My current PC has a Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 4060 Ti 8GB, 32GB DDR4-3200, and a B550 Wi-Fi motherboard connected to a 1440p monitor. I have trouble using frame generation and upscaling because the image often looks flickery to me and can cause eye strain or headaches, so I avoid those features whenever possible. However, newer games such as the Oblivion remake, Stellar Blade, and Remnant 2 can run poorly without them. I also occasionally get large FPS drops in games like League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and Fortnite, although those drops are inconsistent. I would prefer to stay on AM4 because DDR5 memory is expensive, and I want to spend no more than about $500. My options are upgrading to a Ryzen 7 5700X, 5800X, or 5800X3D; trying a supposedly inexpensive 5500X3D from AliExpress; selling my current platform and moving to AM5; replacing the 4060 Ti with a used RTX 3080 Ti or 4070 Ti; buying a newer GPU such as an RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070; or simply saving money and waiting. Would a CPU upgrade actually help, and what would you choose in this situation?
4 Answers
Moving to AM5 would give you a longer upgrade path, but not necessarily the best result for this budget if it leaves you with only 16GB of DDR5. Keeping your 32GB DDR4 kit and upgrading one component at a time is more practical. I would either buy a reasonably priced AM4 X3D CPU if your priority is stable high FPS, or save for a genuinely substantial GPU upgrade if newer single-player games are the main concern. Waiting for a future socket is also reasonable, since there is no need to replace the whole system immediately.
For the least expensive platform upgrade, I would look at a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or 5800X3D from a reputable retailer. The extra cache can significantly improve minimum FPS and reduce CPU-related drops in competitive games, while allowing you to keep your motherboard and DDR4 memory. The 5800X3D is only worth that very high price if you specifically need the absolute best AM4 gaming performance; otherwise, the cheaper X3D option or even a 5700X is better value. I would avoid an unusually cheap processor from AliExpress unless you are comfortable with limited warranty coverage and the possibility of a used, relabeled, or counterfeit chip.
At 1440p, your 4060 Ti is the main limitation in newer, graphically demanding games. A much faster GPU such as an RX 9070 XT would provide a large improvement, but the Ryzen 5 3600 could hold it back in CPU-heavy games and in situations where you are targeting very high FPS. You could upgrade the GPU now and replace the CPU later, but make sure the power supply and case airflow are suitable. Current NVIDIA pricing generally offers weaker rasterized performance for the money, so the AMD option may be the better value if ray tracing and specific NVIDIA features are not priorities.
The flickering and headaches are not something an upgraded CPU or GPU will automatically fix. DLSS and frame generation can show shimmering or unstable details, but monitor settings, VRR behavior, brightness, motion clarity, and your eyes can also contribute. Try disabling frame generation separately from DLSS, compare different upscaling modes, check your refresh-rate and adaptive-sync settings, and test another display if possible. If the symptoms continue across games and monitors, it would be sensible to get your eyes checked rather than forcing yourself to use those features.
That difference could still come from the newer games using aggressive temporal reconstruction, frame generation, or different anti-aliasing. It is worth testing native 1440p with those features completely disabled, even if the FPS is lower, and comparing the result with another monitor if you can.
I do not notice the problem in older games, which is why I am unsure whether it is caused by the newer games, my PC, or the display. For now I have been playing the original 2006 Oblivion instead of the remake because the newer version bothers me.