From 3600 to 5600
Posted by GumballREKT24@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 22 comments
just upgraded from an rx 6600 to a 9060xt, its insanely great in my opinion but i had an r5 3600, my friend told me i should upgrade to an r5 5600 even though all the games i like run well already, is it worth it or should i keep the money?
RedLimes@reddit
I'd buy Zen3 while it's cheap. There's a rumor that 5800X3D may be making a victory lap, so I would wait for that to happen and buy when it makes sense.
Upgrading will help with 1% lows which will provide a better gaming experience even when you're not bottlenecked, and it will extend the life of your CPU setup by quite a bit.
Dwarf-Eater@reddit
Personally only upgrade I'd make if I were you is if you can snag a 5500x3d for under $200 off aliexpress
junu-munu00@reddit
your 3600 is heavily bottlenecking your new 9060 xt. you are wasting a lot of the graphics card potential. but if you are actually satisfied with your current frame rates then just keep your money. there is no point spending cash to fix a problem you do not even notice. when your games finally start to feel slow skip the 5600 entirely and buy a 5700x3d to max out that motherboard.
Apprehensive_Oven180@reddit
it isn’t worth it, you’re saying that they run well so it’s not a problem, especially if you play in 1440p or you mostly play gpu intensive titles
GumballREKT24@reddit (OP)
i play in 1080p, i think imma keep the poor 3600 working for like an extra year before i upgrade, i can maybe get a better cpu later
Apprehensive_Oven180@reddit
if you ever want to upgrade , consider the 5500x3d. don’t get tricked by the name, it outperforms 5600x ,5700x,5800xt and all the other non x3d chips on am4. it’s good value and you can find it for 160$/€ on aliexpress
Hawk7117@reddit
While I agree with his comment, the one thing I would consider is AM4 last launched a CPU generation like 5 years ago now.
It hard to say how much longer something like the 5600x will be available new before the same thing that happened to the 5800x3d/5700x3d happens where they are regularly selling used for $200 over MSRP. Already in the past year the 5600x went from about $120 now up to $180.
Not to say this will happen, more just that I guarantee if you told people two years ago the 5800x3d would be selling for $450 used in 2026 they would call you a liar.
GumballREKT24@reddit (OP)
eh my friend has a 5700 and he's thinking of buying a 5800x3d, i can probably buy it off him for the same price as a new 5600 or even cheaper
Protoclown98@reddit
The 5800x3D isnt guaranteed to come out. Right now it is rumored to be released but that could be faked.
Hawk7117@reddit
is it the 5700x or the 5700? For this generation the 5700 is a very nerfed version of the 5700x, if its the non X model there is pretty little reason to even bother with that upgrade.
The 5700x would be a really solid option tho
GumballREKT24@reddit (OP)
5700x, i edited it cuz i forgot the x first
Ok-Wasabi3623@reddit
AM4's done but 3600 still handles 1080p fine for another year, then you can jump to whatever's current without feeling rushed.
OkSystem455@reddit
Run the 3600 until it is unable to do what you need. Hold the 5600 money in reserve.
Impossible_Run1867@reddit
The tough part is that AM4 CPUs are on their way out. AMD is going to temporarily re-release 5800x3Ds soon, but if PO finds they can't run something they want in the near future, it may end up becoming a choice between overpaying for a used AM4 CPU or needing to do a full (ish, minus the GPU) re-build to an AM5 or newer Intel chipset, not a simple CPU swap out.
daftv4der@reddit
My 5600x is bottlenecking in games with an RX 9070. Lag and stutter whether when viewing areas with lots of NPCs, or traversing the environment faster than it can load in open world games. And ray tracing really kills it.
The 3600 isn't an amazing CPU (I had one before my 5600x) but I'd say rather save for a bit and get something decent rather than lengthening the wait by getting the 5600. Like a 9600x on AM5, which will be vastly better.
johnnycarrotheid@reddit
I did 3600 to 5800x.
With a 9060xt 16gb.
The price difference was a £1/£2 between the 5600x 5700x 5800x 🤷 Amazon UK doesn't know what to do with pricing them for now. One minute it's 170, then 230 and I think £140 atm.
Aggressive_Yak7094@reddit
Unless your CPU is at 100% utilizatiom while the GPU is <100%n you dont need to upgrade the cpu.
Protoclown98@reddit
I upgraded from a 3600 to a 5600xt and saw massive improvements in my visual effects.
Frame gen and ray tracing put a heavier load on the cpu. My cpu couldn't keep up with my gpu - though i have a 6950xt so that may have been part of it.
No_Device_6605@reddit
If it ain't a 5x00X3D . Forget upgrading.
Impossible-Move-2096@reddit
If your games already run smooth, no need to chase frames. Save that cash for next-gen parts 👀.
Hungry_Reception_724@reddit
Id absolutely upgrade to a 5000 series CPU but i would highly suggest getting something like a 5600x or 5600xt or 5700x or 5800xt
See pricing options, they will do you a lot better in the long run and support that GPU a lot better going forwards.
sunkenwhalebones@reddit
If the games run well, you don't need to upgrade.