Would a CPU upgrade make sense in my configuration?

[HW100]

Budget (including currency): 250€

Country: Germany

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 1080p Gaming, wide spectrum of titles (from Rocket League to the COD MWII)

Current Rig: CPU: Ryzen 1600X, RAM: 2x8GB HyperX Fury, MB: MSI B350M Gaming Pro, GPU: EVGA RTX 2060 KO ULTRA 6GB

 

Hey guys!

I'm currently thinking about slowly upgrading my PC step by step. I want to start with the CPU first.
I don't plan to upgrade to Zen 4, because it still costs too much (New MB + DDR5 RAM).

That's why I want to stick with the AM4 platform for now.

 

For my CPU I'm planning to upgrade it to a 5600 or 5600X. Still don't know which one yet. I can afford both.

 

I just wanted to ask if it would make sense to upgrade it that way with my current configuration. Are there any other recommendations you could give me?

Thanks in advance!

[An0maly_76]

There are a few considerations here. First, the 1600X / RT2060 package is pretty potent as older hardware goes. Indications are a better CPU will require a better board. Reason being that BIOS support issues may figure into and limit your upgrade options. Different BIOS versions have different support for different processors and PCIe devices (could cause boot issues with certain GPUs or M.2s).

 

For example, I've seen a user with a 3600X on an A320 board with an M.2 and a GPU that wouldn't boot because support for one of the two PCIe devices had been removed in some BIOS update prior to the one supporting Zen2. MSI in particular has recently released a beta BIOS (since rescinded), that shipped on some brand-new B450 boards and actually removed Zen2 support (dumb move, likely the reason it was rescinded). It comes down to your other components, but a B350 could have similar pitfalls. Tread carefully and thoroughly research BIOS revision, and what will and won't be a problem with them.

 

Barring BIOS support issues, I honestly don't see much other than a 2600X or 3700X being worth doing. But a Zen 3 on the B350 board could be a can of worms you may not want to deal with if there are other components in the mix. Zen 2 even might be a challenge. And for Zen 3, you might be better off with a newer board. Knowing you have a decent GPU, if you have M.2 storage as well, were I a betting man, I'd say painless worthwhile upgrade options are limited without at least a B450 or B550 board, they more readily support newer processors out of the box. Not to mention RAM stability is a known issue with at least some Ryzens and supporting boards.

 

FWIW, until i figured out why my 5900X was misbehaving, I ran an eBay 3600X on a new ASRock B450-HDM, $180 total. Also, the only real difference I noticed with the 5900X from my previous 1700 / GTX1650S setup was that the CPU and GPU usage dropped. Sure, an RTX3060ti has some advantages over the 1650S, but I really didn't notice an earth-shattering performance increase. Faster, yes, but I'm not sure it was worth spending $2600 for.

 

My advice, if you're not ready to swap boards, I'd think about a better GPU first unless you're seeing 100% CPU usage on all cores or 100% GPU usage. I think the 1600X would be okay with the likes of a 3060ti or even a 3070.

 

Just my $0.02.

[STELDR]

Go for AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or 5600 Processor and Gigabyte B550M S2H AM4 AMD Micro ATX Motherboard. 

[Tegneren]

Your motherboard should support the 5600X with the latest beta BIOS update, but as An0maly said, its not guaranteed to work smoothly.

If you should choose to upgrade to it, dont update the BIOS until you have the new CPU in hand as it might remove support for your current CPU

[HW100]

44 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

Barring BIOS support issues, I honestly don't see much other than a 2600X or 3700X being worth doing. But a Zen 3 on the B350 board could be a can of worms you may not want to deal with if there are other components in the mix.

I actually didn't think that much about BIOS compatibility because AMD took a step back after the backlash that 300-Series boards wouldn't support Zen 3. So I thought it wouldn't be much of a problem combining such a board with a Zen 3 CPU.

44 minutes ago, An0maly_76 said:

My advice, if you're not ready to swap boards, I'd think about a better GPU first unless you're seeing 100% CPU usage on all cores or 100% GPU usage. I think the 1600X would be okay with the likes of a 3060ti or even a 3070.

If I want to swap boards, I would rather save more money and directly go for a Zen 4 setup. I just thought I should stick to my AM4 board while it's still supported.

 

But what got from your 2 cents was that a GPU upgrade would actually make more sense in this case. I didn't want to go for GPU now because the prices here are still a bit horrendous for a 3060ti (cheapest is a INNO 3D for 469€) or even a 3070 (cheapest is a Gigabyte one for 579€).

Wouldn't a normal 3060 alone maybe cut it in your opinion? Just a bit more affordable for me if I save some more (costs in the range of 377€). 

 

EDIT: A 3060ti would actually be affordable for me if I buy it used. Would also do it if I have to.

[An0maly_76]

I wouldn't bother with Zen4 just yet. Overpriced, not enough performance gain over Zen3, and unexplained issues surfacing. I'm not sure it's worth spending the money just yet.

 

As for the 3060, I won't say it won't increase performance, I just don't think the ends would justify the means. They both support ray tracing, and with your budget (or more), I wouldn't predict enough performance increase to justify the money.

 

I don't know the pricing in your country, but I would go for a B450 or B550 board with 3700X or 5800X with either PBO or slight manual overclocking. Far better bang for the buck than a Zen4. And for cripe's sake, stick with Win10, Win11 is a dumpster fire.

 

ADDED 14:57 Eastern - This board appears to have an M.2 slot. If you're not already on a primary boot M.2, this could also help performance. I would recommend a WD Blue SN550 or SN570 (QVL isn't usually an issue with these, but I would check all the same).

Edited October 24, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info