Consider waiting a short period before purchasing the 3700x or opt for the 3600 for your upgrade.
Consider waiting a short period before purchasing the 3700x or opt for the 3600 for your upgrade.
I currently have a 6600k, an MSI Krait gaming 3x with 2400hz, and 16GB RAM. The monitor is 2K at 144Hz. I could purchase option 2 within a week or wait a few months for option 1. I've noticed the 3700X doesn't really boost gaming performance over the 3600, but more cores are better for future use. As a developer, I mainly stress my PC with gaming and have no interest in anything professional. If next year I'm likely upgrading to a Ryzen 4000, which choice should I go with—or maybe something in between? You can also say "that X is terrible, buy this instead!" Generally, these are my two upgrade plans: CPU—AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz 8-core ($324.99 @ Amazon); Cooler—Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black 55 CFM ($69.95 @ Amazon); Motherboard—Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 ($189.99 @ Amazon); Memory—Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200 ($72.98 @ Amazon). Total: $657.91. CPU alternative—AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6GHz 6-core ($189.99 @ Amazon); Cooler same; Motherboard—MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 ($111.99 @ Amazon); Memory same. Total: $444.91. Or something in between. Let me know ahead of time if you need more advice.
Secure the 3600 and choose a great cooler to keep things running smoothly. When Zen 3 arrives, you'll notice a significant leap compared to Zen 2. Investing in upgraded RAM that supports higher speeds will yield better results than upgrading to a 3700X. You didn't mention your current GPU?
I have a GTX 1080 and don’t intend to upgrade the GPU anytime soon because those are costly! My cooler isn’t performing well enough—my Noctua Black model isn’t handling it. I’m not interested in water cooling either. Should I switch to 3600 MHz RAM? Does the motherboard matter or should I stick with the Tomahawk instead of the TUF?
For a developer, six cores are sufficient. If you're targeting 4000, opt for the cheapest option like 1600 (just $80). The same number of cores reduces performance. Resale value won't change much. However, keep in mind that 4000 might require a different socket or chipset—this is unconfirmed, so we can only speculate.
If you want to upgrade in a year get the 3600 now, or something even cheaper. No reason to get the 3700x just to upgrade. The 3600 is basically a 6-core i7-6700k. https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/In...3502vs4040
why would i downgrade from my 6600k to a 1600. in that case i would just wait with my 6600k until ryzen 4000. All i really care about is gaming performance as its the only time i only push my pc. Ill upgrade to the 3600 and whenever 4000 comes out ill go to the 4700x if its really better.
Expecting delays could mean sticking around for the Ryzen 4000 even if it comes out in Q4. Waiting a month or more often leads AMD and retailers to lower prices on older models. A $330–$3700 price tag might drop to around $200 before the new chip arrives.