Ryzen 5 2600 or 3500x ?

[UndeadArmy]

Can someone please guide me on which CPU I should get for my new build. The 2600 is available for around $139 USD in my country and the 3500x is around $158. I'm really confused between the two. I mainly want to be gaming but I also run a lot of applications in the background and the CPU usage for the 2600 is a lot lower then that of the 3500x.

[UndeadArmy]

What is the better value for the money?

[Levent]

I would take higher thread count, 2600. In games newer and improved 3500X should perform better but having more threads will be more beneficial in the long term, plus its cheaper.

[UndeadArmy]

Does the new zen 2 architecture in the 3500x not matter that much then?

[SupaKomputa]

 

Yes it matters much if you only gaming. For purely gaming, get 3500x.

For other task that needs more processing power, 2600 is the better choice.

Background app will make use of 2600 higher thread count.

But, i think in general a 3500x will do just fine.

[Aragorn-]

It does, but its one of those "it depends" situations.

 

Some games will certainly run faster on Zen2. Others will be limited by only 6 threads.

 

Its actually quite a tricky choice but I would probably lean towards the 3500x.

 

See here:

https://www.techspot.com/review/1966-amd-ryzen-5-3500x/

 

Its generally equal to the 2600x, but it does pull ahead in some games.