I'm currently using a Ryzen 3900X with an AM4 socket B650 motherboard and 64GB of RAM. I'm considering an upgrade to either the Ryzen 9 9900X or 9950X, primarily for 3D work with some gaming on the side. I'm also looking at upgrading to either 64GB or 128GB of RAM at 3200MHz or higher, alongside an RTX 5080 and a B850 motherboard. How significant of an improvement can I expect?
5 Answers
Regarding RAM, 64GB or 96GB running at 3200MHz should work fine. But for 128GB, keep in mind the max speed might limit you to 5600MT/s CL46. Remember, for AMD, less is more with RAM - using two sticks is generally more stable than four, especially with DDR5.
Upgrading to a Ryzen 9 9900X or 9950X will be a huge leap. I noticed massive performance gains going from a Ryzen 3800X to a 5950X, and I can only imagine how much faster the new chips are compared to the 3900X, especially with the Zen 5 architecture.
You might not find direct benchmarks for the 3900X, but estimating it between the 3700X and 3950X could give you a decent idea of performance differences. Here’s a link to some comparisons if that helps!
It really depends on your specific needs. I recommend checking out benchmarks that fit your workflow for a clearer picture. But overall, I’d say it’s a very significant upgrade. You won’t regret going for a higher model.
You should definitely aim for 6000CL30 RAM. Honestly, the Ryzen 5000 series is still top-notch for performance, and in many scenarios, upgrades to newer models are pretty incremental. If you're looking for a noticeable bump in gaming, the GPU upgrade to a 5080 should help, but you’ll still want a solid CPU to avoid bottlenecks, especially at 1080P. Even an AM4 like the 5800X3D would serve you well. And yes, for a new AM5 setup, aiming for RAM speeds of 6000CL28 would be optimal!
Thanks for the detailed breakdown! Just to clarify, by "6000" are you talking about megahertz? And what does "CL" refer to exactly?