AM4 System Upgrade: 5600X vs 5700X3D vs 5900XT

[Yukikaze]

I am looking to upgrade a secondary computer in the household. The main uses for it are sim racing, city builders, and now getting into flight sims. It drives a 3440x1440, 100hz display.

The system was cobbled together with spare parts and cheap things. The current specs are:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H (rev 1.1)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3500X
Memory: 2x16GB DDR4-3200
Storage: MSI Spatium M450 (500GB)
PSU: Corsair SF600
GPU: Palit GameRock GTX1080Ti
Case: Asus Prime AP201
Cooling: Thermalright AXP90-X47 (only used it because I had it, it really makes no sense in a normal-sized build).

This system will be getting my RTX 4080 when I upgrade my main rig (this may be quite a ways down the line, since I don't plan to get a Blackwell card - my RTX4080 does everything I need it to do and then some).

The main reason to upgrade is really to buy a better AM4 CPU before the platform is EOL'd and they become harder to get (and I suspect the high end AM4 CPUs are going to be expensive second hand, the 5800X3D is already there). I plan to keep this system for at least 3 or so years as it is, if not longer, depending on whether I want to upgrade my 14900K main rig at some point, but so far I have zero reason to in the next 3-4 year timeframe.

I have zero plans to overclock this system, so whatever CPU I get will be running at stock, which is good because this board is not exactly a VRM powerhouse, but it does support every AM4 CPU officially, including the 5950X.

1. The cheap option is to get a 5600X and call it a day. It will probably do everything I need it to do. It isn't expensive (~$100). I don't need to upgrade my cooling for it.
2. The gaming option is to get a 5700X3D. Two more cores over the 5600X and X3D to feed games with memory accesses. Also makes sense as an upgrade, but it does cost almost twice more than the 5600X (~$200). My current cooler should deal with it just fine as well based on the existence of reviews of people using it with the 5700X3D and having no complaints about it.
3. The why-the-heck-not option is to get a 5900XT. 16 cores, 32 threads, higher clocks on loads that don't smack all the cores. It costs 3 times of what a 5600X costs, and 50% more than a 5700X3D (~$300), but does provide a monstrous 16c/32t setup. However, I am pretty sure that the AXP90-X47 is going to struggle here, even without overclocking. If it does, then a new cooler would be another expense, but a decent air cooler that can deal with it at stock is not a lot of money, so hmm.

Originally, I was thinking of getting a 5700X3D and calling it a day, then getting another cheap AM4 board and sticking the 3500X into my NAS to replace an ancient 3rd gen i5 (I have spare DDR4 and the rest of the system already exists). Then I figured a 5600X is just great bang-for-buck and I should just do that, but going from the 3500X to a 5600X doesn't feel like a massive jump. But then the intrusive thoughts started: Why not get a 5900XT? Maybe I'll need MOAR CORES at some point? Plus 32 threads look sexy in the task manager. I know, stupid.

I also like weird things. And an A320 with a 5900XT definitely tickles the "weird" itch.

What would ya'all do?

 

[Macro Device]

im racing, city builders, and now getting into flight sims

You answered your question for yourself. These are CPU hogs and you need a CPU as fast as you can humanly afford. I'd go for a more prolonged saving sesh and buy a 7800X3D or even 9800X3D for that matter. To tick your "weird" box, you might consider finding a mining-oriented A620 board. Or planting a Laminar RM1 (LGA1700 box cooler) on top of that Ryzen CPU.

 

[Taraquin]

I would go 5700X3D. It performs very well in sims. The vrm on that board will probably struggle with the 5900XT. Also use pbo2 tuner app and set -30 to reduce the consumption of the 5700X3D by 20%. This will slightly improve performance aswell.

 

[AusWolf]

I would go 5700X3D. It performs very well in sims. The vrm on that board will probably struggle with the 5900XT.

I second that. An X3D is the best you can get for sims.

As for PBO and CO, I don't think they're necessary for a 5700X3D. It's a very economical CPU out of the box.

 

[kapone32]

My nephew had a 3600. During Black Friday he bought a 5700X3D and it even came with 32GB of RAM. All I can tell you is that he is blown away at how much faster everything is and the best is that it is X3D. Now here is the rub. In City Builders like City Skylines 2, the larger your population gets the more resources the Game uses. I see 90% usage once my population hits 1,00,000 in that Game. That brings the 5900XT into the conversation but X3D is that good for Gaming.

 

[AusWolf]

My nephew had a 3600. During Black Friday he bought a 5700X3D and it even came with 32GB of RAM. All I can tell you is that he is blown away at how much faster everything is and the best is that it is X3D. Now here is the rub. In City Builders like City Skylines 2, the larger your population gets the more resources the Game uses. I see 90% usage once my population hits 1,00,000 in that Game. That brings the 5900XT into the conversation but X3D is that good for Gaming.

The question is, would the game run better on the 5900XT even with a lower overall usage? I'm not sure.

 

[kapone32]

The question is, would the game run better on the 5900XT even with a lower overall usage? I'm not sure.

That is the question indeed. In daily it would feel faster but in Games it can be a wash though City Skylines 2 might be a different kettle of fish. I wish we could send TPU a Save file with 500000+ population when they do CPU reviews.

 

[inquisitor1]

just got 5950x (for video editing and SOME gaming). they have sales on them $320. this cpu sold for $800. I think they have the 5900x and 5900xt on sale

check price history with keepa com

 

[AusWolf]

That is the question indeed. In daily it would feel faster but in Games it can be a wash though City Skylines 2 might be a different kettle of fish. I wish we could send TPU a Save file with 500000+ population when they do CPU reviews.

That would be great indeed!

 

[Lost_Troll]

I would go with the 5700x3D if gamming is all you plan to do with the system, but the 5900X would be a good future upgrade if you plan on turning the system into a VR box when you are done gamming on it. As it would give you more VR boxes or cores per VR box with the 5900X.

 

[Zach_01]

I am looking to upgrade a secondary computer in the household. The main uses for it are sim racing, city builders, and now getting into flight sims. It drives a 3440x1440, 100hz display.

The system was cobbled together with spare parts and cheap things. The current specs are:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H (rev 1.1)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3500X
Memory: 2x16GB DDR4-3200
Storage: MSI Spatium M450 (500GB)
PSU: Corsair SF600
GPU: Palit GameRock GTX1080Ti
Case: Asus Prime AP201
Cooling: Thermalright AXP90-X47 (only used it because I had it, it really makes no sense in a normal-sized build).

This system will be getting my RTX 4080 when I upgrade my main rig (this may be quite a ways down the line, since I don't plan to get a Blackwell card - my RTX4080 does everything I need it to do and then some).

The main reason to upgrade is really to buy a better AM4 CPU before the platform is EOL'd and they become harder to get (and I suspect the high end AM4 CPUs are going to be expensive second hand, the 5800X3D is already there). I plan to keep this system for at least 3 or so years as it is, if not longer, depending on whether I want to upgrade my 14900K main rig at some point, but so far I have zero reason to in the next 3-4 year timeframe.

I have zero plans to overclock this system, so whatever CPU I get will be running at stock, which is good because this board is not exactly a VRM powerhouse, but it does support every AM4 CPU officially, including the 5950X.

1. The cheap option is to get a 5600X and call it a day. It will probably do everything I need it to do. It isn't expensive (~$100). I don't need to upgrade my cooling for it.
2. The gaming option is to get a 5700X3D. Two more cores over the 5600X and X3D to feed games with memory accesses. Also makes sense as an upgrade, but it does cost almost twice more than the 5600X (~$200). My current cooler should deal with it just fine as well based on the existence of reviews of people using it with the 5700X3D and having no complaints about it.
3. The why-the-heck-not option is to get a 5900XT. 16 cores, 32 threads, higher clocks on loads that don't smack all the cores. It costs 3 times of what a 5600X costs, and 50% more than a 5700X3D (~$300), but does provide a monstrous 16c/32t setup. However, I am pretty sure that the AXP90-X47 is going to struggle here, even without overclocking. If it does, then a new cooler would be another expense, but a decent air cooler that can deal with it at stock is not a lot of money, so hmm.

Originally, I was thinking of getting a 5700X3D and calling it a day, then getting another cheap AM4 board and sticking the 3500X into my NAS to replace an ancient 3rd gen i5 (I have spare DDR4 and the rest of the system already exists). Then I figured a 5600X is just great bang-for-buck and I should just do that, but going from the 3500X to a 5600X doesn't feel like a massive jump. But then the intrusive thoughts started: Why not get a 5900XT? Maybe I'll need MOAR CORES at some point? Plus 32 threads look sexy in the task manager. I know, stupid.

I also like weird things. And an A320 with a 5900XT definitely tickles the "weird" itch.

What would ya'all do?

Vote for 5700X3D
The CPU is very close to 5600X in power terms (<88W) and very strong at gaming (even less W on games)

Play it safe with that A320 board and stay well under 100W for a CPU
Make sure for BIOS support (5700X3D)

 

[damric]

Hmmn. Location? I would heavily consider a whole platform upgrade at this point.

 

[DaemonForce]

Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H (rev 1.1)

PWM has some 7-phase Intersil voltage controllers but no doublers.
CPU/SOC has ONSemi voltage controllers 46A high side 69A low side?
VDDR matches SOC low. Direct memory topology. G3X4 M.2 slot, G3X16 slot, dual G2X1.
This might be okay with a 5700X or 5600GT depending on what's intended.

My experience on AM4 has been the 3600 + X570 combo so I'm tempted to throw an 8-core at an A320 system.
If mainly gaming, 5700X3D will more than deliver.
The VRMs look iffy for anything 95-105W but I know a streamer that mains a loadout like that.
Then again her VRMs are really good for an A320, like 60A high 80A low.
I would try the 5700X3D just because that's going to be the capstone, 5600X if you don't feel like adding a fan.
That's probably the realistic options until you find a better board.

 

[Todestrieb]

OP said sim racing. If that includes Assetto Corsa Competitizone, 5700X3D should be miles ahead. And probably a lot of other games.
But if the games OP play includes Cities Skyline 2, out of the options 5900XT is the choice for that game.

Hmm. My pick would still be 5700X3D as it seems Cities Skyline 2 is the only game that benefits moar cores over moar caches, but who knows.

 

[Tomgang]

Yeah i vote 100 % for 5700X3D. There is a reason for why amd marketing there 3D cpu for gaming and that's not for fun. The ekstra cashe has show again and again how it boost gaming performance by a lot. Very few cases the cashe dosent help when talking gaming. Mostly it does help and as said that can in some cases be quite a boost it gives. Also over 5600X you get also more cores for better future proofing or as future proofing it can get.

The ekstra cores 5900XT has wount really help, then your are better of with 8 cores and some more cashe. Also if your mobo has bad/weak vrm/vrm cooling a lower powered cpu are a better choice. Do to cpu can throttle down clocks is vrm overheats/are overloaded.

5700X3D is the best choice for only gaming period.

 

[Toothless]

x3d. That board isn't going to handle over 100w very well.

 

[Taraquin]

I second that. An X3D is the best you can get for sims.

As for PBO and CO, I don't think they're necessary for a 5700X3D. It's a very economical CPU out of the box.

The 5700X3D may use over 100W which is much to handle for the puny A320 MBs vrms. With UV/CO it should be better and avoid risk of thermal throttling

 

[Zach_01]

5700X3D may be a 105W TDP, 142W PPT CPU but in reality it shouldn't pass 100W PPT in any non synthetic application unless extreme cooling is on it.

 

[R0H1T]

With UV/CO it should be better and avoid risk of thermal throttling

Well the board is ancient, does it even have the option to undervolt let alone CO for any CPU? It doesn't even support OCing IIRC.

 

[freeagent]

I would get the X3D..

But I want them both

 

[Dr. Dro]

The 5600X isn't worth it. The 5700X3D is great for gaming - although a bit slower than the 5800X3D due to milder clock speeds. The 5900XT is budget 5950X, 100MHz slower, meh. Comes with a spare Wraith cooler, so i'd buy it over the 5950X for that reason alone.

If focus is gaming, 5700X3D. If you want reasonable jump in gaming and productivity legs, grab the 5900XT. Though, that might pull a bit more power than what you'd want out of an A320. Cheers

Well the board is ancient, does it even have the option to undervolt let alone CO for any CPU? It doesn't even support OCing IIRC.

With an updated BIOS it should be completely fine

 

[freeagent]

It should be able to do 143w, that is the socket standard for 8 and 12 cores right?

 

[Dr. Dro]

It should be able to do 143w, that is the socket standard for 8 and 12 cores right?

5900XT is 16-core, weird naming mechanism by AMD. It's just a slightly slower 5950X, but yeah, it'll handle base power OK. Not much room for tweaking though, and it won't boost as high

 

[freeagent]

I was going to get it just because of my old 3600XT.. but nah..

I still want a 5950X though.. I have questions that only I can answer lol

 

[GotNoRice]

On AM4 I upgraded from a 3900X to a 5900X to a 5800X3D on the same motherboard. The upgrade from the 5900X to the 5800X3D felt like a bigger upgrade compared to the upgrade from the 3900X to the 5900X. The 3D cache really makes a difference in a lot of games. I would absolutely upgrade to the 5700X3D, unless you can find a used 5800X3D.