I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and could use some advice on whether to upgrade my CPU and motherboard or invest in a new GPU. Currently, I have an i5-13400f CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 4060 GPU. I'm considering moving to a Ryzen 7 9800x3d and a new motherboard, since my current one is not compatible with Ryzen. On the other hand, I'm thinking about grabbing a 5070 GPU. I mostly play Overwatch 2 at 1080p, and I know that it's quite CPU intensive. Would upgrading to the 5070 give me a noticeable performance boost compared to upgrading the CPU and motherboard? What would likely give me more frames per second?
2 Answers
I'd recommend going for the CPU and motherboard upgrade. In my experience, those hardware components tend to bottleneck first. I put more money into a good CPU and motherboard on my first build, and I really wish I'd done that initially. I eventually upgraded to a 9800x3d combined with a 5070ti, and I couldn't be happier!
Check if your GPU is maxed out with an unlocked framerate. If it is, then you need a GPU upgrade. But honestly, a 9800x3d would be overkill for a 4060; even a 7600 or 9600x would suffice. If you're set on the GPU route, maybe consider a 9070 instead? It's a solid option on par price-wise with the 5070. Also, with the new CPU like the 14600kf, you’d see a significant performance boost while still using your current motherboard, assuming it supports DDR5.
Thanks a lot for this! My GPU usage in Overwatch usually doesn't go above 35%, and my CPU is around 30%. Unfortunately, the 9070 is priced the same as the 5070 here, so it’s tough to upgrade both right now.