The great debate, am4 or am5?

Posted by FIngerfister@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 19 comments

So, as if in one fashion or form this hasnt been asked...

I am currently running a Ryzen 5 5600x, paired with 64gb ddr4 3600mhz, and a RTX5080 OC.

So my question is, should I upgrade my cpu?

Wait for the 5800x3d re-release and hold onto my 64gb ddr4? Or bite the bullet and swing into a 9850 or the like? Or honestly just keep the 5600x? I run an ultrawide 1440 240hz monitor, and i do have some bad lows running at ultra game dependant, but ultimately im unsure what path to take. Money is not neccisarily a concern, but Id prefer to save when I can.

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Criss_Crossx@reddit

Honestly, I would push for AM5 if I were in your scenario and really desired the upgrade.

You may have to go with 32gb of DDR5, which is a downgrade from your current 64gb. The price could be manageable.

I wouldn't spend $300+ USD on an AM4 CPU right now. But you could get more mileage out of a used CPU too.

Plenty of ways to go about this, IMO none are really wrong as long as you end up satisfied. Nearly everyone will tell you their opinion thinking it is the only way. Nah, you get to pick!

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FIngerfister@reddit (OP)

That was kinda my feeling, that all of them are viable options, just that I wanted to see what others opinions were, especially in times like today!

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Criss_Crossx@reddit

It is a good call to wait and save money if you are good now but want to wait for a better time. Nothing wrong there. A buddy of mine is in the same boat and snagged a 9800x3d, board, and DDR5 but didn't buy a graphics card. At least he can move over his 2070s or buy a used GPU for now.

The used market, I use ebay almost exclusively. You can lower your costs a bit that way if you are selective about parts. CPUs I almost always buy used now.

This is a tough ecosystem right now, probably the toughest I've seen in the 20+ years I've been building. I think it is smart to wait for conditions to improve but that could be a couple of years from now. Tough to say.

2026 is definitely the time to hold out if you can. If finances aren't that critical for the next 6 months, then it is OK to splurge IMO if you have everything covered.

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FIngerfister@reddit (OP)

Ive been building for about 12 years now and I wholeheartedly agree that this is the worst. I remember selling my 980ti to buy a rtx 3080 during covid, only to find out of stock and scalpers. If i only knew then how much worse itd get haha!

At least I think I can conclude that upgrading from 3070 to 5080(at msrp too!) was the right choice over cpu etc.

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DisappointedCruiser@reddit

You’re chillin tbh. CPU would be the cheapest upgrade to reduce bottle necks (X3D)

UNLESS

You live near Microcenter. Then getting a CPU, motherboard, ram bundle will be a good deal for you to upgrade with

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Criss_Crossx@reddit

I noticed MC has an Amazon store now. They have deals on there too. Worth checking out.

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aragorn18@reddit

I bet they don't. That's almost certainly a counterfeit listing. Can you link to it?

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Criss_Crossx@reddit

Just search 'micro center' on Amazon. It isn't hard to find at all.

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aragorn18@reddit

I guess you're right. My bad.

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Criss_Crossx@reddit

All good. You point out a critical flaw in Amazon's platform for sure. No judgment from me!

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Desperate-Big3982@reddit

It is MicroCenter, but you can't get the bundles with the RAM. The bundles with RAM are only available in store.

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aragorn18@reddit

You're right. I just looked it up. I was concerned because Amazon likes to list products from a given brand together under a "store" label right at the top of the listing. But, those aren't actually store fronts.

That's not the case here though and I admit my mistake.

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mshelbz@reddit

If you’re near a Micro Center, an AM5 bundle

If you’re like me, an AM4 X3D. I’d either keep what you have or look at a 5500X3D. I have it and a 5700X3D and in gaming (4K on the 5500, 21:9 1440p for the 5700) I don’t see a difference playing the same games.

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FIngerfister@reddit (OP)

If i was to indeed end up going am5, I have one about 2 hours away from me, so that was the plan. Though it does seem that sticking to am4 at least for a little while longer seems to be the best choice.

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mshelbz@reddit

Yeah that’s kinda where I’m at, I can get friends to pick up an order and ship it to me but it’s just not worth the effort really.

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anon1880@reddit

I already had 32gigs of ddr4 so I stick with am4

I just updated my 2000s ryzen with 5series ryzen

The single thread performance boost is very noticable

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