Check if a 5700x3d upgrade is available.
Check if a 5700x3d upgrade is available.
Budget: Lower is better if it makes sense. Country: Belgium Use case: Gaming on the TV and monitor connected to it (1440p 120Hz monitor, 1080p 60Hz old TV). Recent intense games like Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Expedition 33, Rematch, Marvel Rivals are available. I own a TV/living room gaming PC built from various random parts and old items. Performance on live services games drops quickly now that support for older consoles is ending or they’re not prioritizing them. I’m thinking about upgrading. My setup has a 3070 5800h laptop; Sea of Thieves runs much better there thanks to its single-core performance. On the desktop, I can fix stability issues by disabling half the cores and lowering voltage slightly, but it requires sacrificing half the processing power. Once stable at around 4.7GHz across all cores, my frame rate jumps from stuttering near 65fps to a solid 85fps. I mainly play older games or light content, so I don’t need heavy titles. The latest game I tried was Expedition 33, which worked well on the 3900x. I was considering a 5700x3d but prices have risen from under 200€ to over 250€ in just a month, making it less attractive compared to a 5700x at 105€. Current specs: 3900x, Alphacool cooler, 7900gre, 32GB RAM, 3200MHz CL16 (2x16GB), 4TB SSD, 850W PCIe HCIO Gold (Seasonic rebrand 2018). In a box. Would a 5700x3d be worth the extra 150€ compared to the 3900x, or should I look elsewhere?
I’d skip the 5700X3D altogether. I’m aiming for top performance and wouldn’t settle for AM5 just to save a bit. The used 5700X3D sounds like a solid choice, depending on your budget and what you’re planning to use it for.
Price is still a bit steep at around 5800x3d, and the situation is even worse. Regular chips are now hitting or exceeding normal retail prices thanks to major drops here. I've felt the same way before—once you hit performance issues, it's usually best to switch platforms.
And considering the cost, it's hard to argue against it. Affordable and straightforward, completed quickly. I believe the 3D cache won't close the gap until the 5700X becomes less appealing, and the 5700X3D won't suddenly become practical for another two years. However, I think the 3900X is essential for gaming. The 5xxx line was the pioneering force in real gaming experiences, in my opinion.
Unlikely to be worthwhile... Honestly, in Superposition a specialized graphics test (like gaming) my old 3600 performed better than my 5800x3d. Even though the 3D benchmarks struggled against the 3600 in Cinebench—which is clearly not a gaming test—I believe it’s mostly marketing hype, such as gamernexus doing their job by pushing hardware you didn’t really need.
It depends, if your 3600 was clocking higher than the 5800X3D (due to the stacked cache), then a synthetic bench can give you skewed results. I personally look at the actual ingame performance, where the 3600 (and the entire 3xxx lineup) doesn't hold up well against the 5xxx. There is a definite chasm between. My buddy and his wife have 3700X's and they just aren't holding up well. The 5600 will outgame them.
I see the distinction clearly. My 5800h really enhances gameplay, making things much smoother compared to my 3900x which needs significant adjustments to perform well. Gaming involves a lot of factors. Superposition only uses the GPU and requires minimal CPU power. I’m facing CPU bottlenecks because I have limited cores available—this is evident in Sea of Thieves where it struggles, while others with more cores handle it better. The same settings give 100 FPS on their systems, but on my rig with 3080 and 32GB RAM, the difference is stark. The added anticheat virus also complicates things.
The 5800X3D usually offers lower system latency, though the difference isn't huge. In most cases, it's a good choice without a big cost difference. The 5700 is likely sufficient and could save around $150. Your $260 investment might be reasonable depending on your needs.
I checked 7800x3d versus 9xx series and found discounts on 9600/9700 models, especially with bundle offers bringing the total under $300 for CPU, motherboard, and RAM. In Belgium, similar options might be available, but if not, the 5700x3d seems the best fit. The 3900 is still recommended for gaming.