Question Upgrading from RTX 3080 to RTX 4080

[DekuLicious]

You can read opinions about Intel and AMD or you can look at actual benchmark data.

Both Intel and AMD have released quality products for quite some time and each have their pro's and con's. One is not "better" than the other. I've built both Intel and AMD gaming pc's and they have both been fine.

At this point in time if building a new pc I would suggest the AMD 7000 series and new AM5 socket. The LGA 1700 socket is at a dead end. The 13700k and 13900k are solid cpu's but run very hot as well.

If you built an Intel rig now you'll be in this exact same boat in a few years, no option to ugrade. The 9900k is the end of the line it would appear for your current motherboard.

https://pangoly.com/en/compatibility/asus-rog-strix-z390-e-gaming/cpu

The choice is yours.

I take your opinion very seriously, and I just wanted to make sure that if I do switch to an AMD, would the following be a good upgrade in matter of performance and compatibility?

ROG CROSSHAIR VIII Formula
Ryzen 9 7950X

 

[GarrettL]

I would suggest building a pc around what you have now and where you want to be regarding screen resolution. What is the refesh rate of your current monitor?

As you go up in screen resolution the less cpu horsepower required. You don't need the best cpu available to get great framerates at 1440p and the new 40 series gpu's will likely overshoot your current monitors refresh rate.

If you intend to go 4k gaming this year then yes the 4080 or 4090 make sense. But also be aware at the gargantuan size of the coolers on these beasts. Make sure you get a case that is long enough for the gpu but also wide enough to allow the power plugs to be connected without hitting the side of the pc case.

There is nothing wrong with purchasing the Intel platform if you wish. A 13700k would be a solid choice for 1440p and 4k gaming.

If you look at cpu charts for 1440p we also see the 5800x3d on the AM4 socket competes with the 13700k in many game titles.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpus,3986.html

AMD is aout to launch the 7000x3d cpu's in a couple of weeks. I would wait to make a final build decision based on the performance of the new x3d cpu's.

For reference, this is a 3Dmark bench test using a 5800x3d and 4070 TI;

 

[John Chesterfield]

I take your opinion very seriously, and I just wanted to make sure that if I do switch to an AMD, would the following be a good upgrade in matter of performance and compatibility?

ROG CROSSHAIR VIII Formula
Ryzen 9 7950X

No, the board is AM4 from what I can see, the 7950x is AM5.

If going AMD and only gaming, go for an 8 core chip. 7700x and whatever board reviews well with that chip. Or a 5700x or a 5800x and the board you chose above.

 

[John Chesterfield]

Or as suggested in the post above mine, a 5800x3D.

 

[DekuLicious]

I would suggest building a pc around what you have now and where you want to be regarding screen resolution. What is the refesh rate of your current monitor?

As you go up in screen resolution the less cpu horsepower required. You don't need the best cpu available to get great framerates at 1440p and the new 40 series gpu's will likely overshoot your current monitors refresh rate.

If you intend to go 4k gaming this year then yes the 4080 or 4090 make sense. But also be aware at the gargantuan size of the coolers on these beasts. Make sure you get a case that is long enough for the gpu but also wide enough to allow the power plugs to be connected without hitting the side of the pc case.

There is nothing wrong with purchasing the Intel platform if you wish. A 13700k would be a solid choice for 1440p and 4k gaming.

If you look at cpu charts for 1440p we also see the 5800x3d on the AM4 socket competes with the 13700k in many game titles.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpus,3986.html

AMD is aout to launch the 7000x3d cpu's in a couple of weeks. I would wait to make a final build decision based on the performance of the new x3d cpu's.

For reference, this is a 3Dmark bench test using a 5800x3d and 4070 TI;

No, the board is AM4 from what I can see, the 7950x is AM5.

If going AMD and only gaming, go for an 8 core chip. 7700x and whatever board reviews well with that chip. Or a 5700x or a 5800x and the board you chose above.

Uh I see, thanks a lot for the information from both of you, really helped me and I'll make sure to check some stuff out before upgrading for sure!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I do like the idea of am5 in this case. Though the 13700k is a great cpu, the thing you’d have going for you is in a couple of years you should be able to pick up a newer cpu, flash the bios and install the newer cpu then you are pretty much current again. For example I’m running a 5800x on an older b350 board from 2017-18. Wonder if grabbing a 5800x3d would be worth my time.

 

[GarrettL]

I do like the idea of am5 in this case. Though the 13700k is a great cpu, the thing you’d have going for you is in a couple of years you should be able to pick up a newer cpu, flash the bios and install the newer cpu then you are pretty much current again. For example I’m running a 5800x on an older b350 board from 2017-18. Wonder if grabbing a 5800x3d would be worth my time.

That's a choice but do you get the uplift and performance boost to justify the 5800x3d at the current price?

The 5800x is a great gaming cpu as well, don't get too caught up in the charts of best cpu's and think you need high end to get good gameplay.

A gpu upgrade may be all that you really need.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Yeah for me with a 3080 I figure that should be good for 1440p for a while. I’ll probably wait until at least the next generation of cpus before a platform update.

 

[CeltPC]

I just recently upgraded to a 4080 and a new 4k monitor, keeping all other components the same for the moment. Given that I was coming from a GTX 970, it is of course a major improvement, and the monitor is able to take advantage of the 4080's capabilities. I may not be getting 100% of the 4080's top frame rates potential, but 4K gaming relies so little on the rest of the system, I don't think I am missing too much until I upgrade later to AM5.

CPU: Ryzen 9 3900X | Motherboard: Asus Crossfire VI Hero | GPU: RTX 4080 FE | RAM: G.SKILL TridentZ F4-3600C16D-16GTZSW | Hard Drive: SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 500GB NVMe MZ-V6E500BW | Hard Drive: HGST Deskstar NAS 3.5 4TB | Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3, 80 Plus Gold 850W | Cooling: Corsair H110i GT with 2 x Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B14-PS | Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400S PH-EC416PSTG | Operating System: Windows 11 | Monitor: Samsung Neo G7 32" 4k

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I think the one thing I would do on that box is update to a newer cpu. Something like a 5700x would give an uplift for gaming for about 200, but if you still want the multitasking ability it looks like the 5900x can be had for about 300 used. So if you sold your 3900x relatively inexpensive upgrade. Pairing that 4080 with a 3900x is a bit of a shame since the 3900x is bound to be holding it back a bit, though at 4k you may not be hitting the cpu quite as hard.

 

[DekuLicious]

I have decided not to upgrade at this time, as upgrading to a new CPU would require me to purchase a new motherboard, RAM, and storage.
Consequently, I have decided to wait for the new CPU series that was suggested earlier, as this will enable me to take advantage of a more substantial upgrade.

Thank you all for the valuable information you have provided over the past few days, it has been immensely helpful.