Question Upgrade advice/help for 4k gaming ?

[GTheAlchemist]

my current build:

Windows 10
ASRock AB350 Pro 4
AMD Ryzen 5 1400
XPG 16gb 3000mhz XPG DDR4 RAM (2x 8gb sticks)
Nvidia EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

I've just recently purchased a 43 inch 4k 144hz HDR 10 display
(Samsung Odyssey Neo Mini QLED)

Being that I will (or at least the goal is to) be gaming at 2160p resolution,
should I just skip the CPU upgrade entirely and just go straight for a high end GPU?
I've heard at 4k the CPU is mostly meaningless as long as it's adequate, which for 1080p it honestly has been.
But i'm not against upgrading it if I need to.
If i were to upgrade the cpu however, my personal limit would be a Ryzen 5 3600 as I just don't see any need for anything stronger (again unless I am dead wrong)
Or better yet a 2600x. Or even a 4500 / 4100 if i can get away with it.

GPU wise I am willing to drop ALOT more on. I am not interested in Ray Tracing.
My objective is 2160p resolution, and, if I can manage 120-144hz for my monitor, it would be nice, but it's not mandatory as I can do pefectly fine @ 4K 60fps with Nvidia G-Sync that's built into the Odyssey Neo.

CPU budget = $130
GPU budget really depends on if i have to allocate funds for the CPU or if i can continue with what I've got.

I can get a Ryzen 4100 for $60 or a 4500 for $80
a Ryzen 3600 for $90 and a 2600x for $80

GPU wise I am lost and confused.
I'm not sure what I should be looking for...
AMD VEGA 64? 56? 5700xt? 5800xt?
GTX 1080ti? RTX 2080?
Or should I be looking at 4070?
I'm allover the place and im getting fatigued trying to figure it out.

Thank you everyone SO much in advance

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I’d say a 4070 is a 1440 card realistically. If I wanted to game at 4K, I’d probably get no less that a 7900xtx and a 5700x. But more is better. If you are willing to shop used the 5700x can be found around $160 on eBay.

The first stack of gpus like the Vega cards, rx 5000 series are all, 1080ti and rtx 2080 are older series cards and shouldn’t be considered for 4K.

Regarding a 4070 and 4070ti there’s not enough vram to effectively push 4K imo. The minimum is probably an rtx 3090.

 

[GTheAlchemist]

Are you sure about that?
I heard from so many sources that 2080, 2080ti and 2080 super or even 2070 super were more than enough for 4k and that 4070 is way more than enough...

 

[GTheAlchemist]

I’d say a 4070 is a 1440 card realistically. If I wanted to game at 4K, I’d probably get no less that a 7900xtx and a 5700x. But more is better. If you are willing to shop used the 5700x can be found around $160 on eBay.

The first stack of gpus like the Vega cards, rx 5000 series are all, 1080ti and rtx 2080 are older series cards and shouldn’t be considered for 4K.

Regarding a 4070 and 4070ti there’s not enough vram to effectively push 4K imo. The minimum is probably an rtx 3090.

Also why do you suggest a 5700x for exactly?
If I will be using 2160p that CPU is overkill.
For 1080p high refresh I understand but for 4k 60hz, a 3600 is already too much..

 

[GTheAlchemist]

Honestly with a high end GPU I am willing to bet my Ryzen 5 1400 might even do the job for 2160p 60hz on a proper G-Sync monitor.
Only for 1080p and 1440p would it ever make sense to aim for something stronger than a 2600.

 

[bill001g]

It depends on what game you a running. Have you looked at the benchmarks they have done for a couple of fairly newly released games like cyberpunk or starfield. These any many other recent games even a 4090 has issue getting good frame rates at 4k.

If you are going to run counterstrike on very low setting then you might get a 4070 to max out your monitor ability at 4k.

It is likely not going to be until we see 5000 series nvidia cards that we are going to see something that can render 4k at 10bit color depth and output it at 144fps.

Be aware a lot of the stuff you see from game companies on their 4k rates are using DLSS and other tricks where they render it at 1080 and then upscale it pretending it is the same as rendering at 4k to start with.

 

[sonofjesse]

If you are serious about 4k, I would suggest he 4090 or 7900XTX.

Even the 4070TI is a 1400P card in my mind.

I don't see a huge rush to go to 4k gaming personally. Added costs. What are you really getting for all that money?

 

[Zerk2012]

Are you sure about that?
I heard from so many sources that 2080, 2080ti and 2080 super or even 2070 super were more than enough for 4k and that 4070 is way more than enough...

GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2023: Graphics Cards Ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy.

www.tomshardware.com

EDIT A lot of it will depend on the game your playing and the in game settings.

 

[GTheAlchemist]

If you are serious about 4k, I would suggest he 4090 or 7900XTX.

Even the 4070TI is a 1400P card in my mind.

I don't see a huge rush to go to 4k gaming personally. Added costs. What are you really getting for all that money?

I guess i'll wait on upgrading the gpu then.

Do you think upgrading my cpu from the Ryzen 5 1400 to the Ryzen 5 4100 is a good idea?
Will it help me get to 144hz on my new monitor?

 

[GTheAlchemist]

Or the Ryzen 5 4500 rather sorry

 

[Zerk2012]

Or the Ryzen 5 4500 rather sorry

On the never games your not going to get 144 on a 4K monitor unless you have the settings turned way down and that defeats the purpose of a 4K monitor with the video cards that are out right now.

 

[GTheAlchemist]

On the never games your not going to get 144 on a 4K monitor unless you have the settings turned way down and that defeats the purpose of a 4K monitor with the video cards that are out right now.

I'm referring to sticking to 1080p @144hz
but upgrading my cpu at least from the quad core Ryzen 5 1400 to the hexacore Ryzen 5 4500 to at least help with framerate. thanks.

 

[--SID--]

my current build:

Windows 10
ASRock AB350 Pro 4
AMD Ryzen 5 1400
XPG 16gb 3000mhz XPG DDR4 RAM (2x 8gb sticks)
Nvidia EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

What's the brand and model of the PSU?

 

[GTheAlchemist]

its a 750W thermaltake

What's the brand and model of the PSU?

it's a 750W thermaltake, why do you ask?
I am about to pull the trigger on a Ryzen 5 2600x to upgrade and "future proof" the rig a bit, even though the current quad core CPU has given me zero issues whatsoever.
I know that the CPU is more responsible for getting higher frames whereas the GPU is mostly for higher resolution so I am hoping to be able to throw a high end GPU in
In the future so that I can run 4k.
I might just buy a Titan X to do it. I'm sure it would work. Can't imagine it wouldn't. I feel like people just aren't aware there are a plethora of cards out there perfectly capable of 4k. I mean, we are going on 2024 and ive known people to game in 4k since 2016 c'mon guys really -_-

 

[--SID--]

it's a 750W thermaltake

Which Thermaltake exactly? They have some real junk models.

why do you ask?

You don't want to hook a beefy GPU to a junk PSU.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

for high end hardware, you atleast need a Tier B PSU. Tier A always recommended.

PSU Tier List rev. 17.0g - Cultists Network

PSU Tier List will help you to choose the best PSU out of hundreds of models on the market. From budget to the highest end Power Supplies.

cultists.network

I would have recommended the 5800X3D, but looking at your post, i see that its not within your budget. With that said, i think the 4500 is a good middle-ground for 60fps gaming.

The GPU Hierarchy chart linked above is a good reference point. I would suggest the 7800XT as a bare minimum for 4k if you intent to use your GPU for more than a year/for longevity's sake.

 

[thestryker]

I think it mostly depends on how long you want to keep the parts.

If you're looking at 4k high refresh gaming there really isn't a choice other than to spend quite a bit on GPU (4080/4090/3090 or 7900XT/7900XTX/7800XT/6900XT/6950XT would be my minimums) unless you plan on dumping graphics settings to their lowest on any newer titles (even this won't work for everything). Not that Alan Wake 2 is necessarily indicative of all future games but it won't run reasonably on anything older than RTX20xx/GTX16xx or RX6xxx so personally I wouldn't consider those at all.

On the CPU side of things a 4500 would be an improvement, but it has limitations on IPC, PCIe and IO compared to Zen 3 based CPUs. Ideally you'd want to move to a 5600 minimum.

Your existing DRAM is a bit slow and might be a relatively cheap improvement, but CPU and GPU definitely first.

 

[sonofjesse]

If you can't get the 5800X3D or 5900x, can you get a 5600G or 5700G?

 

[kira-faye]

Are you sure about that?
I heard from so many sources that 2080, 2080ti and 2080 super or even 2070 super were more than enough for 4k and that 4070 is way more than enough...

It depends what you're playing - modern AAA games? Absolutely not. A 2080 hasn't been enough for 4K at high settings in modern FPS in a while. I'm not even happy with the performance of the 7900 XTX at 4K across the board. It's usually enough, but not always. As far as I'm concerned the 4090 is the only current "proper 4K" card, and even if can't handle Cyberpunk and Alan Wake 2 at 4K max settings the way I'd want it to were I spending that kind of money.

Further, I can't recommend anything less than the 5800X3D if your goal is 4K. More recent titles are getting very CPU intensive, and it would be really unfortunate to spend 4K GPU money ($800+) only to have to turn everything down because you "saved" on the CPU upgrade.

 

[Order 66]

Are you sure about that?
I heard from so many sources that 2080, 2080ti and 2080 super or even 2070 super were more than enough for 4k and that 4070 is way more than enough...

No, Maybe when those cards came out, but not anymore. Especially with the mess of unoptimized PC games we find ourselves in today. You need at least 16GB of VRAM to game comfortably at 4K. 8GB is barely enough for 1080p, let alone 4k. You really need a whole platform upgrade. I would go for a Ryzen 7 7800x3d and an RX 7900xtx, But that depends on your budget.

 

[Order 66]

its a 750W thermaltake

it's a 750W thermaltake, why do you ask?
I am about to pull the trigger on a Ryzen 5 2600x to upgrade and "future proof" the rig a bit, even though the current quad core CPU has given me zero issues whatsoever.
I know that the CPU is more responsible for getting higher frames whereas the GPU is mostly for higher resolution so I am hoping to be able to throw a high end GPU in
In the future so that I can run 4k.
I might just buy a Titan X to do it. I'm sure it would work. Can't imagine it wouldn't. I feel like people just aren't aware there are a plethora of cards out there perfectly capable of 4k. I mean, we are going on 2024 and ive known people to game in 4k since 2016 c'mon guys really -_-

You definitely need to upgrade your PSU. I wouldn't buy the Titan X, It may have been high-end and capable of 4K when it came out as were the other cards you mentioned, but games have moved on from 8GB of VRAM (at 1080p for the most part) and 12GB (at 4K for the most part). You will most likely be disappointed with the Titan X's performance at 4K. Plenty of Cards are capable of 4K at the lowest settings, sure. But if you have to turn everything to lowest in order to run at 4k what is the point of using 4K? Not to mention if you are so sure that your way is right, why even bother asking people?

 

[artk2219]

my current build:

Windows 10
ASRock AB350 Pro 4
AMD Ryzen 5 1400
XPG 16gb 3000mhz XPG DDR4 RAM (2x 8gb sticks)
Nvidia EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

I've just recently purchased a 43 inch 4k 144hz HDR 10 display
(Samsung Odyssey Neo Mini QLED)

Being that I will (or at least the goal is to) be gaming at 2160p resolution,
should I just skip the CPU upgrade entirely and just go straight for a high end GPU?
I've heard at 4k the CPU is mostly meaningless as long as it's adequate, which for 1080p it honestly has been.
But i'm not against upgrading it if I need to.
If i were to upgrade the cpu however, my personal limit would be a Ryzen 5 3600 as I just don't see any need for anything stronger (again unless I am dead wrong)
Or better yet a 2600x. Or even a 4500 / 4100 if i can get away with it.

GPU wise I am willing to drop ALOT more on. I am not interested in Ray Tracing.
My objective is 2160p resolution, and, if I can manage 120-144hz for my monitor, it would be nice, but it's not mandatory as I can do pefectly fine @ 4K 60fps with Nvidia G-Sync that's built into the Odyssey Neo.

CPU budget = $130
GPU budget really depends on if i have to allocate funds for the CPU or if i can continue with what I've got.

I can get a Ryzen 4100 for $60 or a 4500 for $80
a Ryzen 3600 for $90 and a 2600x for $80

GPU wise I am lost and confused.
I'm not sure what I should be looking for...
AMD VEGA 64? 56? 5700xt? 5800xt?
GTX 1080ti? RTX 2080?
Or should I be looking at 4070?
I'm allover the place and im getting fatigued trying to figure it out.

Thank you everyone SO much in advance

What games are you looking to play at 4k, and how much are you looking to spend total?

 

[kira-faye]

Also, assuming you built when that CPU was new 5 years ago the PSU is getting on in age.

A new CPU will likely necessitate a new motherboard, your RAM is slow and will hold back faster CPUs so it needs to go as well... There's no point building AM4 again unless AM5 is out of budget. I certainly wouldn't recommend putting money in your existing platform - it's one thing if you had an X570 board, but with B350 there's nothing there to save.

 

[Order 66]

What games are you looking to play at 4k, and how much are you looking to spend?

The OP seems to think that a titan X will provide suitable eye candy and fps at 4k. I think (know) they will be disappointed with the result.

 

[helper800]

IMO the minimum viable CPU upgrade for that platform going forward is a 5700 or 5800X3D. Gone are the days 4 cores are enough for modern games. I have a 5800X3D and it is often taxed to its limits, 50%+ utilization but still provides 160+ fps at 1440p. At 4k It will be useful for years to come.

As others have said as well, you need a better PSU for a better GPU. An 850w Seasonic focus gold or better, Corsair RMe / RMX or better would be my opinion on the PSU.

Also, assuming you built when that CPU was new 5 years ago the PSU is getting on in age.

A new CPU will likely necessitate a new motherboard, your RAM is slow and will hold back faster CPUs so it needs to go as well... There's very little point building AM4 again unless AM5 is out of budget. I certainly wouldn't recommend putting money in your existing platform - it's one thing if you had an X570 board, but with B350 there's nothing there to save.

I disagree. A 5800X3D is very capable even today, and will be for at least a few years. He does not need new RAM, but that would be a very cheap upgrade at some point later. Even the cheapest AM5 build would be 400 dollars when you could just spend half of that on a CPU to get you 85% the way to AM5 performance.