CPU Recommendations

[Nickolas Acosta]

So I want to be able to play games at 4k, 60 fps, with max settings. Is there a cpu that can do this without overclocking anything in my rig? I don't need anymore frames than 60, i just want a smooth gaming experience. I'm planning on buying a RTX 30 series card(if I get lucky) to go with this new cpu for 4k gaming. Thanks in advance!

[Br3tt96]

Anything above an Ryzen 7 3700 on the AMD side. It's more gpu dominate 

[Nickolas Acosta]

So an amd ryzen 7 3700x with 8 cores and 16 threads would be the sweet spot I'm guessing?

[Zenith_X1]

LTT, JayZ2cents, and GN all noted that the one market where Intel is still hanging on against the coming AMD tidal wave is clock speed, and therefore gaming.  It's worth noting however that you will want a robust cooling solution for their current i9 processors.  There is some reason to believe that AMD's Zen 3 will narrow Intel's GHz lead, but I can only tell you what we know at this moment.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that while I don't know what your experience is with high end hardware, I would personally argue that 144Hz at 1440p offers a more enjoyable experience than 4k 60

[SupaKomputa]

to play 4k 60fps you will need a good GPU. like a 2080 or better.

on the CPU side, there's little to none differences, since the GPU that's doing all the hard work.

a 6 cored CPU is good enough for this.

[Nickolas Acosta]

3 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

to play 4k 60fps you will need a good GPU. like a 2080 or better.

on the CPU side, there's little to none differences, since the GPU that's doing all the hard work.

a 6 cored CPU is good enough for this.

So an AMD Ryzen 5 3600x would be perfect? I'm hoping to buy a RTX 3070 to go with it

[SupaKomputa]

NO, don't buy those CPU right now.

Wait a month or two, as the new 4000 chips will be announced next month.

A 4600 will be good, it may have an extra cores for the same price as 3600.

[Nickolas Acosta]

1 minute ago, SupaKomputa said:

NO, don't buy those CPU right now.

Wait a month or two, as the new 4000 chips will be announced next month.

A 4600 will be good, it may have an extra cores for the same price as 3600.

wow that helps alot thanks so much! Do I need to worry about buying an expensive motherboard or is it about looking for features like wifi or bluetooth?

[SupaKomputa]

You don't need expensive motherboard to run 3080 and Ryzen 4000 (B450 / B550 is good enough).

All those wifi & bluetooth are blings (like RGB), you don't really need it as LAN will be preferable for gaming.

And if you need wifi, a cheap wifi dongle will do the job.

Wifi on a motherboard will cost you $50 extra compared to just $10 for a wifi dongle.

What you should prioritize on a motherboard :

- Good VRM for power deliveries, but if you use a 65w or under, any decent motherboard should be good.

- m.2 slots and sata configurations, this can differ with different models.

- Brand aftersales support, go with the best support within your area.