PC Processors

[SandrilaFriman]

What are the functional differences between a 5600 and 3600, and which gives me the most bang for my buck between the two?

Also, what AMD motherboard is optimal in a ~$2.3k budget that can accommodate both [one of the two processors listed above] and an rtx 3070?

[Earnhardt]

You should try Google! 

[cpurpe91]

The Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5600X have higher IPC and clock speed compared to the Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 5 3600X. This means in more CPU intensive workloads and games you can achieve faster completion of workloads and higher FPS compared to the Ryzen 3000 counterparts. An example would be the Ryzen 5 5600X maintaining higher framerates in games at 1920 by 1080 resolution versus Ryzen 5 3600X, and shorter times to render videos when you compare the 5000 series to the 3000 series.

The Ryzen 5 3600X or 3600 are still viable options. It depends solely on what you plan to do with your machine. I would go with the 5000 series as it is the best available 6 core 12 thread option for the AM4 socket. 

In motherboards I would go with a modest B550 board with decent VRM heastsinks and enough expansion options to meet your personal needs. The best chipset options are the X570S chipset as they are the most recent releases and should ship with a BIOS that supports Ryzen 5000 CPUs out of the box. Some boards may not have a BIOS that supports Ryzen 5000, in this case you can contact AMD and have them ship a CPU that is supported to you so you can update the BIOS, install your chip, and ship the chip AMD sent, back to them. This is a free service provided by AMD.

I am still on Ryzen 3000 and have not had to update motherboard BIOS to support my chips, but at launch, some people did have to update BIOS to support the, then new, Ryzen 3000 series. Personally, I am waiting for the AM5 socket boards, which support the Zen 4 architecture CPUs, coming in the next year. I don't have a timeline that is set in stone however I expect them to launch in Q3 or Q4 of this year. 

I hope this helped and suggest you look into the new CPUs that are coming as you may feel cheated if you build a high end system that performs well but is dwarfed by the performance of the Zen 4 CPUs that are to come out in the next year.

If you have questions, ask.

[ThreeDee]

The IMC (Integrated Memory Controller) on the 5000 series is a bit more robust then the 3000 and older chips so you'll get to run faster RAM with the 5600 over the 3600 (3600'ish as opposed to 3200'ish) with faster FCLK (aka Infinity Fabric) 

Better RAM compatibility for the most part with the 5600... better per core performance then the 3600 (by quite a bit I might add)

..and as stated .. just do an internet search "5600 vs 3600" .. you'll get a plethora of videos and charts and what not showing the performance gap between the two.

You'll want a good cooler to go on that 5600 so you'll get the most out of your chip .. higher boost clocks that can be sustained longer.

You'll want a good quality PSU to handle the transient spikes from the RTX 3070. Be sure to run separate power cables to each power input on whatever GPU you end up getting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL7KIVI_hJg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ

I recommend 80+ Gold or better with more than enough wattage to handle ALL your components.

You'll want a good mesh front case for great air flow to keep not only your CPU and GPU cool .. but your motherboards VRM's and your RAM cool as well. 

I recommend getting 2 x 16GB sticks over 4 x 8GB sticks .. IF you go with the 5600 .. then get some 3600 rated stuff, CAS16 or lower.

IF you are able, you might want to inquire about what BIOS is installed on whatever AM4 motherboard to decide to go with to make sure it's compatible with your CPU so you can just put your components together and go instead of trying to get ahold of an older CPU to flash your motherboards BIOS so it will run your new CPU.

Once you get it up and running . .be sure to grab latest AM4 chipset drivers from AMD.com after you get your Windows install fully updated.

[digipointer0]

In terms of performance, the Ryzen 5 5600X generally outperforms the Ryzen 5 3600, particularly in single-threaded applications. This is due in part to the Zen 3 architecture's improvements in IPC (instructions per clock), which allows for more work to be done in each clock cycle. The Ryzen 5 5600X also has a larger L3 cache than the Ryzen 5 3600, which can improve performance in some workloads.
In terms of motherboards, you'll want to look for one that supports the AM4 socket, as both the Ryzen 5 5600X and Ryzen 5 3600 use this socket. A good option in the ~$2.3k budget range would be the ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (WiFi 6), which has support for PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6, and can accommodate both the Ryzen 5 5600X or Ryzen 5 3600 as well as an RTX 3070.