Best gaming CPU and motherboard value for money combo

Psycho Sonny · 5 Jun 2021 at 08:17

What's the best value for money gaming combo right now?

I currently have a 3600x and a b350 motherboard. So I've managed to upgrade from a 1600x in the past.

I think my options are 3800xt or new motherboard and 5600x. But I'm not sure if current motherboard is going to be able to push the 3800xt boost wise.

I like to use 1usmus and I have my 3600x running at 4.3ghz on all cores on a low voltage stable it's probably hindered by the b350 a lot. So if I was to get a new motherboard I'd want the one with the highest number of phases and best vrm cooling system so I can push the 5600x to it's potential but also I don't want to spend a whole lot as I understand ddr5 and new CPUs are incoming so if I could save a few bucks yet still get a great overclocking mobo it's what I'd like to do. I don't need built in WiFi.

@MickeyFinns @lee32uk I see both of you are well experienced at recommendations just wondering if you are clued up on overclocking.

Or is there a intel combo that is cheap and great for gaming. I currently have a 2070 super but hoping to get my hands on a 3080 soon I've potentially lined up so I'd ideally like to push it to its maximum to make it a worthwhile upgrade.

Joxeon · 5 Jun 2021 at 09:47

Unless you are gaming at 1080p then it would make little sense to upgrade from the 3800XT you currently have as its still a very good CPU.

I went from a 3600 to a 5800X and with an RTX 3080 @1440p the difference ranged from a small increase to no improvement at all depending on the game.

My advice would be to hold out for AM5 and just focus on a GPU upgrade as that's already going to be costly so no sense spending more money on a board and CPU on top of that which will bring little to no benefit.

mickyflinn · 5 Jun 2021 at 10:10

Hi.

As you have a 3600x is really not worth upgrading the cpu you will get between 10 to 20% boost going to a 5600x at 1080p. Much less at higher resoloution.

If you must upgrade then tge b550 tomahawk is the go to motherboard but i would be tempted to wait for the next gen with ddr5.

Psycho Sonny · 5 Jun 2021 at 16:11

Thanks guys. I thought as much. I'm going to just stick with what I have and finally overclock and tighten the ram that should net me the extra 10% or so anyway with the overclock I have running so should pretty much get the same as or as close as a 5600x I imagine whilst gaming.

Joxeon · 5 Jun 2021 at 16:28

Here's a good vid that shows what you stand to gain at various resolutions.

lee32uk · 5 Jun 2021 at 19:41

I can't help with overclocking, but I agree with the Guys above that you are better sticking with your current cpu for now. The R5 3600 is still a pretty good cpu. A 5600X would only help if you were gaming at 1080p 240Hz etc and wanted every last frame.

Psycho Sonny · 7 Jun 2021 at 18:00

Just ordered a 5600X and MSI B550 tomahawk.

I just realised my current motherboard is 4 years old. So if it were to go pop and kill my whole system it would literally cost me a fortune. It's a £250 net cost once I sell my current CPU and mobo and for that I get peace of mind, 10-15% performance improvement and warranty for 1-3 years. I thought all of that was worth paying £250 for especially when you take the price of a rtx 3080 into account.

Plus my system should run cooler the 3600x is a 105w tdp Vs 65w tdp of the 5600x which is needed in summer.

mickyflinn · 7 Jun 2021 at 18:18

Psycho Sonny said:
Just ordered a 5600X and MSI B550 tomahawk.

I just realised my current motherboard is 4 years old. So if it were to go pop and kill my whole system it would literally cost me a fortune. It's a £250 net cost once I sell my current CPU and mobo and for that I get peace of mind, 10-15% performance improvement and warranty for 1-3 years. I thought all of that was worth paying £250 for especially when you take the price of a rtx 3080 into account.

Plus my system should run cooler the 3600x is a 105w tdp Vs 65w tdp of the 5600x which is needed in summer.

New you had an itch

.

Plus you get pcie4 which mite me more releavent in the future as it develops.

Enjoy

Psycho Sonny · 7 Jun 2021 at 19:15

mickyflinn said:
New you had an itch .

Plus you get pcie4 which mite me more releavent in the future as it develops.

Enjoy

Thanks. I've got 2 X 1TB 970 Evo plus so I'm pretty much sorted speed wise on SSD and reliability on the Samsung is supposed to be the best.

Got a Samsung odyssey G7 for Christmas last year that's 240hz so the cpu should help push me towards that now on the more demanding games. 1440p so yeah GPU grunt matters more but the high frame rate the cpu will help push up my minimum at least.

The only thing I might change now in the next 2 years is the case. I've got one of those stupid upside down cases where the GPU is at top and CPU at bottom. I just don't think it's got optimal airflow even with all the fans I added to it.

Alan McFall · 11 Jun 2021 at 22:06

Good buy, cant really against Ryzen at the moment, power to performance is unreal and now price has dropped I cant see an argument, I got similar board (B550-A PRO), supposedly can support** all the way up to 16 cores for future, woo hoo

EDIT : **has the power delivery

Preytheon · 12 Jun 2021 at 11:43

Psycho Sonny said:
Just ordered a 5600X and MSI B550 tomahawk.

I just realised my current motherboard is 4 years old. So if it were to go pop and kill my whole system it would literally cost me a fortune. It's a £250 net cost once I sell my current CPU and mobo and for that I get peace of mind, 10-15% performance improvement and warranty for 1-3 years. I thought all of that was worth paying £250 for especially when you take the price of a rtx 3080 into account.

Plus my system should run cooler the 3600x is a 105w tdp Vs 65w tdp of the 5600x which is needed in summer.

i can't fault the choice of CPU/mobo, but I really don't think you needed to upgrade... the improvement will be negligible and motherboards VERY seldom "go pop" and take out other components... I've still got working socket 939 systems (over 10 years) that have been overclocked their entire lives!