I'm upgrading an old Core i5-7600K system that's approaching ten years old. I'm considering an AM4 bundle with a Ryzen 7 5700X and B550 motherboard, or spending roughly £200 more on what appears to be a Ryzen 7 5800X3D/X570 combination. This would be a temporary build until I can afford an AM5 upgrade and new memory. I currently have 16GB of DDR4 running at 2133 MT/s. Is the extra money for the X3D chip worthwhile, or would a cheaper CPU and faster DDR4 be the better choice? The system will initially use a GTX 1080, with a Radeon RX 9700 XT planned for a later build.
4 Answers
The graphics card matters a lot here. With the GTX 1080, you’re often going to be GPU-limited, so an X3D processor may not make much difference. If you later install a much faster card and play competitive games at 1080p with a high-refresh monitor, then the 5800X3D becomes more attractive. For now, a Ryzen 5 5600 or Ryzen 7 5700X with properly configured 3200 MT/s memory is the sensible choice.
For a stopgap system, I wouldn’t spend the extra money on an X3D chip or even a 5800X unless you’re targeting very high frame rates at 1080p with a powerful graphics card. A Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X paired with 3200-speed DDR4 would be plenty for many games, and the savings could go toward the GPU.
Before buying anything, check the actual rating of your memory. DDR4 kits often boot at 2133 by default even when they’re sold as 3000 or 3200 memory. Enabling XMP or DOCP in the BIOS may let it run at its advertised speed for free. Faster memory will help Ryzen more than the relatively small jump from a 5700X to a 5800X.
The bundles don’t look like especially good value. The cheaper option only saves a modest amount compared with buying the processor and motherboard separately, and the more expensive listing may be mislabeled—it appears to be a regular 5800X or 5800X3D depending on the page. Compare the exact CPU model and buy the parts separately if that gives you a better price. A basic B550 board and Ryzen 5 5600 could be a much cheaper temporary solution.
A 5800X3D can still be a worthwhile final AM4 upgrade if you plan to keep the platform for several years, but it’s hard to justify for a short-term bridge to AM5.