AM4 upgrade patch from a 5600x?
Posted by Weak_Box_7024@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 31 comments
I have a 5600x currently, and I feel it won't bottleneck most games if I play in 1440p or 2160p but I play Cities Skylines 2 (a very heavy and un-optimised simulation game) and it heavily bottlenecks. I can't find any 5700x3d or 5800x3d CPUs other than overpriced 400 pound used ones which is literally a rip-off so I'm not sure what the other options are. I also produce music and I sometimes get bottlenecked so I don't even know if I should consider Intel or what to do moving forward... please help me!
Naerven@reddit
If you need a better CPU and you are still on AM4 I personally think it's time to upgrade the platform. Intel's 250k plus would likely be good for your use case, but there are still better options.
khironinja@reddit
Yeah they would need to upgrade it. I'm in the same boat but the DDR5 prices are terrible.
They could go to Intel LGA 1700 (so 12, 13, 14th gen) and get a 13600K and that would be an amazing CPU that will do what they need it to do.
Otherwise, AM5 with any CPU should be fine but especially the X3D ones like if they can get a 7500X3D from MicroCenter (performs better than a 5700X3D)
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I am not in America so we don't have those good deals of motherboard CPU and ram combos over here :< I have a spare brand new DDR4 AM4 B550 motherboard and a 9070 XT and obviously it would be cost effective to use the brand new motherboard I already have but if I don't have any upgrade options I would rather go to a new generation... I would just get a 5800x3d and call it done but sadly that isn't an option since it's a waste of money...
khironinja@reddit
Yeah that's hard on that platform without those CPU but I just watched a video from some of the PC YouTubers I trust and they seem to all reccomend the 5800XT CPU if that's something you can find where you are.
That's the best you're going to get on AM4 at this point.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
5800X and 5800XT are both available, but the 5800XT is like 30 pounds more, they both seem like they are good prices but I'm not sure if it is worth 200 pounds
Scanoe@reddit
A co-worker/friend recently bought a 9060XT-16gb, his ryzen 3600 couldn't keep up whilst playing Battlefield 6 (at 1440p). So he upgraded to a 5800XT.
With the 9060xt-16gb the 5800XT is not a bottleneck in BF6 at 1440p, but it will still get above 80% usage at times.
Kind of a bad time to have to upgrade, DDR4 isn't all that cheap anymore either.
Naerven@reddit
They are the same CPU as a R5-5600X, but with two more cores activated. Overall for gaming they are in that 5%-10% better range. Productivity should be increased with the core count however.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
Oh okay, thanks. I'm seriously considering just going to AM5 at this point DDR5 is such a scam...
khironinja@reddit
I don't think they are worth that personally because the new CPUs are that price but we don't have a choice but to get an AM4 CPU unless we switch to another motherboard socket which means more money....
So I'd get either one of those or find a way to get a 13th or 14th gen CPU unless you can stomach DDR5 prices and get AM5 or the Core Ultra Series CPUs.
Naerven@reddit
He's playing a core heavy game and doing audio production so I would go with a higher core count than a 6 core 7500X3D.
khironinja@reddit
I guess that's true. I do a lot of audio production on a 5600 though as a musicain and I've been fine. That was just the reccomendation if all the other CPUs cost too much.
I can't say about the game because the most CPU intensive I play are Fortnite and COD.
This means the 13600K is something they should go with because it's got tons of cores.
Naerven@reddit
The 13600k is also slower than the 250k plus, but it can use DDR4 with reduced performance.
khironinja@reddit
I know it's slower but isn't the Core Ultra Series DDR5 only?
If not, then obviously get that but if so, this isn't relevant here as DDR5 prices are so high and I think they already have the DDR4 in hand.
13600K is still going to be more than enough for what the need, it's true that it's worse but I doubt they'd notice the difference.
Naerven@reddit
After selling the older DDR4 setup the jump into DDR5 will be mitigated somewhat. Also I would be annoyed at just how much faster my 13600k could be with just going with DDR5. It's just too noticable a difference for me.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
Thank you
Unusual_Ask5919@reddit
I upgraded from 5600 to 5900x. Did some tweaking to get temps under control etc but it was a Huge boost. Ive since upgrade to AM5 and it was NOT that much gain at all. Hope this helps.
Plenty-Industries@reddit
Cities Skylines 2 is a very CPU intensive game.
It needs as many cores and clock speed as you can feed it.
Its actually an outlier.
I personally wouldn't upgrade a CPU for a single game.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I don’t produce music as a job, and in most cases the 5600x is perfectly fine. It bottlenecks a lot but it’s not too much of an issue, just a lot of stuttering and things like that.
Plenty-Industries@reddit
Then I wouldn't upgrade at all
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I still want to upgrade my GPU for VR as I play a lot of VRChat and I think my 9070 XT should be really good I just don’t want a bottleneck because my 5600x stats to show its age in VR…
Plenty-Industries@reddit
I dont have experience with VR so I can't speak to that.
notadroid@reddit
so I went from a 3700x to a 5950x a few years ago, and its been awesome. it eats Cities Skylines 2 for breakfast and I have it paired with an evga 3080Ti. If you don't want to change platforms, getting a 5900XT or 5950X will help your current system last a bit longer. But it depends on a few things:
1 - does your motherboard support the 5950x/5900XT
2 - what is your PSU rated to?
3 - what cpu cooling do you have?
I had the motherboard and PSU, but I needed new cooling to go from the 3700x to the 5950x.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I bought a 750W PSU, I bought a B550 motherboard but I don’t know what it supports because it just says AM5 and I also bought a new dual fan cooler so it should be good enough for cooling.
notadroid@reddit
what is the dual fan cooler? because they're not all enough for the upper tier cpus. what gpu do you have?
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
It is a thermalright cooler. It says it can cool high power fans so I don't feel too concerned... I currently have two GPU's my current GPU is a 3060 Ti but I will be replacing it with my 9070 XT when I decide on my new PC...
notadroid@reddit
9070XT is a great GPU for your next system, no matter what it is.
PitifulCrow4432@reddit
Pretty sure Cities Skylines is a properly multi-threaded game, meaning it'd benefit from having more cores rather than faster cache. This means the cheapest upgrade path you have is a 5900X/5950X/5900XT plus a better cooler than what the 5600X needed.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I have a spare B550 board laying around. there is not a single 5900XT in my country somehow but there is 5900X and 5950X
SenorAudi@reddit
I had a 5700X and recently went to a 5900XT (it’s a poorly named 16c/32t part) solely for cities skylines ii and I definitely saw a bit of an improvement. My city is big (200k+) and I went from being in the high teens/low 20s to the 30s with the new CPU.
But, depending on the rest of your build this won’t be easy. I had an ITX build and had a nightmare of a time getting upgraded:
1) my mobo totally failed during the bios update to support the new CPU 2) my replacement mobo (Asrock B550M) worked for 2 hours then failed, never turning in again. Someone here sent me a hardware unboxed review showing it has horrendous VRM temps with 16 core chips. My VRMs likely failed, which… 3) also took out the new CPU which didn’t work in any motherboards afterwards.
If it were me, unless you REALLY want a little more performance, I wouldn’t risk messing with stuff. I should have waited and just did a full upgrade to a new platform (even at crazy prices) given how much I I’ve invested now.
Weak_Box_7024@reddit (OP)
I will be basically rebuilding my PC as I am putting everything in a new case so I’m not sure if I should just go to the newest generation or not
jhaluska@reddit
There isn't any good solutions, it's why a lot of us get stuck at the end of a socket. You can look at the 5500x3D.