Looking for help to purchase a good CPU for next(current) gen.

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

Greetings everyone.

As the topic's title suggest, i'm planning on purchasing a new CPU with next(current) gen in mind. As I know very little about the current state of the CPU market, i have some questions:

Is it a good time to buy a new CPU or is it the time to wait?

Which CPU should i keep an eye on in terms of good cost/benefit?(my budget has it's limits)

I'm trying to plan more or less how i'm going to upgrade my PC going foward, so any information is welcome.

Thx in advance.

PS9 · Feb 24, 2021

Now is a good time to buy one of the new AMD CPUs. The problem is finding one.

White Glint · Feb 24, 2021

Just built mine with a Ryzen 3600. You can try looking for a 5600x but that could be impossible depending where you're at.

Still a Gray Area · Feb 24, 2021

AMD's Ryzen 5600x is a great performer and will be for years to come. It does come at quite a premium over the 3600 though so the question would be do you want to pay now or get the 3600 save $100+ and put that money toward a newer CPU in 3 to 4yrs time.

If you play at 1080p I would look at the 5600x, if you play at higher resolutions, where you'll most likely be GPU limited, I would roll w/ a 3600.
All is moot if you're flush w/ cash tho..............

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

Is the 5600x a safe bet for next gen?

super-famicom · Feb 24, 2021

What is your current build and what is your budget? The 5600x (a 6 core CPU) is a great Ryzen CPU for pure gaming, but I feel like in a couple years more upcoming games may need 8 cores. So if you're looking to buy once and keep it for 4-5 years then a 5800x might be a better choice. Unfortunately it's more expensive, but maybe AMD will release a 5700x or something late this year.

Alexandros · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Is the 5600x a safe bet for next gen?

Too early to say. The fact that consoles have 8-core CPUs might cause issues down the line. Granted, PS4 and XB1 had 8-core CPUs too but there was a massive gulf in performance between the Jaguar CPUs in consoles and, well, practically any decent PC CPU. I would say that 8 cores is a much safer choice but those CPUs are rather expensive right now. Personally I am waiting until I can get at least 8 cores/16 threads at the $200ish price point.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Shame you didn't ask this yesterday when you could get a 10 core 20 thread processor for $320.

Samiya · Feb 24, 2021

i thought people were saying that we should wait for the new intel processors (8mm?) or something?

Duxxy3 said:
Shame you didn't ask this yesterday when you could get a 10 core 20 thread processor for $320.

which one was that?

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Samiya said:
i thought people were saying that we should wait for the new intel processors (8mm?) or something?

which one was that?

10850k

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

To give some information:

I do have the budget to buy either the x3600 or the x5600 right now, and they are both available to me.

I would gladly wait more in any other given context, but, considering the pandemic and the fact that i live in Brazil, where our currency is extremely unstable, in the future i could not only not find these CPUs we are talking now, but also the newer ones could be much more expensive considering cost benefit. Things are too unpredictable as it is(even more so in countries like mine).

Jedi2016 · Feb 24, 2021

The AMD chips are definitely the way to go right now. I've got a 9th-gen Intel chip that will probably work well enough for next-gen, but the new AMD chips are definitely a better bang for the buck.

Still a Gray Area · Feb 24, 2021

super-famicom said:
What is your current build and what is your budget? The 5600x (a 6 core CPU) is a great Ryzen CPU for pure gaming, but I feel like in a couple years more upcoming games may need 8 cores. So if you're looking to buy once and keep it for 4-5 years then a 5800x might be a better choice. Unfortunately it's more expensive, but maybe AMD will release a 5700x or something late this year.

It's not about cores for gaming. It's more about clocks and IPC. A 5600x can easily beat a 3700x despite having 2 fewer cores for example.

Still a Gray Area · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
To give some information:

I do have the budget to buy either the x3600 or the x5600 right now, and they are both available to me.

I would gladly wait more in any other given context, but, considering the pandemic and the fact that i live in Brazil, where our currency is extremely unstable, in the future i could not only not find these CPUs we are talking now, but also the newer ones could be much more expensive considering cost benefit. Things are too unpredictable as it is(even more so in countries like mine).

The 5600x will last you the entire gen. It is a better CPU than what is in both the Series X and PS5 and those aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Skyebaron · Feb 24, 2021

There has not been a game right now that has taxed my 3700x in any meaningful way. Granted. i play at 4K and 1440p/120hz so im more GPU limited than anything. Id say go for the 5600x if you want to play stuff right now.

brain_stew · Feb 24, 2021

Depending on pricing in your local market, there's some good deals to be had on Intel 10th gen right now.

A 10600KF can be had for £180 here in the UK and a 10850K for £375. Really hard to justify the inflated prices for Zen 3 CPUs with such good prices on the Intel side.

I just don't see how ~£345 for a 6 core processor can be justified when a 10600KF is available for nearly half the price. If you're gaming at 1080p with a 3090 then there's a ~10% difference in performance. If you're gaming at 1440p or using a 3070 or lower at 1080p them there's no measurable difference. I just can't recommend it, AMD have completely given up on being price competitive for gaming at this point, which is really disappointing.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

brain_stew said:
Depending on pricing in your local market, there's some good deals to be had on Intel 10th gen right now.

A 10600KF can be had for £180 here in the UK and a 10850K for £375. Really hard to justify the inflated prices for Zen 3 CPUs with such good prices on the Intel side.

Shit I forgot about the 10600k. That goes for $230 here. The 5600x is better, but not $70 better.

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

I'm one click away to get either the 3600x or the 5600x. I'm about to make a decision.

To add more information, my plans for next gen involves 4k and 1080p, i will go with 4k only if i can maintain 60FPS, 1080p if the game is too taxing so i can keep the 60FPS threshold.

Deleted member 14089 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
I'm one click away to get either the 3600x or the 5600x. I'm about to make a decision.

To add more information, my plans for next gen involves 4k and 1080p, i will go with 4k only if i can maintain 60FPS, 1080p if the game is too taxing so i can keep the 60FPS threshold.

What country do you live in, because here in the Netherlands the option to go for the 10700KF has been very attractive and cheaper than going for the AMD 3700X or AMD 5600X. Moreover, it might be nicer to go middle down the road for 1440p. There are a lot of nice monitors with HDR and high framerates for that resolution.

EDIT: I just read that you live in Brazil.In the end you should just go for what's available and within your budget.

brain_stew · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
I'm one click away to get either the 3600x or the 5600x. I'm about to make a decision.

To add more information, my plans for next gen involves 4k and 1080p, i will go with 4k only if i can maintain 60FPS, 1080p if the game is too taxing so i can keep the 60FPS threshold.

Both are terrible value to be honest. The 3600x has always been terrible, as you're paying upwards of $50 for a letter and the 5600x is just too much money for a 6 core processor. If you've already got the motherboard then I'd probably be considering a 3600 (none X) depending on pricing in your local market. If you haven't, get a 10600KF, that's the value for money 6 core gaming CPU at the moment.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
I'm one click away to get either the 3600x or the 5600x. I'm about to make a decision.

To add more information, my plans for next gen involves 4k and 1080p, i will go with 4k only if i can maintain 60FPS, 1080p if the game is too taxing so i can keep the 60FPS threshold.

You would probably know the Brazillian market better than us. It varies a lot from country to country. I'd have a hard time recommending either of those processors here in the states because of Intel's extremely aggressive pricing. But that might not be the case in Brazil.

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

brain_stew said:
Both are terrible value to be honest. The 3600x has always been terrible, as you're paying upwards of $50 for a letter and the 5600x is just too much money for a 6 core processor. If you've already got the motherboard then I'd probably be considering a 3600 (none X) depending on pricing in your local market. If you haven't, get a 10600KF, that's the value for money 6 core gaming CPU at the moment.

Duxxy3 said:
You would probably know the Brazillian market better than us. It varies a lot from country to country. I'd have a hard time recommending either of those processors here in the states because of Intel's extremely aggressive pricing. But that might not be the case in Brazil.

Well this is actually on a good price for me here also, it's between the 3600x and the 5700x.

Its the 10600KA avengers edition(the only one available to me).

So: 5600x, 3600x and 10600KA, all within my budget.

@Edit
10700KF also in my budget, virtually the same price as the 5600x for me.

Kurt Russell · Feb 24, 2021

I'd go with the 5600x. You can get a good B550 board and that leaves you room to upgrade if you feel the need in the future. The improvements in IPC and raw frequency make it a pretty tough contender vs the Zen 2 parts inside of the new consoles, and I'd bet it'll last the whole gen.

Hellshy · Feb 24, 2021

I'm in the middle of trying to figure this out myself and wanted to go with the 5600x, but its out of stock everywhere I look.
Does anyone here have any clue when the next restock is going to be in the states?

Alvis · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Is the 5600x a safe bet for next gen?

I wouldn't get a 6 core if you plan to keep it for a long time. I think you should be looking at the 5800X. It has 2 extra cores (4 extra threads in total) which makes it more future proof. It also boosts higher so it has higher single threaded performance than the 5600X too. Also, it's the easiest to find at MSRP or even below out of the entire Zen 3 lineup.

People shit on it because it's $50 too expensive and the negativity is so incredibly insane around it that it seems like it's somehow worse than the 5600X. It's not. It's a great CPU and better than the 5600X. It's just $50 more expensive than it should, but that's the only issue with it.

Kurt Russell said:
I'd go with the 5600x. You can get a good B550 board and that leaves you room to upgrade if you feel the need in the future. The improvements in IPC and raw frequency make it a pretty tough contender vs the Zen 2 parts inside of the new consoles, and I'd bet it'll last the whole gen.

Zen 3 is the last CPU generation to use the AM4 socket. There will be nothing to upgrade to beyond what's currently available (except MAYBE pointless "XT" SKUs) so it makes zero sense to buy a CPU with the mindset of upgrading it later with the same board. Why buy a 5600X and then upgrade to a 5800X / 5900X if you can just... buy a 5800X / 5900X?

Kurt Russell · Feb 24, 2021

Alvis said:
I wouldn't get a 6 core if you plan to keep it for a long time. I think you should be looking at the 5800X. It has 2 extra cores (4 extra threads in total) which makes it more future proof. It also boosts higher so it has higher single threaded performance than the 5600X too. Also, it's the easiest to find at MSRP or even below out of the entire Zen 3 lineup.

Zen 3 is the last CPU generation to use the AM4 socket. There will be nothing to upgrade to beyond what's currently available (except MAYBE pointless "XT" SKUs) so it makes zero sense to buy a CPU with the mindset of upgrading it later with the same board. Why buy a 5600X and then upgrade to a 5800X / 5900X if you can just... buy a 5800X / 5900X?

Because not everyone can "just buy a 5800x/5900x" The poster is from Brazil, and I'm guessing their economy is in a similar state to ours (Argentina). Under these conditions, getting something that still has an upgrade path in the future is a good idea.
Oh, and if hardware supply is similar in Brazil to Argentina, then the 5800x is definitely NOT "the easiest to find at MSRP or even below" out of the Zen 3 lineup.

Alvis · Feb 24, 2021

Kurt Russell said:
Because not everyone can "just buy a 5800x/5900x" The poster is from Brazil, and I'm guessing their economy is in a similar state to ours (Argentina). Under these conditions, getting something that still has an upgrade path in the future is a good idea.
Oh, and if hardware supply is similar in Brazil to Argentina, then the 5800x is definitely NOT "the easiest to find at MSRP or even below" out of the Zen 3 lineup.

Please read my post again. I'll even point out the specific part you need to read

Alvis said:
Why buy a 5600X and then upgrade to a 5800X / 5900X if you can just... buy a 5800X / 5900X?

Alvis said:
if you can

If OP can only afford the 5600X then there's no discussion to be had, yes it's great buy it.

Deleted member 14089 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
10700KF also in my budget, virtually the same price as the 5600x for me.

That's nice! Although the CPU is only one part of the computer, I'd advise you to also look at the motherboard prices. For AMD you could look at B550 boards and for Intel, with the i7 10700KF, I'd advise you to look at Z490 boards.

Then compare the total of those two components together (MOBO and CPU), you should go for the option that looks the most attractive to you.

This review should give you a rough estimate of how these processors compare to one another, the 10700KF is comparable to the 10700K (The F in the name is just to indicate that there is no internal GPU with the CPU).

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Review - Game Tests 1440p | TechPowerUp

EDIT:

brain_stew said:
If the 10700KF is priced similar to the 5600x then get the 10700KF. Within 5-10% per core performance for gaming but 33.3% more cores, it's the better deal.

This also^

brain_stew · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Well this is actually on a good price for me here also, it's between the 3600x and the 5700x.

Its the 10600KA avengers edition(the only one available to me).

So: 5600x, 3600x and 10600KA, all within my budget.

@Edit
10700KF also in my budget, virtually the same price as the 5600x for me.

If the 10700KF is priced similar to the 5600x then get the 10700KF. Within 5-10% per core performance for gaming but 33.3% more cores, it's the better deal.

Kurt Russell · Feb 24, 2021

Alvis said:
Please read my post again. I'll even point out the specific part you need to read

If OP can only afford the 5600X then there's no discussion to be had, yes it's great buy it.

...seriously? I mean, did you even bother to read what the OP posted? They have the budget to buy either a 5600x or a 3600x. Doesn't that instantly go against your "friendly suggestion"?
Buying a 5600x makes a lot of sense within that budget, and then upgrading later down the line if it becomes a necessity.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Well this is actually on a good price for me here also, it's between the 3600x and the 5700x.

Its the 10600KA avengers edition(the only one available to me).

So: 5600x, 3600x and 10600KA, all within my budget.

@Edit
10700KF also in my budget, virtually the same price as the 5600x for me.

I'd get the 5600x if it's only slightly more expensive than the 10600KA. If the 5600x is a lot more, I'd get the 10600KA.

I'd get the 3600x only if it's considerably less expensive than the 5600x and 10600KA.

The 10700KF... depends on how expensive motherboards are. If comparable boards for Intel and AMD are the same price, I might lean towards the 10700KF.

CPU's are in a good place right for in terms of price to performance. They're all good options.

danhz · Feb 24, 2021

If I were going to buy a new one, between 3700x and 5600x, which one would be the best?
Only for games.

Ra · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Well this is actually on a good price for me here also, it's between the 3600x and the 5700x.

Its the 10600KA avengers edition(the only one available to me).

So: 5600x, 3600x and 10600KA, all within my budget.

@Edit
10700KF also in my budget, virtually the same price as the 5600x for me.

I'd personally take the 10700KF, all things considered and assuming motherboard prices are also equal.

liquidmetal14 · Feb 24, 2021

To the OP, I'd get with the new 5xxx AMD.

I recently jumped from a 9900k to a 5900x. Got a good Aorus x570 board to boot. I'll probably do a board/CPU upgrade when DDR5 hits. There's always that carrot dangling.

I paid a little more for my 5900x but i was like 50USD over the retail+tax so a small pill to swallow.

Honestly the 9900k was fine it just got too hot. I can run the 5900x with the h100i Capellix and my temps rarely hit 80c with an all core OC and would get over 90 with my Intel all core OC. Forget about it when it comes to multicore performance. The AMD smokes the Intel. And now they're in line with intel OR better at gaming.

AMD is the place to be. Feel safe in your upgrade.

DaciaJC · Feb 24, 2021

What would be the absolute best CPU available now if cost is not a concern? I admit I'm not all that up to speed on technical jargon, cores vs clocks and what to look for if future-proofing is the aim.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

DaciaJC said:
What would be the absolute best CPU available now if cost is not a concern? I admit I'm not all that up to speed on technical jargon, cores vs clocks and what to look for if future-proofing is the aim.

Ryzen 5950x if budget was not an issue.

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

I nailed it down to the: 5600x and the 10700KF. Both are the same price as i mentioned.

The motherboard would be the deciding factor then.

I have some basic mobos as options here for a decent price for both AMD and Intel(slightly more expensive for intel), but people recommended the B550 or Z490 for AMD and intel respectively. Those are both kinda expensive. Does the mobo make that much of a difference?

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
I nailed it down to the: 5600x and the 10700KF. Both are the same price as i mentioned.

The motherboard would be the deciding factor then.

I have some basic mobos here for a decent price for both(slightly more expensive for intel), but people recommended the B550 or Z490 for AMD and intel respectively. Those are both kinda expensive. Does the mobo make that much of a difference?

What motherboards are you looking at?

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

Duxxy3 said:
What motherboards are you looking at?

From the list i have here, the cheapest ones for intel and amd are respectively: H410 elite and A320MH, the Z490 and B550 mentioned previously are about twice or 2.5 the price of these basic ones.

Alexandros · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
I nailed it down to the: 5600x and the 10700KF. Both are the same price as i mentioned.

The motherboard would be the deciding factor then.

I have some basic mobos as options here for a decent price for both AMD and Intel(slightly more expensive for intel), but people recommended the B550 or Z490 for AMD and intel respectively. Those are both kinda expensive. Does the mobo make that much of a difference?

For me the 10700KF is the easy choice. Two more physical cores at roughly the same price.

Magog · Feb 24, 2021

PCs don't have gens though...

Deleted member 14089 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
Does the mobo make that much of a difference?

For AMD the motherboard (B550 and X570 chipset) there aren't really large difference as it allows for overclocking, high ram speed support, PCIe-4 (often only one for B550 boards).
For intel this may be a limiting factor as the B460 motherboards are limited to a ram speed of 2933MHZ and sometimes don't allow for overclocking IIRC.The Z490 chipset does allow for higher ram speed support and Overclocking all around.

It is important for both to check reviews beforehand as VRMs (an component that ensures power delivery to the CPU) are an important factor that ultimately may determine whether the CPU can go to its full potential (some VRMs get really hot on motherboards or may not be able to deliver enough to ensure stable turbo clock speeds).

In summary;
- AMD: B550, recommended. You could look for X470 or B450 boards as they support the 3000 [3600x] and some support the 5000 series [5600x], but you'd have to share which one you're looking at as they may require an update to support those newer 5000 series (and it also depends on whether you'd be able to do them). however these older chipsets don't support some newer features. Overview

- Intel: B460, but preferably Z490.

This may be a bit confusing

Graven · Feb 24, 2021

Thx everyone for all the help so far.

Once i arrive at home from work, i will keep looking into the mobo issue and make a decision, more information on that front is welcome.

Kurt Russell · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
From the list i have here, the cheapest ones for intel and amd are respectively: H410 elite and A320MH, the Z490 and B550 mentioned previously are about twice or 2.5 the price of these basic ones.

Don't think that the A320 mobos support Zen 3, so you will need an updated B450 at the very least. I'd go with a B550 so you still get PCIE 4. Also, check that the mobo is updated to support Zen 3 out of the gate.
On the Intel side, as slamhk said above, you will be losing out on ram speed and overclocking if you go with a B series board. I don't think going with an H410 for that kind of cpu is a good idea either.

Deleted member 45130 · Feb 24, 2021

Providing you pick a newer CPU with 6 or more cores, you'll be fine. Anything lower than 6 cores and you may have some issues.

I remember watching a Digital Foundry video on RDR2 for PC and they said that the game had a few issues on CPUs with less than 6 cores. I'm not saying that every game will have this problem but with consoles having significantly better CPUs, it's very likely developers will develop games using that hardware as a framework.

yogurt · Feb 24, 2021

Just here to echo what others have said -- AMD processors are better right now in theory, but Intel has been dropping their prices to stay competitive so depending on your local pricing Intel may be a better choice.

As for Motherboards, unless you have specific power user needs they'll all mostly be the same. The biggest thing is making sure you get a motherboard that is decent enough to be reliable.

Duxxy3 · Feb 24, 2021

Graven said:
From the list i have here, the cheapest ones for intel and amd are respectively: H410 elite and A320MH, the Z490 and B550 mentioned previously are about twice or 2.5 the price of these basic ones.

You'll really want a B450/B550 or Z490 to get the most out of your processor.

Deleted member 35478 · Feb 24, 2021

Alexandros said:
Too early to say. The fact that consoles have 8-core CPUs might cause issues down the line. Granted, PS4 and XB1 had 8-core CPUs too but there was a massive gulf in performance between the Jaguar CPUs in consoles and, well, practically any decent PC CPU. I would say that 8 cores is a much safer choice but those CPUs are rather expensive right now. Personally I am waiting until I can get at least 8 cores/16 threads at the $200ish price point.

5600x and zen 3 in general the ipc is really good and it can trade blows with CPU's of more cores / threads in many games that use all those cores / threads. For example zen 2 chips like the 3700x and up. Zen 2 being in consoles I'd wager the 5600x will be fine this gen.

Alexandros · Feb 24, 2021

Superkamikazee said:
5600x and zen 3 in general the ipc is really good and it can trade blows with CPU's of more cores / threads in many games that use all those cores / threads. For example zen 2 chips like the 3700x and up. Zen 2 being in consoles I'd wager the 5600x will be fine this gen.

You may very well be right, I haven't looked at benchmarks recently. It's just that personally I would feel much safer with 8 physical cores.

daninthemix · Feb 24, 2021

I say wait for the i9-11900k in March and check reviews. It could be the new fastest gaming CPU.

Sure you could get an AMD now, but A) You probably can't get an AMD now, and B) There's that annoying-sounding USB bug.

Looking for help to purchase a good CPU for next(current) gen.

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