Question Upgrade now or new build later for 4k gaming

[Thatoli]

Hello tomshardware community and thankyou in advance,

My question to the professionals out there is,

I have recently purchased a QD OLED 240hz 4K monitor and planned to buy a new system to run it for gaming purposes. However would I be well advised to upgrade my 3800x and 3080 now for a 5800x3d and a 4090 and wait for a new build until 2025/2026 ?

The main goal is to run as close to 240hz 4k as possible, I don’t mind enabling dlss and lowering settings.

Waiting until q4 this year could be an option and do a build with new ryzen cpu which would be on the am5 socket or even intel new ones when they release and a 5000 series gpu

Or upgrade now and build new in a few years time, would the 4090 and 5800x3d last me for another few years with my requirements ?

Sorry for all the questions, I do like to come here to get advise as I know the comments are from very well informed people.

I look forward to your responses

Thankyou

 

[Lucky_SLS]

The 5700X3D is definitely a viable option.

You could wait for the RTX 5080 launch by this year end.

 

[SkyNetRising]

If your upgrade goal is 4k gaming, then cpu role on those resolutions is very minimal.
Everything depends on the graphics card.

Upgrade GPU and possibly PSU also.
Leave CPU as is.

 

[StarlitSeeker]

Upgrading now could give you a boost, but a new build later ensures you're future-proofed for 4K gaming. It depends on your current setup and budget. If your system can handle some new parts, upgrading might be cost-effective. Otherwise, waiting for next-gen components could provide a better long-term solution. What’s your current rig?

 

[hotaru.hino]

It depends on what performance you want now. If you want to max out the capabilities of that monitor, then a 5800X3D isn't going to cut it. But if all you're aiming for is at least 60FPS, then you can get away with just upgrading the video card for a while.

 

[Thatoli]

It depends on what performance you want now. If you want to max out the capabilities of that monitor, then a 5800X3D isn't going to cut it. But if all you're aiming for is at least 60FPS, then you can get away with just upgrading the video card for a while.

Thanks for reply, do you think at 4k the 5800x3d will be a problem with a 4090 or even 5080/5090 (when they release) ?. i am leaning towards a new build in q4 tbh. i just though upgrading the cpu and gpu might get me another two years out this system then build a new one around ddr6 motherboards. but ultimately i want to max out the monitor the best i can.

 

[Thatoli]

The 5700X3D is definitely a viable option.

You could wait for the RTX 5080 launch by this year end.

yeah so this was one of my thoughts, the 5800x3d will give me a really nice boost in performance over the 3800x, and will possibly get me into 2025/26 and I can build a new pc then around the ddr6 motherboards and latest CPUs at the time. however i really want to be hitting the best performance on this qd oled monitor and a new build in Q4 with new hardware will ensure that.

 

[SkyNetRising]

yeah so this was one of my thoughts, the 5800x3d will give me a really nice boost in performance over the 3800x,

Nah. At 4k there would be minimal to zero difference.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Thanks for reply, do you think at 4k the 5800x3d will be a problem with a 4090 or even 5080/5090 (when they release) ?. i am leaning towards a new build in q4 tbh. i just though upgrading the cpu and gpu might get me another two years out this system then build a new one around ddr6 motherboards. but ultimately i want to max out the monitor the best i can.

I think waiting would be better, especially if you're aiming for higher end hardware. All of the new stuff should be released by the end of the year as well.

 

[Thatoli]

Upgrading now could give you a boost, but a new build later ensures you're future-proofed for 4K gaming. It depends on your current setup and budget. If your system can handle some new parts, upgrading might be cost-effective. Otherwise, waiting for next-gen components could provide a better long-term solution. What’s your current rig?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3800X
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Za 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Case: Thermaltake View 71 TG Snow ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx White 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
GPU: rtx 3080

 

[Thatoli]

Nah. At 4k there would be minimal to zero difference.

Thanks for reply here is my current rig, do you think adding a new GPU to this to extend its life for 4k 240hz or just build new in Q4 ?

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3800X
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MAG X570 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Team T-FORCE DARK Za 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Case: Thermaltake View 71 TG Snow ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RMx White 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
GPU: rtx 3080

 

[Lucky_SLS]

As it is right now, even the 4090 wont give you 240 fps in 4k. maybe 120fps in some games.

If you use DLSS and FG, consistent 120+ fps.

the 5700X3D can give 100+ fps in almost all the games today. So there is not much bottleneck with the 4090.

This is the reason why I was suggesting the 5700X3D and waiting for the 5080 or the 5090.

 

[SkyNetRising]

Thanks for reply here is my current rig, do you think adding a new GPU to this to extend its life for 4k 240hz or just build new in Q4 ?

Upgrade PSU first.
Minimum recommended PSU for RTX 4090 is 850W.
Then and only then upgrade your GPU.
See how it performs and decide, if you want to upgrade CPU also.

As mentioned before - at high resolutions (like 4k) - system will be GPU bound.
CPU upgrade from 3800X is less important.

 

[Thatoli]

As it is right now, even the 4090 wont give you 240 fps in 4k. maybe 120fps in some games.

If you use DLSS and FG, consistent 120+ fps.

the 5700X3D can give 100+ fps in almost all the games today. So there is not much bottleneck with the 4090.

This is the reason why I was suggesting the 5700X3D and waiting for the 5080 or the 5090.

ok cool, do you see my other components you think adding a 5800x3d or 5700x3d and a 5080 or 5090 will be good and wait for a new build 2026 even ?

 

[Thatoli]

Upgrade PSU first.
Minimum recommended PSU for RTX 4090 is 850W.
Then and only then upgrade your GPU.
See how it performs and decide, if you want to upgrade CPU also.

As mentioned before - at high resolutions (like 4k) - system will be GPU bound.
CPU upgrade from 3800X is less important.

yes i can upgrade the psu no problem thanks for the advice

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'll just leave some more thoughts down and let OP figure out what they want to do and leave the thread as is.

Assuming you got a 32" 4K monitor, then part of the reason why I think you should wait is you can adjust what you want. You can lower the resolution and take advantage of the high frame rate for those games, or you can go up to 4K and enjoy higher fidelity. The pixel density of a 32" 4K display I think is still high enough that lowering the resolution (somewhere between 1440p and 4K) won't make things look that ugly due to display interpolation (or you could just have the GPU do it). To me, having at 4K 240Hz monitor lets me enjoy higher fidelity or higher refresh rates, and assuming I like the monitor long enough, hardware will eventually catch up to where I can have both.

I don't get this idea that if you get a 4K monitor, you must run all the games you play a 4K. But if people think other people are wasting money by not getting the "correctly sized" hardware for the job, then well, I like to question their choices as well. But I won't, because it's not my money they're wasting.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

ok cool, do you see my other components you think adding a 5800x3d or 5700x3d and a 5080 or 5090 will be good and wait for a new build 2026 even ?

Yup, wait for 5090. Upgrade to the best cpu in 2026.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($199.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: ADATA XPG Core Reactor II 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $349.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-06-16 02:42 EDT-0400