I currently have an AM4 setup with a Ryzen 7 5700G, 16GB of RAM, an ASRock B450M PRO4-F R2.0 motherboard, and an NVIDIA 3060 graphics card. I'm considering an upgrade to AM5 with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, an ASRock B850M STEEL LEGEND WIFI motherboard, and Kingston DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MHz Fury White CL30 RAM, along with an RX 9070 XT. However, I'm on a budget and need advice on whether I should start by upgrading the graphics card or should I look at upgrading the processor and RAM first? I play games at 1440p and I'm not sure how to maximize performance given my constraints.
5 Answers
Upgrading the whole setup at once is probably the best route. Switching to an AM5 motherboard will mean you also need to invest in DDR5 RAM. Make sure your case and PSU are ready for the new GPU, as some newer models have special power requirements. If financing is an issue, consider a no-interest credit card to cover the upgrade costs.
Could you sell your 3060 to fund a more powerful processor like a 5700X or 5800X? Meanwhile, making sure your power supply can handle the new GPU is crucial—check if your case has adequate cooling too!
The 5700G holds back some of the potential due to its iGPU cache limitations. Upgrading to a 5700X or even better the 9800X3D will give a noticeable boost. The RX 9070XT pairs well for 1440p. I’m currently on a 5800X and RX 7900 XTX gaming at 4K and still hitting GPU bottlenecks on modern titles, so at 1440p, the 9070XT should perform nicely.
If you're sticking with your AM4 setup, you can't upgrade to DDR5 RAM without an AM5 motherboard. I wouldn't recommend getting an ASRock board for the AMD 9000 series since there have been issues reported. Consider upgrading to the AM5 platform with the new CPU, RAM, and motherboard first, then focus on the GPU later. If budget is tight, you might want to look into a solid option like the 7600X paired with an Arc B580 GPU, which could still handle 1440p gaming.
Honestly, the B580 isn't a great upgrade over the 3060. It's not worth the investment.
It's best to upgrade both the processor and the graphics card together. Since the AM4 is nearing its end, swapping in an X3D processor will breathe new life into your setup without a complete overhaul yet. You could likely get a decent upgrade for under $800.
I did a similar upgrade from a 5600X to a 5700X3D and swapped my 3060Ti for a 5070Ti, all while using my existing PSU and case. It gave my AM4 setup a fresh lease on life!
Definitely listen to this advice; it’s spot on!