I'm currently using a Radeon 6900 XT, Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 32GB of RAM, and a 1000W be quiet! power supply with a Samsung G80SD running at 4K and 240Hz. I'm considering either buying an NVIDIA RTX 5080 for about 1,400 CHF, or replacing my CPU, motherboard, and RAM with an AM5 setup using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D for around 1,150 CHF. I play competitive games such as CS2, Escape from Tarkov, and Rainbow Six Siege about half the time, usually at a lower resolution, and single-player games such as Resident Evil Requiem and Silent Hill 2 Remake the other half, at 4K. My main goals are higher average FPS, smoother frame times, and fewer stutters. The 6900 XT struggles to maintain the performance I want in demanding 4K games, while I also experience FPS drops and poor performance in Tarkov and occasional stuttering in competitive games. Which upgrade would make the biggest difference, and should I be concerned about bottlenecking?
3 Answers
A cheaper graphics upgrade may offer better value than paying the full premium for a 5080. A 5070 Ti or similar card could still provide a substantial improvement over the 6900 XT for 4K gaming, while leaving some budget for a future platform upgrade. The 5080 is faster, but its extra cost may not translate into an equally large improvement in gaming.
There isn’t much reason to replace the 5800X3D solely for gaming unless your main priority is very high FPS at low resolutions. For 4K, put the money toward the GPU first. The 9800X3D could help with CPU-heavy games and improve minimum FPS in Tarkov, but the platform upgrade may not be worth giving up the larger graphics upgrade, especially since you already have a strong AM4 gaming CPU.
The RTX 5080 is probably the more noticeable upgrade for your 4K games. At that resolution, the graphics card is usually the limiting component, so your 5800X3D should not create a serious bottleneck in most single-player titles. You may still be CPU-limited in competitive games when playing below 4K, but upgrading the GPU should improve your overall experience more than replacing an already capable gaming CPU.
Would the 5800X3D hold back a 5080 in games like CS2 or Tarkov when I’m playing at a lower resolution?