I currently have a Ryzen 5 5600G paired with an RTX 3060 12GB. In nearly every game I play, CPU usage reaches 100%, and Fortnite at 1080p on optimized settings still does not run as smoothly as I would like. I'm considering a Ryzen 5 5600X or another reasonably priced AM4 upgrade, but my budget is under $175. Moving to AM5 is not practical right now. What CPU would offer the best performance improvement for the money?
3 Answers
If you’re in the US and have a Micro Center nearby, check whether they still stock the Ryzen 5 5600X3D. It can pair well with a stronger graphics card later and is generally a more worthwhile upgrade than moving from the 5600G to a regular 5600X.
Look for an AM4 X3D model or possibly a Ryzen 7 5800XT, depending on current pricing. I wouldn’t spend the money on another conventional six-core processor unless it’s extremely cheap, because the real-world gaming improvement over your 5600G may not be large enough to justify the upgrade.
Since you’re playing at 1080p, an AM4 X3D processor would be a much better upgrade than another standard six-core chip. A Ryzen 5 5500X3D or 5600X3D, if you can find one within budget, should improve gaming performance and leave more headroom for a future GPU upgrade.
Yeah, I’m playing at 1080p, so that sounds like the direction I should look into.