AMD 3100 or 2600X

almoststew1990 · 2 Aug 2020 at 12:26

I can get a 3100 for £100 and a 2600X for £135. Is the price increase worth it? For gaming with a RX 570X or maybe a my 1070ti if the 570 is too slow.

I'm also thinking about resale value because I'll only be messing with the PC for a couple of months.

This is going in a basic motherboard and with 3200 RAM. The 2600X won't be able to go up to 3200MHz (it only does 2933 I think?) but the 3100 will be able to go at 3200MHz?

BluesFanUK · 2 Aug 2020 at 13:24

If it's a couple of months then the 3100 and it's more than sufficient right now for 1080p gaming. The 2600x will likely become obsolete sooner or later as the new Ryzen chips arrive and the 3600 price may reduce even further.

jigger · 2 Aug 2020 at 16:00

I’d probably look at a 3400g as they will probably hold decent resale value.

CuriousTomCat · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:16

Used Ryzen 2600 for £105

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:17

Put a request in on the Members Market for a 2600 or similar, I've seen a few of them go dirt cheap.

Vince · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:27

Gray2233 said:
Put a request in on the Members Market for a 2600 or similar, I've seen a few of them go dirt cheap.

This. I got a 2700x for £100 on there.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:51

Vince said:
This. I got a 2700x for £100 on there.

Excellent price for a 2700X!

andy_mk3 · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:55

I'd go for a 3300x at circa £120. I was going to get one for my ITX build but lack of stock meant I ended up with a 3600 for £150.

Vince · 2 Aug 2020 at 18:56

Gray2233 said:
Excellent price for a 2700X!

Exactly, To be fair I got 2 on there, one was £100 and the other was £115/£120... Either way its win. Sadly i cooked my wifes one so its currently under amd RMA and she now has a 3600.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 19:16

Vince said:
Exactly, To be fair I got 2 on there, one was £100 and the other was £115/£120... Either way its win. Sadly i cooked my wifes one so its currently under amd RMA and she now has a 3600.

I find that people are often willing to knock a tenner off if you don't need the HSF which is a plus too.

It's amazing what you can get for that sort of money now CPU wise compared to a few years back.

Vince · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:25

Gray2233 said:
I find that people are often willing to knock a tenner off if you don't need the HSF which is a plus too.

It's amazing what you can get for that sort of money now CPU wise compared to a few years back.

It really is even my 3600 only ended up costing me £130. Which I think is also brilliant value. The 3600 is basically the same as a 2700x in most things and perhaps a little ahead in gaming. There are all kinds of chips to be had in the sub £150 range now and if you don't mind waiting you can get really decent deals.

muon · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:36

Zen+ really struggles in some games. So I don't think the 2600 is a clearcut buy even at the same price.

Then you consider that the 3300X destroys the 3100.

Definitely don't buy the 3400G. Only 4 cores and Zen+. Worst of both worlds.

LTT review compares it against the 3400G.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:42

muon said:
Zen+ really struggles in some games. So I don't think the 2600 is a clearcut buy even at the same price.

Then you consider that the 3300X destroys the 3100.

Define 'really struggles' please?

When people buy budget CPU's they're generally not looking for 144fps in AAA games.

In Odyssey the 3100 is a little ahead at times, but when you look at CPU usage the 2600 is lower.

Games are going to become more threaded not less, for current games if you intend to upgrade soon? Great, get the 3100 or 3300, if you want to keep your CPU for a few years my best is on the hexa. That of course assumes the 3300 isn't silly money as it has been in the UK since it launched, at £120 it's too much imo and it's often more.

muon · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:45

Gray2233 said:
Define 'really struggles' please?

When people buy budget CPU's they're generally not looking for 144fps in AAA games.

In Odyssey the 3100 is a little ahead at times, but when you look at CPU usage the 2600 is lower.

Games are going to become more threaded not less, for current games if you intend to upgrade soon? Great, get the 3100, if you want to keep your CPU for a few years my best is on the hexa.

You are speculating that the 2600 will outperform the 3100 in the future. Right now the 3100 beats the 2600. I'd save my money and get a 3100/3300X unless I did some productivity work.

Or up my budget to a 3600 which does beat the 3100/3300X.

Zen+ to Zen 2 IPC increase in games is substantial.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:46

muon said:
You are speculating that the 2600 will outperform the 3100 in the future. Right now the 3100 beats the 2600. I'd save my money and get a 3100/3300X unless I did some productivity work.

Or up my budget to a 3600.

I'm speculating based upon observable trends and data.

I'm also observing the fact a 2600 for the same or less still offers extremely capable frames in gaming.

You can get a 2600 for £80 second hand, you'd have to be nuts to spend £100 on a 3100 or £130-150 on a 3300.

muon · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:47

Gray2233 said:
I'm speculating based upon observable trends.

I'm also observing the fact a 2600 for the same or less still offers extremely capable frames in gaming.

So you'd get the worse gaming chip today (for more money) in the hope that it pays you back later. That's a gamble I wouldn't take. How long is the OP even keeping this chip.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:50

muon said:
So you'd get the worse gaming chip today (for more money) in the hope that it pays you back later. That's a gamble I wouldn't take. How long is the OP even keeping this chip.

It isn't a gamble.

The frames differences are minor, you are the one gambling in my eyes.

We already have games which are falling behind when it comes to quad cores, why would you spend the same money to buy one now when a hexa-core is available which is a tiny bit slower in current games?

If you upgrade regularly by all means buy an out dated quad.

muon · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:51

Gray2233 said:
It isn't a gamble.

The frames differences are minor, you are the one gambling in my eyes.

We already have games which are ******** the bed when it comes to quad cores, why would you spend the same money to buy one now when a hexa-core is available which is a tiny bit slower in current games?

Please name one where you believe the 2600 outperforms the 3100/3300X.

I've seen many reviews and I haven't seen that happen.

This kind of advice results in overspending on an already obsolete chip.

Gray2233 · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:53

muon said:
Please name one where you believe the 2600 outperforms the 3100/3300X.

I've seen many reviews and I haven't seen that happen.

Any multi-threaded game will benefit.

Your issue is you can't see beyond benchmarks for current titles, benchmarks which do not for the most part cover highly-threaded games.

There's a Death's Stranding thread knocking about, Star Citizen if you're into that.

Going forward buying a lesser threaded CPU for the same cost as a higher threaded CPU with slightly less current performance is not a good buy. Don't claim I'm suggesting people overspend when from the get go I've stated you can get a 2600 for LESS than a 3100.

muon · 2 Aug 2020 at 21:56

Gray2233 said:
Any multi-threaded game will benefit.

Your issue is you can't see beyond benchmarks for current titles, benchmarks which do not for the most part cover highly-threaded games.

There's a Death's Stranding thread knocking about, Star Citizen if you're into that.

Going forward buying a lesser threaded CPU for the same cost as a higher threaded CPU with slightly less current performance is not a good buy.

More speculation.

I'd like to see the evidence on Death Stranding and Star Citizen. That would be interesting.

The OP should take any money saved on the CPU and invest it on a better graphics card (especially as it sounds like they are going second hand). Instead of pouring money into a CPU that might pay him back in a year or two.