I've got a 3080 Ti - what CPU to pair it with? Perhaps the 12600?

Deep · 27 Dec 2022 at 13:15

I've got a Zotac 3080Ti that I've been using with an AMD 5 1600 (booming CPU I know), when I try to play 4K games I'll get random stutters regardless of what quality I've set it to.
I think it's time to upgrade my CPU as mine is really old. I'd like to spend around £500-600 for CPU, Mobo and cooler. I play on my LG C2 65" so would prefer to play at 4K but understand I'll be sacrificing quality and framerate. Would I really notice a variance if I played at 1440p with high quality and framerate?

The mobo I want will be around £150. However I really don't want to spend loads on a CPU as I probably won't get the benefit from it so would like to get a decently adequate one without breaking the bank.
Would the I5-12600KF be more than suitable?

Tetras · 27 Dec 2022 at 13:20

The 12600K/KF would be fine, but be careful how much you pay for it (250 I think is alright, 300 is too much and a 13600K is better value), it's also likely to be obsoleted by the 13400 non-K in January.

Why not just stick a 5600 non-X in your board though?

Do you have decent memory?

Deep · 27 Dec 2022 at 13:50

Tetras said:
The 12600K/KF would be fine, but be careful how much you pay for it (250 I think is alright, 300 is too much and a 13600K is better value), it's also likely to be obsoleted by the 13400 non-K in January.

Why not just stick a 5600 non-X in your board though?

Do you have decent memory?

I've seen the 12600 for £240, and my memory is pretty good
I've not really looked at the 5600 tbh, I thought AMD is good for multi-tasking which I never do. That was the only reason I didn't consider them

Hmm I could wait until this 13400 comes out in January if the prices are similar

Tetras · 27 Dec 2022 at 14:03

Deep said:
I've seen the 12600 for £240, and my memory is pretty good
I've not really looked at the 5600 tbh, I thought AMD is good for multi-tasking which I never do. That was the only reason I didn't consider them

Hmm I could wait until this 13400 comes out in January if the prices are similar

I assume you mean K/KF? The 12600 doesn't have the E-cores.

The 5600X/5600 non-X and 12400F/12400 are pretty similar in their gaming performance and pretty much all boards can get a BIOS update to support Zen 3.

The 5800X3D is faster than a 12600K, but personally I'd just go for the 5600.

You can see a comparison of the generations (1600X/3600X/5600X) here:

4 Years of Ryzen 5, 1600X, 2600X, 3600X vs. 5600X

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Deep · 27 Dec 2022 at 14:43

The 5800 non X3D version seems pretty good and it's a great price performance ratio. I think going for that over the 5600 might be the way to go

Tetras · 27 Dec 2022 at 15:34

Deep said:
The 5800 non X3D version seems pretty good and it's a great price performance ratio. I think going for that over the 5600 might be the way to go

It's competitive even with the latest CPUs (13600K/7600X, video), so if your board supports it, it is a great option. The 12600K is still decent for a new system, but bit pointless if you already have a nice board that only needs a BIOS update for Zen 3.