Intel Core i7-9700, 8 Cores & 8 Threads Desktop Processor with Intel UHD Graphics 630

Because video cards are so expensive this year, I could only update the RAM and CPU on my rig this year. I have an ASUS Z370-A motherboard and it’s listed as compatible, but when I installed the new CPU the computer didn’t boot. Troubleshooting said to update the BIOS which made sense because the BIOS I had was from 2018 before 9th gen Intel CPUs. Swapped the CPUs and updated the BIOS with the old CPU and then reinstalled the new CPU and it booted perfectly.- Be sure to update your BIOS before you install the new CPU- Only replace one thing at a time. I know it’s more work to boot up in between, but if you replace RAM, too, you won’t know what’s not working if the boot fails.- Keep your old chip handy in case something goes wrong and you need to swap it out- Don’t put too much conductive paste on the back. One instruction video said a drop about the size of a grain of rice. That seems right. Too much and it gets everywhere.Overall, installation was pretty easy. It took me a couple of tries to get the orientation correct, but it only fits on one way. The hardest part, really was finding and downloading the BIOS on the ASUS website and attaching the Coolermaster radiator and fan over the top.One note: This CPU comes with video but the HDMI out on the motherboard stopped working, It’s not an issue because I use the HDMI and DVI out from a 1070 video card.Bottom line: it was a good upgrade. My games run moderately faster with better frame rate and nothing seems to be running hotter. I’d recommend.

This processor arrived a day early and was very well packaged. However, the first thing I noticed upon getting to the actual product package was the phrase: "This is not Intel Original Packaging" emblazoned on the side. That prompted me to do some research on the Intel site where I found out that this product has been discontinued, even though the Amazon product description list said: "Discontinued by Manufacturer - No".I decided not to quibble on that point (after all, this is a 9th Generation product, and the current line is up to 14th Generation) and proceeded to install it with no problems at all. The entire process took all of 15 minutes, with most of that time taken up by prepping my work area and disconnecting the wires from the PC. I was also surprised to discover that the thermal paste was already applied to the fan, taking the guesswork out of applying it myself.If you are expecting to get any installation instructions or product specifications, you will be disappointed, as this package included none of that at all. You will need to consult YouTube or the Intel Support website for help in that regard.I am not a gamer, but I felt that the i5 processor I was currently running in my kit PC was beginning to labor under the load of all my photography processing, spreadsheet manipulation, website building, and word processing, so it was time. A recent memory upgrade doubled my RAM to 32GB, and this completed the current round of beefing up my workhorse PC.I have no reason not to recommend this item, especially at the current price.

I'm upgrading my Intel i5 9400 to an Intel i7 9700 for PCVR games like Stormland, Lone Echo, Asgard's Wrath, and Half Life Alyx which has some annoying lag. My GPU is a GTX 1650 super. The processor was very easy to installed. This version came with a stocked Intel cooling fan with cooling gel pre-applied. After the drivers were installed I couldn't tell the difference at first while web browsing , watching movies, and non-VR games played just like with the i5. Were it shined was the VR games. The lag was almost completely gone with some graphical improvements on all games mentioned above. The graphics on auto settings still are low on some games and high on others because of my GPU, but the games played smoother. I would recommend for PCVR or video editing users but not for normal tasks like web browsing, movies, or normal gaming I would not recommend.

Worth the cost