Choose between the Ryzen 5 3500X and the Ryzen 7 2700X for optimal performance.
Choose between the Ryzen 5 3500X and the Ryzen 7 2700X for optimal performance.
Consider this—your gaming setup is heavy and you're thinking about moving to a more powerful processor for streaming or editing. You've looked at Ryzen 3 1200, Ryzen 5 3500X, and Ryzen 7 2700X. From what you know, the Ryzen 7 offers better performance in both games and demanding tasks.
If you're not handling highly multi-threaded work, then the (I think you meant 3600x as 3500x is a Chinese-exclusive OEM-only chip) would likely be the better option. I'm using a 3600 non-x and it's still quite honestly a powerful gaming machine.
It's essentially a marginally slower version of the 3600 without hyperthreading. The 2700X tends to perform better in games with newer engines, since they require more than six threads. If you don't manage to get at least eight threads from a CPU, it falls short for current gaming needs. (And keep an eye on future requirements for a minimum of sixteen threads thanks to upcoming consoles.)
It seems you're questioning the need for multiple threads in gaming. While some games today rely heavily on hyperthreading, it's not universally necessary. Generally, modern operating systems support hyperthreading, but many games still perform well without it. If you're looking to play smoothly, joining a Discord server and playing should be fine.