AMD newbie CPU purchase advice

[VeenZA]

I have a 3070 system that came with a Ryzen 5 1600, I'm assuming it's AM4 architecture and I'm looking to upgrade. I've always been an Intel fanboy, but don't want to replace the mboard, so which budget friendly am4 compatible ryzen cpu would you suggest for pairing with the 3070?

Budget is around 3000
Motherboard Model: MSi X470 Gaming Plus Max
Edit: Also 100% prefer 2nd hand

I'd like something that can handle multi-tasking very well like Photoshop, Illustrator, 7 million chrome tabs, etc and be lekker for 1440p gaming.

Thanks in advance!

 

[moedeez]

What motherboard do you have, exact make and model?
Reason I ask, not all Am4 motherboards support every single am4 chip, so it influences the advice you can receive.

 

[Pr3d4t3r]

Like a Ryzen 5700 is in that ballpark isn't it?

 

[VeenZA]

Thanks! Added the motherboard model

What motherboard do you have, exact make and model?
Reason I ask, not all Am4 motherboards support every single am4 chip, so it influences the advice you can receive.

MSi X470 Gaming Plus Max

 

[goldfritter]

Like a Ryzen 5700 is in that ballpark isn't it?

Isn't that the one where all the reviewers were like "don't buy it, it's a scam"

 

[Sageofchaos]

Have you checked in the BIOS what version the existing BIOS is on?

Some of the CPUs require a BIOS Update.

X470 GAMING PLUS MAX | Motherboard | MSI Global

Best AMD AM4 X470 ATX motherboard, Turbo M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Mystic Light, MSI MPG

www.msi.com

The link above is the CPU support page for your motherboard, if you have a look at the Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 chips, it looks like most of them require either BIOS update 7B79vH0 OR 7B79vHB

As recommenced, any of the Ryzen 7 5XXX series CPUs should pair quite nicely, considering your existing CPU is 6-core/12-thread, logical upgrade would be a step up to 8-core/16-thread, with better frequency and better cache size.

If you can find a Ryzen 7 5700G it'd be a good contender, but if you can find the holy grail that is an X3D chip, even better, try go for any of the X3D chips if you can.

Also, what cooling have you got to pair with the CPU? The Ryzen AM4 5XXX series CPU's are quite power hungry, and with power comes heat.

 

[Kamikaze]

A 5600x CPU will do the job perfectly for your budget and will be a vast improvement over your 1600. My friend did this exact upgrade and saw between 30% and 80% bumps in FPS performance in 1440P/

 

[moedeez]

Thanks! Added the motherboard model

MSi X470 Gaming Plus Max

X470 GAMING PLUS MAX | Motherboard | MSI Global

Best AMD AM4 X470 ATX motherboard, Turbo M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Mystic Light, MSI MPG

www.msi.com

You can just double check compatibility there for which Bios version supports which chip. (Just be careful you may need to install Bios's in a specific order, just double check)

I haven't really looked , but takealot has a 5700x on special for today @3999 (over budget I know)

Takealot

www.takealot.com

5600x for R3399 Takealot, with luck you can get these used for under R2500

 

[Switch]

Have you checked in the BIOS what version the existing BIOS is on?

Some of the CPUs require a BIOS Update.

X470 GAMING PLUS MAX | Motherboard | MSI Global

Best AMD AM4 X470 ATX motherboard, Turbo M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, Mystic Light, MSI MPG

www.msi.com

The link above is the CPU support page for your motherboard, if you have a look at the Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 chips, it looks like most of them require either BIOS update 7B79vH0 OR 7B79vHB

As recommenced, any of the Ryzen 7 5XXX series CPUs should pair quite nicely, considering your existing CPU is 6-core/12-thread, logical upgrade would be a step up to 8-core/16-thread, with better frequency and better cache size.

If you can find a Ryzen 7 5700G it'd be a good contender, but if you can find the holy grail that is an X3D chip, even better, try go for any of the X3D chips if you can.

Also, what cooling have you got to pair with the CPU? The Ryzen AM4 5XXX series CPU's are quite power hungry, and with power comes heat.

I would avoid the 5700g, it's got less cache and uses pcie3 (even though the op board is pcie 3 limited) and isn't based on the vermeer design.

I have a 3070 system that came with a Ryzen 5 1600, I'm assuming it's AM4 architecture and I'm looking to upgrade. I've always been an Intel fanboy, but don't want to replace the mboard, so which budget friendly am4 compatible ryzen cpu would you suggest for pairing with the 3070?

Budget is around 3000
Motherboard Model: MSi X470 Gaming Plus Max
Edit: Also 100% prefer 2nd hand

I'd like something that can handle multi-tasking very well like Photoshop, Illustrator, 7 million chrome tabs, etc and be lekker for 1440p gaming.

Thanks in advance!

Realistically you looking at 5600x or 5600 in that budget range, maybe a 5700x if someone was generous enough with their pricing. Would recommend you update your bios to at least the earliest version that supports a 5000 series before you remove your current cpu to avoid a lot of unnecessary boot pain. 5600(x) is plenty fast for a 3070 if your game isn't heavy multicore orientated.

 

[goldfritter]

I'd also buy a nice used 5600X if I were in your shoes. Or if it must be new, either save the few hundred or get a 5600 non-X, performance difference is minor.

 

[VeenZA]

Awesome, I think 5600x / 5600 / 5700x are the ones I'll be looking into, thanks guys.

Also, what cooling have you got to pair with the CPU? The Ryzen AM4 5XXX series CPU's are quite power hungry, and with power comes heat.

Currently an Antec c400, that came with the PC when I bought it, will it do, or should I look at upgrading that too?

 

[Ant7]

Check out this vid from Hardware Unboxed for a good idea of the performance increase you can expect with a 5600x.
Average FPS gains from upgrading to a 5600x are pretty minor for a 3070 at 1440p when using highest quality settings though 1% lows are quite a lot better and you can expect quite a nice boost at lower quality settings or 1080p.

 

[souljazk]

R5 5500 / 5600/x is what you want.

 

[Kamikaze]

Awesome, I think 5600x / 5600 / 5700x are the ones I'll be looking into, thanks guys.


Currently an Antec c400, that came with the PC when I bought it, will it do, or should I look at upgrading that too?

A 2nd hand 5600x around R2300 will work well with that 4 heat pipe cooler. Save that R700 for an upgrade to a 5800x3D in 2 years.

 

[Areola Grande]

At 1440p your GPU is going to be the bottleneck, so a 5600X would be ideal.

Should improve 1% lows quite nicely and general system responsiveness will be better.

 

[VeenZA]

Think I have everything I need, appreciate it gents, going to lock thread. <3