Tech - CPU Upgrade? (1 Viewer)

[Vrakenor]

Just looking for opinions here:

Currently running PC (about 2 years old at this point)
Ryzan 5 5600
32 Gb Ram
Asus B550 AM4 MB
AMD Radeon RX 6600 (3 monitors)

After all the hullabalue (DirectX 11) from the latest patch, I started to think about whether it was time to upgrade. I started to do some research and found a bunch of tweaks for my system to ring some more performance from it. I guess I have always been somewhat of a techhead lol. But I build my computers from parts that I consider the "best bang for the buck", in other words I am kind of cheap. Well my research led me to this conundrum and I am looking to you guys to offer up your opinions.

I am looking at buying a AMD Ryzan 7 5800x3D the one with 96mb of Cache on top (psychically built on top of the chip, novell approach). So this is my take on it. I have to consider the AM4 socketed MB that I have so the Ryzan 7 7800x3d is out of consideration (need an AM5 MB for that). From all I have read this CPU is a beast for single thread ops and the cache really speeds things up. So this is right up EQ's alley so to speak. EQ has always been a game the depends more on CPU than GPU. And (this is a big AND for me) it is currently only $307 right now. Judging from the benchmarks I have seen, I would say this is maximum bang for the buck. It is definitely faster than what I have now.

So here is my conundrum, I could wait til later this year and AMD will have AM5 stabilized and I could just upgrade to the new socket (CPU, PSU, RAM, and probably GPU). Yeah it costs more, but I said I was kind of a tech head and the idea of having newer stuff always appeals to me, within reason. And I am sure that this would be a potent system. Mind you I am old and therefore I don't play the newer shoot em up games that require really good systems. I just like to multibox EQ, so optimizing that is what I want from my PC. So this is more of a "want" than a "need".

So? Opinions? I am really leaning towards the Ryzan 7 5800X3D upgrade. I like the idea of making this system have some "longer legs".

Vrak

Edited out the 78% claim as I misquoted it.

 

[dewey2461]

I follow several tech review sites and I haven't seen anything that would lead me to think the 5800X3D is 78% faster than the 5600. From what I've seen doing a 5 min review you are looking at ~ 10% to 30% depending on the game title.

With that said the 5800X3D is likely to be the best cpu you'll be able to put on that MB so if your goal is to extend the life span of the system by incrementally adding to it then it makes sense to pick one up at some point.

I'd love to hear from some folks who have a 5800X3D system so you can get some first hand data on how EQ runs on them.

 

[wired420]

I believe EQ mainly uses Disk Caching instead. I have a 5800X and love it. I can only imagine in modern games that the 3D would be even better.

 

[Vrakenor]

Well after dewey's post above and some further reading, my enthusiasm has dimmed somewhat, lol. The main advantage to the X3D CPU is the single threading caching speed it generates because of the added 64 mb of cache. But it is my understanding that this is cake to EQ. I am concerned about the cost not justifying the speed bump.

Let's face it, I am looking to improve performance for EQ only. I don't play any of those other games that require a butt ton of FPS. I mean I read a bunch of reviews for the Ryzen 5 5600 that raved about it's capability as a "budget" CPU. So my opinion has changed, I think I will wait until AM5 is common and stable and just upgrade my whole system.

Vrak

 

[apop]

Can you comfortably play with what you have right now, or is it really impacting your enjoyment of the game. If you can play comfortably, wait. If not, then upgrade.

 

[Vrakenor]

Good advice apop. I think I was just letting my enthusiasm run away with me lol. Cooler heads prevail. Sheesh you would think that I could contain myself. I have only been doing this for 30 years. I have seen this trend before (many times). You wait for the new stuff to actually be released and then all the bugs worked out (so basically v2), and then something new and shiny comes out and the stuff you want goes on sale. That is the time to buy it. You get relatively new tech for a much better price. Bang for the buck, right?

And no, it is not affecting my game play at all. Like I said before, it was a want and not a need thing. This PC runs everything just fine and is very stable. I just get this itch to upgrade every 2 years or so. Damn computers and Moore's Law sheesh. Wife just shakes her head and say's I am addicted. But I just bought her a new laptop and then set up her old one for her mom lol. And we both just got new phones. And 6 months ago we got a new 80" Samsung TV, because she always wanted one. So who's addicted? Damn I about broke my back setting that TV up lol. Not trying to brag here just showing how I can get caught up in the upgrade bug. We must have at least 8-10 old phones laying around, going back 10 years or so. I don't know why but I just can't bring myself to throw them away. I bet I have at least 6-7 PC's and laptops in the house or out in the garage. Collecting dust now. I used to sell them off but no one wants them anymore. I call them spare parts but let's face it at the rate components change these days, what would I do with them? I mean, who wants me to install a 500gb spinner disk to replace an SSD? No one is who. Sorry got off on a rant lol. Just an old guy bithchin about the changing world around him is all.

Vrak

 

[dewey2461]

I don't know why but I just can't bring myself to throw them away.

I'm the same way.

I tend to upgrade bits and pieces of my PC build over time and let the older machines go to wife, or kids, etc.

My last build was different.

I'd slowly been increasing the number of EQ clients from 6 to 12, then 18 to 24 and was running the "swarm" on 3-5 PC's where the bottle neck was always the CPU load.

Then in early Jan/Feb of 2020 just as the pandemic was starting to ramp up and folks were saying shortages were likely, I pulled the trigger on an AMD 3950x , 64 GB ram, 2070 GPU for around $2200. Normally I'd spend maybe $800-$1200 on a machine so dropping $600+ on just a CPU felt so wrong !

The machine ended up being a beast though.

I went air cooled with a Noctura D15 and an extra intake fan at the front. The fans never ramp up much and its whisper quiet even under load, and, I replaced all those older machines with a single machine. Huge win.

Nothing wrong with splurging a bit if its your thing.

 

[Silverspaceman]

5800X3D is the best AM4 CPU for modern gaming, but, running a raid-worth of EQ instances isn't general gaming, so I think your CPU upgrade path would focus on core count. The 5700X (8c) is available right now for ~$200 and the 5900X (12c) is available at that ~$300 price point.

I have almost the same main system as you, except 64GB RAM and a 6600XT. I originally had 32GB RAM and 4 groups worth of instances + my background stuff was getting too close to full memory utilization (I had room to optimize). Not knowing how many instances you run, my assumption would be that upgrading your RAM and then your CPU would be a cost effective path for you. We all know the temptation of just upgrading to the best we can afford vs. effective for our use case.

 

[Doc James]

This is how technology makes money in the electronics/PC world. New and shiny is the allure here. Regardless of the performance increases. You are often left with bugs and frustration when opting for the biggest and greatest thing. But they know fans of the technology world will often justify and jump without so much as a second thought. Often to no real advantage other than the rush of a new purchase.

Its' good you put the second thought into this. The leaps and bounds increase in technology just isn't there like it used to be 15 years ago. It will be again, we just aren't there yet.