Ryzen 5 3600 vs. R5 2600: GPU Scaling Benchmark Test

[Julio Franco]

The old value king Ryzen 5 2600 remains to this day a great CPU option. Gamers asking if they should spend some $70 more on the R5 3600, or just get the 2600, this is the article for you. It was time to get these results out.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1968-ryzen-3600-vs-2600-gaming-scaling/

 

[Squid Surprise]

Very nice review / benchmark.... what has been obvious for awhile is now made painfully clear - when it comes to gaming, the CPU is really not relevant once you reach a certain threshold - the bottleneck is the GPU.

Now the "king" of gaming is still the Intel 9900 at 8c/16t, but how do other 8c/16t CPUs compare? I believe the oldest 8c/16t CPU is Intel's 5960 (someone correct me if I'm wrong - I'm not including the FX crap that AMD was peddling) - how would that compare with all of these CPUs?

 

[tkabou]

Not sure how deliberately picking FC New Dawn, a game that had (and still has) issues on AMD hardware was a smart choice, given that the results are averaged and make a for a slightly skewed picture had a more neutral title been chosen.

 

[AIC1Drew]

If coming from a multi-generation old system, it's 3600 hands down. If someone already has a 2600 then it probably isn't worth the upgrade. Comes down to whether that ~$75 is worth it or not to the individual.

 

[dalewilbanks]

If coming from a multi-generation old system, it's 3600 hands down. If someone already has a 2600 then it probably isn't worth the upgrade. Comes down to whether that ~$75 is worth it or not to the individual.

Agreed, I bought the 2600 at the $150 price point and love it. Waiting on the 4600 which is due out in 2020, and expected to be major upgrade with new architecture, better IPC, etc.

 

[GreenNova343]

If coming from a multi-generation old system, it's 3600 hands down. If someone already has a 2600 then it probably isn't worth the upgrade. Comes down to whether that ~$75 is worth it or not to the individual.

Agreed. That why, when my motherboard went out the week before Christmas, I replaced the old system (FX-8320 CPU) with the R5 3600. I didn't need top-of-the line, so I passed up the R7 or Intel's things, but I figured by getting the latest Ryzen that should tide me over for a few years.

 

[Karl Hungus]

I've been mulling an upgrade from my i5 4670K (@4.4GHz) for a while now as RAM prices are rock bottom, but what I suspected all along is that it makes no sense to. I'm better off upgrading my GPU next (from a 1070) to a 5700XT of 2070 Super and saving the system upgrade for a few years down the line....maybe when DDR5 actually comes out. In any event, if I did upgrade now I'd be really tempted to get the 2600 over the 3600 as it's a difference of $105 CDN right now.

 

[Jagrnght]

I've been mulling an upgrade from my i5 4670K (@4.4GHz) for a while now as RAM prices are rock bottom, but what I suspected all along is that it makes no sense to. I'm better off upgrading my GPU next (from a 1070) to a 5700XT of 2070 Super and saving the system upgrade for a few years down the line....maybe when DDR5 actually comes out. In any event, if I did upgrade now I'd be really tempted to get the 2600 over the 3600 as it's a difference of $105 CDN right now.

My son's system is a i5 4690k matched with a rx570 and I used to use it as my VR machine with a GTX1080 and it was holding the GTX1080 back. I switched to a r5 1600 with an OC a few years ago and that helped. I recently upgraded that to the r7 3700x (using the same ram and mobo) and its coupled with the 1080. My experience using the two machines is that I'd not want to keep the i5 as my big boy gaming machine. It's now pretty compromised but well mated to a rx570 or 580. I've played a few demanding games on both machines and you really feel the cpu hitches on the i5. Likewise with the r5 1600 - it was starting to show its age (not for everyday computing - still great) with cutting edge demanding games. The r7 3700x really is the sweat spot for me right now, but I'm sure the r5 3600 is great too. I'd be spending that extra $75 mentioned in the article and not looking back.

 

[Karl Hungus]

My son's system is a i5 4690k matched with a rx570 and I used to use it as my VR machine with a GTX1080 and it was holding the GTX1080 back. I switched to a r5 1600 with an OC a few years ago and that helped. I recently upgraded that to the r7 3700x (using the same ram and mobo) and its coupled with the 1080. My experience using the two machines is that I'd not want to keep the i5 as my big boy gaming machine. It's now pretty compromised but well mated to a rx570 or 580. I've played a few demanding games on both machines and you really feel the cpu hitches on the i5. Likewise with the r5 1600 - it was starting to show its age (not for everyday computing - still great) with cutting edge demanding games. The r7 3700x really is the sweat spot for me right now, but I'm sure the r5 3600 is great too. I'd be spending that extra $75 mentioned in the article and not looking back.

Yah, but I've seen benchmarks of games comparing that same CPU of yours and new CPUs and the difference in frames is less than 10% in all cases. That's what I care about, real-world benchmarks, not speculation. This article proves (to me anyways) that a 9900K is a giant waste of cash...nerd-bragging rights only. Until I can't run DCS World at high settings in 1440p (around 55fps - high for that game) I won't be upgrading. I could care less about 144fps in Fortnite. I WANT a new system, but I don't NEED one. Now, I would like a faster vid card so I could enable SSAA in DCS World, that would be nice.

 

[Adi6293]

I've been mulling an upgrade from my i5 4670K (@4.4GHz) for a while now as RAM prices are rock bottom, but what I suspected all along is that it makes no sense to. I'm better off upgrading my GPU next (from a 1070) to a 5700XT of 2070 Super and saving the system upgrade for a few years down the line....maybe when DDR5 actually comes out. In any event, if I did upgrade now I'd be really tempted to get the 2600 over the 3600 as it's a difference of $105 CDN right now.

You want to pair 5700XT with an i5 4670K?......you might get 50% out of that card, definitely CPU first

 

[Karl Hungus]

You want to pair 5700XT with an i5 4670K?......you might get 50% out of that card, definitely CPU first

No, wrong. Show me benchmarks please. More cores does not equal more performance when barely any games (that I care about) support it. And I will upgrade the CPU after that. I have a wife and kids...need to do it slowly

 

[Adi6293]

No, wrong. Show me benchmarks please. More cores does not equal more performance when barely any games (that I care about) support it. And I will upgrade the CPU after that. I have a wife and kids...need to do it slowly

5700XT its on average 40% - 50% faster than 1070 and unless you play old games that i5 probably already bottlenecks the 1070, if it works for you that's great but I wouldn't run it like this

 

[Squid Surprise]

No, wrong. Show me benchmarks please. More cores does not equal more performance when barely any games (that I care about) support it. And I will upgrade the CPU after that. I have a wife and kids...need to do it slowly

Completely agree... but the 5700 isn't much of an upgrade over your 1070.... I'd wait it out or go a bit higher end...

 

[Karl Hungus]

5700XT its on average 40% - 50% faster than 1070 and unless you play old games that i5 probably already bottlenecks the 1070, if it works for you that's great but I wouldn't run it like this

As I said, show me some evidence, not just your hunch. I'll post my results when I get a new card next year and we'll see I guess. 50% loss is dramatic and extreme, you must know that. An overclocked quad-core i5 is NOT that slow. I may get a different card with the new ones coming out. As I said, DCS World is the game I play the most and it's probably the most hardware-intensive game on the planet right now.

 

[Adi6293]

Completely agree... but the 5700 isn't much of an upgrade over your 1070.... I'd wait it out or go a bit higher end...

How is this not a good upgrade?

 

[Adi6293]

As I said, show me some evidence, not just your hunch. I'll post my results when I get a new card next year and we'll see I guess. 50% loss is dramatic and extreme, you must know that. An overclocked quad-core i5 is NOT that slow. I may get a different card with the new ones coming out. As I said, DCS World is the game I play the most and it's probably the most hardware-intensive game on the planet right now.

Speed of a cpu is subjective to me that i5 is slow and to you its still fast but the truth is maybe in the game you play 3600 wouldn't be that much faster but your overall PC performance would be much better

 

[Karl Hungus]

Completely agree... but the 5700 isn't much of an upgrade over your 1070.... I'd wait it out or go a bit higher end...

What really held me back this year (bought kayaks for me and the wife for Xmas instead) was AMD's drivers, and the fact new cards are coming out. 5700XT is the one I would get right now as it's almost $200 CDN cheaper than a 2070 Super.

 

[Karl Hungus]

Speed of a cpu is subjective to me that i5 is slow and to you its still fast but the truth is maybe in the game you play 3600 wouldn't be that much faster but your overall PC performance would be much better

Again, show me benchmarks of in-game performance that shows that it's 'slow.' DDR3 ram runs faster than DDR4 in many games (look it up), my i5 is at most 10% slower than new CPUs in actual benchmarks (look it up), so what's left? The motherboard? Just the video card.

 

[Adi6293]

Again, show me benchmarks of in-game performance that shows that it's 'slow.' DDR3 ram runs faster than DDR4 in many games (look it up), my i5 is at most 10% slower than new CPUs in actual benchmarks (look it up), so what's left? The motherboard? Just the video card.

Here are your benchmarks, that i5 its at the bottom of the table quite often

 

[Squid Surprise]

Here are your benchmarks, that i5 its at the bottom of the table quite often

lol... did you READ what he actually posted? These are benchmarks with a 2080Ti... the whole point was that you won't notice the difference in the CPU... not the GPU...

 

[Adi6293]

lol... did you READ what he actually posted? These are benchmarks with a 2080Ti... the whole point was that you won't notice the difference in the CPU... not the GPU...

Yes I know these tests are with 2080Ti. He has 1070 which is 40% - 50% slower than the 5700XT, he would notice more than 10% performance increase with the 5700XT on a newer CPU vs his i5, that i5 would 100% hold back any new card for $400+ this is why I said he should upgrade his CPU first so when he upgrades the GPU it doesn't get held back

 

[Squid Surprise]

Yes I know these tests are with 2080Ti. He has 1070 which is 40% - 50% slower than the 5700XT, he would notice more than 10% performance increase with the 5700XT on a newer CPU vs his i5, that i5 would 100% hold back any new card for $400+ this is why I said he should upgrade his CPU first so when he upgrades the GPU it doesn't get held back

Yes... but his point is that he's only going to be upgrading ONE of those (CPU or GPU) and for the cash, clearly the GPU is the thing to do - although honestly, he can almost certainly afford to wait and upgrade NEITHER.

Remember, to upgrade the CPU also means upgrading the motherboard, RAM, cooler... much costlier than a few hundred bucks on a GPU.

 

[Sullami]

Saw this exact same data on hardware unboxed 4 days ago. Are you guys affiliated or ?

 

[neeyik]

Saw this exact same data on hardware unboxed 4 days ago. Are you guys affiliated or ?

Steven Walton, our Features Editor, also runs Hardware Unboxed - hence the connection.

 

[KiwiDave]

If coming from a multi-generation old system, it's 3600 hands down. If someone already has a 2600 then it probably isn't worth the upgrade. Comes down to whether that ~$75 is worth it or not to the individual.

Its definitely not worth it in that scenario. Replacing the 2600 would cost $190 for very little. I have a 1600 but will wait for the 4000 series before upgrading for the same reason.