Choose between 2600, 2700X or 3500X (available in stores). What would you prefer?
Choose between 2600, 2700X or 3500X (available in stores). What would you prefer?
I could review the used market if something appears, as most people now focus on first and second generation parts. I’d check whether the 3600 price drops or if there’s a good offer for 2700/2700X. The cheapest option is 2600, but it doesn’t seem to offer much more than my 1700.
We need to think carefully about what we're comparing. A 6c6t should usually outperform a similar 4c8t, though not as much as a 6c12t. This raises questions about existing tests. I anticipate a 3500X would generally surpass a 3300X in most situations. The scenarios where 3300X could lead ahead are when the load is lightly threaded and depends more on boost clock, the software has very strong thread scaling (it should match or exceed Cinebench), or the software is negatively impacted by multiple CCX.
it's a relatively uncommon situation with a clear impact, likely noticeable rather than just a standard lower frame rate. those instances where the game engine avoids having fewer than 7 threads usually stand out. i wouldn't compare a 3300X to a 3500X at the same cost, but it involves purchasing something known for threading problems and possibly paying extra. if you can wait, it's better to hold off, since investing in something with decent specs is better than jumping into less reliable options.
I cast my vote at 2700x. To skip the thread and core count regret, I’m noting a 3500x versus 2700x gap that’s just a few digits.
Battlefield 5 displayed a few issues, though I don’t remember the exact details. It seems more noticeable on 4-core/8-thread CPUs. I found references in Hardware Unboxed and the 3600 review—spoiler: it wasn’t a major problem. A few other games show similar behavior too. These examples suggest 4-core/8-thread setups aren’t handling it well, but it’s not clear why some titles struggle with thread counts.
They also evaluated the 3500X, but the 2700X consistently outperformed it. My earlier thoughts seemed focused more on previous models rather than the ones being tested.