I'm looking at two options for a new gaming setup. There's a great deal this weekend at Microcenter for a Ryzen 5 9600X combo with a motherboard and RAM for $270. On the other hand, I've had my eye on the Ryzen 5 7600X3D, which is selling for $400. My main concern is how much better the performance of the 7600X3D really is compared to the 9600X, especially since I mainly game at 1440p. I currently use an older Intel 10th gen CPU with an RTX 2080, and I'm also interested in stepping into the AM5 ecosystem for future upgrades. What are your thoughts? Is the 7600X3D worth the extra cash?
3 Answers
Just a heads-up, the 9600X deal only includes a single stick of RAM, which isn't ideal. The 7600X3D usually comes with better specs overall with a 2x16GB RAM kit. If you're planning to get into gaming seriously, the extra RAM will help!
Grab the 9600X at that price! It’s a fantastic deal. You can always upgrade your GPU later on, and with that combo, you'll have everything you need to kick off your gaming experience.
The 7600X3D is currently one of the best gaming CPUs out there, significantly outpacing the 9600X when it comes to performance. If you are serious about gaming, especially at 1440p, the performance difference will be noticeable. Just keep in mind that the 9600X is still a solid choice for the price, especially if you're on a budget.
I didn't realize that about the RAM! Good point, I might have to think twice about the 9600X.