• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

cpu choice for gaming........ big red decision

  • Thread starter Thread starter 233
  • Start date Start date

233

233

233

Soldato
Joined
21 Nov 2004
Posts
13,529
Location
Wishaw
Looking at options for a new build and i'm kind of set on a 3700x for a all gaming mitx build (650w built in psu btw)

now i'm going to be running at 1440p with a vega 56 for now and replacing that down the line with whatever AMD throw out next round and switch to 4k at that point.

i mostly prefer to play strategy games, (hey for FM2020 and Stellaris and a bit of cities skyline atm )

i've specced my build up with a 3700x which seems to be the best bang for buck, but now i'm torn.

do i spend a bit more and go 3800x which doesnt on paper offer a major upgrade, spend a lot more and go all in on a 3900x for an additional £140 and did into 12 core goodness or do i save a few quid and go for a 3600x


regardless of what option i go for its going to be a massive upgrade over my old sandybridge but just curious to get peoples thoughts on the different options..........

whatever i get will definitely be in a MITX format built into an inwin A1 with its built in 650w psu and on a x570 Auros Pro MITX board

decisions decisions,
 
Not the 3800X. Not enough over the 3700X to warrant the difference, just a clock bump.
The 3900X would give you some future-proofing, and of the options, that's the way I'd go...

In a similar vein, the 3600 is a more effective choice against the 3600X if you want to save some pennies.
 
I'd probably be in the minority in saying the 3700x. I've had it a few months now and it's been faultless. I do some virtualisation on the PC and I also have several things going at once so I wanted the extra cores. I also think, like the old Intel i7 2600K (which nigh on everyone had) it will be like that chip and, hopefully, when I sell it then there will be a lot of interest. If it then becomes too slow in the future, like other people have said, chuck in a 3900x or 3950x and enjoy.

First time I've been in the AMD camp and have to say I've not had a single issue (other than of my own making when messing around with memory settings :))


M.
 
The Ryzen 4000 series will still be using the AM4 socket so if you went the 3600 route, I would rather set my sights on a 4900 or 4950X replacement after they come down in price :)
 
DoneADougalOnSofa said:
You could lob a 3600 in now, and then in a couple of years' time, grab a secondhand 3950X. That'll keep you going a good while!
Click to expand...

Get the 3600 now, then in 3 years upgrade to a second hand 4950x.

min any case I think the 3600 and 4600 is the sweet spot for next gen gaming in its first year anyway. We've seen it in Microsoft games in preparation for next gen
 
I've got all the bits apart from cpu and keep going round in circles looking at 3600 through to 3950x, then waiting for 4000 series, but will prolly need a cpu to upgrade tomahawk max bios for 4000,so maybe grab a 3100x lol

Price difference between 3700x and 3800x is around £15, and better quality silicone, higher if and ram speed, I did borrow a 3800x and ran 3777 or whatever cl14 with my 8pack ram

If I had to buy this second it would be an 8 core rather than 3600 tho more is more, than 4000 series upgrade next year or later
 
LeMson said:
I've got all the bits apart from cpu and keep going round in circles looking at 3600 through to 3950x, then waiting for 4000 series, but will prolly need a cpu to upgrade tomahawk max bios for 4000,so maybe grab a 3100x
Click to expand...

The tomahawk max comes with the bios flashback feature so you can update the bios without even having a CPU installed.
All you need to do is connect a psu to the board insert the usb into the flashback slot and press a button, a very handy feature which can also be used to fix a bricked motherboard.
 
Joxeon said:
The tomahawk max comes with the bios flashback feature so you can update the bios without even having a CPU installed.
All you need to do is connect a psu to the board insert the usb into the flashback slot and press a button, a very handy feature which can also be used to fix a bricked motherboard.
Click to expand...
I know, I'd prolly like a cpu in it to know it was all working at the time, rather than a year from now trying it on a board that hasn't run since late last year :E
 
TonTom said:
3900x don’t worry about what’s coming in the future enjoy now.
Click to expand...

Always look to the future to inform current decisions. Ask yourself why enthusiasts still of their old stuff just before the new stuff drops? Because they know the uninformed will buy it for a better price.

I'd read about Sandybridge's potential and held off buying the previous generation. I kept that until Zen2. Another good point to buy in.

Of course if you have money to burn buy now, sell for a loss and just buy the latest. Obviously most of us don't have that luxury.
 
You’ll be caught in a never ending cycle waiting on CPU’s. I get it for GPU’s as you can generally max those out easily but I doubt most people will use the full potential of the 3900x which is the context of this thread let alone the 17% or whatever increase on the next AMD CPU in 6months to a year.

Get it now sell to the “uninformed” as you put it, win win ;)
 
TonTom said:
You’ll be caught in a never ending cycle waiting on CPU’s. I get it for GPU’s as you can generally max those out easily but I doubt most people will use the full potential of the 3900x which is the context of this thread let alone the 17% or whatever increase on the next AMD CPU in 6months to a year.

Get it now sell to the “uninformed” as you put it, win win ;)
Click to expand...

Lol very true. One reason I didn't upgrade was waiting for the reviews and seeing the very tiny incremental increases Intel were dishing out. Yes not many current CPU's are going to be maxed out for a while, especially at higher resolutions.
 
Buying the right hardware at the right time is a genuine skill that incorporates many variables depending on your typical upgrade pattern, long term goals, economic variables, fluctuations in component prices etc, I'm very glad I grabbed 32gb ddr4 for less than £100 when people in the industry were starting to indicate that memory prices were on the increase, I'm also glad I jumped on Sandybridge early back in the day, those core components, Motherboard/Ram/CPU lasted me nearly 8 years!

Regarding gaming specifically, with very high resolution displays being the order of the day that also puts a twist on things, I personally think it's something that not a lot of people take into consideration when purchasing a CPU, I guess mainly because lot of CPU benches in reviews are still done at 1080p so you still see those large differences in metrics, you have a good look at these 4k CPU benchmark tests, it's surprising how close they are,


https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-ryzen-7-3700x/17.html
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom