I just had a look at some bench marks and don't think you will see a huge difference till a faster GPU is added, new CPU's and GPU's will start to show in 27 and the RAM could have settled a year on, might be worth stretching that rig out a year and save for a year then see what's available.

The PSU would suffice
this mobo would be fine - Asus Z790 GAMING WIFI7 ATX ,150 usd at newegg
12900K has Pl2 241W .that cooler is 150-200W TDP alike .You might need a better cooler

If you want to reuse your DDR4 RAM, the LGA 1700 or AM4 platforms are the best options that offer that. I'm not sure what AM4 or LGA 1700 DDR board offerings are like on the current day market, which (assuming you're buying the motherboard new) I would look into to help make this decision. LGA 1700 CPUs will generally be a bit slower with DDR4 memory than they will with DDR5 memory, and while that total difference might not be a lot, the relative difference between options that perform close might become bigger as a result.

The fastest option within those two platforms would be Raptor Lake (13th/14th generation), if you want to go with that. I wouldn't trust a used one at all though.

Otherwise, between AM4 and Alder Lake (12th generation), the 5800X3D would be the fastest thing for gaming, but it will be slower than Alder Lake outside gaming, and will probably be more expensive than them too since its the fastest chip on its platform. Even the 5700X3D isn't too cheap anymore. I would consider a 12700K instead of the 12900K though, unless prices are close.

The 12900K (and maybe even 12700K?) will also need more to cool them than a 10600K will. I typically see other say that either a 360mm radiator or very good air cooling is recommended for the Raptor Lake Core i7/i9s, and I would imagine that may go for the Alder Lake Core i9 as well, but part of that is probably because people buying top end chips are more expected to push them to get the most out of them. I'm not sure about the 12700K, but I would imagine if you aren't overclocking it as far, it may work fine on 240mm cooling.

The PSU should be fine on wattage at least. I'd replace it only once it proves that it's causing you issues.

I appreciate the input. I figure the GPU will need to be upgraded too. But the budget at this time leaves me at a "either this or" scenario. Originally, I thought about a I9-10900k because its the same socket. But price wise it seems like a waste when there are better options at this time.

RTX 3090 ,FPS average ,source Tom s Hardware
12700K- 179
12600K - 166
11700k - 158
11600K - 154
10600K - 138

14600K would be nice

Originally posted by smallcat:

14600K would be nice

Ah yes, from the generation of dying intel CPUs. Great choice.

Originally posted by The_Abortionator:

Originally posted by smallcat:

14600K would be nice

Ah yes, from the generation of dying intel CPUs. Great choice.

That's 13th really and as long as you update bios and overclock / undervolt it's not an issue and you shouldn't be buying Intel over AMD if you aren't going to tinker with it.

OP, id say your best option is to save some more money and update to a ddr5 platform, be it 14th gen, core ultra or the sensible and cheaper option, amd.

I would recommend you to save up and buy new computer

Originally posted by FeverDream:

I would recommend you to save up and buy new computer

in case you havent heard

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/idc-expects-average-pc-prices-to-jump-by-up-to-8-percent-in-2026-due-to-crushing-memory-shortages-some-vendors-already-selling-pre-builts-without-ram

there already rumors that Nvidia will cut their production by like 30-40% next year
so yeah, he will have to really save up to afford a new PC in 2026

@The_Abortionator ,it a choice of theirs. Considering RAM price hikes , avoiding i7/i9 13/14gen , this is the best option for them. it has Pl2 181W , not 253 as i7 14700K (hoho) .So ,even there d be no need for a new cooler eventually.

14600K is on par with i7 265K , no need for DDR5

I would give it 2 major options.

1 - Do nothing
2 - Scrap everything and start over on a DDR5 platform

In this day and age... Maybe GPU + CPU upgrades if that will give you enough gains.

Or, a side avenue, there is a motherboard (I know of one, maybe there are more?) that lets you use DDR4 or DDR5 using the LGA1700 chipset. There are a couple of caveats, mostly RAM speeds (no XMP), but they aren't as critical with Intel as they are with AMD (IMO at least). That would allow you to use the latest intel CPU of your choice while keeping the RAM you currently have. How much RAM speeds would be an issue, I don't know.

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/asrock-releases-new-intel-motherboard-with-support-for-both-ddr4-and-ddr5-memory-the-h610-combo-features-both-types-of-dimm-slots-but-you-cant-mix-generations

It's going to be a rough period ahead. And let's not forget that the software side of the gaming industry will also suffer from this. If people can't afford PCs, games will need to keep spec demands lower or they will simply not sell. For that reason, I think PCs will "last longer" in terms of specs. It's all nice and dandy to wait for GTA 6 to come out to upgrade (along the line) a PC but that's looking less and less probable. I wouldn't be overly surprised if the last delay communication didn't (at least in part) have the current PC parts situation in mind. GTA 5 sold like crazy for well over a decade and many gamers upgraded their PC and got the game 2, 3, 4 or even more years after it came out. But what if this "shortage" and these prices go on for a few years. Not many people will catch up to the specs. And GTA 6 is just an example.

Me, my Ryzen 7 5700x + 32GB DDR4 will have to suffice for the next 3 or 4 years, I reckon. Good time for indie games with lower specs.