5700X3D vs full upgrade

[Bacon?]

Hi all

I haven't touched my rig in quite a while, I'm wanting to upgrade atm both my GPU & CPU.

GPU wise I'm thinking a used 3080 / 6800XT however I'm commited to keeping my system water cooled so whatever I end up getting I'll also need to get a matching GPU block (harder than it sounds).

However I'm less sure on the CPU front. I'm already on the AM4 platform (albiet X370 board) so dropping in a 5700X3D seems the easiest option for ~£200, however would it be worth going for the full AM5 upgrade with a new CPU, Motherboard & DDR5 RAM for what I can see is around £600?

For reference my current specs are:

• AMD Ryzen 3600 (non-X)
• Asus Crosshair Hero VI X370
• 32GB Corsair Vengance DDR4 (3200mhz)
• Nvidia GTX 1080TI

I've been out of the loop for a while keeping up on which tech to get so some advice would be welcome

 

[Rob_B]

Well, the lowest end AM5 7600 will be generally a bit faster than the 5700X3D so performance isn't an issue but as you say cost could be.

Ignoring the GPU and selling your old kit, you're looking at under £200 for 5700X3D (as low as £140) vs possibly as low as £400 for a new platform (7600 £180, mobo £120, RAM £100)

Personal choice really, a new platform means your next CPU upgrade will likely be cheaper too.

I've just ordered a cheap 5700X3D having had the same itch to upgrade.

 

[Tetras]

GPU wise I'm thinking a used 3080 / 6800XT however I'm commited to keeping my system water cooled so whatever I end up getting I'll also need to get a matching GPU block (harder than it sounds).

However I'm less sure on the CPU front. I'm already on the AM4 platform (albiet X370 board) so dropping in a 5700X3D seems the easiest option for ~£200, however would it be worth going for the full AM5 upgrade with a new CPU, Motherboard & DDR5 RAM for what I can see is around £600?

If you're getting a 3080 or 6800 XT then I wouldn't go AM5, the 5700X3D is fine.

You'll probably want a new CPU when you upgrade the 3080 / 6800 XT though, so I expect you'll have to go AM5 (or AM6, I guess ) at that point.

 

[Bacon?]

Well, the lowest end AM5 7600 will be generally a bit faster than the 5700X3D so performance isn't an issue but as you say cost could be.

Ignoring the GPU and selling your old kit, you're looking at under £200 for 5700X3D (as low as £140) vs possibly as low as £400 for a new platform (7600 £180, mobo £120, RAM £100)

Personal choice really, a new platform means your next CPU upgrade will likely be cheaper too.

I've just ordered a cheap 5700X3D having had the same itch to upgrade.

I should have probarbly specified that I mostly use it for gaming (little production on the side) and I figured that the 5700X3D would be faster than a non-3D 7*** series chip (was looking therefore a the 7800X3D even if eeek the cost). If that's not the case then going AM5 with a 7600X is quite tempting. I don't mind spending the extra money on moving to AM5 if its worth it (ie if its either not too expensive or much greater performance). Tbh I've only really had 2 chips across AM4 so I suspect if I moved to AM5 I would end up asking the same question in 5 years time

If you're getting a 3080 or 6800 XT then I wouldn't go AM5, the 5700X3D is fine.

You'll probably want a new CPU when you upgrade the 3080 / 6800 XT though, so I expect you'll have to go AM5 (or AM6, I guess ) at that point.

I assume you mean that it wouldn't be worth moving to AM5 compared to grabbing a 5700X3D because I won't be taxing the system enough with (only) a 3080? I can understand that, especially since I play at 4K. I heard AM5 support is until 2027 (?) so I may end up skipping AM5 all together if the 3080 lasted 3 years

 

[Rob_B]

The 7600x trades blows in gaming with the 5800X3D, so the 5700X3D should be similar vs the 7600.

So not a massive improvement unless you're doing non gaming workloads and extra cost BUT you then have the platform for future upgrades.

As you'll potentially be GPU limited with either chip then sticking with AM4 might make sense if you know you won't be splashing out on a 4090 any time soon. That's what I did but YMMV

 

[Tetras]

I assume you mean that it wouldn't be worth moving to AM5 compared to grabbing a 5700X3D because I won't be taxing the system enough with (only) a 3080? I can understand that, especially since I play at 4K.

Yup!

I heard AM5 support is until 2027 (?) so I may end up skipping AM5 all together if the 3080 lasted 3 years

Yeah, exactly, that was where I was going with that.

 

[Bacon?]

Thanks guys seems like it might makes most sense to stick with AM4 for now in that case with a news 5700X3D, otherwise I'd prolly end up doing the same thing as now and moving to AM5 for "upgradability" only to skip upgrading to move to AM6.