Enhancing the system, seeking your help!
Enhancing the system, seeking your help!
Hello! I'm planning a hardware refresh and would value your insights since it's been a while since I focused on the CPU scene. For reference, I use a variety of applications at 3440x1440 resolution, handle light video editing and programming, and my current setup is adequate for those tasks. My existing specs: Ryzen 5 3600 B550M-Pro AM4 motherboard with RTX 3070. I'm considering upgrading to the Ryzen 5 7600 from Asus TUF B650M-Plus AM5 while keeping the 3070 for now. The main reasons are the price difference and the AM5 board offering better performance and features I need. I'm curious if AM4 and AM5 sockets are compatible, or if upgrading my current BIOS could work. Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Eh, you can do better. The B650 LiveMixer is cheaper and a better board overall, same with the B650 PG Lightning, and the B650 Aorus Elite AX is only slightly more and again, a bit better. Asus's AM5 lineup is pretty bad relatively speaking, if you haven't seen much of the coverage around it: Most of the problems have been fixed, but most of the good will they've built up over the past decade has been eroded away over the past couple years. No, they're not even the same socket type. AM4 is PGA with pins on the CPU, while AM5 is LGA with pins on the motherboard (similar to how Intel has done it for the past decade). Also, AM5 is DDR5 compared to DDR4 on AM4, so you're going to need a new memory kit as well.
Do you require an improvement? Highlight what your computer has trouble with or could use more power for. For gaming, consider swapping in a used 5800x3d for around $200–250, which avoids the need for hardware upgrades like board or RAM changes. Perhaps just a GPU upgrade would suffice instead of a full platform overhaul.
This is really helpful, thank you so much—I'm glad I reached out. I didn't think about how honest the memory was, that's another strong argument. It seems the B650 would work well, and 32GB DDR5 kits are quite budget-friendly here, which isn't an issue at all. Thanks again; your support means a lot.
The desire for an upgrade is clear. I'm okay with my current 3070 for now, but I'm curious about the future 5000 series and possibly a 4080 later. At this point, some newer games feel a bit CPU-heavy, though it's not a major problem. I've checked used components, but the Australian market feels pricey and limited, so Umart’s warranty is appealing.
I might still consider a new 5600 or 5600X if needed, but I think upgrading the platform eventually seems inevitable.
If your CPU is limited, try boosting it to 4.5-4.6GHz allcore with a 1.35/1.4V core voltage, no LLC. This should significantly improve performance compared to the low 4.2GHz single-core maximum. The 3600 includes stock RAM which might help somewhat, though that’s more detailed work. Basically, find your RAM model (upload a screenshot) and look up its settings online, tweaking them slightly as needed.
I haven't ever played with overclocking before—maybe it's worth checking out. Curiously, I decided to keep an eye on my temperatures just now, by chance. My CPU is sitting at 96°C. I'm running Cyberpunk2077 on the main screen, but it's paused and not very sharp. It seems like thermal throttling might be happening without me realizing it. I'm thinking about getting some new fans and a cooler for the CPU, maybe start with a paste test to see what happens.
What cooling solution are you using? Which country? You can typically find the AssaAssassin 120 or similar models for about $30-40, and the Assassin King 120 around $20. For thermal paste, gd007 is a solid choice, but if it's out of stock or too expensive, consider the Arctic MX6.