I'm in the market for a new CPU and motherboard that support DDR4 since I already have the RAM. I mainly game at 1440p and am considering whether the Ryzen 5 5500 is powerful enough for my RX 6800 XT, or if it might bottleneck the GPU. I'm open to suggestions for other AMD or even Intel processors. Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
The Ryzen 5 5500 is comparable to the Ryzen 5 3600, so it's pretty decent but not the best for the RX 6800 XT. If you're looking for something more powerful, consider the 5600, 5700X, or even the 5800X if you can find it for a reasonable price. They're all around the $200 range right now, though prices seem to be on the rise lately.
Just a heads up—the order for AM4 performance typically runs like this: any X3D chip is at the top, then you have the 5800X, 5700X, and down to the 5500 which is quite a bit behind in performance for modern gaming. If you're aiming for quality gaming, you might want to avoid the older chips, as they just can't keep up.
Wait, are the 5900X and 5950X actually considered slow for gaming? I thought they had great performance across the board, especially with multitasking.
When it comes to gaming on an AM4 setup, a good rule of thumb is: any X3D chip is better than the 5800, which is better than the 5700, and so on down the line. The Ryzen 5 5500 is definitely on the lower end for gaming performance, so I'd recommend looking into something like the Ryzen 5 5600 or 5700X if you want better compatibility with your RX 6800 XT. Just get what's available in your budget!
Just keep in mind that the 5500 and 5700 are slower than the 5600. The 5600 is a solid choice for gaming and generally performs better than the 5700. AMD's naming can be pretty confusing, though.
Yeah, prices for those CPUs have definitely jumped. I saw the 5600 go from around $105 to about $160! It's getting tough out here.