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First world problems AMD or Intel FTW

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8 Feb 2021
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This thread is about upgrade paths for 2 gaming PC's.

I already have a Ryzen 5 3600 build with 16gb RAM @ 3600mhz , B550 Tuf gaming board and GTX 1660 super, DP'd to a 32inch 60hz 4k monitor. Thankfully I put this together before the 2020 black friday meltdown in November. It's got way better performance than I thought it was going to have including 60FPS in Doom Eternal, although I know it's not so taxing. Modern 'mid range' seems outstanding. Plan is to put a 3070 or 3080 in there at some point for stable 4k gaming @ 60hz for more modern titles.

My lad is desperate for a new PC with go faster lights...he's currently got my ancient i5-2500k, with 16GB DDR3-1600 and a GTX 1650. He has a 4K 27inch@60hz. It does OK for Minecraft, Sims 4 etc but it stutters a bit...

So I've bought new parts for a build for my son's computer. With Ryzen being way too expensive atm I've bought a i5-10400f, MSI Z490 Gaming Plus (got a bargain), 16GB ram and will slot his 1650 in when built.

So both my builds will have upgrade paths.

The original plan was to build up the i5-10400f system and donate the GTX 1660 super to it when I get a new Ampere GPU, possibly step to a i5-10600k later.

But I was thinking...should I take the Intel platform for my PC given Rocket Lake? Any ideas? Does it really matter? What would you do?
 
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Your B550 system can take Zen3 so you already have an upgrade path to 16 cores. Plus if your son is playing games based on older engines,I would imagine the Intel system would probably be a better choice than the Ryzen 5 3600??

I think i5-10400f is faster in games than Ryzen 3600 as Z490 can leverage the faster RAM?
 
Do you guys need 4k? Surely the 1660 Super (let alone the 1650) would be a lot happier at 1440p?

We have 2 x 4k monitors as its so much better for desktop work. We run games at lower res if necessary. 1660S is surprising at 4k on older or less demanding games. Sims 4 runs 4k 60fps on 1650 and an i5-2500k..and doom eternal at 4k 60fps on OC'd 1660 Super with ryzen 3600
 
Buy a z490 motherboard as it will run Ram at full speed. I got a gaming version for about £110...shop around.

In CPU benchmarks I ran, no difference in i5-10400f and Ryzen 3600 performance.. memory has better compatibility on intel.

I'd go intel.
 
worth waiting for the b560 boards?

a few weeks will not hurt either way but then it could be a lot longer i supose

Depends if B560 will run XMP ram proflies. Leaks suggest they will. But as with all new boards prices will be relatively high at launch and if you plan to upgrade later to an unlocked CPU, a Z490 or Z590 will be better.
 
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