Hey everyone! I've recently dived back into the PC gaming scene after a few years off, and I'm curious about upgrading my current setup. I've got a Ryzen 5 3600 running at 4.2 GHz paired with a Gigabyte RTX 3070. I'm mostly playing Oblivion Remastered, which got me thinking about whether my current rig is holding me back. I feel like I have to turn down settings below mid, and it's frustrating since many games today aren't optimized very well.
I suspect my CPU might be bottlenecking my GPU, so I'm debating my upgrade options. Should I buy the 5700X3D and stick with AM4 a bit longer, or would it be smarter to switch to a full AM5 setup? Additionally, I might have some PCI-E lane issues with my ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING motherboard since I'm running two NVMe drives, which limits my GPU to 8x. Is this a significant issue for performance? My upgrade budget is around 800 - 1000 USD, but being in Denmark means prices can vary (approximately 5,000 DKK). What's your advice on the best upgrade path? Oh, and I'm gaming at 1440p too!
2 Answers
Honestly, don't stress too much about upgrading just for Oblivion Remastered; that game's performance is rough regardless of hardware. I’d suggest going for the 5700X3D and perhaps look into an RTX 5070 or RX 9070 for your GPU. It could really give you the boost you need!
I totally agree, solid upgrade path! Oblivion's all over the place performance-wise. But if you can expand your budget, the 9070 XT might be a better choice than the 9070.
I recently made a similar upgrade, swapping from 16GB to 32GB of RAM along with the Ryzen 5 3600, and the difference was incredible. The 8GB of VRAM in the RTX 3070 was just barely sufficient, but now my games run smoothly even at 1440p! I spent about $250 on this upgrade and I don’t think I'll need to touch my CPU for a while.
So just going from the 3600 and 16GB to the 5700X3D and 32GB made that big of a difference? My RAM is maxing out during games too, so that’s something to consider.
Yeah, I'm also concerned about the implications of sticking with AM4 given your GPU's 8x limitation. It could affect you more than you think, especially in newer titles!
Yeah, I get why you'd want to improve your setup overall. The 5700X3D should definitely help with modern titles, especially at 1440p!