I'm currently using a Ryzen 5 5500 and a 3060, but I'm looking to upgrade in the next year. I've noticed that newer games struggle to run at medium or high settings without upscaling, and I often play CPU-intensive esports titles. Here in Canada, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is priced around $400, while the 5800X3D is out of my budget. I'm also planning to eventually move to either a 7800X3D or a 9800X3D on the used market in a few years. Given all this, would I be better off with the 7500F or the 8400F? I know the 8400F has less L3 cache and fewer PCIe lanes, but at almost half the price, are those factors enough to sway my decision? Thanks for your help!
5 Answers
Don't just focus on choosing between CPU options based on price. Think about balancing both the GPU and CPU to avoid bottlenecks. If you're looking for something cost-effective, maybe waiting and saving up for both parts would be the best strategy.
If you're aiming for higher settings down the line, focus on getting a better GPU instead of just upgrading the CPU. I recommend going for a Ryzen 5 5700X or 5600 paired with a new GPU; that combo would serve you better overall.
Definitely go for the 7500F. I've got a couple in family setups, and they perform wonderfully. They overclock easily, stay cool, and are pretty stable. Their performance at 1440p is quite comparable to the 5700X3D. I even found them on sale recently for about $120 each!
The 8400F should work just fine with a 3060; in fact, you might not need all the power from the 7500F right now.
Keep in mind that while the 7500F is higher priced, it brings more cache and a faster clock speed. It might not be 66% faster, but it'll definitely give you an edge. That said, you can also choose the 8400F and save some cash for a future CPU upgrade, so it depends on your priorities.
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