Most Gaming Impactful Upgrade choice: GTX970 to GTX1080 --or-- FX-8350 to Ryzen 7 ?

[jdfensty]

Hi all,

I know these are often asked questions, and there are dozens of considerations to take into account, but I still think a 'general' answer is hopefully possible. I'm not new to upgrading PC's, been doing so since 4.7mhz 8088's (soldered crystals on my motherboard to jump to 8mhz!) but I do find myself not real clear on which way to go here.

Like most people who home build, I tend to upgrade one component at a time every year or two...a CPU here, a GPU there, motherboard when a new socket makes it necessary (and new RAM to go with it) and so on.

But I can't figure out, given my current specs, which way to go this round.

So that's the intro. Here's the actual, specific question:

Which upgrade 'path' is going to show me the most real-world, visible/noticable, seat of the pants impact in gaming performance:

Moving from my elderly but seemingly still quite capable ASUS STRIX GTX970 to a 1070 Ti or 1080 (and which?),
OR,
Upgrade my current FX-8350 (and MB/RAM) to a Ryzen 7 (and which?) and thus MB/RAM also.

(The sub-questions are, what's the real deal difference between a 1070 TI and a 1080 as they seem pretty darn close in spec and bench; and ditto for the Ryzen 7 series, which is the best 'gamer' CPU when wattage/heat are NOT a concern, but price is always best kept at the most impact per buck...)

So, current specs:

FX-8350 4.0ghz, currently OC'd to 4.7ghz with no power/heat issues in the rig now,
ASUS M5A99FX Pro MB
16 GB Corsair DDR3 1600
ASUS STRIX GTX970 4GB 256bit GDDR5 with a mild OC (not unlocked)

Again, I know there are a million answers but remember, I'm stipulating that it must be EITHER the GPU, OR the CPU/MB/RAM, and within those two options, either a GTX 1070 Ti or GTX 1080 for GPU; or one of the Ryzen 7 series for the CPU - and where the desire is the most impact on PC Gaming regardless of power/heat issues. (Yes, I know that will also affect MB choices depending on wattage.)

I guess what I'm saying is rather than get down into the real weeds over all the other possible upgrade paths, or CPU/GPU choices outside those mentioned, consider it as if I've made up my mind 100% on it being a new AMD CPU and appropriate MB/RAM, or one of those two GPU options......which will make me really see the impact?

(Edit: It occurs to me that, so far, I'm only playing in standard 1920x1080 and not 2K/4K. So again, let's stipulate I'm staying standard HD monitor for another couple years.)

I really leaned towards the video card given that the GTX970 I have is already 3 1/2 years old, but I haven't yet really had to dial down any game's visual settings except at the highest end (like Kingdom Come Deliverance I recall having to step things down a fair bit, but Far Cry 5 I left everything maxxed) and it's hardly noticable. I know that 'on paper' the benchmarks and such from the FX-8350 to Ryzen 7 2700X are huge, but will that really impact the gaming performance as much as the big benchmark jump from GTX970 to 1070 Ti or 1080? And then, finally, what the heck IS the real-world impact difference between the 1070 Ti vs. 1080? On paper/benchmarks they seem nearly identical.

Thanks so much if you read all this rambling and can give me a shove in the right direction!
JD

 

[hang-the-9]

I would start with a new platform then swap the video card later. For 1080 resolution the 970 card will be fine for now. A new CPU would make everything faster, and since you are swapping out fairly well matched components, no matter what you swap out, you will be creating more of a bottleneck than anything you may have now.

 

[clutchc]

+1
I agree with the Mod for the exact same reasons. Time for a platform change if you play the AAA games. Especially if you game online on busy servers.

 

[jdfensty]

Thanks to you both!

Ss I said it 'seemed' like it might be the GPU to replace first, but I couldn't actually come up with any logical reason for feeling that way, and so I started leaning towards the rest of the rig instead...then couldn't make up my mind. LOL.

I was also biased, probably more than just a little, by the fact that while I bought the 970 almost 4 years ago, the 8350/MB (reused the RAM from prior CPU) not even 2 years ago. Stupidly/shortsightedly, only a few months before the Ryzen specs and release date came out...and watched the price drop by more than 50%...lol. So admitting that whole upgrade was a big mistake doesn't come easy.

So, thanks for helping clarify and make up my mind. Looks like the kids (who benefit from my hand-me-downs) are going to be happy that Dad's upgrading again.

At least I know the MB/CPU/RAM work well as a set. OC'ing the heck out of this thing and stable as a rock.

Thanks again!
JD