Upgrade path for AM4 holdout
Posted by Anduril9@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 8 comments
Hello fellow enthusiasts. With the launch of the new X3D chip, I am facing somewhat of a dilemma and I need your help. First things first, I currently own the Ryzen 3600x with a RTX 3070. Current screen supports 1440p but with my old but gold cpu, it can barely do decent frames on any new title if I choose to render at 1440p and have clouds and shadows that are not blobs. I feel like I am struggling to enjoy games because if I want it to look pretty I have to play at sometimes unenjoyable fps. I was waiting for reviews of the 9800X3D to hopefully clear some doubts but it has in fact resulted in more questions than answers.
I am a 35 year old working full time and I don’t have a lot of time to game. The amount of time I do have will likely go down severely due to a cute family addition. I like building up my steam backlog but I am always on the lookout for the perfect time to dive into my games (without much luck). I have liked playing the latest-AAA-low-effort launches in the past but seem to enjoy easy-to-pick-up-and-put-down-indie golds, more, currently. I always crave the latest and greatest but I struggle trying to justify the costs associated.
Initially, I thought of upgrading to AM5 at the least, with either the 7800X3D or the new 9800X3D. Then when GTA 6 launches (the only game I seem to be looking forward to), I would upgrade my GPU too. Does this upgrade path make sense? Financially, I can afford it but the question is more of a should I? With lesser and lesser time available to game does it make sense to go for the latest and greatest? Should I stay with AM4 and get 5700X3D, should I go with AM5 and get a 7800X3D or the latest 9800X3D? Should I upgrade at all? Is anything real, lol?
Sorry for the wall of text. Hoping to receive some valuable advice from you folks. If I had posted this to pcmasterrace I know what advice I would have gotten. I was looked for a more level headed discourse. Thank you for your time!
P.s. if it is unclear, I use my pc only to game, no productivity or rendering needs in the foreseeable future.
anonamous482@reddit
I am currently on an AM4 platform with a 5800x cpu, and switching from a 3070 to a 4070 super made at least a 40-50% FPS gain across the board in most games. I use a 1440 ultra wide monitor (so kind of an in-between QHD and 4k resolution), and I was having issues with choosing between blobby shadows and reflections, or low fps. With the GPU upgrade I can have shadow and lighting settings on max with most games without hurting performance. There are software tools out there you can use to see if your GPU or CPU is bottlenecking your performance. Check out the YouTube channel “Jays 2 Cents” for excellent explanations of bottlenecking and knowing when to upgrade what.
I’m about your age and had my first child last year, I still game plenty 🤣. Of course it helps that my wife likes to game sometimes too. She also understands why gaming is a healthy part of my life. There was a time when I was gaming a lot less and I stopped making expensive PC upgrades and just used a console. Console is the way to go if you’re a casual gamer that doesn’t want to upgrade and fiddle with graphics settings all the time.
kaje@reddit
If lowering settings increases FPS, then it's your GPU that needs to be upgraded.
Anduril9@reddit (OP)
Trying to not look like a full-on n00b when I ask, but is that always the case? In the past I have always been told that my cpu is really old and should be upgraded before my gpu. For games like red dead redemption 2, people upgrading from the same cpu I have to a 5800X3D, keeping the gpu the same, seem to report a world of difference.
Not trying to refute, value the advice, just looking to increase my knowledge.
akeyjavey@reddit
Generally, yeah
The gpu is dedicated to forming the graphics of the game and how nice they look as well as coordinating those graphics with the CPU. If lowering the settings makes the fps faster than that's because it's easing the strain on the GPU, leaving room for it to better coordinate with the CPU. If every game chugs no matter how low or high your settings are then that would be a cpu problem
tybuzz@reddit
If you upgrade to the best gaming AM4 CPU for your money (5700X3D), your performance will be limited by the RTX 3070, especially for 1440p. It will likely improve slightly, but may not as much as you would like. For the price, the CPU upgrade is certainly worth it, IMO. Upgrade your CPU and go from there.
Upgrade your GPU in the future to greatly improve 1440p performance. I would recommend at least a 7800 XT or similar for decent 1440p (over 100 fps average).
Anduril9@reddit (OP)
So stick with AM4 and 5700X3D and then upgrade gpu as soon as I can to get a serious boost. Solid advice! Separately, would you think I would do well with a 7800XT even with newer games in 2025/2026? Or would it make better sense to just wait for the games I want to play, to launch. And then see what works well.
Thank you so much for taking the time!
tybuzz@reddit
7800 XT is no slouch, especially for the price, but with next gen GPUs releasing very soon, it may be better to wait and see.
5700X3D will certainly be good enough for mid tier 1440p for at least a few more years if not more.
Anduril9@reddit (OP)
Totally makes sense!