[SOLVED] What would be the most powerful CPU (within reason) I can upgrade to with this setup

[Exploding PSU]

Hello everyone, I have one question regarding my cousin's PC.
Long story short, he wanted to upgrade his CPU, but we're not sure which CPU we should get.

First of all, obligatory system specs, emphasis on the parts I consider important :

CPU : AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
Motherboard : ASRock B450 Steel Legend
Cooler : Cryorig H7 QL
GPU : Galax NVidia RTX 2070 EX
RAM : DELTA TUF Gaming 16 GB (2x8)
SSD : 240GB WD Green
HDD : 2x8TB Seagate, sorry I can't remember the model, it's the green one
PSU : 650W Seasonic S12G
Case : random Abkoncore case

You might see the large imbalance between CPU and GPU power. This is because the system was originally built to play games and (almost) nothing else. His choice of games are mostly GPU-bound so we just picked a basic quad-core CPU just to get the PC running. It's been running well no problem.
Now, he's going to college and according to him, he's having difficulty running some of the programs he's using. The CPU just couldn't keep up. Now, I don't know what program he use (he's in some sort of data science major, hence the comically large HDD relative to the other parts) but it's clear he needs a more powerful CPU.

I haven't followed CPU developments for awhile, so I'm asking for some recommendations for the most powerful AMD CPU we can just drop in to the PC that doesn't require any motherboard upgrade. We won't discard the old Ryzen 3 so we can do a BIOS upgrade if necessary. A point of note is, however, the motherboard and the PSU isn't "high-end" stuff, so while we want the best CPU money can buy, we really don't want a CPU that is too demanding for the motherboard or the PSU.
Say, I've heard it's possible to run a 3950X on an A320 motherboard, but just because it could doesn't mean it should, right? So we're looking for the most powerful CPU with respect to the motherboad's and PSU capability. We really just don't want to blow the system at such important times for him.

Anyway, thank you, your response is appreciated

 

[kanewolf]

Hello everyone, I have one question regarding my cousin's PC.
Long story short, he wanted to upgrade his CPU, but we're not sure which CPU we should get.

First of all, obligatory system specs, emphasis on the parts I consider important :

CPU : AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
Motherboard : ASRock B450 Steel Legend
GPU : Galax NVidia RTX 2070 EX
RAM : DELTA TUF Gaming 16 GB (2x8)
SSD : 240GB WD Green
HDD : 2x8TB Seagate, sorry I can't remember the model, it's the green one
PSU : 650W Seasonic S12G
Case : random Abkoncore case

You might see the large imbalance between CPU and GPU power. This is because the system was originally built to play games and (almost) nothing else. His choice of games are mostly GPU-bound so we just picked a basic quad-core CPU just to get the PC running. It's been running well no problem.
Now, he's going to college and according to him, he's having difficulty running some of the programs he's using. The CPU just couldn't keep up. Now, I don't know what program he use (he's in some sort of data science major, hence the comically large HDD relative to the other parts) but it's clear he needs a more powerful CPU.

I haven't followed CPU developments for awhile, so I'm asking for some recommendations for the most powerful AMD CPU we can just drop in to the PC that doesn't require any motherboard upgrade. We won't discard the old Ryzen 3 so we can do a BIOS upgrade if necessary. A point of note is, however, the motherboard and the PSU isn't "high-end" stuff, so while we want the best CPU money can buy, we really don't want a CPU that is too demanding for the motherboard or the PSU.
Say, I've heard it's possible to run a 3950X on an A320 motherboard, but just because it could doesn't mean it should, right? So we're looking for the most powerful CPU with respect to the motherboad's and PSU capability. We really just don't want to blow the system at such important times for him.

Anyway, thank you, your response is appreciated

The 5600X is a great balance of clock speed and cores. It would be my recommendation.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Best bang for your buck would be the 5600X.

No sense in getting the 3950X when you can get a 5950X for a few dollars more. If you want to go with a 105W CPU and ensure you have a sufficient CPU cooler, then go for it. The motherboard is compatible with a BIOS update.

 

[Exploding PSU]

The 5600X is a great balance of clock speed and cores. It would be my recommendation.

Best bang for your buck would be the 5600X.

No sense in getting the 3950X when you can get a 5950X for a few dollars more. If you want to go with a 105W CPU and ensure you have a sufficient CPU cooler, then go for it. The motherboard is compatible with a BIOS update.

Alright, 5600X it is then. I never knew B450 motherboards supports all the way up to the 5000 series. BUT, if he already has a decent cooler (the system currently has a Cryorig H7 installed, which is a 140W-rated cooler IIRC, I've seen someone cool an 7900X with it so I guess it's plenty capable), would the 5600X still the best choice if cooling isn't a problem?

EDIT : added the cooler to the parts list above, forgot about it last night

 

[kanewolf]

Alright, 5600X it is then. I never knew B450 motherboards supports all the way up to the 5000 series.

You need to ensure that you have AT LEAST version 3.70 BIOS before you swap CPUs.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Alright, 5600X it is then. I never knew B450 motherboards supports all the way up to the 5000 series. BUT, if he already has a decent cooler (the system currently has a Cryorig H7 installed, which is a 140W-rated cooler IIRC, I've seen someone cool an 7900X with it so I guess it's plenty capable), would the 5600X still the best choice if cooling isn't a problem?

EDIT : added the cooler to the parts list above, forgot about it last night

In your OP you mentioned he's having trouble running some of the other programs he's running, so doesn't sound like it's (still) exclusively a gaming machine. What are the programs? A 5600X is a great gamer, but the right type of programs might also benefit from more cores.

A 5600X is 6 core/12 thread but I feel your 450 Steel Legend could comfortably handle a 5800X (8 core /16 thread)...and a bit less comfortably a 5900X (12/24). So, within reason a 5900X is the most powerful processor I'd consider.

 

[larsv8]

5600x is a great bang for the buck CPU.

5800x is a bit better but pricing has been amazing, you will need a cooler though.

 

[Exploding PSU]

You need to ensure that you have AT LEAST version 3.70 BIOS before you swap CPUs.

Alright, I'll keep that in mind

In your OP you mentioned he's having trouble running some of the other programs he's running, so doesn't sound like it's (still) exclusively a gaming machine. What are the programs? A 5600X is a great gamer, but the right type of programs might also benefit from more cores.

A 5600X is 6 core/12 thread but I feel your 450 Steel Legend could comfortably handle a 5800X (8 core /16 thread)...and a bit less comfortably a 5900X (12/24). So, within reason a 5900X is the most powerful processor I'd consider.

5600x is a great bang for the buck CPU.

5800x is a bit better but pricing has been amazing, you will need a cooler though.

Interesting, I think I'm going to go with 5800X. I've checked 5900X locally, and they seem to be out of stock almost everywhere (not sure why). I'll see what I can do. Thanks a lot...

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
Interesting, I think I'm going to go with 5800X. I've checked 5900X locally, and they seem to be out of stock almost everywhere (not sure why). I'll see what I can do. Thanks a lot...

Curiously, in most Microcenter's it seems the 5900X is in stock and it's the 5800X that's usually out, only sporadicaly in. They ARE holding a much better price ($329); previously $299 until stock went completely out for a while.

I suspect they're trying to keep stocks empty in anticipation of "Ryzen 3D" CPU's which are supposed to be coming out soon. They use the new 3D cache that doubles cache and rumored (AMD claims) to be 15% faster in the same socket. If that's true, it will put them right back in it with Alder Lake, highly likely back on top.

 

[Exploding PSU]

Thank you everyone for the answers, we've settled on a 5800X as we could find one at a discount here locally (and after searching for a 5900X this weekend, we couldn't find any in stock), the extra 2 cores will be very helpful I bet