I'm considering upgrading my CPU and have been looking at the Ryzen 7 5700X for about $210 or the Ryzen 5 5600X for around $190, both with a bundled air duster. I know the Ryzen 7 5800X3D has been relaunched, but it's outside my budget, and I'm also unsure about the power consumption and heat of the 5800XT. Would any of these upgrades be worthwhile? My system has an RTX 2070 Super, Ryzen 7 3700X, 32GB of 3200MHz RAM, a 2TB WD SN750 NVMe SSD, a 2TB hard drive, an X470 motherboard, and a 750W power supply. I currently use a Cooler Master Hyper 212, and I'm not sure whether a larger dual-fan cooler would fit around my RAM or inside my roughly 2020-era case.
3 Answers
Before choosing a CPU, figure out what is limiting you. For gaming with an RTX 2070 Super, a 5600X or 5700X may not provide a dramatic improvement over the 3700X unless you’re targeting high refresh rates or playing CPU-heavy games. A used Ryzen 9 5900X could be worth considering if you also do productivity work, but it’s overkill for gaming alone.
For gaming, an X3D chip would generally be a more meaningful AM4 upgrade than a regular 5600X or 5700X. Depending on local pricing, a 5500X3D or 5600X3D could offer better performance, especially in CPU-limited games, while costing less than the higher-end options.
The 5800XT is reasonable if it’s priced close to the 5700X and your motherboard BIOS supports it. Its power draw and temperatures depend heavily on the limits set by the motherboard and the cooler, so check those before buying. The Hyper 212 may be adequate for a moderate chip, but verify your case clearance and RAM height before moving to a large dual-tower cooler.
I’m mainly concerned about power consumption. I currently have a basic Cooler Master Hyper 212, and I’m not sure a dual-fan cooler would clear my RAM or fit in my older case.