I'm considering replacing my Ryzen 5 5500 with something faster. The system currently has an RX 5700 XT and 16 GB of DDR4 memory. I was thinking about moving to a Ryzen 7 5700X, but I'm mainly wondering which upgrade would provide the best improvement for the money. Would a gaming-focused X3D chip be better, or should I prioritize replacing the graphics card first?
3 Answers
For a gaming-focused system, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D would be the more worthwhile AM4 upgrade. It offers a larger gaming boost than the regular 5700X, especially in CPU-limited games, though the RX 5700 XT may still be the main limit at higher resolutions.
The best choice depends on whether you’re gaming or doing productivity work. A Ryzen 7 5700X can provide more multithreaded performance and smoother performance when background tasks are running, but the improvement in games may be limited by the RX 5700 XT.
For gaming, I’d look at an X3D model instead of the standard 5700X if the price is reasonable. The extra cache can improve frame-time consistency and 1% lows.
Before buying anything, check whether your memory is running as two sticks, such as 2x8 GB, and verify its speed and timings. Also update the motherboard BIOS before installing a newer processor. If your goal is higher gaming frame rates, upgrading the graphics card may make a bigger difference than moving from the 5500 to a regular 5700X.
A Ryzen 5 5500X3D could also be worth considering if it’s substantially cheaper. The 5700X3D is generally the stronger long-term option, though.