I'm currently using an RTX 3090 with a Ryzen 5 2600X on a B550 motherboard. I mainly play games at 1440p and want to upgrade the processor while staying on AM4, since moving to AM5 would also require buying DDR5 memory and is outside my budget right now. I'm in Australia and am considering a used Ryzen 7 5700X or 5800X for around $200–250 AUD, or possibly a Ryzen 9 5900X for roughly $400. A new Ryzen 7 5800X3D costs about $549 AUD. What would offer the best gaming performance and value?
5 Answers
The right choice depends on whether gaming is really the main workload. For gaming, an X3D processor is the ideal AM4 upgrade, while a 5700X or 5800X is better value if the X3D models are too expensive. If you also do video editing or other productivity work, a 5900X or 5900XT becomes more attractive because the extra cores can actually be used.
A new Ryzen 7 5700X under $300 AUD is a strong price-to-performance upgrade. It has eight cores, uses only 65W, and should be a noticeable step up from the 2600X without costing nearly as much as the 5800X3D. It’s a sensible middle ground if you want more longevity than a six-core chip but don’t need the absolute best AM4 gaming performance.
If you can find a Ryzen 5 5500X3D in Australia, it may be worth checking out. It’s slower than the 5800X3D but can offer much of the same gaming benefit for considerably less money. Availability and pricing will determine whether it makes sense compared with a 5700X or 5800X.
For a gaming-focused system, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is the strongest AM4 option and should remain capable for longer, especially with an RTX 3090. The Ryzen 7 5800X is also perfectly adequate for 1440p gaming and can be a better value if you find one used. The 5900X generally won’t provide a meaningful gaming advantage over the 5800X because most games don’t use its extra cores.
For gaming, the Ryzen 9 5900X usually isn’t worth the extra money. Its additional cores are helpful for productivity, rendering, or other heavily threaded work, but most games perform similarly on chips such as the Ryzen 5 5600, Ryzen 7 5700X, and Ryzen 7 5800X. A Ryzen 5 5600 would already be a substantial improvement over the 2600X and is probably the best budget choice.
I found a used Ryzen 5 5600X for about $140 AUD. Would that be a reasonable deal?
The difficulty is finding a reasonably priced used 5800X3D or 5800X. Spending around $500 on an older-generation CPU feels hard to justify.