5600x vs 5800x?
5600x vs 5800x?
I have a friend planning to assemble a new PC and is struggling with CPU choices. I previously advised him that for gaming titles like CS:GO, Cyberpunk, Rocket League and GTA V at 1080p, a 5600x is clearly the best option. Now he wants to know if upgrading to a 5800x offers more performance, especially for those games. The price difference between the two models is about 150 USD. I’m trying to figure out if that gap makes sense for someone who mainly plays games and not for other tasks. I’ve got a setup with a B550, 16GB RAM at 3200MHz, an RTX 3060 Ti, and a 500GB SSD.
The 5800x seems out of place. My first thought is it’s not a good use of time right now. Steve from GamersNexus didn’t suggest it because at that stage the 5900x is more worthwhile. Still, for your friend, the 5600x stands out as the best choice. For the average person, the 5800x doesn’t really add much value.
5600x will perform well for several years, but more cores are likely required in the future since consoles use 8c/16t CPUs. You can always upgrade later if needed.
Others have suggested focusing the budget on graphics or saving it for later. If he required 8 cores, moving to 12 would be reasonable, making the 5900X a better choice. Still, 6 cores are ideal for gaming, so I’d recommend the 5600X.
Does he have the additional $150 available now? There are other possibilities to spend it on to enhance the system; a GPU upgrade might be more beneficial. I used 5800x for extra threads needed for video rendering, and I plan to maintain this setup for at least five years. For your friend who mainly plays games, the six cores should suffice.