is ancient.. maybe you should consider upgrading to something modest for now, maybe something used, and do a big upgrade in a few years. You could get something like a ryzen 2600 for $140, add another $150 or so for mobo and ram and you've got yourself a decent upgrade.

 

Intel 10th gen (10700K/10850K) is already dirt cheap and won’t get any cheaper (new), it will just become unavailable. Upgrading to very 5 years makes more sense from a cost standpoint. When I hear about upgrading every 10 years, I’m reminded of the maintenance guy at my first job who bought a $25K MacPro that hoped would last 10 years at which point he could give to his kids 🤣

 

I already am hearing ryzen 5000 owners looking for buyers for there CPU's as they are looking to get Vcache Ryzen 5000. Some 9900/10900K owners looking at same but with Alderlake

 

If you're here, then you more than likely have "the itch." There is no future proofing. Anytime new toys are released, that itch will come back until you scratch it (buying next gen hardware).

Sorry to say, but you're one of us. There is no future proofing. Only frame chasing.

 

If you're here, then you more than likely have "the itch." There is no future proofing. Anytime new toys are released, that itch will come back until you scratch it (buying next gen hardware).

Sorry to say, but you're one of us. There is no future proofing. Only frame chasing.

He's still on lga775, I don't think he's got the inch. Probably should have read the op and not just the title.

 

Also forgot to point this out. Every socket that intel and amd has out right now is dead end.

 

If you want something now, I would go with a 10900K/10900kf/10850k or a 5900x/5950x. The extra cores/threads will scale well into the future.

 

A minimum of an 8-core cpu with SMT or HT. Preferably a 10 or 12-core to be safe. The 10850K at 400$ is a fantastic option.

With the news TSMC will charge more i do not see chip prices falling. More probability that they will continue to go higher.

 

I am with this guy. The 10850K is a steal at $400.
And I have been an AMD CPU guy in my personal systems for 30 years.
If you make your PCs last seven to ten years, then this looks a pretty good choice right now.

I would not wait for new tech if you want a PC now. Contemplate what's happened over the last two years. Personally, I don't feel anyone can predict what will be available and at what prices in 6 months time.

 

Well You should not feel overwhelmed by the number of sockets, only the latest sockets are relevant for your project. New with a high scoring CPU so thosetwo do not need replacing early on.
Check out cpubenchark.net and look at the best cpu per socket page, for LGA1200 which is current for Intel and there is one for AMD, the page lists the year the sockets were introduced.
Using server parts is asking for trouble like picky parts compatibility and few other people using them as a concsumer, so just ignore sockets for servers.

If you get a cheap high end-ish 11th gen Intel right now you should be able to use it for a long time and perhaps upgrade should you get a good price on the top tier cpu for the socket. But asking a motherboard to live for 10 years is a lot. Usually games are fine with 4 cores and the best thing is 2x8GB fast memory and a relevant GPU. Just leave two of four DIMM sockets open for future expansion or replace the current DIMMs with a set of faster memory.
In years to come you add memory, replace gpu and failing components such as fans and drives and what not, but your initial investment will determine how long this platform will last before you wish to upgrade some part of it. I never really got into paying top dollar for premium parts as pretty soon they are just older, and I am perfectly fine with not ever having the newst, as long as my primary computer setup it is not completely out of date.

I had a i7-8700K for 3 years now and recently bought a ASUS WS C246 PRO board for it. I never used that CPU much as I favor Windows 7 on my older gear, and on this new combo I just installed Linux, so hopefully it will become more relevant to me and I will actually start moving away from primarily using Windows 7.

 

First thing to do is forget trying to build a system for long term upgradability. What you need to consider is Usable Lifespan. In other words don't worry about upgrades as much of the tech is coming into a major change cycle so you want a system that can be useful for a decade as anything beyond that puts you too far behind.

Right now, I'd go with AMD's AM4 due to long term support with these particulars

128GB of Ram Support
NVME Support with either PCIe x4 or even x8
Minimum of x4 Sata Ports with nothing sharing with a Sata based M.2 unless you have x4 Sata M.2 ports.
PCIe 4.0 but pay attention to the boards.

Most of them by Intel/AMD are only x8 to force you to get the latest/greatest unobtainum GPU's. You will loose half the bandwidth on a PCIe 3.0 card in such a slot.

Any other hardware based on your choice

 

But 640KB ought to be enough for everybody.

 

Troll

 

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I'm now having to build a new system, mine is eight yrs old. It still plays the games I want but it got to where I need to update my OS, I'm still on Win7. Now I'm thinking I should build a new computer. I want to have the latest hardware but the prices are crazy. I just know that new things need to get through a few updates to be problem-free. I will end up buying a generation behind so I need the current hardware. The prices will be cheaper and will have proved its self.

 

Well if you have the money to go one generation behind current technology then that system you build has a chance to become a long time companion.
Buying tech one generation behind means prices should not be the worst to deal with. Any items you buy will have a history of problems or not, solutions or not. Ratings on sites make sense from one generation behind. And buying them second hand means they are even cheaper. I have only Intel CPUs and therefore only Intel ecosystem platforms. but my experience is that intel may make CPUs but the motherboard makers may bring the actual juice to the table or not. If few motherboard have the features you desire you will suffer from decisions made during implementation of features on a motherboard for a perceived segment of a customer base.