Is the 4 core bump worth the extra $400 to go from a 3900X to a 5950X?

[JefeB]

I've always tried to keep by system towards the high end, so as to future proof it for at least 5 years. I was at Micro Center yesterday after the campers had left for some wire channel and they were finishing up the truck. I happened to be in BYO and one of the salesmen I'm friendly with told me that they had just come across an RX 6900 XT and a 5950X that weren't vouchered yet and asked if I wanted them before they put them on the floor.

 

I jumped on the opportunity, mostly for the 6900, because $200 extra is worth not spending my time in the freezing cold for hours waiting for a RTX 3080. I picked up the 5950X as well, because I had the money and figured I could return it if the performance boost wasn't an overall quality upgrade from the 3900X.

 

After a few benchmarks and some research online, it seems not to be worth the jump for my basic uses. Currently my build is https://pcpartpicker.com/user/JefeB/builds/#view=gNp8TW (with the 6900 instead of the 2080). Should I just sell it at cost to someone who needs it for workstation purposes, return it, or keep it to squeeze a little more life out of the AM4 generation?

[CommanderAlex]

If your not going to utilize those extra cores for any work that you will be doing with a 5950X, is it really worth that money? Otherwise, if you're an enthusiast and just want to have the best of the best, keep the 5950X. 

[JefeB]

2 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

If your not going to utilize those extra cores for any work that you will be doing with a 5950X, is it really worth that money? Otherwise, if you're an enthusiast and just want to have the best of the best, keep the 5950X. 

That's the question: I'm an enthusiast and a bit of a compulsive build upgrader/parts swapper. So do I give into my impulsive and compulsive need to keep the 5950 or do I get relatively similar performance without spending that kind of money unnecessarily?

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

2 minutes ago, JefeB said:

That's the question: I'm an enthusiast and a bit of a compulsive build upgrader/parts swapper. So do I give into my impulsive and compulsive need to keep the 5950 or do I get relatively similar performance without spending that kind of money unnecessarily?

Unfortunately this is a question that only you can answer.

[JefeB]

Just now, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

Unfortunately this is a question that only you can answer.

Exactly: which is why I'm asking for empirical, unbiased opinions. To paraphrase the Great Goldblum: "Just because I could, doesn't mean I should".

[AlwaysFSX]

This

22 minutes ago, JefeB said:

I've always tried to keep by system towards the high end

contradicts this

22 minutes ago, JefeB said:

so as to future proof it for at least 5 years

 

[JefeB]

2 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

This

contradicts this

 

How so? Top of the line in 2020 = Low/Mid end in 2025 (Generally Speaking). Despite my urge to always have top-tier components, I could leave this system as-is and get through AAA games on lower settings five years from now.

[AlwaysFSX]

3 minutes ago, JefeB said:

How so? Top of the line in 2020 = Low/Mid end in 2025 (Generally Speaking). Despite my urge to always have top-tier components, I could leave this system as-is and get through AAA games on lower settings five years from now.

If your goal is to 'future proof for 5 years' then use your 3900x for another 4. Either you want a system for 5 more years, or you want to upgrade constantly. Not both.

[Prodigy_Smit]

Well you already have the CPU and the most likely outcome will be that a scalper would buy it if you do plan on selling it. So keep it and sell the 3900x which would get sold quickly if you sell at a normal price since everything else will be jacked up.

[Mister Woof]

Sell the 5950x. Get a 5800x

 

I'd skip 3rd gen ryzen at this point

[jaslion]

Either cpu will last you the entire ps5/ series x generation easily but you will probably never use more than 16 threads of the cpu for gaming so both are entirely wasted