I'm using a Ryzen 5 3600 with an RTX 2070 Super and play Fortnite in Performance Mode. Would upgrading to a Ryzen 5 5600X for about 3,300 ZAR (roughly $200) noticeably improve my frame rate? I'm especially interested in better 1% lows and fewer stutters. Would the RTX 2070 Super hold back the upgrade, or would the faster CPU still help?
3 Answers
For around 3,300 ZAR, the 5600X is a decent drop-in upgrade from the 3600, but don’t expect a dramatic transformation. Check your GPU and CPU usage while playing: low GPU usage with the CPU cores heavily loaded suggests the upgrade could help, while a GPU running close to 100% means you’d gain very little.
The RTX 2070 Super shouldn’t create a serious bottleneck in Fortnite Performance Mode. That said, the jump from a Ryzen 5 3600 to a 5600X probably isn’t large enough to make the price especially attractive. If you can find a reasonably priced X3D processor on your platform, it would be a more meaningful gaming upgrade.
The newer X3D options may be difficult to find locally, though. I couldn’t locate the suggested model in South Africa, so availability and pricing might make the 5600X a more practical choice.
It depends on which component is currently limiting your frame rate. If the 2070 Super is already near full usage, a CPU upgrade won’t add many average FPS, although it could still improve frame-time consistency and 1% lows. If the GPU has plenty of headroom, the faster CPU can deliver higher FPS in Performance Mode.
A move to a newer X3D platform could provide a bigger improvement, but it would also involve checking motherboard and memory compatibility, so the total cost may be much higher than just replacing the CPU.