Is a Ryzen 5 3600 worth it?
Is a Ryzen 5 3600 worth it?
Hey, I have an old gaming PC from about seven years ago with an i5-4460, 8GB DDR3 RAM, and a 4GB GTX 970 on a GB800 S2H motherboard. I’m thinking about upgrading and need help deciding between a CPU change and a motherboard upgrade. Since RAM is already decent, boosting the CPU or RAM might be more practical. I’m aiming for a budget of around £300 to £350. Any suggestions?
It's a solid improvement. Moving from 4 to 6 cores and 12 threads is a major step forward and the top upgrade available right now. The main suggestion is to choose a motherboard that supports a Ryzen 5000 CPU, ensuring you have room for future upgrades. I’d recommend beginning by watching motherboard tutorials.
The main aim is clear: understand the purpose and potential uses of the system. If heavy computing tasks are involved, the 3600 offers solid value, especially with a budget-friendly B550 board for future upgrades to higher-end processors. For gaming, it provides decent performance but won’t be transformative—expect a 4th gen I5 to handle a GTX 970 well. Upgrading to a 3600 sets the stage for future GPU improvements. If your priority is immediate gaming, consider a more affordable RTX2000 or RX5000 card paired with at least 16GB RAM instead.
Great feedback! I’ve been checking motherboards lately. If you’re considering a B450/B550, you’ll likely need to update the BIOS before moving to the 5000 series.
I see thank you for your advice! It's definitely first and foremost a gaming rig, however I have noticed my cpu is sub par right now, done a few benchmarks and it's at the lower end of the bell curves so does need a replacement. If only the 3000 series gpu were not 100000000 right now haha! I'll look into an rx5000 or rtx2000 with the intention of upgrades later on too
I'm in favor of a B550 or X570 board combined with the 3600. These models support 5000 Ryzen processors, allowing future upgrades if needed. The 3600 is ready to install as-is, meaning it comes pre-assembled and you can proceed straight away. The main challenge lies in choosing a board that meets all your requirements, so be careful when selecting the hardware.