7 Best GPUs for AMD Ryzen 5 5600X in 2023 [Expert Picks]

Versatility, performance, and right pricing have made 5600X the most sought-after CPU in AMD’s Ryzen 5000 lineup. But this processor lacks integrated graphics. And that’s when you need a discrete GPU to pair with the Ryzen 5 5600X.

While any GPU would work with the 5600X, the ideal pick depends greatly on your specific needs. Without a clear understanding of it, you may end up spending more than necessary or choosing a GPU that is not powerful enough.

For instance, if you’re into gaming, you must first determine the games you play, the resolution of your monitor, graphics settings, and desired FPS. The other criteria include factors like budget, overclocking potential, technical specs, etc.

To make things easier for you, I have tested over 14 GPUs with the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and prepared a list of suitable options for various use cases, preferences, and budget ranges.

7 Best GPUs for AMD Ryzen 5 5600X in 2023

By any means, I’m not exaggerating, but the graphics cards reviewed below are guaranteed to offer the best graphical stimulation. Just so you know, the list starts with a high-end option (for professionals), followed by mid-range picks, and ends with a budget option.

1. Best Overall: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

You would imagine that when a manufacturer tops the previous flagship, the prices go high. That is not the case with a terrific performer like the RTX 3070 from EVGA. It is not a staple plug-and-play kind of graphics card, as it tests your hardware to its absolute maximum.

The premium price you pay comes with its benefits, like one of the best overclocking features in the category. The Ti versions have a higher number of CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) cores than the non-Ti ones.

Performance

Higher CUDA cores result in a smooth gaming experience and other tasks involving higher graphical simulations.

It has a GDDR6X VRAM of 8 GB. The GDDR6X technology offers higher bandwidth which further improves data transfer speeds. Higher data transfer speeds result in better graphical output.

Another prominent feature of this brilliant GPU is its support for real-time Ray Tracing technology. This technology enhances visuals that involve realistic lighting, reflections of objects, and shadows.

Gaming Experience

Apart from that, the 3070 Ti from EVGA also has NVIDIA’s DLSS, which uses an AI program to enhance low-resolution images in real time. EVGA’s brand reputation for offering great overclocking stands true here as well.

EVGA’s standard Precision X1 software provides a powerful overclocking utility to the GPU. The GPU Boost also automatically increases the clock speed based on the workload.

Design and Warranty

The 3070 Ti from EVGA has DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB-C, making it versatile to connect with various different output devices. VR output should be an easy cruise with these connectivity standards.

Conclusion

Overall, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the best performance GPU for your Ryzen 5 5600X. It’s ideal for 1440p 144Hz gaming. It is also the best bet for professional content creators and video editors who have a budget and seek powerhouse performance.

2. Best Runner-Up: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6800

AMD’s graphics card range, especially the RX 6800, has garnered praise from users for being a cheaper alternative to expensive NVIDIA GPUs.

Despite the disparity in price, the performances are quite impressive. Features like ray tracing at this price point are quite remarkable.

Performance

The AMD Radeon RX 6800 is based on AMD’s RDNA 2 architecture. They share this technology with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The RDNA 2 has a couple of advancements over its predecessor. The first one is the infinity cache which boosts the bandwidth of the VRAM.

The VRAM on this GPU uses GDDR6 instead of GDDR6X but on a 256-bit bus which consumes less power. The second advancement is Ray Accelerators.

There is no equivalent to NVIDIA’s DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), and that could be one of the only few drawbacks of this otherwise strong GPU.

Gaming Experience

Among other features, you get AMD’s FidelityFX suite and Radeon Boost, which lowers resolutions while moving. This, in return, boosts framerate when you are moving too quickly to notice any compression in the final image outputt.

Design and Warranty

In terms of connectivity, you have two DisplayPort, an HDMI 2.1, and a USB-C port. This allows your PC to facilitate all kinds of output devices, including modern-day VR headsets. The Masterliquid 360p cooler from Cooler Master does a decent job of keeping the GPU cool.

Conclusion

Overall Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 6800 is a top-rated Ryzen 5 5600X GPU for 1080p gaming. It performs well in 4K and 1440p as well but drops the frame rates when there is a lot of AI image processing, probably due to the lack of DLSS.

3. Best with Dual BIOS: ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC

Dropped in 2022, the RTX 3070 was one of the most popular GPUs from NVIDIA’s GeForce lineup. One of its best adaptations has been ASUS’s OC edition. It has the old-world charm of turning the overclocking on and off with just one switch, along with a modern design and a very efficient cooler.

Performance

It is great for 1440p gaming. It gets access to NVIDIA’s DLSS technology and has a great ray tracing performance as well. It is powered by Ampere GA104 and features 5888 CUDA cores with 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. It runs on a base frequency of 1500 MHz that can be ramped up to 1800 MHz.

“OC” in the name indicates that ASUS has made a factory overclock to the RTX 3070. They have also added a simple physical switch to ramp up the frequency. The switch toggles between Quiet Mode and Performance Mode, where the latter does the overclocking.

Gaming Experience

This graphics card also gets NVIDIA’s standard DLSS and ray tracking support which helps the GPU process realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections better in your gaming. The AI-powered DLSS makes the GPU future-proof, with more and more games rendering life-like frames.

Design and Warranty

This GPU gets a standard setup of 5 output ports with 3 DisplayPort (1.4a) and 2 HDMI (2.1) ports. You can connect up to four display devices with the help of this connectivity. For connectivity, the RTX 3070 from ASUS uses PCIe 4.0.

“Dual” in the name signifies a dual fan setup of two axial fans. ASUS claims that the larger blades of these fans help dissipate the heat better. The Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360R cooling setup has an RGB setting as well.

Conclusion

Furthermore, ASUS offers their high-performance GPU Tweak II software that allows gamers to monitor and alter key performance settings like overclocking, adjusting fan speeds, and keeping an eye on the temperatures.

4. Best with 16GB VRAM: PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 6800 XT

Red Dragon RX 6800 XT is a high-performance GPU on the RDNA2 architecture. It is the same platform that PS5 and Xbox Series X/S use. It is a proven platform that focuses on offering a lot of computing power to process real-time ray tracing.

Performance

The RDNA 2 architecture itself is a massive upgrade over its predecessor, including higher RAM and more ray accelerator units. The only thing that has seen a downgrade is the 256-bit bus width.

To solve the memory sub-system bottleneck issues, AMD has introduced the concept of Infinity Cache, which uses an L3 cache of 128MB and has a data transfer speed of 2 TB/s. This helps the GPU to process single-threaded instructions faster.

Gaming Experience

One of the most talked about features of PowerColor Red Dragon AMD RX 6800 XT is its cooling assembly. It uses a triple fan setup with an aluminum fin-stack heatsink and large fan blades. The cooling assembly also spots RGB which gives the GPU a red metal-like appearance.

Cooling performance is probably the best in this category, with minimum noise and moderate fan operation.

Design and Warranty

With these specifications, you will get assured high performance on 4K gaming at 60 fps. The GPU is factory overclocked at 2340 MHz. It has the standard combination of connectivity with two HDMI ports, two DisplayPort outputs, and one USB C port.

Conclusion

Overall, it is a nicely built GPU with a decent factory overclocked speed and probably the best cooling solution in the category. Add its 4K gaming performance to that, this one checks all the boxes.

To top it up, this one comes with PowerColor’s Radeon software that allows users to customize settings, monitor performance, and manage future updates.

5. Best with Silent Mode: XFX Speedster SWFT309 Radeon RX 6700

The RX 6700 from XFX Speedster has some really interesting features, like large overclocking headroom and a triple fan cooling setup. XFX has added a silent mode to the fan operation, which at this price point is quite a welcome addition.

Performance

Despite the triple fan setup, the fans remain at 0 RPM when the workload isn’t intensive, thanks to the silent mode. It is ideal for 1440p gaming, as indicated right on the packaging. The 36 enhanced compute units coupled with a moderate 10 GB GDDR6 RAM ensure smooth sailing for 1440p gaming.

It is one of those rare GPUs that look sleek and yet manage to pack all the essentials of a high-performance graphics card. For instance, to maximize the effectiveness of the cooling, there is more thermal padding throughout the card. There are thermal pads on VRMs, memory, and on both sides of the GPU’s PCB.

Gaming Experience

One of the most useful features among gamers is the dual-BIOS availability that the RX6700 from XFX Speedster gets. It allows you to continue to make custom settings even if a BIOS update fails. Apart from that, this GPU also gets AMD’s standard Infinity Cache technology with an L3 cache of 80MB.

Design and Warranty

The infinity cache system allows the GPU to offer high performance without frequent back and forth. This enhances performance along with saving energy. Other notable features include DirectX (12) Raytracing (DXR), variable rate shading (VRS), and FidelityFX features.

Conclusion

These features are standard on AMD’s RDNA2 architecture. These advanced features improve visuals that include realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections. There is an 8K support as well to future-proof the GPU, but it runs at 60Hz.

6. Best Mid-Ranger: GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060

The RTX 3060 from GIGABYTE is built on Samsung’s 8nm process and NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture. Despite entry-level specifications like 12GB of GDDR6 memory and a 192-bit bus, the TDP for this GPU is quite low at just 170W.

Performance

The small yet significant factory overclock takes the speed to over 1800 MHz. The top speed is nothing great compared to other GPUs on Ampere architecture, but it does a good enough job for a 1080p or 1440p gamer.

Gaming Experience

There is not a lot of headroom for manual overclocking. The boosting algorithm stretches the clock speed to its maximum all by itself under heavy workloads. The popular belief is to use this GPU at its stock speed.

Design and Warranty

The downside to this otherwise impressive GPU is its cooling setup. It has a pretty basic cooler which does the job alright with moderate workloads but has to work extensively hard under heavy loads. The fans do support semi-passive mode, but the load is too much for the fans to stay quiet for longer.

Conclusion

On the outside, it has a standard RGB setup, two DisplayPort, and two HDMI ports. With a balanced spec sheet, it is all about the pricing. While the pricing depends on the supply chain, the current availability at just over $300 makes it an interesting choice as a mid-range high-performance GPU.

7. Best Budget Option: MSI GeForce RTX 3060

RTX 3060 from MSI is another affordable GPU aimed at gamers and content creators. It is powered by NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture and can offer great 1080p and 1440p gaming. But despite the 12GB memory and a 192-bit bus, the GPU can only reach a maximum of 1710 MHz of top speed.

Performance

MSI’s Dragon Center software helps maximize the GPU’s capabilities. You can monitor and tweak various important settings like clock speeds, fan curves, and RGB lighting in the GPU with the help of this software.

Among other prominent features, you get both Ray Tracing, and DLSS (2.0), which enhance graphics through AI-powered programs. This GPU also gets NVIDIA’s Broadcast App which transforms your room into a home studio with next-gen AI-powered audio and video effects.

Gaming Experience

It also gets NVIDIA’s Reflex Tech which dynamically reduces system latency by smartly combining optimized gaming and GPU settings.

MSI usually couple their GPUs with custom cooling solutions. This one though has high-quality pipes for its heatsink and a decent twin fan setup. Two DisplayPort and two HDMI ports are enough to provide output to modern-day devices with high resolutions and high refresh rates.

Design and Warranty

On the design part, the RTX 3060 gets structural support which is very helpful in mounting the GPU. It has a very durable backplate and an aesthetic overall look and feel. It has a customizable RGB setup which further adds to its aesthetics.

Conclusion

Overall, the MSI GeForce RTX 3060 is perfect for beginners and intermediate gamers. It does not have an expansive headroom for overclocking, but with stock features from NVIDIA, it gets enough juice to offer superior 1080p and 1440p gaming. With its pricing, MSI may also be catering this graphics card to new-age content creators.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

At an imaginary award night for the best-suited graphics card for AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, any jury would strongly maintain these three categories: budget, features, and performance.

Keeping that in mind, here are some notable winners from our list:

• Value for money: At $279, MSI’s Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 is a great choice for intermediate-level gamers and graphics designers. Apart from the latest NVIDIA features, it also gets MSI’s custom cooling solutions.
• Flagship: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 is an absolute flagship with all the latest connectivity and overclocking features. It gets iCX3 Cooling, an ARGB LED setup, and a massive 3-year warranty.
• Best overall: AMD Radeon RX 6800 from Sapphire Pulse is a great overall choice. It has the right balance of near flagship features like a massive 16GB memory along with standard connectivity ports and lanes.

The pricing from manufacturers tells a lot of stories. From the price placement and the number of variants available at a particular price point, I can safely say that the $300-$500 price point is a sweet spot for a GPU to use with Ryzen 5 5600X.