This is an incredible CPU with the best price to performance at this budget. It will easily meet average consumer needs with gaming and multi-core tasks. If you're looking to game at 1080p, high settings, at 144hz, this CPU can get it done. The only games I've had issues with are poorly optimized, such as Escape From Tarkov, where you'll sometimes dip to 60FPS, but it's still very playable. I've paired my 3600 with an RTX 2070 and 16GB of 3200MHz ram. This is a great chip for competitive gaming that won't break the bank. If you're interested in twitch streaming or recording, you can do both simultaneously while maintaining 100+ FPS in most games. Just make sure you have the GPU to back it up, in my case, the RTX 2070. For multi-core tasks, I've had no problem using Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop. I've rendered 20-minute videos with heavy effects upscaled to 1440p with no issues in under 1 hour. This is a great, entry-level workstation CPU, but if you're at a professional level doing 3D rendering or 4k video, obviously get something beefier. Cooling has always been a nonissue. My CPU temps stay under 90°C under load with a stock cooler. I'd recommend an aftermarket fan however for even better cooling and less fan noise. Zero issues installing the chip into the TUF GAMING X570-PLUS motherboard. It was plug and play, no updating required. I've heard the b450 tomahawk max is the best budget board for this chip, but if you're looking for something more future proof for upgrading down the line, the Tomohawk x570 variant looks even better. 10/10 for the price

I upgraded from a Ryzen 5 1600 to a Ryzen 5 2600X to this Ryzen 5 3600 and the performance gains were very clear every generation! A sub 200 dollar CPU that trades blows with intel CPU’s that are twice the price. No problems at all, playing modern warfare at 144 FPS @ 1440p on my 2080ti with this thing ripping some X264 encoding using X split in the background @ 1080p 60fps. Never goes over 40% and stays chilly under my Corsair H110, temps in the mid 40’s locked at 4 ghz. Even if you are on 2nd gen Ryzen, this upgrade is so worth it!

This is my first AMD cpu and it’s impressive, Stomping my i7-7700k into the dirt and costs less! Very responsive, great at handling games and virtually everything else. Anyone looking to build a gaming PC on a budget, this is the processor for you.

So far, I'm very pleased with my first Ryzen experience. This cpu went into my first ever pc build (lotsa pictures below). Depending on the motherboard you use, you will se this chip perform differently. Mine resides in an ASRock B550M Steel legend. It was drop-in compatible with no bios updates. The stock power mode had the cpu idling at 50c and maintaining a stable 4.1Ghz. Depending on your cooler this may not be a problem, but I had to mess with the power management (within windows) in order to get this cpu to idle a bit lower temp wise. I highly recommend picking this up if you can find it in stock. Also, kudos to Best Buy support. They were able to ship me 2 of these to ensure one arrived by Christmas!

great budget cpu, pairs well with an RTX 3070. No bottlenecking