I'm planning to upgrade my AM4 gaming PC in December. My current system has a Ryzen 5 5600G, 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, a B550M PRO-VDH WIFI motherboard, a 750W Corsair PSU, and integrated Radeon graphics. I'm considering moving to a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, an RX 6800 XT 16GB, and 32GB of DDR4-3200 while keeping the same motherboard and power supply. I mostly play at 1080p but would like to move to 1440p, with games such as Marvel Rivals, Valorant, Onimusha, The Blood of Dawnwalker, and First Light 007 in mind. Is the CPU upgrade significant enough to justify the cost, or would the 5600G be adequate with the RX 6800 XT? I'm considering staying on AM4 rather than spending considerably more on a new AM5 platform.
4 Answers
The RX 6800 XT for around $250 sounds like a very good deal if the card is tested and in good condition, and a 750W power supply should generally be suitable. A newer graphics card may offer newer features, but the 6800 XT still has excellent raw performance for 1440p. In this build, the 5800X3D is a sensible way to avoid leaving performance on the table, especially at 1080p.
For your planned games, the upgrade is worthwhile if you can afford it. The 5800X3D should provide better minimum frame rates and more consistent performance than the 5600G. The 32GB memory upgrade is also sensible for newer games. Just update the motherboard BIOS first and make sure your CPU cooler is adequate.
I had considered moving to AM5, but the total cost is difficult to justify right now. Staying on AM4 seems more practical if the 5800X3D gives me a major gaming improvement.
Yes, this is a substantial CPU upgrade for gaming. The 5600G has only 16MB of L3 cache, while the 5800X3D has 96MB, which can greatly improve CPU-limited performance and especially 1% lows. The difference should be most noticeable at 1080p and in high-refresh-rate or CPU-heavy games. At 1440p, the RX 6800 XT will become more of the limiting factor, but the 5800X3D still makes a strong pairing.
The 5600G is closer to a Ryzen 5 5500 than a standard Ryzen 5 5600 because it has less cache. That means it can hold back a powerful card like the RX 6800 XT, particularly at 1080p. Moving to the 5800X3D is one of the better upgrades available for an existing AM4 system, assuming the price is reasonable.
The graphics card is from a friend, so I’m getting it for about $250. I was also considering a newer card, but the 6800 XT’s price and strong 1440p performance make it difficult to pass up.