Question What to upgrade first?

[src1425]

My current gaming system is a Ryzen 5 5600X with an RTX 3070. My monitor is 1440p at 2560 x1440. It runs games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3 pretty well - not maxed out but satisfactorily.

With Black Friday coming up, instead of waiting to upgrade everything at once, I was thinking of upgrading my CPU to either a Ryzen 7 7800X3D (with a new mobo and memory) or simply a Ryzen 7 5800X3D in my existing AM4 socket, and then next year upgrade the GPU. (I typically look to get the best GPU I can for about $500, and I'm not sure the 4070 is worth it.) If I get the 5800X3D instead of the 7800X3D, I may also look to get an ultrawide monitor (3440x1440), as I also work from home and the extra screen space would be much appreciated.

I do have access to MicroCenter, so I'll be keeping an eye on their bundles as well.

 

[Why_Me]

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mH...00-xt-16-gb-video-card-gv-r78xtgaming-oc-16gd

 

[Lucky_SLS]

the 5800X3D is still a very good CPU. It would stay relevant for atleast 3 more years before needing an upgrade.

Like @Why_Me said, a GPU upgrade is what you should prioritize now. You can still get the 5800X3D next year and maybe even cheaper at that time. the 5600 should not be that bad. It should still give you 80+ fps in most games if not bottlenecked by the GPU.

CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2025: CPU Rankings

We've run thousands of CPU benchmarks on all new and older Intel and AMD CPUs and ranked them.

www.tomshardware.com

2k ultrawide has more pixels and thus would require more VRAM. if you want to use your GPU long term, look for atleast 16gig models.

You might want to purchase the monitor this black friday and maybe wait on the 4000 series refresh? its upto you. If you dont care about ray tracing, get the best offer radeon card. 7800XT or the 7900XT. if you care about RT, wait for the refresh series and look out for the 4070ti refresh.

RTX 4080 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, RTX 4070 Super Specs Leaked

Potential specifications for Ada Lovelace Super GPUs

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Order 66]

I don't know what your PSU is, but for AM5 I would recommend something along these lines. You are correct as well, the 4070 is not worth it with it's measly 12GB of VRAM at $600.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XJvpKX

 

[geofelt]

My stock approach to this perennial question:

Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run this test:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

 

[helper800]

Personally, If I were in your position I would get a 7800 xt graphics card and then save for a 3440x1440 or 5120x3440 monitor. The CPU will become less and less relevant to performance the higher the resolution monitor you go for. In my opinion, I like 5120x1440p because you can set it up with PIP as two 2560x1440p monitors with no bezel. That being said, as games get more complex the CPU will have a harder and harder time drawing the frames over time and a stronger CPU like a 5800X3D will extend the life of the PC another 3-4 years, especially with a higher resolution in mind. The CPU is the FPS ceiling limiter when paired with powerful GPUs.

 

[neojack]

i was in the same position as you, and i choose to upgrade to the 5800X3D. it's the best decision

the 7000 series are good for people that want to buy a new PC. but for existing AM4 owners, the 5800X3D is too good to pass.

Of course, if money is not an object, then by all means upgrade as you wish

 

[src1425]

Hmmm. The GPU upgrades just seem so crappy right now. I'm leery of going with Radeon as DLSS was a huge help with BG3, and I'm just not convinced FSR is going to be as useful. Of course, the Nvidia upgrade path at the moment is extremely underwhelming unless you can afford to be bleeding edge, which I can not. As suggested, I'd be tempted to wait and see how the refresh affects pricing rather than get something just for the sake of upgrading. But I have to admit I'm not as familiar with the current pros and cons of Nividia vs. Radeon as I should be - I sort of tune out between upgrades.

 

[neojack]

Hmmm. The GPU upgrades just seem so crappy right now. I'm leery of going with Radeon as DLSS was a huge help with BG3, and I'm just not convinced FSR is going to be as useful. Of course, the Nvidia upgrade path at the moment is extremely underwhelming unless you can afford to be bleeding edge, which I can not. As suggested, I'd be tempted to wait and see how the refresh affects pricing rather than get something just for the sake of upgrading. But I have to admit I'm not as familiar with the current pros and cons of Nividia vs. Radeon as I should be - I sort of tune out between upgrades.

you perfectly summarized the market and state of mind of most people.
everything appart from the RX4090 feels like a sidegrade compared to the 3070 / 2080ti, Radeons are good but lack some features

Save money equivalent to a used car and buy a 4090, or wait for the new GPUs like most people.

the good news are that the storage and CPU markets are in better shape, so you have an upgrade path
you can change your CPU, max out your ram and get 2-4TB SSDs


Welcome to the club (see my signature, same situation)

 

[src1425]

the good news are that the storage and CPU markets are in better shape, so you have an upgrade path
you can change your CPU, max out your ram and get 2-4TB SSDs


Welcome to the club (see my signature, same situation)

Well, at least I'm not alone! I'm not desperate to upgrade my GPU, and it seems like I'm probably better off getting the 5800X3D upgrade so it's ready and waiting for an eventual GPU upgrade, probably this time next year.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Its a common misconception that as resolution goes up CPU becomes less relevant.

The above statement was true a few years back when 4k was limited to 60hz. So if a CPU can give 60FPS in a game engine, all was good. Thats not the case today. I have a Samsung Odessey Neo G7 - 4k 144hz. So the only saving grace is the freesync or G sync range - which starts at 48hz. We are soon to have 240hz 4k models. So i would say the CPU side of the requirements stays the same but we have to focus more on GPU for 4k.

 

[helper800]

Its a common misconception that as resolution goes up CPU becomes less relevant.

The above statement was true a few years back when 4k was limited to 60hz. So if a CPU can give 60FPS in a game engine, all was good. Thats not the case today. I have a Samsung Odessey Neo G7 - 4k 144hz. So the only saving grace is the freesync or G sync range - which starts at 48hz. We are soon to have 240hz 4k models. So i would say the CPU side of the requirements stays the same but we have to focus more on GPU for 4k.

This is not entirely true. The GPU has to wait for the CPU to draw the frames and the faster that can be done, with a powerful enough GPU, the more frames you will get. At 4k, if a GPU can only pump out 100 fps but your CPU is capable of drawing 400 frames per second the CPU is going to be waiting on the GPU. 1080p is 1/4th the resolution as 4k so it requires roughly 1/4th the time to render a drawn frame. With the same hypothetical CPU and GPU at 1080p you would be getting 400 frames from the GPU per second and 400 from the CPU per second.

The easiest way to look at this is that the CPU and GPU are both speed governors,and they will produce the fps of whichever one is slower at rendering or drawing frames respectively. At 4k the CPU is almost always faster at drawing frames than the GPU is at rendering them afterwards. The effect of this is that the same CPU is significantly less burdened at higher resolutions while the GPU is significantly more burdened.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

^I typically dont worry much about fps over the refresh rate of the monitor. And till the max refresh rate, the CPU requirement is the same regardless of the resolution. What you are talking about applies more for esports titles with 400/500fps. But for AAA titles, typically till 140fps, the cpu requirement for say 140fps in a particular game engine/ game is the same for all resolution. some cpu performs well and give more than 140fps and some SKUs underperform, just like in any cpu intensive game.

 

[Order 66]

This is not entirely true. The GPU has to wait for the CPU to draw the frames and the faster that can be done, with a powerful enough GPU, the more frames you will get. At 4k, if a GPU can only pump out 100 fps but your CPU is capable of drawing 400 frames per second the CPU is going to be waiting on the GPU. 1080p is 1/4th the resolution as 4k so it requires roughly 1/4th the time to render a drawn frame. With the same hypothetical CPU and GPU at 1080p you would be getting 400 frames from the GPU per second and 400 from the CPU per second.

The easiest way to look at this is that the CPU and GPU are both speed governors,and they will produce the fps of whichever one is slower at rendering or drawing frames respectively. At 4k the CPU is almost always faster at drawing frames than the GPU is at rendering them afterwards. The effect of this is that the same CPU is significantly less burdened at higher resolutions while the GPU is significantly more burdened.

How exactly does the CPU draw frames? and how exactly does the GPU render frames? (Iknow it sounds dumb, but I have always been curious how a very advanced piece of silicon (among other materials used in the construction of CPUs and GPUs) is able to give you an image on a monitor) I have heard that all it is is a lot of math. Is this true or am I misunderstanding?

 

[helper800]

^I typically dont worry much about fps over the refresh rate of the monitor. And till the max refresh rate, the CPU requirement is the same regardless of the resolution. What you are talking about applies more for esports titles with 400/500fps. But for AAA titles, typically till 140fps, the cpu requirement for say 140fps in a particular game engine/ game is the same for all resolution. some cpu performs well and give more than 140fps and some SKUs underperform, just like in any cpu intensive game.

What I am talking about is applicable and just as relevant to all games, not just esports titles. The arbitrary example I gave with 100/400 fps was used because it lined up well with 1080p being 1/4th the resolution of 4k.

 

[Order 66]

^I typically dont worry much about fps over the refresh rate of the monitor. And till the max refresh rate, the CPU requirement is the same regardless of the resolution. What you are talking about applies more for esports titles with 400/500fps. But for AAA titles, typically till 140fps, the cpu requirement for say 140fps in a particular game engine/ game is the same for all resolution. some cpu performs well and give more than 140fps and some SKUs underperform, just like in any cpu intensive game.

I used to worry about fps over refresh rate, only because my old system could run valorant at 200 fps and my monitor was only 60hz. I don't worry about it anymore now that I have a 1080p 144hz monitor with freesync.

 

[helper800]

How exactly does the CPU draw frames? and how exactly does the GPU render frames? (Iknow it sounds dumb, but I have always been curious how a very advanced piece of silicon (among other materials used in the construction of CPUs and GPUs) is able to give you an image on a monitor) I have heard that all it is is a lot of math. Is this true or am I misunderstanding?

Very basically, the CPU draws all the lines and vertices and sends it to the GPU. The GPU then fills in those complex drawings with shaders, textures, tessellation, lighting, et cetera for every single frame. I am sure @bit_user would have a very in depth explanation as he is much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to these topics.

Edit The best resource I can find easily is this video from GN about GPU busy.

 

[Order 66]

Very basically, the CPU draws all the lines and vertices and sends it to the GPU. The GPU then fills in those complex drawings with shaders, textures, tessellation, lighting, et cetera for every single frame. I am sure @bit_user would have a very in depth explanation as he is much more knowledgeable than me when it comes to these topics.

Thanks, I will be sure to look out for an explanation from @bit_user.

 

[artk2219]

Hmmm. The GPU upgrades just seem so crappy right now. I'm leery of going with Radeon as DLSS was a huge help with BG3, and I'm just not convinced FSR is going to be as useful. Of course, the Nvidia upgrade path at the moment is extremely underwhelming unless you can afford to be bleeding edge, which I can not. As suggested, I'd be tempted to wait and see how the refresh affects pricing rather than get something just for the sake of upgrading. But I have to admit I'm not as familiar with the current pros and cons of Nividia vs. Radeon as I should be - I sort of tune out between upgrades.

My current gaming system is a Ryzen 5 5600X with an RTX 3070. My monitor is 1440p at 2560 x1440. It runs games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3 pretty well - not maxed out but satisfactorily.

With Black Friday coming up, instead of waiting to upgrade everything at once, I was thinking of upgrading my CPU to either a Ryzen 7 7800X3D (with a new mobo and memory) or simply a Ryzen 7 5800X3D in my existing AM4 socket, and then next year upgrade the GPU. (I typically look to get the best GPU I can for about $500, and I'm not sure the 4070 is worth it.) If I get the 5800X3D instead of the 7800X3D, I may also look to get an ultrawide monitor (3440x1440), as I also work from home and the extra screen space would be much appreciated.

I do have access to MicroCenter, so I'll be keeping an eye on their bundles as well.

How much RAM do you have? If its 16GB I would definitely look to upgrade that to 32, and this year a 5800X3D would probably be your best upgrade. The RTX 3070 could be upgraded since it only has 8GB of VRAM and that is already starting to become a limitation, especially at 1440P, but its still a strong performer. An RX 7800 XT or RTX 4070 would be an upgrade, but not massive (~30%), in order to get a more meaningful upgrade you would need to get something like an RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX, or RTX 4080, those would double your current gaming performance. Yeah you're kind of in a tough spot, honestly it's probably best to wait a year on the GPU unless you find a killer deal on an RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX, or RTX 4080. Also you can technically use FSR or FSR 3 with your Nvidia GPU right now if you have a game that supports it, it's supported on RTX 2000 series and up, thats the beauty of an open standard

Radeon RX 7800 XT reference review (Page 29)

AMD has elegantly unveiled the Radeon RX 7800 XT, marking a refined expansion of their product range that spans from mainstream to the high-end graphics niche. This addition epitomizes a significant s...

www.guru3d.com

AMD FSR 3 Now Available

It was just over month ago at Gamescom that we gave you a first look at AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 31 (AMD FSR 3) in Forspoken, one of the first games being updated with the latest version of our cutting-edge open-source FSR upscaling technology. Along with this preview, we also shared...

community.amd.com

 

[src1425]

How much RAM do you have? If its 16GB I would definitely look to upgrade that to 32, and this year a 5800X3D would probably be your best upgrade. The RTX 3070 could be upgraded since it only has 8GB of VRAM and that is already starting to become a limitation, especially at 1440P, but its still a strong performer. An RX 7800 XT or RTX 4070 would be an upgrade, but not massive (~30%), in order to get a more meaningful upgrade you would need to get something like an RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX, or RTX 4080, those would double your current gaming performance. Yeah you're kind of in a tough spot, honestly it's probably best to wait a year on the GPU unless you find a killer deal on an RX 7900 XT, RX 7900 XTX, or RTX 4080. Also you can technically use FSR or FSR 3 with your Nvidia GPU right now if you have a game that supports it, it's supported on RTX 2000 series and up, thats the beauty of an open standard

Thanks for your feedback. I'm at 32GB for RAM so I'm ok there. We're pretty much on the same page. I'm leaning towards picking up the 5800X3D first since it seems like a cost-efficient boost that helps me get more value out of my current mobo and RAM. I'm going to wait to see how the Nvidia refresh works out, and a 4080 is probably my target once the Supers come out, but we'll see. I'm feeling much less pressure to try and jump on something for Black Friday.

Thanks again!