I'm currently gaming at 1080p on a B450 Tomahawk motherboard with an R5 5600 CPU and a powerful 7800XT GPU. My setup is solid, but I'm considering an upgrade to improve air flow and overall performance. I'm looking at switching to an AM5 platform with a B850 Tomahawk motherboard, a 9600X CPU, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM, all within a budget of about $500. What kind of performance improvements should I expect from such an upgrade, especially with graphic-intensive games like Ark: Survival Ascended, Cyberpunk, and Red Dead 2?
5 Answers
There will be differences moving from PCIe 3 to 5, but it really depends on your GPU’s limits. The 7800XT runs on PCIe 4, so it will still work fine but won't take advantage of PCIe 5 speeds. The difference in RAM from DDR4 to DDR5 could help with future games that are more demanding, though! Overall, the upgrade does make sense.
I did a similar upgrade recently, moving from a 5600X with a 4070Ti to an AM5 build. I saw a noticeable improvement in 1% lows, especially in games like RDR2 and Cyberpunk. My frame rates improved by about 10 FPS at 1440p, and the overall consistency in gameplay is much better now. So, I’d say the investment can definitely pay off, especially for those graphics-heavy games.
When it comes to cooling, your case's airflow really matters if your CPU starts hitting thermal limits. You mentioned you have a peerless assassin mini cooler and that your temps look fine, which is great. But if you haven't upgraded your case yet, that could definitely help with heat dissipation. Just to add, if your CPU isn't throttling, the temps shouldn't be a concern. You might want to consider upgrading your CPU cooler if you haven’t already; it could give you a nice performance boost without breaking the bank.
That's a good point. What case are you currently using? Sometimes just opening it up with a fan can help a little, too.
In terms of future upgrades, moving to AM5 gives you more options down the line since it won't be replaced for a while. So, while you might look for specific performance boosts right now, consider the long-term benefits of having a solid upgrade path.
Heads up about the B850 Tomahawk! Some users have reported issues with the onboard LAN disconnecting. You might need to do a power drain to fix it if it happens. It's not a huge deal, but it could be annoying. On the upside, if you're on Windows 11, the WiFi card should work fine for you.
Thanks for the heads up! I'm on Windows 11, so that won't be a problem for me.
Yup, you're spot on! Your current GPU won't hit those PCIe 5 speeds, but it's great to be prepared for future upgrades.