But these are the top performance sucking things I do.
3d printing tasks… Slicing programs with complex/details. And need to learn how to use CAD…
Running a few VMs… When I run VMs, I usually run a few at once. (And sometimes on tasks that can take time to run. - If so, have been known to waste time gaming while I wait)
Games - Not my main purpose for this PC, but do go through waves of playing, and not playing.
Gigabyte x570 Master v1.0
3900x
6900XT LC
I had a 5950x for a few days ~8 months back when I thought my 3900x died. It ended up being the MB power cable had a few burnt up wires and returned the 5950x… replaced the PS. BUT while I had it, everything just felt smoother and CPU temps were cooler. Even just moving around in Windows was better. I was shocked! Completely not expected.
My question.
Microcenter has the 5950x at $550, and am thinking about buying it. I kept my 8350 for over 7 years, and plan to do the same with this PC. I do not intend to replace this MB and RAM to upgrade to AM5.
My main hesitation is why are these CPUs dropping price so much right now. Is AMD trying to clear shelf space for its replacement? Something faster that hasn’t been announced or leaked yet? Or is this just a temp sale price to clear warehouse inventory and prices will go back up in a few weeks once the CPU isn’t as easily “available”?
Do I need it? No.
I am only really considering this because of the obvious speed improvement I noticed and didn’t expect. I would like others feedback on doing the upgrade. Has anyone else already completed the same upgrade? How was your experience? Do you feel it was worth the bump in single threaded performance to make the purchase?
I believe according to some rumors that AMD is going to launch,
a new refresh of zen3 cpu´s with 3D-V cache.
So that might be the reason for the price drop of current 5000 series cpu´s.
Another reason could be that current intels offering being,
slightly faster on average at a cheaper price point.
A 5950X is going to be an upgrade in terms of performance.
However am4 is indeed eol, so yeah generally not really worth investing in anymore.
Of course if topic starter want’s to stick to his hardware for as long as possible,
he could very well get the best cpu available for it.
and squeeze a little bit of extra performance out of the system.
However if that is really worth it? that really depends on the workloads.
Problem with that is how expensive DDR5 is for little to no performance boost + we’re seeing diminishing returns in more cores for normal use + the performance increase over zen 3 will be like 10% maybe
=
I wouldn’t really hold out for AM5 if you saw a really good deal today that let you keep all your current hardware
I have a 5950x and won’t be platform hopping for at least a couple more years to watch things shake out.
Also, one has to keep in my that with how fast things are changing, so any us really want to jump on that moving train as beta testers?
AM4 is pretty much eol, but still works. Why not max out the boards CPU for half the price of replacing everything.
I currently have a Gigabyte x570 Master, and ddr4-3600 at cl16. Not the fastest but better then what I recently noticed others running.
My guess/expectations…
Upgrading to AM5…
MB ~ $350
CPU ~ $500
RAM ~$300
~$1150 for (guessing) 50% improvement
$550 for 5950x, for ~20% to ~30% improvement.
Have seen scores from 5% to 40% depending on tasks…
I am good with Losing ~20% performance for 50% of the cost/replace everything.
As long as AMD doesn’t release something better then the 5950x for AM4, I feel OK with the upgrade at this price.
But my question has been around, keep the 3900x or worth the upgrade to 5950x as I don’t plan on going AM5 unless my AM4 board dies.
I would say it depends on if you are happy with the return on the investment, you have owned both processors, and had a chance to see how they affect your workflow. So you are in the best position to make a choice.
One other factor would be selling your old processor on the used market to recoup some of the cost of the new one. If this is sufficient to lower the cost to one you are comfortable with in regards to the improved performance, then go for it.
I am on the same ride here. I purposefully decided to build a new machine this generation because I knew it would be EOL for various components. This is likely why the prices are decreasing. But I am fine with that, because it enabled me to build a good machine for less cost. And for me that worked.
The real thing will be deciding what you think will work for your situation.
If you are worried about the 5950x having some hidden issue, all I can say is I own a 5950x and a 3090, and I am very happy with both.
Well basically you will always get the best value for money,
if you stick to your hardware as long as possible.
So in that regards with a 5950X currently being on sale,
it definitely wouldn´t be a bad investment to get the best possible cpu for your platform.
Depends on how money sensitive you are if it’s worth the cost of upgrade.
I think so. Especially if you sell yo ur current CPU first.
But I’m also the guy who bought a 5950x for 1100 during the mad scramble on release after selling my old stuff; I would consider a couple hundred in cost to upgrade a no brainer personally.
I know this isn’t a guarantee to anything, but in the video they said they asked AMD about the price drops. AMD just replied their MSRP isn’t, or didn’t change. Doesn’t mean it couldn’t, just didn’t as of this moment.
You could take this many different ways. All speculation. Mentioning only 2 of many I can think of. One being that the current price is only a sale price and could go back to MSRP. Or Two, AMD has nothing to do with the price drops, and retailers are only responding to the market.
Not sure if this helps push me to buy now or makes me want to wait another month before I decide.
What I have read and heard is that AMD is clearing out for the next line some of which is expected later this month and to put there price inline with Intel.
I would say if you have all the parts and it’s just the chip, why not. It would do all those tasks well.
AM4 is entering the twilight period
The Zen2 - 3 move, would improve intra-core dialogue efficiency, within a CCX
The other bigg option, be chasing that upcoming larger L3 cache, on these V3D chips
As-is, only the 5800 variant is spoken of [whether others pushed for a later date, or just this 1 SKU]
… I’d skip over DDR5, while early growing pains clear out
After reading this thread; I can say that Zen3 is a good upgrade in terms of single thread performance and gaming performance. The 5950x does run a tad cooler than 3900x as well.
AM5 doesn’t really make me excited as I think that DDR5 is too scarce and expensive at this point in time. I would go with the 5950x unless you want to gamble on a 5950x3D coming out in the near future. However I expect that 3D-Vcache will mostly help in things like gaming. So the ball is in your court
I just kind of did a similar thing, sold my 3950X for $480, upgraded to 5900X for $450. It was an awesome upgrade for gaming. Every single core hits speeds of 4.9GHz to 5.1GHz with manual PBO and core optimization dialed in. All core loads settle at 4.65GHz on all cores! And with better temps too. Certainly will give your 6900XT some help in many gaming scenarios if you upgrade to zen 3.
The zen 4 launch should be quarter 4 2022. I disagree that AM4 is a dead platform, especially if you’re on an x570 board right now. It’s a fine platform, but AM5 will launch with DDR5. And DDR5 is not a worthwhile upgrade, and probably won’t be for at least a year. Unless you’re okay with spending $500-600 on a decent kit of RAM that doesn’t have much benefit over a good kit of DDR4.
If you can sell your 3900X for ~$350 and get the 5950X for $550, is that worth it? I’d say probably if you game alot. That 3900X is probably holding that 6900XT back in many scenarios. Also maybe say a year from now you decide to go with zen 4. 5950X probably sells for $450, 3900X might only sell for $250-300 at that time. So cost of owning that 5950X for a year could only be $100. And cost of holding the $3900X for a year could also be $100. So do you spend $200 upgrading to the 5950X right now, or spend $100 by holding onto 3900X for another year, selling it for less than what you can sell for right now.
Not so concerned about $50, and more about waiting and seeing the price go up again… I was planning to wait another month or two before I made a decision to buy but the current price made me move up the thought process.
And after reading your comment, went and bought it last night.
