Is the 5600X the correct model for the AM4 upgrade? Please advise on the next steps.
Is the 5600X the correct model for the AM4 upgrade? Please advise on the next steps.
I've been thinking about upgrading my Ryzen 5 5600X for quite some time now, and I’ve stumbled upon a good opportunity on a 5950X. I’m torn because I don’t have the funds to move up to AM5, so I was considering the top options in AM4 instead. I currently own a new OEM 5950X and a (new, unboxed) Rog VIII Crosshair Elite X570 motherboard priced around INR 33,700 (about $390). There’s also an offer on my Ryzen 5 5600X and MSI B450 motherboard for INR 8,800 ($100), which would mean I’d spend roughly INR 24,900 (around $285) upfront. This is cheaper than jumping to AM5.
My main concern is whether the upgrade is worthwhile given the benefits of the new board—like three M.2 slots, five HDDs, support for USB-C in the case, and a premium feel. I use it mostly for gaming at 70%, with lots of browsing and light coding/editing, which might improve over time. I’m also playing in 1440p and have a secondary monitor.
I’m unsure if the slight boost in single-core performance is enough to justify the price jump. Would it be worth it, or is it just a minor increase? I’d love to take advantage of this deal, but I’m not sure if it’s a good investment.
(And before you suggest any X3D chips, I’ve been searching for them but haven’t found a reasonably priced one locally.)
PC details:
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600X
GPU: Inno3D RTX 3080 10GB
Motherboard: MSI B450M Mortar Max, fully equipped
RAM: 32GB DDR4 Dual Channel, 3000MT/s to 3200MT/s
Power Supply: Antec HCG Xtreme 1000W (80 Plus Gold)
Storage: [NVMe] WD SN770 1TB (PCIe 4.0), XPG Gammix S11 512GB (PCIe 3.0), [SATA] 2x 1TB WD Blue 7200RPM, 2x 1TB Seagate 5400RPM, plus a 500GB SATA 7200RPM and a 1TB NVMe 4.0 SSD
Case: NZXT H510
Monitors: Acer VG271U (1440p, 180Hz) + Acer V206HQL 19" 768p 60Hz
Cooler: Deepcool Gammaxx 400
Looking at potential upgrades:
- Ryzen 5 5950X with Wraith Prism
- ROG Crosshair VIII Hero X570
- Games I enjoy: Helldivers 2, Mortal Kombat 1, Cyberpunk 2077, etc.
- RT games: Black Myth Wukong, Clair Obscur, Battlefield 6
- Apps: Microsoft Edge, Discord, Steam, Spotify, VSCode, Jetbrains Suite, Adobe CC (occasionally)
- Light ML training for college projects
Thanks for your help!
Check out a 5900XT if you're in the mood. It's just about 3% slower than its sibling and significantly cheaper here in the states. From a gaming standpoint, it might not be worth the investment. If you're already maximizing the 6-core setup, it could make a noticeable difference. I'm currently using a 5900XT with an RX7800XT system on a 1440/144 monitor, achieving frame rates well above 100 in most games, especially at high settings and without frequent frame drops. I haven't played the new Battlefield yet, so no thoughts there. CP77 seems to be the most demanding title I play, but with all the frame generation and high settings plus lighting effects, I consistently hit around 60 FPS. BG3 usually reaches about 130 FPS at high settings. The Black Myth Wukong test performed well on my rig, though I never actually played the game.
The 5900XT is roughly $370, and the market situation in India is different—products aren’t easily accessible there. That’s why I can’t purchase it. My available choices are the 5800X and the 5950X, and I’ve decided the 5800X isn’t worth it. How would you define a situation where all six cores are fully utilized? Is it when the system significantly slows down with more open apps? I haven’t felt that before. What I do notice is my CPU constantly running at boost clock even without heavy workloads. In Cyberpunk, even with DLSS turned on (at maximum settings), I don’t see the performance I expect. It would be useful to know if your 5900XT made a noticeable difference compared to your previous processor.
Regarding a 5700x, it seems to offer a significant discount compared to the 5800x and even more so than the 5950x. It's not very common in your currency. https://www.theitdepot.com/Processor/amd...&order=ASC ₹13,845.00 https://www.theitdepot.com/Processor/amd...&order=ASC ₹18,235.00 The increase might not be huge unless Cyberpunk demands more cores or threads than the 5600x provides. Likely to hold off until you can upgrade to AM5. You'd probably do better with a newer GPU, but considering cost, that might not be your priority right now.
You might want to verify what processes are active in Task Manager. Unless you're using the "Performance" power setting (and even then), you shouldn't be experiencing constant boost. The only other consideration could be if you attempted any form of overclocking and adjusted it accordingly. It would not be fair to compare this setup to the one I replaced with a 5600, as my previous build ran better thanks to the AMD pairing, Free Sync features, and a DP-connected monitor that supports Free Sync Premium. When the system was a 5600, it paired with a 6600XT and delivered excellent performance at 1080P using its frame generation options. I’m referring to that setup for the sale, but I ended up going overboard by choosing the 5900XT and selling on the 11th gen i9 instead (paired with the 6600XT). Now that I have it, I’m content with the current configuration; I wouldn’t have designed this project with such a focus had I understood the outcome at the time. In my opinion, it would have been better to invest in AM5 and DDR5 technology even if the graphics card stayed the same. Another point is that I seldom undertake tasks requiring many cores. The outcome remains uncertain.
It's been consistent across different OS versions, and I've purchased it new without overclocking. I'm unsure what's happening, but I've accepted it as part of life. The main choices are either to get the 5950X with an X570 motherboard now or wait until August next year to save money and upgrade to AM5. I'm wondering if this will really improve performance in Cyberpunk (1440p Ultra with RT, DLSS Balanced) or Helldivers 2 (1440p High). It could push me over the edge—extremely tempting, but a 5% performance gain might not justify the cost.
I've often been careful when checking YouTube reviewers, so it could be useful to compare them with your graphics card. Someone might have...
I discovered this comparison and another one at 1080p, and it seems there isn't a major difference... I guess I have to say goodbye to the expensive high-end motherboard and the powerful 16-core processor (but then again, think about the second monitor and all the tasks I handle... it's a cycle of overthinking).
Essentially you're pointing out my own reasoning.
If you're willing to take the risk, it could be worthwhile to explore the "Chinese site" offering numerous attractive deals. I have a positive experience with a reviewer from Australia (Tech Yes City) who consistently finds good offers there. However, I'm uncertain if high-end or premium items would be easily available there, and I don't know what the used market is like.
Also, remember that a 7600X beats the 5950X in single core performance...