First: do you need to?
It depends on your graphics card and on what you play. With a card like the RTX 3060 or RTX 5060, a Ryzen 5 3600 gives the same 64 FPS in AAA games as a processor bought yesterday. The card runs out first, and a new processor does not change that.
A new processor does show in three cases:
- You have a Ryzen 1000 or 2000. A Ryzen 5 1600 with an RTX 5070 stops at 72 FPS at 1080p. With a 5600 it is 93.
- You play esports on a fast monitor. Going from a 3600 to a 5600 takes you from 219 to 311 FPS.
- You have, or are about to buy, an RTX 5070 or faster and you play at 1080p.
If none of those is you, the money does more in the graphics card. We put numbers on that in which to upgrade first.
What each processor delivers
| Processor | Price | AAA with RTX 5060 | AAA with RTX 5070 | Esports | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 1600 | — | 62 | 72 | 145 | |
| Ryzen 5 2600 | — | 64 | 76 | 162 | |
| Ryzen 5 3600 | — | 64 | 85 | 219 | |
| Ryzen 7 3700X | — | 64 | 89 | 239 | |
| Ryzen 5 5600 | $157 | 64 | 93 | 311 | CHECK PRICE |
| Ryzen 7 5700X | $209 | 64 | 95 | 326 | CHECK PRICE |
| Ryzen 7 5800X | $264 | 64 | 95 | 334 | CHECK PRICE |
| Ryzen 7 5700X3D | — | 64 | 97 | 428 | SEARCH |
| Ryzen 7 5800X3D | — | 64 | 97 | 458 | SEARCH |
| Ryzen 5 9600X AM5 | $185 | 64 | 97 | 451 | CHECK PRICE |
All at 1080p with 16 GB of memory. The esports column is with the RTX 5070. Processors with no price had no new listing at a sensible price on 30 September.
Prices: what each product page on Amazon.com asked on 30 September 2026, before sales tax. They move every week.
FPS: our engine's estimates, not our own measurements. The average of five AAA games at high settings, native resolution, no upscaling. How far off the engine is
Which one to buy
Ryzen 5 5600
$157The one we would buy. It is 42% faster than a 3600 in esports and comes with a cooler in the box. A third party sells it on Amazon.
CHECK PRICERyzen 7 5700X
$209Eight cores for $52 more. In games it beats the 5600 by 5%. Buy it if you also edit video or stream. It ships without a cooler, but the one on your current Ryzen fits.
CHECK PRICEAffiliate links: we earn a small commission at no cost to you. Full disclosure
The Ryzen 7 5800X costs $264 and ties the 5700X in games. We would not buy it.
The two X3D chips are another matter: the 5700X3D does 428 FPS in esports, 31% more than the 5700X. The problem is finding one. On 30 September there was no new one at a price that made sense, only resellers. If you see a 5700X3D near the $249 it launched at, buy it without thinking too hard. The search buttons in the table take you to whatever is there today.
Before you open the case
Update the BIOS with the old processor still in. B450, X470 and older boards came out before the Ryzen 5000 chips and need a recent BIOS to recognise them. Download it from your board maker's site and nowhere else.
Check how much memory you have and how it is fitted. If it is a single stick, or 8 GB, fix that at the same time: a 16 GB DDR4 kit in two sticks costs about $130, and on a single stick you lose up to 25% of your performance in some games.
What about moving to AM5?
The sum is this: a Ryzen 5 9600X ($185), an AM5 board (about $130) and 16 GB of DDR5 (about $250). That is $565, against $157 for the 5600.
What do you buy with the $408 difference? In AAA games with an RTX 5070 at 1080p, four frames: 97 against 93. In esports, a good deal more: 451 against 311. And a board that will take new processors for years, which AM4 no longer offers.
Our advice: if the machine works and you only want more frames, fit a 5600 and spend the rest on the graphics card. Move to AM5 when memory comes down, or if you were going to change the board anyway.
Try your own machine
Pick your Ryzen and your graphics card in the calculator to see which of the two sets the limit.
Common questions
What is the best AM4 CPU for gaming in 2026?
The fastest is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, but on 30 September there was no new listing at a sensible price. Of the ones you can actually buy, the Ryzen 5 5600 at $157 gives the most for the money.
Does a Ryzen 5 3600 bottleneck an RTX 5060?
In AAA games, no: it averages 64 FPS at 1080p, the same as a new processor, because the card sets the limit. In esports it does fall behind, at 219 FPS where a Ryzen 5 5600 does about 300.
Do I need a BIOS update to fit a Ryzen 5000?
On B450, X470 and older boards, nearly always yes. Do it with the old processor still installed. If you swap the processor first and the BIOS does not recognise it, the machine will not start and you cannot update it.