Best budget CPU for RTX 5060 and RX 9060 builds?

yo, honestly I've been in this exact spot so many times trying to balance the budget. For your situation, I would suggest sticking with AM5 cuz that upgrade path is literally everything right now. I'm currently running a build with the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and it's been a beast for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

Here's how I see your options:

• AMD Ryzen 5 7600: This is the play imo. It's well under $250, comes with a cooler, and AM5 is gonna last years. Frame gen works fine on it, and you wont see major bottlenecks with a 60-class card.

• Intel Core i5-13400F: It's a solid budget pick, but LGA1700 is basically dead now, right? I'd be careful about buying into a platform that has no future upgrades.

Basically, go with the 7600. It's snappy, power efficient, and saves you money for that NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 or whatever you end up grabbing. gl! 👍

For your situation, i might want to consider the Intel Core i5-13400F. It's around $185 and pretty reliable for mid-range builds, you know? Just be careful with motherboard prices though... if you go DDR5 it adds up fast. I guess the Intel Core i5-12600KF is also a steal at $155 right now if you want extra speed, but dont forget a decent cooler!! gl!

Just catching up on this thread now. Before I suggest a specific path, could you clarify what your target lifespan for this machine is? Knowing if you want this to last three years versus six makes a big difference when weighing platform longevity against immediate core counts. I have been very satisfied with the Intel Core i5-13500 for my more conservative builds lately. It works well for anyone who wants a stable experience with enough cores to handle background tasks and modern frame gen without a hitch. Quick tip: make sure you grab a solid air cooler like the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE because these chips can still get warm under heavy load despite not being overclockable. No complaints so far with that combo.

Honestly, I've seen these cycles play out for years, and picking the right budget CPU is basically an art form. While the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a solid shout, I'd actually look at two different paths depending on how much you care about platform longevity.

* **Option A: The Value King.** If you wanna save cash for the GPU, look at the Intel Core i5-12600K. It's older, but those extra e-cores handle background tasks and frame gen overhead like a champ. Plus, the price is literally unbeatable right now.
* **Option B: The Efficiency Play.** If you can stretch your budget slightly or find a sale, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a beast. Having 8 cores means zero stuttering when DLSS 3 is doing its thing, and it'll last way longer than a 6-core chip.

In my experience, going too cheap on the CPU always bites you later... anyway, what motherboard are you leaning towards? That might decide it for you. 👍

Gonna try this over the weekend. Will report back if it works!

🙌

This ^