I built this PC around five or six years ago and want straightforward advice on reducing FPS drops and stuttering in competitive games. The system has a Ryzen 5 3600 or 3600X, an RTX 2060, an MSI B450 Tomahawk Max, 16GB of HyperX DDR4 memory, a DeepCool Matrexx 55 V3 case, a SilverStone 750W power supply, and an SSD with Windows installed. I use a 240Hz monitor and usually play Fortnite and CS2 at 1080p on low or performance settings. Average FPS is roughly 180–200, but it can drop to around 100 with noticeable stutters during fights and other hectic scenes.
I have about €450 available and was considering a Ryzen 5 5600, or possibly a Ryzen 7 5700X3D if I can find one, along with an inexpensive tower cooler and two 120mm case fans. I would also have the PC cleaned and ask a local repair shop to update the B450 BIOS and install the parts. The case currently has no dedicated case fans, so it only uses the stock CPU and GPU cooling.
However, the shop told me that upgrading the CPU would barely help because the RTX 2060 and motherboard are too old, and recommended saving for an entirely new PC instead. Is a Ryzen 5 5600 or 5700X3D worthwhile with this motherboard and graphics card for 1080p competitive gaming? Could a CPU upgrade improve the 1% lows and fight-scene stutters, or is the GPU more likely to be responsible? Should I upgrade the current system now, starting with airflow and the CPU, or wait and replace the whole computer later?
2 Answers
Your upgrade plan is broadly sensible, especially for 1080p low settings where the CPU often matters more than it would at higher resolutions. The current processor can limit frame delivery in competitive games, and a newer Ryzen chip should provide more CPU headroom and better minimum FPS. The 5700X3D would be the preferred option if its price fits your budget, while the 5600 is a cheaper but less substantial improvement.
Do not expect a CPU replacement to increase every frame rate number or remove all drops. When the GPU is fully loaded during a visually complex fight, the RTX 2060 will still determine performance. Before buying anything, monitor CPU and GPU usage, temperatures, and frame times. Add the case fans regardless, because the current airflow setup is inadequate. If stuttering remains after improving cooling and replacing the CPU, a future GPU upgrade would be the next logical step. The motherboard itself is not a reason to abandon the entire build.
The shop is being overly dismissive. Your B450 platform can still get a useful upgrade, and there is no need to jump straight to a DDR5 system just because the parts are a few years old.
Start with the basics: install case fans and check temperatures and clock speeds under load. Running with no intake or exhaust fans can cause heat buildup and throttling, so two decent 120mm fans and a thorough dust cleaning should be the first steps. You can clean the system yourself with compressed air if you are comfortable doing that.
For the processor, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D is the strongest sensible gaming upgrade for this platform if you can find it at a reasonable price. A Ryzen 5 5600 would also help, but the 5700X3D is more likely to improve frame-time consistency and 1% lows in CPU-limited games. It will not guarantee that every dip disappears: during especially busy scenes, the RTX 2060 can still become the limiting factor. Still, improving airflow and moving to a 5700X3D is a reasonable way to extend the life of this system rather than replacing everything immediately.
Fair enough, I’ll definitely add case fans first. I hadn’t realized how much running without proper intake and exhaust could affect temperatures and stability.