I'm considering upgrading my gaming rig and I'm wondering if I can get by with just a GPU upgrade. I built my PC back in late 2019 with an R7 3700X CPU and an RX 5700XT GPU. It's been decent for casual gaming, mostly playing RPGs and strategy games, but I'm feeling the age of my hardware now, especially with my 3440x1440 ultrawide monitor. I'm aiming for a solid performance upgrade to hit high or ultra settings on games like Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, or Kingdom Come Deliverance II while maintaining 70+ FPS. If I get a 4070 Super, will my R7 3700X hold me back, or can I achieve my performance goal? Alternatively, if the CPU is indeed a limitation, I could upgrade to a 5700X3D, but that would mean switching out my GPU too. What do you think?
4 Answers
At 1440p, you're likely going to hit a GPU bottleneck regardless. I ran into similar issues with my setup and noticed that even with a decent CPU, the GPU was the limiting factor in most games at higher resolutions. If you're gaming at 3440x1440, the 4070 Super will perform well, but you'll want to make sure your CPU isn't dragging it down too much.
I had a similar setup—5800X3D with a 5070 Ti—and I could push the GPU to 99% in most demanding titles. The 4070 Super should be slightly slower, but even with the 3700X, you’ll see significantly better performance compared to your current setup. Also, remember that ray tracing can be CPU-intensive, so you're right to consider the balance. If the budget allows, focus on the GPU now and upgrade your CPU when you can!
Honestly, the X3D chips are beasts when it comes to gaming. I wouldn't stress too much about sticking with the R7 3700X. You might not get the absolute peak performance, but you'd still see a noticeable improvement compared to the RX 5700 XT. If you're tight on budget, the 3700X should still give you a good gaming experience, especially with the 4070 Super.
You'll want to look at benchmarks specifically for the 4070 Super at 3440x1440 to get a clearer picture. From what I've gathered, your CPU won’t completely drag the performance down. A 5600 might help more in CPU-heavy situations, but the 3700X will still handle most games decently at that resolution. I'd probably recommend getting the GPU first and then considering a CPU upgrade later.
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