I'm running a Ryzen 7 5700X and an RTX 3080 FTW3 12GB, and I recently bought an MSI OLED 2560×1440 monitor with a 500Hz refresh rate and DisplayPort 2.1. I'm considering spending about $300 CAD on a Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and I'm also looking at upgrading the graphics card to an RTX 5080 or possibly a cheaper Radeon RX 9070 XT. My current system usually reaches around 144–240Hz rather than fully taking advantage of the monitor. Would either upgrade be worthwhile, or should I keep the current hardware and save for a complete rebuild in a few years?
3 Answers
At 1440p, the graphics card will usually matter much more than moving from a 5700X to a 5800X3D. The 5800X3D can help in CPU-limited games and with very high frame rates, but $300 CAD is a lot to spend on an older AM4 upgrade unless you specifically need the extra minimum FPS. I’d prioritize the GPU if you want to push beyond 240Hz.
The RTX 5080 would be the stronger upgrade, but it’s also expensive. A Radeon RX 9070 XT should cost considerably less and still provide a noticeable improvement over the RTX 3080, making it the better value if saving money is important. Before changing cards, check your power supply, available connectors, case clearance, and whether you care about features such as ray tracing or DLSS.
I usually install a high-wattage power supply, so I may already have something around 1000W, but I’ll confirm the exact model and connectors before buying anything.
You don’t have to match the monitor’s full 500Hz refresh rate in every game for it to be worthwhile. If your current setup already delivers 144–240Hz, it’s still a good experience. Since both upgrades are fairly expensive and the laptop purchase didn’t work out, holding onto the 5700X and 3080 and saving for a future platform rebuild is a perfectly reasonable choice.
That makes sense. I’m leaning toward leaving the CPU alone unless I find the 5800X3D at a much better price.