by Need a new CPU for the RX 6500 XT? Look no further
Updated: December 13, 2022 10:32 am
The RX 6500 XT is AMD’s answer to the RTX 3050 (if you’re just talking Nvidia, like many gamers). The 6500 XT is designed to be efficient and to the point as AMD’s best 1080p gaming GPU, but as with any GPU, you need a well-matched CPU behind the scenes that pushes the data. So what’s the best CPU for the RX 6500 XT?
Now read: Best CPU for RX 7900 XTX.
Since the CPU sends data to the GPU, we need a well-balanced CPU behind the scenes to support the RX 6500 XT. We cannot have too powerful CPU because we will see GPU bottlenecks and we cannot have the opposite because we will see CPU bottlenecks.
So you might as well call us Goldie Locks because we need one that’s just right.
Best CPU for RX 6500 XT
The Ryzen 5 5600X is a great 1080P CPU, just because it’s at the low end of the Ryzen 5000 lineup doesn’t mean it’s slow by any means.
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AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
The Ryzen 5 5600X has 6 cores and 12 threads to work with, meaning it can cut through some of the less demanding multi-core workloads if you’ve seen fit to do some light workstation tasks.
The impressive core speed of 4.6GHz suggests that the 5600X can handle gaming, as faster core speeds directly correlate to better gaming performance. This is an ideal CPU to be paired with the RX 6500 XT, as it won’t cause any CPU bottlenecks.
The 5600X is only bottlenecked by the 5600 XT by about 8%, so for the 6500 XT, the 5600X seems perfect.
The 5600X is a very efficient CPU, producing a surprising amount of power for a small TDP of 65W, nearly 200W less than some of Intel’s flagship CPUs. The power/performance ratio of the Ryzen 5 5600X is almost unbeatable at this price point.
With the 5600X, you won’t have to worry about upgrading your hardware. This is because the 5600X belongs to the AM4 socket standard. This socket standard has been around for a long time and is not going to stop being supported anytime soon. Although socket AM5 was released earlier this year.
The Ryzen 5 5600X is definitely the better choice for the RX 6500 XT. Not only for the price/performance ratio, but also for the advantages offered by an all-AMD system, such as access to SAM for example.
Cheap CPU for RX 6500 XT
There’s no real budget option for the RX 6500 XT that we haven’t already mentioned. We’re assuming you could descend into the realm of Ryzen 3000-series CPUs. However, the value provided by the 5600X is nearly unbeatable at this level. And you’d be hampering performance on both ends by trying to go higher or lower.
Last word
The Ryzen 5 5600X is literally perfect for the job. That’s a decent number of cores and threads, and its respectable boost speed may seem mediocre to enthusiasts. But for those of us who appreciate a well-balanced 1080p machine, we see this is the CPU to go with the RX 6500 XT.
