I recently replaced my RTX 2080 with an RTX 5070, but I'm still using a B450M motherboard with 64GB of DDR4 RAM. I can't currently afford a new motherboard and DDR5 memory, so I want to stay on the AM4 platform. My current processor is a Ryzen 5 3600.
I mainly play CPU-heavy games such as Deadlock, Dota 2, and Apex Legends, along with some more GPU-heavy games like The Witcher 3, Sekiro, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I play at 1080p on a 165Hz display and would be happy with stable 144Hz performance rather than extremely high settings or 300Hz gaming. I also want to stream regularly. When I tested streaming Deadlock with low settings and DLSS enabled, I experienced significant dropped frames, especially during late-game situations.
I'm considering a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or Ryzen 7 5800X3D, but prices in my area are unusual: the 5700X3D costs around $750, while the 5800X3D is available for about $400. My budget is limited, and I'd like this system to remain useful for another five or six years. I'm planning to shop during the next Black Friday sales. Which CPU would make the most sense for gaming and streaming on my existing B450M system?
5 Answers
1080p puts more pressure on the CPU than 1440p, so your resolution makes a faster processor worthwhile. You don’t need a physically larger monitor to use 1440p, but a 24-inch 1440p high-refresh display can be difficult to find. A monitor upgrade is optional; staying at 1080p is perfectly reasonable if that size and refresh rate suit you.
Your RTX 5070 can handle the streaming encoding through its hardware encoder, so the Ryzen 5 3600 may not be the only reason for dropped frames. Check whether the stream is showing rendering, encoding, or network-related drops. Still, upgrading to an X3D chip should substantially improve CPU-limited games and late-game minimum FPS at 1080p.
The extra 3D V-Cache is especially useful for CPU-limited games at 1080p. Both X3D processors have 96MB of L3 cache, compared with 32MB on the Ryzen 5 3600 and standard Ryzen 7 5700X. That can improve frame rates and, more importantly, frame-time consistency in games such as Deadlock, Dota 2, and Apex.
The AM4 platform is effectively at its upgrade limit, so either X3D chip would be the final major gaming CPU upgrade for this motherboard. The 5800X3D should give you the best result without replacing your RAM and board, but it won’t guarantee five or six years of maximum settings. For streaming, use the RTX 5070’s encoder and make sure your motherboard BIOS, cooling, and memory settings are configured correctly.
For gaming on AM4, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is the fastest option, and the 5700X3D is only slightly slower because the main difference is clock speed. At the prices you mentioned, the 5800X3D is clearly the better buy. Just confirm that your B450M board has a BIOS version that supports it and use a decent CPU cooler.
The 5700X3D costs almost $750 here, while the 5800X3D is about $400, so I’ll keep watching for a sale but the 5800X3D seems much more reasonable.
So the practical approach is to buy whichever X3D model is genuinely cheaper. Since the 5800X3D is currently less expensive here, that makes the decision easier.