I'm glad I bought into AM5, because a drop-in CPU swap is one of the last cheap upgrades left in 2026

Published Jul 25, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT Hamlin has been in the tech field for over nine years. Since 2017, his work has appeared on MakeUseOf, Android Police, OSXDaily, Beebom, and more. He served as the Senior Editor at Valnet's MakeUseOf for over two years before joining XDA. He uses a high-end gaming rig for desktop use and a MacBook for traveling, but dislikes some of the quirks of macOS. You're more likely to catch him at the gym or on a flight than anywhere else. When I upgraded to the 9800X3D earlier this year, I wasn't sure I was making the right decision. My old 5800X3D wasn't giving me any trouble with my RTX 4090, at least in the vast majority of AAA titles. The first part I sourced was a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit back in December, and even then, I was already paying higher prices because of the DRAM shortage. In fact, this was a downgrade from the 64GB DDR4 kit I had been using on AM4. To make matters worse, I splurged on an X870E motherboard when a B650 or B850 board would've done the job. Looking back, though, I'm glad I made the jump, even if it was an expensive upgrade that didn't dramatically improve my gaming experience. A similar DDR5 kit costs at least $100 more than what I paid back then. Of course, those who upgraded to AM5 last year or earlier got a much better deal than I did, but a few years from now, the premium I paid will be the last thing I'm thinking about. If anything, I'll be glad I only have to spend a few hundred dollars on a new CPU instead of rebuilding half my PC. AM4 already showed me why longevity matters The 5800X3D was my first drop-in upgrade, and I finally understood the appeal When I first built this PC with a 5900X back in 2020, AM4 was already nearing the end of its life. In fact, AMD said Zen 3 would be the last generation for the AM4 platform, and I was totally fine with that because I was already used to replacing my motherboard every time I upgraded my CPU. After all, Intel trained us to expect that for years. But then, AMD surprised everyone with the 5800X3D in 2022. At first, I didn't want to downgrade to an 8-core CPU just because it was faster, but when I upgraded to the RTX 4090 later that year, I quickly realized my 5900X was bottlenecking it at 1440p in many games. That finally gave me a reason to see what all the hype was about. Dropping the 5800X3D into the same motherboard was one of the easiest and best upgrades I've ever made. My GPU usage improved significantly across the board, and outside of a few competitive titles, the 5800X3D had no trouble keeping up with the RTX 4090 at 1440p. Even 1% and 0.1% lows were a lot higher than I was used to with the 5900X. I was glad I could finally get the most out of my 240Hz monitor. The fact that I could achieve such an improvement without touching anything else in my build showed me exactly why people loved AM4 so much. AMD's support through 2029 gives me peace of mind It's enough confirmation that I'll get at least one drop-in upgrade out of AM5 Shortly after the upgrade, I started wondering if I was a bit late to the AM5 party. After all, the platform had been around since 2022, and we'd already seen two generations of CPUs, with the 9800X3D having been out for well over a year by the time I bought it. I knew I wasn't going to upgrade my CPU every generation, so I assumed I'd end up waiting for Zen 7 instead. Then I remembered that AMD's initial commitment was through 2027, which meant Zen 6 would likely be my last chance to take advantage of AM5's longevity. Lucky for me, just over a month ago, AMD confirmed it would extend AM5 support through 2029, and that came as a huge relief. Of course, there's no guarantee that Zen 7 will be a worthwhile upgrade either, but I'd rather have the option of waiting for Zen 7 than be forced to upgrade to Zen 6 just because the platform reached the end of its lifecycle. Thanks to AMD's long-term commitment, I'm in a much more comfortable position right now. I can just sit back and play the waiting game until my 9800X3D starts holding back whatever GPU I buy next. And when that time comes, I'll be happy knowing that I don't have to splurge nearly $1,000 on a new motherboard and RAM kit. I could've squeezed another year out of my 5800X3D But buying into AM5 at the last minute can also be a costly mistake Realistically, I could've held on to my 5800X3D until I actually upgraded my GPU. Outside of a few competitive shooters that I wanted to play on my 360Hz OLED, the 5800X3D never had me wishing for a faster CPU to keep up with my RTX 4090. If anything, the 9800X3D was more of a refinement upgrade than a transformative one. Yes, it did improve my 1% lows and boost my average frame rates enough to max out my monitor's refresh rate in esports titles, but it wasn't a night-and-day difference. I know you're probably thinking about DDR5 prices right now, and sure, I could've waited for the prices to settle. But with all this demand from the AI infrastructure buildout, I don't see RAM prices going back to where they were a year ago anytime soon. And who's to say prices won't surge again? If I'd waited another couple of years to jump to AM5, I probably would've missed out on any meaningful drop-in upgrades. And if I'm forced to upgrade to AM6 sooner than I'd like, that's only going to be another hefty investment, especially if it means buying new RAM all over again. Sometimes, it's really better not to wait I have nothing but respect for AMD and how it successfully supported the AM4 platform for a decade. But AM4 peaked four years ago, and a 5800X3D Anniversary Edition isn't going to make me forget that. I'm glad I was able to get a drop-in upgrade out of it despite being late, but I don't want to take my chances with AM5 and end up being disappointed. Yes, it may hurt to pay a significant premium for DDR5 kits today, but those extra few hundred dollars won't be living rent-free in your head a few years from now. Eventually, you'll be glad you upgraded sooner.