I'm considering whether to upgrade from an Intel i7-14700 to an AMD 9800X3D for gaming. A friend offered me a great deal on an RTX 4090, which includes the 14700, motherboard, RAM, SSD, etc., for no extra cost. I know AMD is often seen as a better choice these days, but I'm wondering if the 9800X3D provides enough of a performance increase over my current CPU to justify the change. Should I stick with my existing setup or go for the AMD components? Just to note, the i7-14700 was never used before I got it, and I promptly updated all the BIOS and firmware, so I shouldn't have any of the previous issues with it.
2 Answers
Honestly, the answer is probably no, especially for gaming. Unless you're hitting performance issues with the games you play, the 14700 should hold up just fine. It’s a solid chip if you're not looking for ultra high-end performance.
What games are you planning to play, and at what resolution? If you're gaming at really high settings and resolutions, there might be some tangible benefits. But if you're mostly playing titles like Doom or Cyberpunk, your current setup can likely handle it without needing to swap CPUs now.
Right now, I'm mostly playing Blue Prince. I also have my eye on upcoming titles like Cyberpunk, Baldur's Gate 3, and even some VR games since I care about frame rates in those. I'm running it on a Samsung G9 at 5120 x 1440, and I'm happy with 80fps on average.