AM4 Update Advice

[rogervn]

Hey folks, sorry for creating another one of these, but I wanted to get some information checked for one specific scenario.

 

I have a Ryzen 3600 with a 5700xt. I'm already looking into upgrading the GPU looking at the 6800xt or maybe the 7800xt when it launches. I wanted not to bottleneck it and was surprised on how much an upgrade to AM5 is expensive right now, so I'm definitely staying on AM4 until a few more generations cheapen it out.

 

My current mobo is a Asus prime B550m-a Wi-Fi which is said to have weak VRMs, but I'm not sure how much that's exaggerated especially for stock clocks. I also have a hyper 212 for cooling.

 

The options in the UK are the 5700x and 5800x for basically the same price ~£160) and the 5800x3d for an extra £100. Used market is terrible here but a 5600x or 5800x are often available for around £110-£150.

 

I'm not finding any reason to go for the 5800x3d. The 5800x is easier to find used, whilst the 5600 is definitely easier of all, but I'm worried about its performance in a couple of years. Usage will be gaming mostly and "future proofing" enough not to bottleneck the new GPU on 1440p.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[PcBeExpensive]

20 minutes ago, rogervn said:

Hey folks, sorry for creating another one of these, but I wanted to get some information checked for one specific scenario.

 

I have a Ryzen 3600 with a 5700xt. I'm already looking into upgrading the GPU looking at the 6800xt or maybe the 7800xt when it launches. I wanted not to bottleneck it and was surprised on how much an upgrade to AM5 is expensive right now, so I'm definitely staying on AM4 until a few more generations cheapen it out.

 

My current mobo is a Asus prime B550m-a Wi-Fi which is said to have weak VRMs, but I'm not sure how much that's exaggerated especially for stock clocks. I also have a hyper 212 for cooling.

 

The options in the UK are the 5700x and 5800x for basically the same price ~£160) and the 5800x3d for an extra £100. Used market is terrible here but a 5600x or 5800x are often available for around £110-£150.

 

I'm not finding any reason to go for the 5800x3d. The 5800x is easier to find used, whilst the 5600 is definitely easier of all, but I'm worried about its performance in a couple of years. Usage will be gaming mostly and "future proofing" enough not to bottleneck the new GPU on 1440p.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?

So what is a budget? What res would you be gaming in? I would definitely get a 5000 series CPU before a new GPU.

[CommanderAlex]

19 minutes ago, rogervn said:

My current mobo is a Asus prime B550m-a Wi-Fi which is said to have weak VRMs, but I'm not sure how much that's exaggerated especially for stock clocks. I also have a hyper 212 for cooling.

That is true that the motherboard does have weak VRMs. This really limits your options to high-core count CPUs like 8 cores and above so a 5600X would be the only viable upgrade path...honestly wish you can go for a 5600X3D if you lived in the US near a Micro Center where they are only sold but also, I'd just save your money for when you can do an appropriate platform upgrade. 

[GOTSpectrum]

13 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

That is true that the motherboard does have weak VRMs. This really limits your options to high-core count CPUs like 8 cores and above so a 5600X would be the only viable upgrade path...honestly wish you can go for a 5600X3D if you lived in the US near a Micro Center where they are only sold but also, I'd just save your money for when you can do an appropriate platform upgrade. 

I really think the board would be okay with a 5800x3d with a little undervolting. Although a downdraft cooler may be required 

[CommanderAlex]

5 minutes ago, GOTSpectrum said:

I really think the board would be okay with a 5800x3d with a little undervolting. Although a downdraft cooler may be required 

Possibly, something like a negative offset and definitely active cooling on the VRM would suffice then. 

 

Absolutely nothing higher than that though for a CPU. 

[GOTSpectrum]

Just now, CommanderAlex said:

Absolutely nothing higher than that though for a CPU. 

I agree with you there

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Vrms are weak but should handle an overclocked 5700/5800x with active cooling, ideals are thrown out the window though so expect vrm temps ro be around 80-100c full load which is perfectly safe anyways (usually max temp is around 115-125c for vrms) and you arent gonna 100% your cpu all the time anyways

[rogervn]

Following this review in Tom's hardware (https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-prime-b550m-a-wi-fi) the VRMs get hot but well within specification limits, so I guess it's fine if I don't overclock or go for the 5900x+.

 

My main gripe with the upgrade is not price per se but return per investment. £100 more for an 5800x3d is definitely not worth it on a 1440p+ scenario like mine. Anything AM5 starts with a £500+ cost just to change mobo, cpu and RAM for a not really better performance, whilst future proofing is not going to be better than switching in the future anyway. So the question is rather between 5700x and 5800x for the roughly same price or keep waiting until a 5800x appears in the used market whose owner doesn't find fitting to ask for 10% over new price like everyone else.