I currently have a Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 4060, 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, and a Gigabyte A520M DS3H v1.3 motherboard. I am considering buying a Ryzen 7 5800X3D because it may be one of the last chances to upgrade this AM4 system. Local stores in Chile are selling a few for about 450,000 CLP, or roughly $470 USD. Importing one would cost around 480,000 CLP after taxes, so buying locally seems more practical. Moving to AM5 would require replacing the motherboard, CPU, and memory, potentially costing around $2,000 USD in total. I would like to keep this PC for another two or three years and target around 90 FPS at 1080p with high settings. Would the 5800X3D be a worthwhile upgrade with my RTX 4060, or would I be better off spending the money on 32GB of RAM? A 2x16GB kit costs about 320,000 CLP, which is nearly the same as the CPU upgrade.
3 Answers
Before buying the CPU, check whether your RTX 4060 is already running close to 100% in the games you play. If the GPU is the limiting component, moving from the Ryzen 5 5600 to a 5800X3D probably will not increase average FPS much. The upgrade can still improve frame-time consistency and 1% lows in CPU-heavy games, but a stronger graphics card would usually provide a larger improvement.
A 5800X3D can make a noticeable difference in some games, especially through better 1% lows and fewer stutters, but the value depends heavily on your current titles. At 1080p with an RTX 4060, 16GB may already be enough for many games, although 32GB is increasingly useful for newer releases and multitasking. If your RAM is constantly near full, get the 32GB kit; otherwise, the 5800X3D is the more meaningful AM4 gaming upgrade. AM5 does not necessarily require a complete rebuild either—selling the current CPU, motherboard, and memory could offset part of the cost, and a budget six-core AM5 setup may be competitive with the local 5800X3D price.
Update the BIOS first, while the Ryzen 5 5600 is still installed. Your exact A520M DS3H revision needs to support the 5800X3D, and that board does not have BIOS flashback, so installing the new CPU before updating could leave the system unable to boot. The motherboard is not ideal, but the 5800X3D is locked and generally draws less power than a regular 5800X, so it can run acceptably on many budget A520 and B450 boards. Also make sure you have adequate CPU cooling.
Check Gigabyte's support page specifically for the version 1.3 board and confirm the required BIOS and CPU support list before purchasing. Updating with the 5600 installed avoids having to reinstall the old processor later.