Question Ryzen 5 2600 vs Ryzen 5 3600

[mragunandhan]

Hi,

I am planning to build a new PC. I will be using this PC for both gaming and programming. I just wanted the computer to be future proof too. I am just confused about whether to buy an older Ryzen 5 2600 or the newer Ryzen 5 3600. I'm from India, so the prices for Ryzen 5 2600 is Rs. 11800 and for the Ryzen 5 3600 is Rs. 16800. There is about 5K difference in prices. Is it advisable to save money and buy R5 2600 and invest the extra 5K in a GPU or to get the all-new R5 3600? Also is there any Intel alternatives to look after? Which platform offers better future-proofing ?

Thanks

 

[COLGeek]

Future proofing is a fallacy. It really doesn't exist as new tech is always just around the corner.

Build the system you can afford and don't stress yourself too much.

The 3600 will out perform the 2600 in many tests (nearly identical in others). What motherboard, memory, and GPU do you intend to use?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Future proofing is a fallacy. It really doesn't exist as new tech is always just around the corner.

Completely agree with this. Do not attempt to "future-proof" a computer. It just doesn't work.

As for your question, in addition to the higher cost of the Ryzen 5 3600, you need to take into account the higher cost of the motherboard that natively supports the newer CPU. You don't say what your budget is or what graphics card you intend to try and get and that impacts the decision as well. If you only have a budget for lower to mid-range cards, you'll want to invest the monies saved towards that end. If you're looking at high-end cards, then it's really up to you.

-Wolf sends

 

[InvalidError]

Future proofing is a fallacy. It really doesn't exist as new tech is always just around the corner.

Future-proofing is a thing, you just need to be realistic about how much extra mileage you expect from each additional dollar you spend.

When I built my current PC over seven years ago, I would have been fine with an i3-2xxx but I could get an i5-3470 for $30-40 extra but I also knew I'd want more than that 2-3 years down the line and this is incompatible with my four years typical upgrade cycle, so I went with the i5-3470. That extra $30-40 bought me at least double the extra useful life I was expecting for my 32GB of DDR3 and h77 motherboard. VERY much worth it, especially when you consider that DRAM prices went through the roof shortly after I put it together. In current-day terms, this would be like stepping up from a 4c8t 4400G to a 3600 for ~$40 extra, well worth it if you don't need the IGP and should definitely extend the system's useful life by a couple of years.

The 2600 vs 3600 debate is a different story, the price difference is disproportionate with the performance gain with the same core and thread counts, won't increase the useful life anywhere near as much.

My general rule of future-proofing: if the CPU model you are looking at as the minimum upgrade you can be bothered with has another model above with significantly better bang-per-buck, then you should seriously consider bumping your spec up a notch. In my case, 25-30% higher price for 50-60% more performance, double the incremental bang-per-buck, very difficult to pass on unless you absolutely have to buy now and can't stretch the budget a little. The next step up for me back then would have been the i7-3770 at ~60% higher price for 35% higher performance, not worth it unless absolutely needed, which I didn't and was not expecting to within the system's useful life either.

 

[mragunandhan]

Future proofing is a fallacy. It really doesn't exist as new tech is always just around the corner.

Build the system you can afford and don't stress yourself too much.

The 3600 will out perform the 2600 in many tests (nearly identical in others). What motherboard, memory, and GPU do you intend to use?

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I'm planning to use the MSI B450M Mortar Max or the Asrock B450M steel legend. For the memory, I'm thinking of any 3200MHz 16GB. I actually have an old Intel based system that runs on Nvidia 1050 2GB. I hope that the 1050 will work with this combo. I know its absurd to use the same. But for now I don't have a choice. May be I'll save some money to buy a mid range card like a 1650 super. Any suggestions ?

 

[mragunandhan]

Future-proofing is a thing, you just need to be realistic about how much extra mileage you expect from each additional dollar you spend.

When I built my current PC over seven years ago, I would have been fine with an i3-2xxx but I could get an i5-3470 for $30-40 extra but I also knew I'd want more than that 2-3 years down the line and this is incompatible with my four years typical upgrade cycle, so I went with the i5-3470. That extra $30-40 bought me at least double the extra useful life I was expecting for my 32GB of DDR3 and h77 motherboard. VERY much worth it, especially when you consider that DRAM prices went through the roof shortly after I put it together. In current-day terms, this would be like stepping up from a 4c8t 4400G to a 3600 for ~$40 extra, well worth it if you don't need the IGP and should definitely extend the system's useful life by a couple of years.

The 2600 vs 3600 debate is a different story, the price difference is disproportionate with the performance gain with the same core and thread counts, won't increase the useful life anywhere near as much.

My general rule of future-proofing: if the CPU model you are looking at as the minimum upgrade you can be bothered with has another model above with significantly better bang-per-buck, then you should seriously consider bumping your spec up a notch. In my case, 25-30% higher price for 50-60% more performance, double the incremental bang-per-buck, very difficult to pass on unless you absolutely have to buy now and can't stretch the budget a little. The next step up for me back then would have been the i7-3770 at ~60% higher price for 35% higher performance, not worth it unless absolutely needed, which I didn't and was not expecting to within the system's useful life either.

Hi,

Thanks for your insights it really helps. In my case, the price different is about 35% between the 2600 and 3600. How much of a performance upgrade can I expect for the same ?

Thanks

 

[InvalidError]

Right now, the 1650S is the value king among current-gen GPUs as long as you don't mind lowering graphics enough to make everything fit in 4GB if necessary. Still going to be a huge upgrade over a 2GB GTX1050 at 3-4X as good.

Performance-wise, the 3600 is 8-30% better than the 2600 depending on how heavily your software hits Zen 2's biggest improvements. For games, the improvement is typically in the 8-15% range.