Our budget-friendly gaming PC build at around 640 euros offers decent performance in Full HD (and mid-level WQHD) for the current market. Yet some readers questioned whether switching to a stronger CPU or GPU might bring substantial gains or longer-lasting viability – especially regarding CPU-limited scenes. To answer that, we’ve upgraded our original configuration in three ways:
- Replacing the Ryzen 5 5600 with a Ryzen 7 5700X3D (~220 euros).
- Building an AM5 system with a Ryzen 5 7600, an A620 motherboard, and DDR5 memory.
- Testing a new GPU: Intel’s Arc B580 Battlemage card (~340 euros) instead of the Radeon RX 7600.
The question: do these upgrades deliver enough extra performance to justify their cost?
1. CPU Upgrades: 5700X3D or AM5 (Ryzen 5 7600)
Ryzen 7 5700X3D
- Cost: +220 euros (CPU alone), raising total from ~640 to ~770 euros (or more if you need a beefier cooler).
- 3D V-Cache model with 96 MB L3-Cache; theoretically superb for gaming.
- But: Our tests show minimal frame-rate improvement if you remain with a midrange GPU like the RX 7600 or Arc B580. In CPU-hungry games, results rise slightly, yet rarely enough to justify the extra expense.
- Thermals & Power: The 105 W TDP can force you to upgrade the cooler. In CPU-intensive tasks (like Blender rendering), the Spartan 5 Max cooler hit 90 °C within minutes, causing thermal throttling.
Ryzen 5 7600 on AM5
- Platform Upgrade: AM5 mainboard, DDR5 memory, and CPU total around 360 euros, costing ~170 euros more than an AM4-based approach.
- Advantage: Minimal – in our gaming suite, only certain CPU-bound titles see a small boost. Most games remain GPU-limited.
- Verdict: If you’re keen on future upgrades, a B650 board (rather than A620) might be preferable, giving better USB 3.x ports, PCIe connectivity, and expansion options.
Conclusion on CPUs
No real improvement for a midrange GPU. You’d likely want a higher-end GPU (above Radeon RX 7700 XT) to notice bigger leaps from the stronger CPU – and at that point, you’d be better served by a more upmarket build entirely.
2. GPU Upgrade: Intel Arc B580
- Price: ~340 euros, about 140 euros more than the RX 7600.
- Performance:
- Typically outperforms the RX 7600 in average frame rates; the difference in minimum frame rates (P1 values) is less pronounced.
- Delivers more ray-tracing performance, beneficial in RT-heavy titles like Cyberpunk 2077.
- Varies strongly by game, and drivers still need refining.
- Power & Idle:
- Higher idle draw (+5–7 W).
- Requires BIOS settings for PCIe power saving (ASPM) and Windows PCIe advanced power management to keep idle wattage in check.
Conclusion on GPU
Arc B580 sits in the middle between Radeon RX 7600 and RX 7700 XT, especially appealing if you want more ray tracing capability. But it raises idle power consumption and has less proven driver maturity. For many, the extra cost may not be fully justified unless you specifically want the better ray-tracing and 12 GB VRAM.
3. Overall Findings and Power Draw
Upgrading the CPU from a Ryzen 5 5600 to a 5700X3D or 7600 doesn’t yield a significant uplift in typical gameplay, as we mostly encounter GPU-bound scenarios.
- Full Load: The 5700X3D draws ~55 W more at top CPU usage. Meanwhile, the Arc B580 uses more power than AMD’s GPUs, both in idle and load.
In short, each upgrade piece adds a fair cost but often not the performance leap you might hope for, especially if you keep a mid-tier GPU. Only in certain CPU-bound games or heavier ray-tracing scenarios will you see a worthwhile difference.
Conclusion
Our original budget gaming build, designed to maximise price-to-performance with an AM4 setup and Radeon RX 7600, remains balanced. If you want significantly higher frame rates or advanced ray tracing, a new system with more expensive components is a more suitable approach. Substituting components in the budget build – whether swapping the CPU for an X3D or going AM5 – raises costs without substantially boosting real-world gaming performance. Meanwhile, the Arc B580 graphics card can help in specific ray-tracing workloads, but at a moderate extra cost and with additional caveats for power usage and driver maturity.
