Question New Build: 2600x or 3600x? $80 difference...

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
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New Build: 2600x or 3600x? $80 difference...

Very straight forward question, looking to have an answer by tonight. I can get the 2600x for $80 or the 3600x for $160. I'll be pairing it with a Noctua D14, 16gb of 3200mhz ram, and Aorus B450 Wifi Pro mb, XFX RX 580 8gb.

Id like to be able to play CSGO @ 4k @ max settings.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 10, 1999
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you should get the most cpu you can afford.

You want to play games at max settings at 4K? You will need a better video card than a RX580.
 

lobz

Platinum Member
Feb 10, 2017
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Only CS GO
For CS:GO, amusingly, Zen 2 (Ryzen 3600 and above) is the best for some reason, even better than the highest frequency Intels. The 3600 is WELL worth the +80 dollars in this case, you won't find a better CPU for CS:GO in that price category.
P. S. : I play CS since September 1999, I'm not just saying this because I've read 2 reviews :)
 

Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
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I was going to get a 3600 chip for my new build but went with a 2700x. But gaming was not my main reason for upgrading. So the 2000 series works great for me.

in your case a 3600 or 3600x is probably the best bang for the buck in gaming. So for you get a 3000 series chip.
 
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yeshua

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Aug 7, 2019
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If you're asking this question you most likely have the money for the more expensive one and in this case I will recommend that you buy the Ryzen 3600X CPU without any hesitation as it's single core performance (which is still paramount for the absolute most games and apps out there) and power consumption to performance ratios are a whole lot better.

It's not necessary to buy it at its MSRP as AMD has started unofficially discounting they Ryzen 3000 CPUs already. Please subscribe to this topic to save some dollars: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/

E.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SQBFN2D sells it at a $45 discount at the moment.

I'm still not a huge fan of AMD's own coolers and I'd install something else if I were you.
 
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LOUISSSSS

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Dec 5, 2005
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If you're asking this question you most likely have the money for the more expensive one and in this case I will recommend that you buy the Ryzen 3600X CPU without any hesitation as it's single core performance (which is still paramount for the absolute most games and apps out there) and power consumption to performance ratios are a whole lot better.

It's not necessary to buy it at its MSRP as AMD has started unofficially discounting they Ryzen 3000 CPUs already. Please subscribe to this topic to save some dollars: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/

E.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SQBFN2D sells it at a $45 discount at the moment.

I'm still not a huge fan of AMD's own coolers and I'd install something else if I were you.

I'm planning on paying $160+ tax for it at microcenter if they still have it at the sale price from the weekend and have it in stock.
 

lobz

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Feb 10, 2017
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I'm planning on paying $160+ tax for it at microcenter if they still have it at the sale price from the weekend and have it in stock.
Good choice :) I'd still consider thew 2700X as an awesome all-rounder CPU, but since you've mentioned CS:GO, in that particular title the 2700X is drastically slower than the 3600, I'm talking about some 30-35% framerate difference.
 

Iron Woode

Elite Member
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both the R5 3600 and 3600X are on sale here in Canada. The R5 3600 has a $40 price drop and the R5 3600X has a $60 price drop.
 

VirtualLarry

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Aug 25, 2001
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I'm in complete agreement with @yeshua 's post . Consider a better heatsink, or possible, AIO WC (240mm or above), for a Ryzen 3000-series CPU. If you go AIO WC, you can drop-in a 3900X or 3950X (mobo VRMs permitting), without too much trouble.

Edit: I can't help but wonder WHY AMD is dropping prices like that, on their current-gen parts. Unless IceLake really is that scary (to AMD). Or more hopefully, Zen3 / Ryzen 4000-series CPUs are going to be on their way sooner rather than later.
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
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I'll have a 3600x to upgrade from the 2600x used for 1 day, LOL!
Have it reserved at microcenter for tonight. $160+tax vs $80+tax for the 2600x

thanks you all for the feedback and costing me more money
 
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lobz

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Edit: I can't help but wonder WHY AMD is dropping prices like that, on their current-gen parts. Unless IceLake really is that scary (to AMD). Or more hopefully, Zen3 / Ryzen 4000-series CPUs are going to be on their way sooner rather than later.
You meant Comet Lake, right?
 

Zstream

Diamond Member
Oct 24, 2005
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I owned a 1700, and moved to a 3600. To be honest, the increase in productivity wasn't that great, but in games it is much better. I'd personally get a 1700ish, and a better mobo x570 and the new zen revision. This is using my older 480.
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
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Omw to microcenter in this damn rain in NJ. R u guys sure the 3600x at $160 is that much better than the 2600x for $80?
I really must love csgo... Lol
 

TheGiant

Senior member
Jun 12, 2017
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New Build: 2600x or 3600x? $80 difference...

Very straight forward question, looking to have an answer by tonight. I can get the 2600x for $80 or the 3600x for $160. I'll be pairing it with a Noctua D14, 16gb of 3200mhz ram, and Aorus B450 Wifi Pro mb, XFX RX 580 8gb.

Id like to be able to play CSGO @ 4k @ max settings.
3600 definitely, the best CPU on the market
maybe in short time Intel comet lake comes where the i5 will have 6/12T and high freq
but you wont make any mistakes with any ryzens 3600 and higher for CS:GO
 

lobz

Platinum Member
Feb 10, 2017
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Omw to microcenter in this damn rain in NJ. R u guys sure the 3600x at $160 is that much better than the 2600x for $80?
I really must love csgo... Lol
Just look around in CS:GO benchmarks, compared to the 2600X it's anywhere between 30-40%. 5-6 ppl on screen, 2 smokes, molly, nades, everybody shooting - you don't wanna drop under 200 :) And you won't with a 3600 for sure.
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
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How much is the stock 3600x amd cooler going on aftermarket for?

Just got 3600x at MC for 160 +tax. Just waiting for noctua to take 3 months to get me a free AM4 bracket for the DH14
 

potato masher

Member
May 15, 2019
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I'd go for the $80 option out of the two. But then I wouldn't care if I dropped to lower fps when multiple smokes fly. For what you're getting for $80.. its crazy what you get. And the 4xxx's will come along before it matters to somebody like me. Then I could grab a $80 3600 when the 4's come out if I really wanted to. I probably wouldn't need to though.
 

lobz

Platinum Member
Feb 10, 2017
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I'd go for the $80 option out of the two. But then I wouldn't care if I dropped to lower fps when multiple smokes fly. For what you're getting for $80.. its crazy what you get. And the 4xxx's will come along before it matters to somebody like me. Then I could grab a $80 3600 when the 4's come out if I really wanted to. I probably wouldn't need to though.
You'd be right in 99,5% of the time here. The odd case of CS:GO is a special one, somehow it beats the crap out of Intel in clock for clock, and even at a lower freq it's faster on Zen 2. The large L3, I mean... the large g4m3 <A<h3 does wonders in Source :D Not to mention, that this game can get quite competitive even if you're trying to play it for fun... :) There's no fun in being at a disadvantage and thinking you can do it better if your machine lets it :D
OK I admit it, I'm degenerately competitive in that game. :D
 
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Ratman6161

Senior member
Mar 21, 2008
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I'm planning on paying $160+ tax for it at microcenter if they still have it at the sale price from the weekend and have it in stock.
If you are lucky enough to live near a microcenter, maybe wait a bit longer? They just cut the price on the 3700x to $260. I know that's $100 more but I'm holding out for it to drop even more. I currently have a 1700@4 GHz.
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
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:confused:so i just pooped in the 3600x and booted up with the stock cooler (its identical to the 2600x cooler btw).

My small problem is: i notice the CPU is ramping up and down almost every second, then i realize that the CPU tempuratures are jumping up and down with the fan speed. Then i realize from CPU-Z that the Core Speed/Multiplier is jumping up and down between 3.8ghz and 4.4ghz every single second causing this temperature and fan speed ripple effect. whats going on and how do i fix this? Normal? Broken?
 
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