If anyone is looking at upgrading CPU soon, might want to wait a few months and see how the 490/Comet Lake chips play out. Looks like Intel is moving to a new socket (1200 vs 1151) so a new mobo will definitely be in your future.
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Good, good. I am aiming at a late summer/ fall build. My current box, I7 4790K, 1070, may be falling apart by that time. The main board in my machine is older than my eldest child!
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I was getting the itch for a 9900k, but I think Im going to hold off. I think Intel is about to layeth the smack down on the core count insurrection.
OkâŠ
Seems like I managed to to get myself a not upgradable PC again. Like every damn time.
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The only time ive been able to upgrade a PC without swapping the mobo was when i bought a 6600k chip because i talked myself out of the 6700k (who needs that?), and then the next year i got a 6700k and dropped it in.
When I built my current machine, it was with a 4350(?) I5 chip. I fully intended to upgrade that mid-range thing to something top-of-the line later on when those would become cheap.
So when the I5 became obsolete (around the time I bought my oculus rift CV1), the 4790 monster I7 (it was an absolute monster back in its day) was quite affordable.
Thatâs when I found out, my old mainboard didnât even support it fully. I had to overvolt it like 210% to even get it to run!
The moral of this story is that this tactic isnât really feasible. It would have been almost cheaper, and definately a bigger upgrade to replace not just the obsolescent CPU, but also the mainboard and RAM.
I therefore will no more try to skimp on CPU and aim for a later upgrade. Just get one in the top 75% where price/performance isnât completely insane. And then in five to seven years, replace the entire darn thing.
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My 2550K still works ok. 
My base system is now approaching 9 years. I have exponential growth on the longevity of my Motherboards. May causally be linked to the exponentially decreasing amounts of time i can spend on gaming, though. 
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My i9-6700K with a 980Ti is scheduled for a replacement come April-May. Hmmm. Seems my computer upgrades somehow trigger new Intel and Nvidia products.
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My experience: Since the 286 came out (million computer-years ago) âtheyâ pushed the ability to upgrade CPUâs. Iâve NEVER seen it work in practice; thereâs always something that wonât work.
DDR 5, PCI 5.0 and USB 4.0 all inevitable. My upgrade path for a new PC is usually just the mouse pad and maybe the case, otherwise planned obsolescence keeps the trough full.
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The trick to upgrading is to buy cheap crap to begin with.
We all donât do that because: Flight sims.
I wonder how long the AM4 socket will last. Probably until December, thatâs when Zen3 will release.
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Hopefully info from Intel & Nvidia this week via press info from CES 2020.
While my gaming rig works well with an I9-9900K and 1070TI (I may upgrade this is there is an appreciable improvement from Nvidiaâs next round), HPNâs I3-4160 is past due now. ASUS is my board of choice, so happy to see that list. Waiting on release of the I9-10900(k) however for HPN (it does a few things so cores/threads are appreciated), and Iâll keep that build for 5-8 years.
Literally just few minutes ago a made a downpayment for my new PC rigâŠ
âŠbased on i9 9900k 
I suppose I should either:
a) hope the Intelâs new 10th gen kid on the block is not such a big difference to my shiny new i9 9900k, or
b) stop following HW news for at least a year or twoâŠ
âŠin order not to get too upset
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Thatâs what I usually do in order to stay sane.
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Definitely this.
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Yea, as soon as you buy itâs old news.
Hence why I buy the best of it, when possible, so that tomorrow itâs still relevant.
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Theyâll probably be a price premium for 10th gen for a bit anyway. The best time to buy new stuff is generally 6 months in the future anyway. Plus I heard 10th gen has cooties. 
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You sound like a man who plopped down all of the monies for a 9th gen system 