Question Advice for a new AM4 CPU

Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
Hey people,

Last week I broke my CPU (a Ryzen 5 2600). Luckily I didn't break my motherboard but since I don't have the budget right now to properly replaced it I got a Ryzen 2200G (which was the only one I could afford and is somewhat acceptable for gaming) to use for a few months until I have enough money for a proper CPU. That would be arround June.

I won't lose as much money on it because I have other leftover parts that I might be able to make a complete PC from and resell it.

But now I'm wondering which one to get. It has to be a Ryzen CPU because I already own a mobo.

I want to choose between a Ryzen 3600 or a Ryzen 3700x, I'm wondering what the pros and cons are of both. I could go for a 2600 again of course but for a small extra price I would have a Ryzen 3600 already.

The Ryzen 3600 probably has the best value right now for gaming, and the Ryzen 3700 has more cores, even though they're not needed now I see on a lot of forums people saying the 3700x is more futureproof.

Now I'm wondering if that's really true. Is the 3700 more futureproof than the 3600 and is it worth the extra €120 it costs? I don't feel like upgrading my CPU every year, I wouldn't have done now if I didn't break my 2600.

It would be a CPU to go into the following build:

CPU: (TBD)
Mobo: Asus Prime X470-Pro
RAM: 16gb Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro @3000mhz
GPU: Asus ROG RTX2060 6gb
PSU: Be Quiet Pure Power 11 600W.

Since I have a 2nd gen CPU now I can perform a BIOS update for a 3th gen ryzen if it's needed. And if you guys really advice it, I can still replace my motherboard.

Budget would be €400 for CPU and eventually motherboard. For just the CPU I don't see a reason to go higher than Ryzen 3700 which sells for about €300 here now.

As for cooling, I think the stock cooler will do fine without overclocking until I can save money up (again) to replace that. Besides if I remember it right the AMD stock coolers were pretty decent anyway.
 
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Well, see what the news is about new AMD launches come June. If we see Ryzen 4000 on the horizon, you may decide to then wait another month or two and pick up a cheaper 3700x or get a new 4700x if it costs about the same as what a 3700x currently costs anyway. Same applies for 3600/4600 if you go down the R5 route.

There'd be no merit to replacing the motherboard. Your current one is fine. And since you a) don't mention a need to have a PCIe 4.0 SSD and b) don't have more money than you know what to do, spending cash to add that feature doesn't seem wise versus keeping it in your pocket :)

You can argue the 3700x is more futureproof, but you can also argue the 3600 is much better value, and will be more than fine for some time. And that the saving the ~£100 difference between them will go towards your next upgrade. You won't need to replace your 3600 / 4600 etc for a few years, probably longer. By when new mobos will have PCIE 5.0, DDR5 RAM, and perhaps support for more future processors on the new socket. Whereas the next release of AMD CPUs will be the last round for AM4, so investing extra heavily on the CPU to 'futureproof' might not be worth it.

Stock cooler will be fine, and you can always upgrade the cooler should you want to with the money saved from not buying a new mobo.

Bottom line, see what the situation is on pricing and on new parts is in a few months when you are closer to making a purchase.

Just to ask, how much was your 2200G? The R5 1600 is barely any more at current prices for new parts.
 

Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
Thanks!

Yeah if the 4000 series is coming out within too much time I might wait for that a bit more, but I don't want to play the "wait forever" game haha.

I think you make a good point about not going "too futureproof". I just wasn't sure if the 3700 might last longer than the 3600 but with what you're saying they might not.

About the 1600, I feel a bit stupid now :D. I forgot about them! But just after checking it's still above my budget (they're like €20 more expensive) but my budget now was really tight. I paid about €90 for my 2200 now. The Ryzen 1600 for €110 or the 2600 for €130 current prices were above my budget unfortunately.
 

Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
Bump here.

I've decided that as soon as I have the funds for it, I'll be getting a Ryzen 3600. But now I'm looking for a CPU cooler as well haha. Especially because for my likings the stock cooler is too loud. I'm looking for an air cooler, and so far the one that's best to my likings is the Scythe Mugen 5 (PCGH) because it appears to be about the only cooler that fits with my RAM (Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro).

Are their any other coolers within the same budget (a bit more is fine) that work as well, are as quiet and have enough RAM clearance? It needs to be more than 51mm or not hover over any RAM slots.
 
The stock cooler on the R5 3600 was reportedly quite quiet, at least according to some reviewers:

With the Wraith Stealth installed the R5 3600 maintained a 4 GHz clock speed out of the box during our 1 hour long Blender stress test. This is an extreme stress test, so having it peaking at just 80 degrees is pretty good, especially given it was virtually silent.
 
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Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
Update: I purchased a Ryzen 3600 today combined with a Corsair H110i today :)

I know watercooling is overkill but it does look nice and it goes well with my RAM and front fans (and keyboard too :p)

Unfortunately that makes that I'm still not done with my PC after this haha. Figured I don't have enough SATA cables to connect all my harddrives now. Luckily I have a semi-modular PSU so I'll be able to replace the cables with all the crap on it for cables with 4 SATA connections each (and that's all I use, are there even PC's who still use MOLEX?)
 
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Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
This PSU? https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/1535 How many Sata devices do you have?

Right now 4 harddrives (2 HDD, 2 SSD), a Corsair Lightening Node and the Ledhub for the fans. That makes 6 devices :p.
And yeah, I'm planning to replace my cables for sata only ones, so I can replace the 3 cables for 2 cables with 4x sata each and end up having a cable less :)
 
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Inspireless Llama

Community Contributor
I could do since it would be cheaper, but it wouldn't be helpful to the snakenest my PC is right now. Not that I care that much about it, it's next to a closed side panel and the SSD's / HDD's that are there are just normal temps so with air it's all good too.

I'll take it into consideration!
 
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