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GPU or CPU upgrade?

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JimmiDK

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Hi, i'm having a RTX 2080 with a Ryzen 3600 that i wan't to upgrade.

But i'm struggling to find out if i should upgrade the GPU or the CPU? (Can't do both atm) I do mostly gaming.

The GPU i have in mind is the RTX 4070 or RX 7800XT (if it is any good/ reasonably priced). Or should i wait until next gen GPU comes, and this time around upgrade my CPU to a 5800X3D?

I know the 5800X3D will be held back by my 2080, but the plan is to upgrade both in the future, so the question is more like, upgrade GPU now and get CPU in about a year or so, or CPU now and wait for next gen GPU until like 2025?

Thanks.
 
What motherboard and memory do you have? Those are factors too.
 
You do gaming but at what resolution?
The most logical thing to do is to upgrade your GPU. To which one depends on your power supply. But seeing you are considering the 4070 is a good thing if you use raytracing and want DLSS and all that stuff.
 
Toothless said:
What motherboard and memory do you have? Those are factors too.
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, A MSI X570, and 32gb 3200mhz CL 14.

My PSU is a Corsair RM850x, and i game at 1440p. The PSU should not be a problem even if the RX7800 should be a bit power hungry.
 
If you are aiming 5800x3d, then CPU first.
Make sure your update your motherboard bios before the upgrade.
 
JimmiDK said:
i game at 1440p.
Click to expand...

So you're a 1440p guy, then it depends on games what you're playing and goals you're up to achieve. Competitive games like CS:GO and Dota 2 require faster CPUs rather than GPUs so then again, 5800X3D first is a wise choice. Otherwise, you should improve your GPU part, which depends on whether you are RT/DLSS fan or not. AMD cards are mostly faster than their nVidia competition if you play games without these features and they suck very big time if you decide on adding RT to your experience. But don't be fooled, and if your goal is very high framerate for the cost of some graphics settings being lowered to achieve that you'll still encounter noticeable slowdowns by your mediocre, by today's standards, CPU. If your goal is maximum clarity but 60 FPS is sufficient then your CPU is fine for the next year.
 
I don't play that much competitive games, sometimes but not that often, more like RPG, some SimRacing and so on. I like RT but it is not a MUST HAVE, and DLSS is only out of need i use it atm.
 
yeah GPU will give you more noticeable uplift, and make the case for a new CPU that much better (maybe a 5600x3d/5800x3d).

+1 to upgrade GPU, and Overclock/tune the CPU as high as it will go.
 
GPU and CPU if you notice the games can't keep up with the FPS lows.
 
I'd probably sit on your RTX 2080 for a while longer. It's still a very good card for 1440p. 5800X3D is cheaper than ever and would be a big upgrade over the 3600, but if you can wait longer I would just build a whole new computer when the next gen Intel and AMD processors come out. Maybe upgrade your monitor to something like 4k 120Hz then you will have good reason to justify upgrading anything.
 
(6) GPU Scaling Benchmark: Ryzen 5 2600 vs. Ryzen 5 3600 - YouTube

^ this can help.

1692897416967.png


In the 4 game average here - you will go from 93/113 to 99/120 with a new CPU or 103/134 with a new GPU and be a bit bottlenecked. So the original recommendation stands -- a new GPU will get you more performance but that CPU does need to get a bump soon as well, and will gimp your new GPU quite a bit.

Waiting to build a new rig or until you can bump both can also make sense. If I had to pick just one it would be GPU knowing it's being held back, but a CPU upgrade will also be a noticeable improvement.

That being said, a 5600x3d is $229 right now, $/FPS you may be better off with the CPU upgrade since any decent GPU uplift is going to be in the $400 range.

TLDR.
Budget $350 or under - If I $350 MAX burning a hole in my pocket right now, the part that will last the longest (another GPU upgrade) is the CPU, go for the 5800x3d and don't look back, and it will give you a noticeable bump.... for $350 you're not going to get a huge boost in FPS over the 2080 anyways.

BUDGET $450+ - here you can upgrade the GPU - something like the RX 6800 will give you a big performance uplift, bigger than the CPU upgrade, even with the 3600 bottleneck.
 
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JimmiDK said:
Hi, i'm having a RTX 2080 with a Ryzen 3600 that i wan't to upgrade.

But i'm struggling to find out if i should upgrade the GPU or the CPU? (Can't do both atm) I do mostly gaming.

The GPU i have in mind is the RTX 4070 or RX 7800XT (if it is any good/ reasonably priced). Or should i wait until next gen GPU comes, and this time around upgrade my CPU to a 5800X3D?

I know the 5800X3D will be held back by my 2080, but the plan is to upgrade both in the future, so the question is more like, upgrade GPU now and get CPU in about a year or so, or CPU now and wait for next gen GPU until like 2025?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
A 5700X would be a noticeable uplift in performance from your current cpu without breaking the bank. You might be able to fit one of those in along with a new gpu.
 
Double-Click said:
The GPU will give you more performance uplift in the short term.
Your PSU won't be an issue so whichever flavor GPU you prefer is fine.

The 5800X3D is the move for AM4, but you won't get as much of an FPS bump from that along with the 2080 as the other way around.
Click to expand...
It really does depend on the $ amount of the budget... going from like a 2080 to a 3060ti won't make a huge difference, but going to an X3D for that same $$ chip will... so there's not really a wrong answer per se, just what works best per $ changes depending on budget.

I wouldn't "upgrade" the 2080 to anything less than the 6800XT, and go for the X3D chips instead, waiting for a better deal on a better GPU. Anything under $450 I would just go with the CPU upgrade and put the remainder savings in the future GPU budget.
 
All depends as said, but OP already had 4070 and 7800XT on the radar so that's ~$600 right there.
If it were me I'd go for that first and then dunk the X3D in to put the icing on the cake.
 
The latest GPU will fit in your motherboard no matter when you decide to buy it, whilst the 5800X3D will only be on the market for a little longer. How long, exactly, is anyone's guess - but it sure won't be forever - I'd guess a year or so.

You can extend the life of a GPU by using upscaling to regain framerate as newer titles push it beyond its comfort zone. The same trick does not apply to the CPU.

Logically, you should upgrade the CPU first. It's more volatile in the market, and there's no crutch to help it last a bit longer when it starts to struggle. On the other hand, you won't see much impact in games if you're still running the 2080, so buying the CPU alone will be underwhelming, even if that's the logical choice.
 
Chrispy_ said:
5800X3D will only be on the market for a little longer
Click to expand...
It's a heap of heaps of AMD CPUs on the aftermarkets. Obsolete 1000s and 2000s Ryzens are still at large. OP will have no trouble buying a used 5800X3D if they don't mind getting used stuff. Finding an offer with an on-warranty CPU ain't a trouble either.

Going for a newer GPU is a safer approach and yes, anything lower than 6800 XT isn't worth considering because it's not noticeably superior to 2080 then.

I'd say going for 7900 XT or a used 3090 Ti (if OP's brave enough) makes all the sense in the world here.
 
Wow a lot of good replys, thanks a lot guys!
My budget is around 350$ maaybe 400$ if i push it.
At first i was not in doubt about the GPU, but then i had a thought that the 5800X3D could expand the life of my 2080, just enough until RTX5000 or RX8000 (or whatever they end up being named) arrives.
So my dilemma is, do i pay like 400$ for a 45/55% uplift from my 2080, and another 230/250$ in a year for a 5800X3D, or get the X3D now and hopefully get a bigger % uplift for the same 400$ with next gen?
 
$350-400 is going to put you out of contention for a 4070/7800XT.

You'll probably be best off trying to snag a clearance 6800 XT once they start trying to push 7700/7800 XTs
Do not even consider the 4060 Ti, it is hot garbage and not much of an upgrade from your current card.

You could get the CPU now, but then you'd be waiting even longer for the GPU so it all depends what you want to prioritize.
(as said you'll still get more of a performance bump upgrading the GPU than the CPU)
 
first gpu then cpu later
 
JimmiDK said:
Wow a lot of good replys, thanks a lot guys!
My budget is around 350$ maaybe 400$ if i push it.
At first i was not in doubt about the GPU, but then i had a thought that the 5800X3D could expand the life of my 2080, just enough until RTX5000 or RX8000 (or whatever they end up being named) arrives.
So my dilemma is, do i pay like 400$ for a 45/55% uplift from my 2080, and another 230/250$ in a year for a 5800X3D, or get the X3D now and hopefully get a bigger % uplift for the same 400$ with next gen?
Click to expand...

What games are you playing?

I would still lean on the GPU - you can always get a CPU cheap, but GPUs -- like one AI craze or Crypto or Taiwan scare away from through the moon pricing. GPU apocalypses are not isolated events. Right now used GPUs are great to buy. Also net % bigger uplift.
 
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phanbuey said:
What games are you playing?

I would still lean on the GPU - you can always get a CPU cheap, but GPUs -- like one AI craze or Taiwan scare away from through the moon pricing. GPU apocalypses are not isolated events. Right now used GPUs are great to buy. Also net % bigger uplift.
Click to expand...

My question would be how is he getting a 4070 for 350-400 and if he is getting it at that price buy it yesterday.....

I doubt he's getting 200+ for the 2080 but if so sell it yesterday.....

And OP if you are hoping for better nvidia pricing next year don't hold your breath it goes from the terrible 4060ti to the 4070 and the 4070 is unlikely to drop the 7800XT on the other hand maybe.
 
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