Question R5 5600X + 6600 XT or R5 3600 + 6700 XT? 1080p 144Hz

[coolraveen]

What happened to the 3600?

3600 was said to be a huge leap over it's previous gen 2600, now in just one generation or two years we are talking about bottleneck and resolution, like matching an 3600 with the rtx 3060 atleast in 1080p gaming, Am saying tech is moving fast and it was only yesterday 3600 was good, it's even good today but not the elite, so same thing will happen to 5600x, with the next generation AM5 coming, so for me next step is ocing my 3600 and upgrade to an RTX 3050 from 1650 super for 1080p gaming, So am saying it's about finding the right combination to your needs

 

[Nighthawk117]

Well, basically I'm building a PC that i want to reach high refresh rates at 1080p, with 120+ at high/ultra presets if possible in AAA.

So earlier i was going for a R5 5600X + RX 6600 XT, then i noticed that AMD smart access memory is available for the R5 3600 too, so i did a bit of change of plans and found that i could get a RX 6700XT and still make it fall in the budget (sorta, I'll have to spend a little higher than what i aimed for but it's bearable)

So what should I get? A R5 5600X + RX 6600 XT or R5 3600 + RX 6700 XT?

Assuming I'll not upgrade to 1440p anytime soon and i want it to last as much as possible.

It depends on game choice, but if you are talking 144hz on FPS games like Battlefield and Cod then I would go with the 5600X + 6600XT. If you play primarily big RPG's then I'd lean perhaps more towards the 6700XT.

If it were me choosing, I would go with the 5600X and 6600XT to have the faster CPU as I play at 144hz on Battlefield and Halo. The 5800X isn't dumb for 144hz going forward if that was at all reachable.

 

[FoxInFlames]

depends on game choice

Heavy ones, along the likes of AC Odyssey/Valhalla, the god of war reboot, cyberpunk 2077, some comparatively older games like AC unity, and other AAA titles.

I don't play many multiplayer games, only rocket league, apex legends, and Valorant once in a while, all of which aren't that demanding...

 

[FoxInFlames]

It seems according to this image, i could do fine with the 3060 (also the aorus elite version of this gpu is somewhat beautiful, and falls in my budget, but then I'll make a full gigabyte build ), also, i read somewhere (probably in a YT comment) that since it's got 12 GB of vram, overclocking it will give it even better of an edge if you can do it (or you get a card that's already overclocked).

But is this fps with DLSS enabled? And is this an older chart? I don't see the RX 6600 XT here... Ō_Ô

 

[Nighthawk117]

Heavy ones, along the likes of AC Odyssey/Valhalla, the god of war reboot, cyberpunk 2077, some comparatively older games like AC unity, and other AAA titles.

I don't play many multiplayer games, only rocket league, apex legends, and Valorant once in a while, all of which aren't that demanding...

I have AC Odyssey, for that an Valhalla, I would say you are better off with the 6700 XT and 3600X. AC Unity and older triple A's will be fine on either. Cyberpunk is real stressful though, it's very punishing on both the CPU and GPU particularly if you are using ray tracing. For the latter, I'd also recommend Nvidia instead.

 

[Nighthawk117]

May I ask what price you've got for the 3600X?

 

[coolraveen]

I have AC Odyssey, for that an Valhalla, I would say you are better off with the 6700 XT and 3600X. AC Unity and older triple A's will be fine on either. Cyberpunk is real stressful though, it's very punishing on both the CPU and GPU particularly if you are using ray tracing. For the latter, I'd also recommend Nvidia instead.

Do you encourage changing CPUS every two years?, i too have a 3600, powered by a 1650 super, i feel am better off upgrading to RTX 3050 rather than upgrading my CPU also.
Till am achieving my target FPS am ok, Am gettinn 60 - 80 FPS is Odyssey high to very high, and Decent 45 FPS in Valhalla mixed settings as am limited by the 4GB VRAM, DDR6 is my only saving grace.

 

[Nighthawk117]

Do you encourage changing CPUS every two years?, i too have a 3600, powered by a 1650 super, i feel am better off upgrading to RTX 3050 rather than upgrading my CPU also.
Till am achieving my target FPS am ok, Am gettinn 60 - 80 FPS is Odyssey high to very high, and Decent 45 FPS in Valhalla mixed settings as am limited by the 4GB VRAM, DDR6 is my only saving grace.

As a general rule no I don't, I upgrade my CPU every 4 years. However context is important, the more performance you demand the quicker your hardware will show it's age. For high refresh rate stuff I would normally recommend an i7 or R7 to give you that extra headroom for the future.
A faster CPU would be of little benefit to you with either of those GPU's, if you had a quad core like the 3300X then I would say upgrade, but not with a decent 6C/12T chip like that.

 

[FoxInFlames]

May I ask what price you've got for the 3600X?

I'm not getting the 3600X, just the 3600, it's available for 240USD

However, if the 3600X comes back in stock here, that's what I'll get

 

[Nighthawk117]

I'm not getting the 3600X, just the 3600, it's available for 240USD

However, if the 3600X comes back in stock here, that's what I'll get

Oh my mistake, this is my issue with the 3600/X, they are so similar in price to the newer ones. I would recommend that you don't get the 3600, but instead get the 5600G instead for $247:
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-5-5600g-ryzen-5-5000-g-series/p/N82E16819113683?Description=5600G&cm_re=5600G-_-19-113-683-_-Product&quicklink=true

The 5600X isn't that much more expensive either at $268.99:
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-5-5600x/p/N82E16819113666?Description=5600x&cm_re=5600x-_-19-113-666-_-Product&quicklink=true

However the 5600G is still faster than both the 3600 and 3600X, and you have a backup GPU should you ever need one. So if you are operating within a strict budget I would get that.

Just to clarify, the 5600G is 20% faster in single threaded performance and 21% faster in multi core performance. This is based on the Cinebench R23 scores below:
5600G Single Core = 1504
3600 Single Core = 1250

5600G Multi Core = 11077
3600 Multi Core = 9150

 

[FoxInFlames]

Oh my mistake, this is my issue with the 3600/X, they are so similar in price to the newer ones. I would recommend that you don't get the 3600, but instead get the 5600G instead for $247:
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-5-5600g-ryzen-5-5000-g-series/p/N82E16819113683?Description=5600G&cm_re=5600G-_-19-113-683-_-Product&quicklink=true

The 5600X isn't that much more expensive either at $268.99:
https://www.newegg.com/amd-ryzen-5-5600x/p/N82E16819113666?Description=5600x&cm_re=5600x-_-19-113-666-_-Product&quicklink=true

However the 5600G is still faster than both the 3600 and 3600X, and you have a backup GPU should you ever need one. So if you are operating

Just checked it out, the 5600G and the 5600X still stand at a higher price point of around 342 USD, compared to the 3600 which is at 240 USD [prices are converted from INR to USD]

Also, i don't really need a backup GPU, i already have two (very) older ones, a Quadro fx 1800, and a Radeon HD 6450.

 

[FoxInFlames]

What if i get a B450 Tomahawk max and a 3600? It goes for cheaper then the B550 and it says you can get the support for the 5000 series by a BIOS update, and upgrade the cpu when the 3600 seems to not hold up anymore (when will that be, anyways?)

Also i could always pick an upgrade within the same family and get a ryzen 7 3000 series (again, when the 3600 doesn't hold anymore).

 

[Nighthawk117]

Just checked it out, the 5600G and the 5600X still stand at a higher price point of around 342 USD, compared to the 3600 which is at 240 USD [prices are converted from INR to USD]

Also, i don't really need a backup GPU, i already have two (very) older ones, a Quadro fx 1800, and a Radeon HD 6450.

Oh I see, I assumed you were based in the USA. In that case then your choice of a 3600 is understandable.

What if i get a B450 Tomahawk max and a 3600? It goes for cheaper then the B550 and it says you can get the support for the 5000 series by a BIOS update, and upgrade the cpu when the 3600 seems to not hold up anymore (when will that be, anyways?)

Also i could always pick an upgrade within the same family and get a ryzen 7 3000 series (again, when the 3600 doesn't hold anymore).

I would stick with the B550 personally.

 

[FoxInFlames]

I would stick with the B550 personally.

A'ight, just read about it, the PCIe stuff, ill stick to the B550 then

 

[Nighthawk117]

A'ight, just read about it, the PCIe stuff, ill stick to the B550 then

It's not only that, but you won't have any compatibility issues with the 5000 series and the 500 series boards were generally better than the 400. I would only consider a B450 if you get a really good deal on a quality board.

 

[coolraveen]

A'ight, just read about it, the PCIe stuff, ill stick to the B550 then

Get a B550, get a 3600 pair it with a 3060 or an equivalent AMD, see how the high fps 1080p gaming goes, at 1080p 3600 has a 15% bottleneck but thats not alarming, as time goes switch to a 5600X. My plan is buy an RTX 3050 and OC my 3600 and see how it goes but my FPS requirement is different to yours, buy a B550 with a good over clocking capability.

 

[sizzling]

Get a B550, get a 3600 pair it with a 3060 or an equivalent AMD, see how the high fps 1080p gaming goes, at 1080p 3600 has a 15% bottleneck but thats not alarming, as time goes switch to a 5600X. My plan is buy an RTX 3050 and OC my 3600 and see how it goes but my FPS requirement is different to yours, buy a B550 with a good over clocking capability.

How did you come up with a 15% bottleneck? If it’s one of those bottleneck calculator websites then completely ignore it. These calculator websites are total misleading garbage.

 

[FoxInFlames]

I would only consider a B450 if you get a really good deal on a quality board.

An MSI MAG B550 tomahawk is 225 USD, whereas a B450 tomahawk MAX II [which supports ryzen 3000 out of the box and will do 5000 with a BIOS update] is 143.5 USD

So yeah, I'm considering it because that'll save me quite a decent bit of money (which maybe I'll put somewhere else in the build, maybe get 32 gigs of RAM instead of 16?)

 

[FoxInFlames]

Again, prices are converted from INR to USD

 

[Nighthawk117]

An MSI MAG B550 tomahawk is 225 USD, whereas a B450 tomahawk MAX II [which supports ryzen 3000 out of the box and will do 5000 with a BIOS update] is 143.5 USD

So yeah, I'm considering it because that'll save me quite a decent bit of money (which maybe I'll put somewhere else in the build, maybe get 32 gigs of RAM instead of 16?)

It's a tricky one, if you are on a tight budget then the B450 Tomahawk MAX is a good B450 board that would do perfectly well with a 3600. However the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk is the better board with substantially better power delivery. So if you ever wanted to drop a 5900X on it at a later date, then the latter is certainly the better choice. How likely you are to do that though and not move platforms entirely is unclear.

I would not upgrade to a 5600X in the future though, I'm generally very against these incremental upgrades unless of course you found one at a really good price. A 5800X would be the minimum in my mind if you were to stick to the same platform.

 

[sizzling]

It's a tricky one, if you are on a tight budget then the B450 Tomahawk MAX is a good B450 board that would do perfectly well with a 3600. However the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk is the better board with substantially better power delivery. So if you ever wanted to drop a 5900X on it at a later date, then the latter is certainly the better choice. How likely you are to do that though and not move platforms entirely is unclear.

Hardware Unboxed did a review way back that showed a B450 Tomahawk Max running a 5900X with no issues. If I remember correctly they didn’t overclock which is where a B550 may have the advantage.

 

[Nighthawk117]

Hardware Unboxed did a review way back that showed a B450 Tomahawk Max running a 5900X with no issues. If I remember correctly they didn’t overclock which is where a B550 may have the advantage.

Oh ok that's good to know, I think the Tomahawk Max was one of the better B450's? As long as it can run a 5900X without running at crazy temps then I'm ok with it.

 

[FoxInFlames]

I think the Tomahawk Max was one of the better B450's?

Everybody seems to say so, also, i have an AIO in my (decided) build (namely the mag coreliquid 240r) so i can keep temps in control, i think.

 

[Nighthawk117]

Everybody seems to say so, also, i have an AIO in my (decided) build (namely the mag coreliquid 240r) so i can keep temps in control, i think.

Do you already have this AIO or do you plan to purchase?

 

[FoxInFlames]

Do you already have this AIO or do you plan to purchase

Plan to, is it bad, though?