Advice on Ryzen 2600 vs Ryzen 3600 CPU's

So i am currently looking to build a gaming PC. My original build was using a Ryzen 2600 on an MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon. However with the coming launch of Ryzen 3600, this has delayed my build.
I would go with 3600, however the problem arises with the motherboard. It seems only X570 motherboards are launching alongside, and B550 will come later on. AMD have said that 3600 is compatible with B450 but i am not too tech savvy with Bios flashing or updating.

So this leaves me with a question. What is more worth, 2600 for the price of <$200 (assuming price drops even further when 3600 drops) or getting a 3600 for retail and whatever motherboard?
(My goal is hit 1080P and 144 frames. I dont need my PC now and can wait, but not as long until B550 comes out which is rumoured around late this year)
Thank you!

Comments

  • +1

    Flashing the BIOS is very simple in most cases, especially modern motherboards.

    Decent motherboards can flash the bios within the bios boot menu using your internet connection. There is no need for you to plug in a USB stick to do it.

  • Have you already got a Ryzen CPU? Correct me if I'm wrong but you'd need a functioning CPU to do the BIOS flash, and if the BIOS flash is a prerequisite for the 3600 you won't be using it to do it.

    • No Ryzen CPU, first time builder :(

      • Might have to ask your retailer if their stock is running the newest BIOS, or if they can do the update in store. Otherwise you might not be able to do it yourself.

      • SAVE YOURSELF THE HEADACHE AND GO WITH 2600.

        This, coming from someone who STILL hasn't done their "first build" — 2 years later…

        Do it before that CPU is sold out!

    • I didn't think you could without a CPU

      however this low end X570 allows flashing without a CPU so maybe all/some/other X570 motherboard allow this?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1bC3rlHq7w

    • AMD will send you an upgrade kit, to upgrade, then you send it back to them afterwards

      https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-100#faq-Short-Term-…

      • Oh that's a nifty program,

    • I believe that some mobos have the ability to flash the bios with just a usb. Gaming pro carbon is one of them tmk.

      Usb flashback or something I think it's called. Saw it on the AMD sub and haven't had the time to research it yet so take this with a grain of salt.

  • +1

    Bear in mind that X570 motherboards are going to be expensive because of first gen PCIe 4 being included. Also AMD have moved a lot of CPU stuff onto the chipset which adds to cost.

    But PCI 4 does nothing for gaming or much else other than high end NVMe storage atm.

    Also until we see the Ryzen 3000 series Intel CPU is still better if you only consider gaming.

    • just in

      https://www.tomshardware.com/news/pci-sig-pcie-6.0-256gbps-i…

      The PCIe 4.0 interface is finally coming to market next month with the launch of AMD's Ryzen 3000 series processors, but the PCI-SIG, the standards body behind the PCIe specification, is already plowing forward with work on PCIe 6.0, which it announced will be completed in 2021. The announcement comes on the heels of the body's formal release of the PCIe 5.0 standard last month.

  • I am in the same boat. After a bit of research, I am leaning towards the 3600.I have begun to buy the rest of the components except CPU, mobo and GPU.
    Get a X470 motherboard. That way it's more future proof to some extent.
    Here is a list of motherboards whose bios can be glashed without need for CPU so that they can support the 3600.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/bvfo57/list_of_b350_b4…

    Good luck!

    • but the question is

      is the 3600 worth the extra $100+ or so compared to the 2600

      when I checked userbench
      it showed only about 18% improvement.

      https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-3600-vs-AM…

      • If you could benefit from that 18% then I'd say yes but if you are on a budget then obviously the 2600 would be a better choice.

        That 18% is noticeable for applications and gaming, I've seen 15-30 fps boost with the 3600 compared to 2600.

        In my opinion, if you are purchasing a new cpu the 3600 would be a better choice for future proofing and getting more power but if you are on a budget then you should go for the 2600.

        • I watched some video of the comparison
          and it seems to be more like 5-10 frames for most of the games…

          if you are into gaming, wouldn't the $100 could better spent on a better GPU?

          For desktop performance, if you need the approx 18% better performance than sure get it..

      • Just FYI, I got the 3700x after all since I settled on a mid range GPU (1660 ti).

  • So apparently there are rumours of a non-x ryzen 7 3700 which would be the perfect cpu for my needs as it has the 8 cores and should be faster than the 2700x at a similar price, not to mention the significantly lower power consumption.

    • The rumour also says that these might be OEM only and not sold in retail stores.

  • I have a 2600, which I just bought because of price drop, got it in a bundle with 16gb 3200 ram and a b450.i already had a 3gb 1060 so used that.

    Getting 60fps on ultra at 1080 on most games. Super happy with the relatively cheap upgrade.

    My upgrade only cost a little over 400

    Hope that helps in your decision.

    • I'm in the process of building a new pc too, care to share where you got the bundle from and for how much?

      • I actually got the prime bundle from PC case gear, however on checking it has been discontinued.

        But this one is a little more, but I would have preferred this one given the choice

        https://www.pccasegear.com/bundle/477/

        Has 4 slots for ram, and has a heat sink for the VRM’s, more fan headers, more than 1 x16 slot, so can place gpu at bottom so other cards don’t block gpu fans.

        Would pick this over what I bought, but wasn’t available when I did.

        But still happy with my budget buy.

        • Thank you for that detailed reply! I am leaning towards it, it's just i'm in Sydney and shipping erodes a bit of the saving….

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