[SOLVED] Which AMD CPU should I buy?

[pajosgabros]

Hello,
I want to buy new AMD CPU, but I cant decide whith one.
Choise number 1 was R3 3300X, but it's unavailable.
Choise Nr. 2 was R3 3100 - it isn't best, but cheap (101€).
Today, I found in the eShop R5 3500X, which looks really interesting for the price (148€), but it doesnt have SMT.

My budget is 150€, so R5 3500X the most expensive for me.

For gaming at 1080p.

MB: AsRock B550M Pro4
RAM: Corsair 16GB DDR4c3200MHz
GPU: RX 580 Pulse OC 8GB
SSD: 500GB Wester Digital (nvme)
PSU: Seasinic 620W

PS: is it possible enable SMT for 3500X?

So which one?
Thank you,

 

[Eximo]

No SMT cannot simply be enabled, a feature that CPU is missing from the factory (intentionally) You can disable it if you do have it though, so the BIOS will show the option, but it will be greyed out on chips that can't.

i5-10400F would be my CPU choice at 150. i3-10100 if you want onboard graphics. Could also then drop down memory to 2666 or 2933 and save a little there.

Hard to say without a specific country though.

 

[pajosgabros]

I have got AM4 board, so I need Zen CPU
Dont want onboard graphic

 

[Pickachu]

I have got AM4 board, so I need Zen CPU
Dont want onboard graphic

What is the maximum budget for the cpu?

 

[pajosgabros]

What is the maximum budget for the cpu?

150€ - did you read the queation?

 

[Karadjgne]

If you can't get a 3300x, go for the 3100. At 1080p with a Rx580 you'll be above the monitor refresh (assuming a normal 60Hz monitor), so there's really no point in spending extra for a cpu you can't see any gains from. If you have a 1080p/144Hz monitor, the 3500 will get you an extra 20fps ±. across most games, so will have the advantage.

 

[logainofhades]

No SMT cannot simply be enabled, a feature that CPU is missing from the factory (intentionally) You can disable it if you do have it though, so the BIOS will show the option, but it will be greyed out on chips that can't.

i5-10400F would be my CPU choice at 150. i3-10100 if you want onboard graphics. Could also then drop down memory to 2666 or 2933 and save a little there.

Hard to say without a specific country though.

An i5-10400 with that slow ram, would be worse, for gaming, than the 3300x with 3200mhz ram.

With B550, your options are a 3100, 3300x, or spend more.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu/#sort=price&s=62,60,59&F=79

 

[logainofhades]

No SMT cannot simply be enabled, a feature that CPU is missing from the factory (intentionally) You can disable it if you do have it though, so the BIOS will show the option, but it will be greyed out on chips that can't.

i5-10400F would be my CPU choice at 150. i3-10100 if you want onboard graphics. Could also then drop down memory to 2666 or 2933 and save a little there.

Hard to say without a specific country though.

An i5-10400 with that slow ram, would be worse, for gaming, than the 3300x with 3200mhz ram.

With B550, your options are a 3100, 3300x, or spend more.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu/#sort=price&s=62,60,59&F=79

 

[tsibiski]

Your setup is not exactly powerful, so going for the 3500x isn't necessary.

How future proof do you want this to be? Or posed another way, how long do you want this build to last you? Do you think you will upgrade your graphics card before upgrading the whole unit?

If you are expecting this to be able to work with your Radeon 580, and do not expect to upgrade that dramatically (before upgrading the whole kit and kaboodle), then the 3100 is sufficient.

It won't throttle that card. If you upgrade to an RTX 3000 series card this or next year, you NEED to go with something beefier if you don't want your shiny new card to be held back by a weaker CPU.

Also, are you playing 4k or 1080p or what? 4k is GPU intensive, and your CPU is not nearly as critical. 1080p or lower resolutions are heavily CPU intensive, and it might be better to get a 3500x if you are playing at that resolution with this setup.

So 3100 is fine with your setup as it is if you are playing at 4k. Otherwise, if you are doing 108p or lower, or intend to upgrade your GPU in a major way, then get a 3500x.

Still, I am surprised by the 150 Euro mark. I live in the US, but for nearly equivalent amount of US dollars, I can get a 3600x, which would blow the 3100 and even the 3500x out of the water. And with the new Ryzen 5000 CPUs being released, you may see these prices for last gen CPUs plummet. So waiting for that might be worthwhile on a tight budget. OR, look on ebay for used Ryzen 3600x-3900x CPUs in your price range. There are buyer protections if you have any problems with them at all. And a TON of people are going to be dumping their great last gen ones to upgrade to the new ones starting around November 5th of this year.

 

[pajosgabros]

Update of GPU unit in future is possilbe - card about 200-300€.
I will play at 1080p/75Hz, 4k not at all.
I checked 3600x too, but it's for 218€ (czech republic).

I will buy r3 3100.