I currently have a Ryzen 5 2400G paired with an RTX 3060 12GB, and I feel the processor is limiting my performance. I mainly play at 1080p with medium settings, which is perfectly fine for me. I can buy a Ryzen 5 3600 for about $75, while a Ryzen 5 5600 would cost around $140. Would the 3600 be a worthwhile upgrade, or should I save for the 5600 or another processor? I also have 16GB of RAM.
3 Answers
The Ryzen 5 5600 is the better long-term choice. It is also a 6-core, 12-thread chip, but its newer Zen 3 design gives it another noticeable performance boost over the 3600, especially in CPU-limited games and when trying to maintain high frame rates. If you can stretch the budget, the extra $65 could help the system stay useful for several more years.
Before upgrading, make sure the CPU is actually the limiting component in the games you play. Check GPU and CPU usage while gaming, and confirm that your RAM is running in dual-channel mode with the correct speed enabled. Since you already have 16GB, the memory capacity is probably fine. If the 3600 is genuinely $75 and the 5600 is $140, the 3600 is still a reasonable budget upgrade, but a Ryzen 5 5500 or 5600 may offer better value if you find one close in price.
The Ryzen 5 3600 would be a noticeable upgrade over the 2400G. It has 6 cores and 12 threads instead of 4 cores and 8 threads, along with a newer architecture, more cache, and better memory support. In many games and general tasks, a 20–40% improvement is realistic. At $75, it makes sense if the 5600 is nearly twice as expensive and you are staying at 1080p medium settings.
I have 16GB of RAM, and the prices I found are about $75 for the 3600 and $140 for the 5600. That is why I was considering the cheaper option.