CPU Upgrade Time (Ryzen) - Gaming & Possible Streaming

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 10:10

Hey everyone

I've got my eye on a new Ryzen system for gaming (at 1080p for now) and also possible single PC streaming to start with. I've been looking at the Ryzen 5 3600 for this. It's a significant upgrade for me over my ageing Intel Core i5 3570k for gaming, but would the 3600 be up to it if streaming at either 720 or 1080 as well?

The games I play are things like:

Elite: Dangerous
Farming Simulator 19
Apex Legends
Rage 2
Sekiro
No Man's Sky
Borderlands 3
I'd like the new Star Wars Game at some point
Wolfenstein series
Red Dead Redemption 2 at some point
The Witcher 3
The Outer Worlds
CyberPunk when it releases

I know my GPU (Radeon R390) is probably in need of an upgrade as well, but right now I'm really noticing my system is quite sluggish when doing multiple tasks and I only play games at 1080p for now. Even playing a game like Elite: Dangerous or Farming Simulator 19 on one monitor and having YouTube running 1080p on another monitor is causing my PC to chug along, hence my thoughts behind the CPU upgrade. I need one anyway, as the CPU was last upgraded in 2012 and with Ryzen prices dropping, it seems like a good time for it.

I've been looking at the following to go with the 3600:

MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon
16GB Crucial or Corsair 3200Mhz RAM
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 512GB M.2

I was on the fence about whether to wait a few more months to get the Ryzen 7 3700X for the extra cores, but I know that game performance on that is slightly under the 3600. Still, extra cores are good but the 3600 already offers 2 extra cores and hyperthreading over my 3570k. I'm really feeling like I need the extra CPU power now as my PC is struggling quite a bit and even the 3600 will help.

The other option is to consider a 2700X, but I was worried that stepping back to last generation for a CPU upgrade wouldn't be a good idea for me. Although having said that, I am going with a previous generation board (cost is a factor).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

LeMson · 23 Nov 2019 at 10:20

3700x and 3600mhz ram

Panos · 23 Nov 2019 at 10:49

@CHokKA what @LeMson said.
3700X and 3600C16/14 ram.

LeMson · 23 Nov 2019 at 10:53

If you can hang on another week for next friday there might be some deals to be had, also unless you need wifi, the tomahawk max might be a better board and cheaper

Orange Nexus · 23 Nov 2019 at 10:55

Go R5 3600 if you plan on dropping a Ryzen 4000 next year. You can even go with a cheaper R7 2700 non X. I don't see any difference between the two with a 5700XT but i don't stream.

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:02

LeMson said:
If you can hang on another week for next friday there might be some deals to be had, also unless you need wifi, the tomahawk max might be a better board and cheaper

I thought that but the Pro Carbon also has better audio, Intel network controllers and two M2 slots which is why I was thinking of going with that board. Thanks for your suggestion

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:03

Panos said:
@CHokKA what @LeMson said.
3700X and 3600C16/14 ram.

Thanks for the suggestion dude. Only problem with that is that it pushes the price up significantly when you add 16GB RAM

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:11

CHokKA said:
Thanks for the suggestion dude. Only problem with that is that it pushes the price up significantly when you add 16GB RAM

Actually it doesn't. Although the RAM at £75 can't be great even though it's Patriot Vengeance.

Edit: Yeah, CL17 at that price.

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:13

Orange Nexus said:
Go R5 3600 if you plan on dropping a Ryzen 4000 next year. You can even go with a cheaper R7 2700 non X. I don't see any difference between the two with a 5700XT but i don't stream.

I don't plan on upgrading again for at least a few years unless absolutely necessary. Streaming might not even work out. And if it does I might have some extra cash to get newer hardware anyway. It's all a big if right now. Would the suggestion for a 3700X still stand if it's for mostly gaming and occasional streaming that might not even be a factor in a year or two?

Panos · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:36

CHokKA said:
I thought that but the Pro Carbon also has better audio, Intel network controllers and two M2 slots which is why I was thinking of going with that board. Thanks for your suggestion

Wait next week then for the B550 boards.

LeMson · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:37

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...3600mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-08q-tg.html

For the ram, a bit more money, but ryzen works really well with 3600 memory

Orange Nexus · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:46

CHokKA said:
I don't plan on upgrading again for at least a few years unless absolutely necessary. Streaming might not even work out. And if it does I might have some extra cash to get newer hardware anyway. It's all a big if right now. Would the suggestion for a 3700X still stand if it's for mostly gaming and occasional streaming that might not even be a factor in a year or two?

Then stick with the R5 3600. The 5700XT is like Twice as fast as the R9 290. I upgraded from the R9 290. Even the cheaper 5700 non XT is twice as fast.

4K8KW10 · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:47

Orange Nexus said:
Then stick with the R5 3600.

And say bye-bye to the streaming. I don't know why you continue to recommend CPUs which are obviously lacking enough threads, so streaming that requires threads will be an issue. :confused:

Woodsta888 · 23 Nov 2019 at 11:58

As you want to future proof a bit, I'd go 3700X or 3800X both of which are below MSRP (3800X moreso next friday). 3600 CL16 8PACK team group is 1/3 cheaper than when I bought mine in July. MOBO (Well I went cheap on my x570 as I don't need sound, 10GB lan or wifi) future proof with PCI-E 4? Jury still out on that one. My ASRock phantom gaming 4 (~£160) has my 3800X with 5/8 cores @ 4.6Ghz+ so the cheaper x570 boards do seem t be able to run the CPU's well. Benching for scores you may benefit from the highest end boards.

If you go 3600 then I think if later on you wanted a high end 3000 series or 4000 series, maybe the heftier VRM's on an X570 board may help when upgrading for 2nd hand high end CPU's in a couple of years.

Orange Nexus · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:03

4K8KW10 said:
And say bye-bye to the streaming. I don't know why you continue to recommend CPUs which are obviously lacking enough threads, so streaming that requires threads will be an issue.

Well, after reading that op wants to keep the system longer, then yah, the 8 core seems more logical for 150 more quid. Was thinking the saving could be set aside for Gen3 which is suppose to be 8% faster with 200 more MHz.

BTW, that R5 3600 can certainly stream just as good as the R7 depending on the settings.

These are the Gen 1+ cpus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZqrwlDxGmM

4K8KW10 · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:16

Orange Nexus said:
Well, after reading that op wants to keep the system longer, then yah, the 8 core seems more logical for 150 more quid. Was thinking the saving could be set aside for Gen3 which is suppose to be 8% faster with 200 more MHz.

BTW, that R5 3600 can certainly stream just as good as the R7 depending on the settings.

These are the Gen 1+ cpus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZqrwlDxGmM

I don't see an 150 quid difference anywhere.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £289.99

Total: £298.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £178.99

Total: £187.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Six Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £218.99

Total: £227.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Twelve Core 4.6GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £518.99

Total: £527.69 (includes shipping: £8.70)

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:24

4K8KW10 said:
And say bye-bye to the streaming. I don't know why you continue to recommend CPUs which are obviously lacking enough threads, so streaming that requires threads will be an issue.

Would streaming at 720 or 1080 really be terrible with 6 cores and 12 threads for the moment? I've watched a few YouTubers who say it should be OK. EposVox suggests the 3600 is just behind the 3700X for streaming, and I believe from most bench tests that the 3600 is the better choice for gaming.i don't want to be able to stream at high rates perfectly. I'm only starting out and it seemed a bit crazy to me to spend an extra £110 on a CPU just in case it might be better. It's difficult to know how things will work out though.

I know I've perhaps answered my own questions here, but I was hoping someone that has the 3600 and streams might be able to give their opinion!

4K8KW10 · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:31

CHokKA said:
Would streaming at 720 or 1080 really be terrible with 6 cores and 12 threads for the moment? I've watched a few YouTubers who say it should be OK. EposVox suggests the 3600 is just behind the 3700X for streaming, and I believe from most bench tests that the 3600 is the better choice for gaming.i don't want to be able to stream at high rates perfectly. I'm only starting out and it seemed a bit crazy to me to spend an extra £110 on a CPU just in case it might be better. It's difficult to know how things will work out though.

I know I've perhaps answered my own questions here, but I was hoping someone that has the 3600 and streams might be able to give their opinion!

For gaming the 3600 and for gaming with streaming the 2700 because of the 2 extra cores

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1074388-buy-a-ryzen-2700-or-3600-for-gaming-and-streaming/

6 core is not enough for gaming and streaming if you want decent picture quality

I'm not satisfied with how 2700x handles streaming so I'm buying 3900x for that with the hope it will be significantly better.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/c4k34l/willl_ryzen_5_3600_be_enough_for_1080p_streaming/

Orange Nexus · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:45

CHokKA said:
Would streaming at 720 or 1080 really be terrible with 6 cores and 12 threads for the moment? I've watched a few YouTubers who say it should be OK. EposVox suggests the 3600 is just behind the 3700X for streaming, and I believe from most bench tests that the 3600 is the better choice for gaming.i don't want to be able to stream at high rates perfectly. I'm only starting out and it seemed a bit crazy to me to spend an extra £110 on a CPU just in case it might be better. It's difficult to know how things will work out though.

I know I've perhaps answered my own questions here, but I was hoping someone that has the 3600 and streams might be able to give their opinion!

What cooler do you have now? You'd defo need a better cooler for the 3700X.

CHokKA · 23 Nov 2019 at 12:54

4K8KW10 said:
...

Thanks. Further down in that same post on Reddit:

I was streaming with Ryzen 5 1600, GTX 1070 and 16GB 3000MHz Dual Channel RAM 8 months ago (@1080p and x264 Encoder). I was playing Overwatch and Apex Legends at ultra settings. There is no drop or frame loss. Now, I have Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 2080 and 16GB 3600MHz Dual Channel RAM. I'm playing at 2560x1440p and streaming at 1080p with x264 Encoder. Performance is amazing. By the way, I'm streaming with 1 PC and running Spotify, Kaspersky and browser etc. in the background. So, Ryzen 5 3600 is enough for gaming and streaming.

So it looks like the 3600 paired with decent RAM might be a decent shout to begin with. I can then take it from there

Thanks for your suggestions everyone