CPU upgrade for Gaming

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 12:01

I recently got an RTX 3080 and am looking for the best value gaming CPU to pair with it for VR and 1440p. I am thinking a Ryzen 5 5600 but looking for confirmation this is my best option.

My current system

B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC
Ryzen 5 2600
32GB DDR4 3000
RTX 3080

TIA

HACO · 15 Apr 2022 at 12:07

If you can up your budget to 5700X that's much more future proof with 8 cores.

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 12:22

HACO said:
If you can up your budget to 5700X that's much more future proof with 8 cores.

How so? The 5700x is 50% more expensive for a less than 5% performance gain. Is it really worth it?

HACO · 15 Apr 2022 at 12:30

Zaphrod said:
How so? The 5700x is 50% more expensive for a less than 5% performance gain. Is it really worth it?

Not worth it now since games use mostly 6 cores, hence why I said future proof rather than current proof. We're at the end of the line for AM4 so future upgrades on this platform will be more expensive down the line. Might as well spend an extra £80 or so and get something that lasts a good while longer. If you plan to upgrade all of CPU/Ram/MB in the next couple of years then save the money and get the 5600.

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 12:49

HACO said:
Not worth it now since games use mostly 6 cores, hence why I said future proof rather than current proof. We're at the end of the line for AM4 so future upgrades on this platform will be more expensive down the line. Might as well spend an extra £80 or so and get something that lasts a good while longer. If you plan to upgrade all of CPU/Ram/MB in the next couple of years then save the money and get the 5600.

My next upgrade will be 4 or 5 years from now so if I thought the extra cores might benefit me in that time I would consider it but as I will not be upgrading my GPU in that time and future games will be even more GPU bound if anything I don't think it would benefit me. If I thought I might upgrade my GPU in that time then it might be worth considering. Thanks for your help

CuriousTomCat · 15 Apr 2022 at 13:43

You're happy to buy a high end GPU so get a high end CPU to pair it with.

Troezar · 15 Apr 2022 at 13:55

Looking at the 5800X3D review, even from a 3700X, there are substantial gains to be had. That's my plan, will keep GPU upgrades fed for years.

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 14:33

CuriousTomCat said:
You're happy to buy a high end GPU so get a high end CPU to pair it with.

Well the High end GPU makes sense, the High end CPU doesn't IMO. Even the 5800X3D shows no significant advantage at the resolutions I am playing at so why spend more?

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 14:36

Troezar said:
Looking at the 5800X3D review, even from a 3700X, there are substantial gains to be had. That's my plan, will keep GPU upgrades fed for years.

If you upgrade often and plan on upgrading your GPU more often and/or sooner than your CPU that may make sense but I will be keeping this system as is for 4 years or more so there is no advantage to a faster CPU if everything I play now will be GPU bound with the 5600.

CuriousTomCat · 15 Apr 2022 at 14:41

Zaphrod said:
Well the High end GPU makes sense, the High end CPU doesn't IMO. Even the 5800X3D shows no significant advantage at the resolutions I am playing at so why spend more?

Perhaps for next year's games or 2024's games or 2025's games or 2026's games?

Some people upgrade a GPU several times but keep the same CPU. Well balanced rigs with a 5600x and a 3080 have absolutely no bottlenecks. Perfect. But what happens when you upgrade to a future GPU that's twice as fast as a 3090?

Zaphrod · 15 Apr 2022 at 14:47

CuriousTomCat said:
Perhaps for next year's games or 2024's games or 2025's games or 2026's games?

Some people upgrade a GPU several times but keep the same CPU. Well balanced rigs with a 5600x and a 3080 have absolutely no bottlenecks. Perfect. But what happens when you upgrade to a future GPU that's twice as fast as a 3090?

Yea if that is the case it can make sense but for me I will upgrade CPU and GPU at the same time when my system is no longer capable and because AM4 is end of life this will be the last upgrade I do with this motherboard and by the time I am ready to upgrade my GPU again I will want a board with faster PCI.

ChocAndGray · 16 Apr 2022 at 06:18

It looks like you've already made your mind up on what CPU to go for but I'd be looking at a 5800X3D as a gaming CPU.

Obviously I'm making the assumption that it's within budget.

Do you have one that you're working to?

I would go for a minimum 8 core processor so 5700X. More and more games are using more cores, and it's not even so much for obvious gaming benefits at this stage, it's more to give you flexibility to do more. A 6 core could struggle with gaming and having other things open in the background.

Troezar · 16 Apr 2022 at 06:25

ChocAndGray said:
It looks like you've already made your mind up on what CPU to go for but I'd be looking at a 5800X3D as a gaming CPU.

Obviously I'm making the assumption that it's within budget.

Do you have one that you're working to?

I would go for a minimum 8 core processor so 5700X. More and more games are using more cores, and it's not even so much for obvious gaming benefits at this stage, it's more to give you flexibility to do more. A 6 core could struggle with gaming and having other things open in the background.

Agreed, my own is put the best CPU I can afford them run my AM4 set up as long as it can drive newer GPU generations. Only when it becomes a bottleneck will I upgrade.

Kirby Wurm · 16 Apr 2022 at 07:44

ChocAndGray said:
It looks like you've already made your mind up on what CPU to go for

Agreed, you've made your arguments for it so go ahead and purchase it.

Personally I'll be keeping an eye on game performance reviews moving forward as if the number of games that show big increases moving to the X3D from vanilla Ryzen 5000 increase then even on my current 5900X it may be worth swapping over just to make the platform last longer.

Zaphrod · 29 Apr 2022 at 08:16

Hey all, thanks. I really appreciate the advice. It seems the consensus is get something better to help future proof and I kind of wish I could but I'm really just looking for the best value CPU to pair with the RTX 3080 right now because my current budget doesn't really allow spending a lot more as I am actually upgrading 2 PC's - mine and my son's. Saying that I am now considering if it is worth spending the extra £90 for the 5700X for those extra cores. I wonder will the stock cooler for the 2600 work for the 5700X considering they have the same TDP and I won't be overclocking? Otherwise I will have to budget for a cooler also.

Troezar · 29 Apr 2022 at 09:00

Zaphrod said:
Hey all, thanks. I really appreciate the advice. It seems the consensus is get something better to help future proof and I kind of wish I could but I'm really just looking for the best value CPU to pair with the RTX 3080 right now because my current budget doesn't really allow spending a lot more as I am actually upgrading 2 PC's - mine and my son's. Saying that I am now considering if it is worth spending the extra £90 for the 5700X for those extra cores. I wonder will the stock cooler for the 2600 work for the 5700X considering they have the same TDP and I won't be overclocking? Otherwise I will have to budget for a cooler also.

I'd go with the 5700X if you can stretch to it. I don't see why your existing cooler wouldn't be ok, you can always undervolt slightly to help temps.

nomadd · 29 Apr 2022 at 09:01

Zaphrod said:
I recently got an RTX 3080 and am looking for the best value gaming CPU to pair with it for VR and 1440p. I am thinking a Ryzen 5 5600 but looking for confirmation this is my best option.

Correct. Or a 12400.

Right now, I wouldn't buy any AMD CPU beyond the 5600 (I'd just wait for AM5 platform.)

mickyflinn · 29 Apr 2022 at 09:25

Drop in a 5600 or 5600x if you can find one at a simmlar price.

Roguey000 · 29 Apr 2022 at 10:06

nomadd said:
Correct. Or a 12400.

Right now, I wouldn't buy any AMD CPU beyond the 5600 (I'd just wait for AM5 platform.)

how come? seeing as some of the 5000 series is at its lowest price. AM5 looks like it will need DDR5 - which hasnt matured, or droppped in a price. We dont even know if the next gen boards will support Zen5 (I agree its most likely).

When is Zen4 due? end of year?

Zaphrod · 29 Apr 2022 at 10:40

Roguey000 said:
how come? seeing as some of the 5000 series is at its lowest price. AM5 looks like it will need DDR5 - which hasnt matured, or droppped in a price. We dont even know if the next gen boards will support Zen5 (I agree its most likely).

When is Zen4 due? end of year?

I think if you are buying all new then this is good advice but if you have an existing AM4 system then there is no reason to not upgrade to the most suitable CPU for your use case. If you do a lot of productivity then it still makes a lot of sense to get one of the high core count 5000 series and if like me you are looking for a current gaming boost then a 5600 is a great but if you are wanting to really future proof a current AM4 system then there is nothing better than a 5800X3D which should last for quite a long time.