AMD recently released the 2nd iteration of Ryzen 3rd generation processors and among the best budget processors these days are AMD Ryzen 3500 and 3500X. Both of these are hexa-core processors that come with six threads as well. These processors were released to compete against the likes of Intel Core i5-9400 or Core i5-9600K since these processors were hexa-core processors as well but did not support Hyper-Threading. AMD did the same thing and released these two processors without the support of SMT, which is why these processors have the same number of threads as the cores.
Both the AMD Ryzen 5 3500 and 3500X have a similar base clock and boost clock, which is 3.6 GHz and 4.1 GHz. The price of these two processors is quite similar as well, where you will be getting them around 130 to 140 bucks, with the X variant being a little more expensive. The difference between both processors is that the X variant comes with double the L3 cache, so it has a 32 MB L3 cache against the 16 MB cache of AMD Ryzen 5 3500.
In this article, we will be looking at some of the Best GPU For Ryzen 5 3500 & 3500X that you can install in your system in combination.
Let's take a closer look at all of these graphic cards and determine their detailed specifications, pros, and cons.
MSI is one of the best graphics card vendors in the world and it provides top-notch variants of graphics cards in which you will find the best of everything. The most popular series by the company is the GAMING X series, which we have been seeing for a long time now. This is a mainstream series of the company and this variant is usually more expensive than the reference model.
The design of the graphics card is pretty awesome and we have liked the design of GAMING X variants in every generation. This time, MSI has used a silver theme instead of red and this one feels even better. Perhaps the concept came from the MSI GAMING X Titanium edition graphics cards from the previous generation. The fan shroud uses a mixture of black and silver color while there is a lot of RGB lighting as well. The graphics card does come with a gray-colored back-plate and it feels very nice as well.
Technically, GeForce RTX 2060 is a mid-range graphics card compatible for the Ryzen 5 3500/3500X. Its price hovers around 350 bucks but you might not be able to find this graphics card at this rate these days. The graphics card has 1920 CUDA cores and since this graphics card uses the Turing architecture, it is better than the 1920 CUDA cores of the GTX 1070 that uses Pascal architecture. Moreover, since it is an RTX-series graphics card, it comes with 30 RT cores and 240 Tensor cores. As for the TMUs and ROPs, it provides 120 TMUs and 40 ROPs.
The graphics card has a boost clock rate of 1695 MHz but you will see the graphics card at over 1800 MHz most of the time due to NVIDIA GPU Boost technology. The memory of the graphics card is quite exceptional. Unlike the previous generation mid-range graphics card, GTX 1060, RTX 2060 comes with the same fast memory that is used in the RTX 2070 or 2080, although the size is lower at 6 GB. For most people, 6 GB VRAM is not going to be a problem, as most of the latest AAA games have VRAM usages around 4 to 6 GB.
The gaming performance of this graphics card is awe-inspiring for the price, and you will be able to enjoy most of the AAA games at high settings using 1440P resolution, although, with some AAA games, you might have to reduce the graphics settings or the resolution.
The cooling solutions of MSI GAMING X variants have always been powerful. Apart from using a heavy-weight heat-sink, the company uses its famous MSI Torx fans that are well-known for their acoustic performance. The graphics card stays under 65 degrees at full load and these thermals are perfect for long-time usages.
Having all these features make it the best GPU for Ryzen 5 3500/3500X which makes it a high end GPU for gaming.
Summary
MSI GeForce RTX 2060 GAMING X is one of the best mid-range graphics cards that you can couple with an AMD Ryzen 5 3500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and since both the processor and the graphics card have a similar price; no doubt, such a rig is going to be perfectly optimized, although it is not a future proof graphics card because the current-generation games are already saturating all of its power.
ZOTAC is although not as famous as the likes of MSI or ASUS, its graphics cards have surely improved since the GTX 900 series both in terms of looks and performance. Moreover, you will find this company’s graphics cards slightly cheaper than the mainstream variants despite the fact that it offers similar or even better performance.
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER Twin Fan is a mid-range variant of the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER and it feels like a well-built graphics card just by looking at it. One of the best things about ZOTAC graphics cards is that they are always built like a tank and can take a lot of beating. Surely, it should not be much of an issue for most people since the graphics card lies inside the case but getting something extra doesn’t hurt anyway. There is no RGB lighting on the graphics card but the gray color-theme makes it attractive nonetheless.
The graphical performance of this graphics card is in between GTX 1070 and GTX 1080, which is a great thing since it is a much cheaper graphics card than GTX 1080 or even 1070. The graphics card comes with 1408 Turing cores while there are 88 Texture Mapping Units and 48 Render Output Units. It has a base clock of 1530 MHz and a boost clock of 1785 MHz. Even though this graphics card is based on the Turing architecture, there are no RT cores or Tensor cores in this graphics card.
The graphics card comes with a VRAM of 6 GB just like the GTX 1060 and RTX 2060 and its memory performance is in between GTX 1060 and RTX 2060. It has a memory bus width of 192 bits like the GTX 1060 but it uses GDDR6 memory like RTX 2060. That is why its overall memory bandwidth sums up to 336 GB/s, which seems like a great improvement from the GTX 1060.
The graphics card has a low TDP of 125 watts, which is why it is not so difficult to cool it. The company has used a small-sized cooling solution for the ZOTAC GTX 1660 SUPER Twin Fan and it keeps the graphics card under 70 degrees on full load. For output, the graphics card provides 1 x HDMI port and 3 x DP ports.
Summary
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-range graphics card from the GTX 1600 series, and even though this graphics card does not come with RTX features, there is a considerable improvement here over the previous generation, i.e., Pascal-based graphics cards.
SAPPHIRE is the most famous vendor of AMD graphics cards and its graphics cards are notoriously famous for optimized cooling and aesthetically pleasant designs. Such a series is the SAPPHIRE Nitro+ series and it is the flagship series by the company. SAPPHIRE Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 is one of the best variants of RX 580 and offers all the bells and whistles that you should expect from a mid-range graphics card.
First of all, the looks of the graphics card are quite advanced. The boxy design in combination with large black-colored fans looks sophisticated and the bulging heat-pipes from the top give the notion of a high-end cooling system. There is RGB lighting in the graphics card as well and although it is not a lot, it feels enough for a mid-range graphics card. The silver-colored back-plate holds the PCB very well and has a lot of vents as well for improved airflow.
Since Radeon RX 580 is a mid-range graphics card from 2017, surely it is not the best when it comes to high-end gaming. However, you can easily do 1080P gaming at high settings with this graphics card and you would be getting FPS north of 60 most of the time. The graphics card offers 2304 shader processing units and although these SPUs are incomparable with the graphics cards from NVIDIA, it makes its performance in between GTX 1060 and GTX 1070, especially in the DX12 and Vulkan-based games.
A great thing about this graphics card is that it comes with a high VRAM of 8 GB, which you won’t find in any mid-range graphics card from NVIDIA, apart from the latest RTX 3070, which is impossible to get these days due to high demand. Moreover, its memory is faster than the likes of GTX 1060 despite having a similar price. The graphics card has a memory bandwidth of 256 GB/s, which is the same as that of the GTX 1070, although the memory performance of the GTX 1070 is better due to the Delta Color Compression technology of NVIDIA.
The graphics card has a power consumption of roughly 150 to 170 watts, which makes it quite a hot graphics card for its performance and that is why SAPPHIRE has used a large cooling solution in it. The cooling solution is able to keep the graphics card cool and it stays at around 70 degrees most of the time.In conclusion , this is the third-best graphics card match for the Ryzen 5 3500 and 3500x.
Summary
SAPPHIRE Nitro+ Radeon RX 580 is one of the cheapest graphics cards that you can buy in 2021 for a processor like AMD Ryzen 5 3500X and even though the graphics card holds no potential for future games, you can always lower the graphics settings in games to achieve stable FPS.
Pros
Comes with a powerful cooling solution
Has great compatibility with Vulkan-based games
Comes at a very cheap price
Cons
Lowest performance out of all the GPUs on the list
EVGA is well-known for its consumer-friendly policies and that is why a lot of people consider buying graphics cards from this company. EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC is a mid-range variant of the flagship graphics card model, GTX 1080 Ti that belongs to the GTX 1000 series. Even though it is an old graphics card compared to the latest ones, the power of this graphics card is roughly equivalent to the likes of RTX 3060 that belongs to the RTX 3000 series. Since RTX 3000-series graphics cards are out of stock in almost every store, it would be better to consider buying GTX 1080 Ti.
The design of EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC is considered better than the RTX 2000-series EVGA graphics cards and that is mainly due to the sophisticated fan shroud. The gray and black-colored fan shroud provides ample beauty and there is RGB lighting at the top of the graphics card while the back-plate has a lot of small vents for improved airflow.
As for the technical specifications, the GeForce RTX 1080 Ti is the flagship graphics card model from the GTX 1000 series and our fourth graphics card compatible with the Ryzen 5 3500, and the 3500x. The graphics card comes with 3584 CUDA cores in combination with 224 Texture Mapping Units and 88 Render Output Units. The memory performance of the graphics card is supremely impressive as well, as it comes with a 384-bit memory bus that results in an overall memory bandwidth of 484.3 GB/s and the VRAM size is monstrous as well, at 11 GB.
This graphics card will allow you to play even the most demanding games at ultra settings using 1440P resolution and you can also count on it for high-refresh-rate gaming, where you will be getting over 150 FPS in competitive games at 1080P resolution and over 100 FPS with 1440P resolution.
The cooling solution of the graphics card is although not as capable as the likes of ASUS ROG Strix or ZOTAC Amp Extreme variants since it is a dual-fan variant, you won’t be seeing temperatures above 75 degrees. This might slightly limit the performance of the graphics card since GPU Boost works better at lower temperatures but other than that, thermals are not going to affect you for any other reason.
Summary
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti is one of the best-valued graphics cards these days due to the mining hike and even though it does not come with any RTX-specific features, you will be able to enjoy high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming without any problem.
Pros
Tremendous raw performance
Superb memory performance
Cons
Does not provide RTX features despite being expensive
GIGABYTE has released a lot of graphics card series for every generation, with GIGABYTE AORUS being the flagship variant while the likes of GAMING OC are the mainstream variants. GIGABYTE RTX 2070 GAMING OC is a mid-range variant of the GeForce RTX 2070 GAMING 3X OC that is priced very decently and yet provides powerful performance. The reason that we have put this graphics card at the last of the list is that it is really difficult to get RTX 2000-series or RTX 3000-series graphics cards these days.
The design of the graphics card is similar to the previous generation GIGABYTE Windforce variants instead of the AORUS-series variants. It is a tri-fan graphics card that uses a black-colored fan-shroud. The design of the fan-shroud does feel better from the previous-generation WINDFORCE OC variants but that is just about it and it still feels a bit flimsy.
Technically, GeForce RTX 2070 is a high-end graphics card from the RTX 2000 series and the best GPU to pair with Ryzen 5 3500. Its performance is quite close to the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. It comes with 2304 CUDA cores while it has a VRAM similar to that of the RTX 2060 or RTX 2080. The graphics card provides 144 Texture Mapping Units and 64 Render Output Units which are more than enough to handle the modern AAA games at ultra settings using 1440P resolution. For high-refresh-rate gaming as well, this graphics card holds enough potential to provide around 100 FPS with high settings using 1080P resolution.
The cooling solution of the graphics card is although not as good as flagship variants but still, a tri-fan cooling solution with a mid-sized heat-sink ensures that the graphics card stays under control, and most likely the thermals are going to stay under 75 degrees.
Summary
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 GAMING 3X OC is one of the best graphics cards if you can get your hands on it, as it offers high performance along with the latest RTX-specific features such as Ray Tracing and DLSS.
Ryzen 5 3500 has 6 cores and 6 threads with good base clock speed. All in all, it’s a good CPU for mid-tier gaming. You could maybe even play high-end games on lower settings.
What GPU should I pair with Ryzen 5 3600?
RTX 2060 Super and AMD Radeon RX 5700 are two GPUs that will not bottleneck Ryzen 5 3600 and help it in unleashing its full potential.
Is Ryzen 5 3500 Good for streaming?
The streaming quality of the Ryzen 5 3500 is decent. It certainly does not provide the best frame rate during streaming but the quality is at least decent.
Does AMD Ryzen 5 3500 have integrated graphics?
No AMD Ryzen 5 3500 does not come with integrated graphics so you’ll definitely need to insert an external Graphic card to use this CPU.
Zakriya is right from Pakistan. He was raised with a quest for gaming craze with an organization of specialized folks. This is the place he understood that computer games can grow your creative mind to unlimited universes. Gaming is no longer for him only a method for amusement, yet enthusiasm. From the youthful age of 8, gaming was simply the main method for communicating. At whatever point he got the opportunity to play computer games, he took it with two hands and played for quite a long time. Much to his dismay that gaming would turn into his closest companion.
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