I'm upgrading my gaming PC, currently using a Ryzen 5 2600 and a GTX 1080 Ti 11GB. I'm planning to get an RTX 5070 and need help choosing the right CPU to go with it since I'm sticking with the AM4 socket. My options are the Ryzen 7 5800X (or the 5800X3D if I can find it) and the Ryzen 9 5950X. The PassMark scores show that the 5950X has nearly double the performance, but I think that's largely due to its advantage in multi-core tasks. Some benchmarks and gaming tests indicate that the gaming performance between the two isn't significantly different. I'm hoping someone can clarify whether it's worth spending around €100 (or about 500 PLN) more for the 5950X just for gaming, or if the 5800X would deliver similar results. I don't do any rendering or productivity work—this build is purely for gaming at 1440p with high FPS. Thanks for any insights!
3 Answers
I'd recommend going with the 5800X. For gaming, the 5950X doesn't really offer any significant advantage. The performance difference in games isn't worth the extra cash unless you're doing heavy multi-threaded tasks, which you mentioned you're not.
Honestly, gaming performance between the two CPUs is pretty close. The 5950X's higher specs may give it some edge in specific scenarios, but for pure gaming, you won't see a huge difference. I wouldn't spend 500 PLN more for the 5950X; just go for the 5800X and invest the extra money in a good cooler or other components.
If you're set on sticking to AM4, the 5800X (especially the XT version if available) is the better choice for gaming. The 5950X is more of a workstation CPU and generally doesn't provide a noticeable performance boost for gaming, so save your money!
Totally agree! The savings could go into better cooling or even more RAM, which would benefit gaming more than the CPU upgrade would.