I recently had a mishap with my mainboard and CPU while cleaning, which led to me replacing my AMD 5900x with a temporary setup using an MSI B550 and an AMD 5 3600. While it's great to have a functioning PC again, I've noticed a noticeable drop in performance compared to my old setup. Now I'm torn between getting another 5900x for around 300-350 euros or going all out and upgrading to an AM5 system, including a new mainboard, CPU, and 64GB of RAM. Given the costs and performance impacts, is it worth making the jump to AM5 or should I just upgrade my CPU?
4 Answers
If you're thinking of moving to AM5, now’s the time, especially with RAM prices expected to rise further. If you stick with AM4, consider settling for something like a 5800XT—it would give you nearly the same performance you had before.
Considering the current RAM prices, it's probably best to stick with AM4 and grab a CPU like the 5700x. If you're running multiple VMs while gaming, you might want those extra cores, but a simple CPU upgrade could suffice unless you're really stressing your system.
Keep an eye on the prices for AM5 builds; they can be pretty ridiculous. If you can fund the upgrade, it might serve you well for several years. But if you're just looking for an adequate boost right now, sticking with your AM4 setup and upgrading the CPU could save you money in the long run.
If you're okay with the price tag of DDR5 RAM, then upgrading to AM5 could be a solid choice. Just be sure to compare prices before diving in—some builds can be surprisingly high. But if you're looking for a budget-friendly option, getting a new CPU like the 5900x might be the way to go! By the way, how did you end up damaging both the motherboard and CPU at the same time? That sounds wild!
Honestly, I'm not quite sure what went wrong. I think I might have accidentally bridged something, or perhaps some dust was grounding everything weirdly, which caused damage during cleaning.
If you're set on getting a performance jump, think about the 5700X3D or the 5900 if you really need those additional cores for your workloads.