I mainly play games and am deciding between buying a Ryzen 7 5700X now or waiting about two weeks for a Ryzen 7 5700X3D from eBay. Is the gaming performance difference large enough to justify waiting? My current system has a Ryzen 5 3600, 16GB of DDR4-3000 memory, an RTX 3060 Ti, and a B550 motherboard. I may eventually upgrade to an AM5 platform, so I also want to avoid overspending on a temporary upgrade.
3 Answers
A discounted 5700X3D can be an excellent final upgrade for a B550 system, but don’t overpay just to avoid changing platforms immediately. Since you intend to move to AM5 eventually, the 5700X is still a perfectly capable option, while the 5700X3D is the better choice if you expect to keep this motherboard for several more years.
With an RTX 3060 Ti, the difference probably won’t be huge in most games, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU is the limiting factor. You’re more likely to notice the 5700X3D in CPU-heavy games such as CS2, Valorant, Tarkov, or high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming. The 5700X3D is still the more future-proof AM4 choice and would pair better with a stronger GPU later, so waiting makes sense if the price is reasonable.
What would be a good-value GPU upgrade later without spending an unreasonable amount?
The 5700X3D is generally the better value for a gaming-focused AM4 upgrade because its extra cache can improve frame rates and especially the 1% lows. If you can find one at a sensible price, waiting is worthwhile. If you’re planning to move to AM5 soon and just want a temporary upgrade, the regular 5700X should still deliver well over 60 FPS in many games with a capable GPU.
I’m planning to switch to AM5 eventually, and I’ve read that the 5700X can handle modern games above 60 FPS with a strong enough graphics card.