I bought a used PC for $650 that includes a Ryzen 5 5600G, an ASUS TUF Gaming A520M-PLUS WiFi motherboard, 16GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 memory, and an RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition. I was given an RTX 4060 by a friend, so I'm planning to sell the original CPU, motherboard, RAM, and graphics card. Depending on the sale prices, I expect to have roughly $500–$600 available for a new CPU, motherboard, and memory bundle. I already own my peripherals.
I'm deciding between a $299.99 Ryzen 5 5600X3D AM4 bundle with 16GB of DDR4 and a $399.99 Ryzen 5 7500X3D AM5 bundle with 16GB of DDR5. The AM4 bundle includes a Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC R2 motherboard, while the AM5 bundle includes an ASRock B850M-C motherboard and a single 16GB DDR5 stick. I'll mainly play games such as PEAK, R.E.P.O., Baldur's Gate 3, and Red Dead Redemption 2, along with using the PC for work and web browsing. Is the extra $100 for AM5 worthwhile for upgrade potential, or would the AM4 bundle be the better value with an RTX 4060?
4 Answers
I’d lean toward AM5 if you can comfortably afford the extra $100. AM4 is still perfectly capable, and the 5600X3D should pair well with an RTX 4060, but AM5 gives you a much better upgrade path. You could keep the motherboard and memory platform later and move to a faster supported processor instead of replacing everything again.
That said, don’t expect a dramatic gaming difference right now. With an RTX 4060, the 5600X3D and 7500X3D probably won’t feel very different in most games, especially at higher resolutions. You’re mainly paying for longevity.
If you go with AM5, I’d seriously consider a slightly better bundle if the extra cost is manageable. Features such as additional M.2 slots, faster networking, Wi-Fi 6, and better USB connectivity can make the system easier to expand. Just make sure the board has the features you actually need, since those extras won’t improve frame rates by themselves.
The exact bundle contents matter more than the platform name here. The AM4 option gives you two 8GB sticks, which means dual-channel memory, while the AM5 bundle only has one 16GB stick. A single stick can reduce performance, so you should budget for a second matching DDR5 module. If adding that memory pushes the price too high, the AM4 bundle may be the more complete value out of the box.
For the games listed, either bundle should work well with the RTX 4060. The 5600X3D is still a strong gaming chip and would let you put the savings toward a larger SSD, 32GB of RAM, or a better power supply. AM4 isn’t unusable just because it’s no longer receiving major CPU upgrades.
If you expect to keep this system for several years and may upgrade the processor later, choose AM5. If you want the best performance per dollar today and don’t expect to upgrade the CPU, choose the 5600X3D bundle.
That’s why I’d compare the total cost after adding the second DDR5 stick, not just the advertised $100 difference. An AM5 bundle is only the better deal if the memory and motherboard are good enough for your needs.