I'm putting together a PC build in Turkey, and with the recent price hikes due to the AI boom, the costs of DDR5 and GPUs have exploded. I'm trying to decide between going with an AM5 setup with 16GB DDR5 or an AM4 setup with 32GB DDR4. I need advice on the cheapest AM4 CPU that won't bottleneck my 9070XT when gaming at 1440p on high or ultra settings. I plan to play games like Cyberpunk, Mount & Blade Bannerlord, Project Zomboid, Sea of Thieves, Rust, Left 4 Dead 2, The Finals, Chivalry 2, Hell Let Loose, Arc Raiders, and Escape from Tarkov.
5 Answers
For the safest option, consider the 5800X3D, though it is pricier. Just know that even with it, some games can still have bottlenecking issues. It's all about the specific game you're playing and the settings you use.
Unless you're really set on AM4, you should think about building an Intel rig with a 12th or 13th gen processor. If you find a B760 DDR4 motherboard, the Intel Core i5-14600K could outshine the 5000 series non-X3D chips in a lot of games.
I think going the AM5 route with 16GB of RAM and getting a 7600X or 9600X could be worth it. You might even want to look into undervolting to enhance performance. In a couple of years, if you find RAM performance lacking, you can always upgrade to 32GB. But if your focus is purely gaming, that could be a solid choice. If you do video editing or streaming, then AM4 with 32GB RAM is the way to go.
I run a Ryzen 5600X, and I don't see any bottlenecks at 1440p or even when streaming to my TV at 4K. Typically, my CPU usage is around 50-70% with AAA games, so it’s performing pretty well for me.
The bottleneck issue isn't black and white. I usually recommend the Ryzen 5700X for this. If you can find the 5600, 5600X, or 5600XT at a lower price, those could be good too, but keep in mind that the extra cores in the 5700X can really help. If the 5800X or 5800XT is priced similarly, they might be worth considering, though they do use a bit more power for not much extra performance.
Thanks for the info! I'm just trying to get an idea of what's available before I make a purchase.
Got any examples of games that might bottleneck?