RTX 3080 Upgrade! (CPU Bottleneck?)

[BruhMoment]

Budget (including currency): ~Hoping for around 1400 USD

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Basically Everything. Video, Audio, CSGO-CIV-Cyberpunk.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

Current:

CPU: i7-6700 Intel

RAM: 16gbs DDR4 2x8

Power: EVGA 600W 80+ Bronze

Storage: 1tb  3.5 WD HD + 250gb 750 Evo SSD

Monitor: 1080x1920 60Hz 23"

Motherboard: Compatible with both AMD and Intel

 

I am hoping to upgrade my GPU to 3080 and get a monitor ASAP to play games like Cyberpunk in 4k with at least 60 frames, but because of my current monitor and my CPU I am worried the upgrade may cost upwards of 2 grand for a setup of quality and longevity. What is the best way I could budget this build if bottlenecks exist?

[Bombastinator]

How do you have a motherboard compatible with both amd and intel?

[DailyProcrastinator]

5 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

-Snip-

If you want to make the CPU work for a bit longer go 1440p and get the 3070. 3080 would be overkill unless you do a full system upgrade. Also what motherboard do you have?

[BruhMoment]

@TheDailyProcrastinatorI have the Asus Z170AR

[DailyProcrastinator]

Just now, BruhMoment said:

I have the Asus Z170AR

That is only Intel 6th gen compatible, and 7th gen with a bios update. No motherboard supports both AMD and Intel.

[BruhMoment]

@TheDailyProcrastinatorI was hoping to get a 3080 and use it for the next 5+ years so I wanted to get the best option (that isn't too overkill). Is there anyway to get motherboard+CPU+3080+monitor for 1,400? (To get a good 4k constant 60 frame experience for most games.)

[DailyProcrastinator]

2 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheDailyProcrastinatorI was hoping to get a 3080 and use it for the next 5+ years so I wanted to get the best option (that isn't too overkill). Is there anyway to get motherboard+CPU+3080+monitor for 1,400? (To get a good 4k constant 60 frame experience for most games.)

3070 still makes most sense. Since we are all playing the waiting game let's see what 4th gen Ryzen has to offer as well. May offer even better gaming value.

 

But the budget may be a bit of a stretch with a 3080. 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

4 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheDailyProcrastinatorI was hoping to get a 3080 and use it for the next 5+ years so I wanted to get the best option (that isn't too overkill). Is there anyway to get motherboard+CPU+3080+monitor for 1,400? (To get a good 4k constant 60 frame experience for most games.)

Yes, but the monitor would be lower than 4k 60. maybe 1440p 120, but 4k 60 costs a lot.

[BruhMoment]

@TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp@TheDailyProcrastinator

I found this for 4k 60frames:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-tuf-gaming-vg289q-4k-monitor

would 1440p and 144hz be better. I know this is subjective when it come to more competitive games, but if I want the best visual experience wouldn't 4k always be better?

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Just now, BruhMoment said:

@TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp@TheDailyProcrastinator

I found this for 4k 60frames:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asus-tuf-gaming-vg289q-4k-monitor

would 1440p and 144hz be better. I know this is subjective when it come to more competitive games, but if I want the best visual experience wouldn't 4k always be better?

when closer up, yes, but you would prefer high refresh rate. Everyone can tell 144hz is bett, but some dont think its as big of a deal. The resolution will be lower, but most games, FPS is more important than resolution. 

[BruhMoment]

@TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp @TheDailyProcrastinator So should just a GPU and monitor upgrade be fine? Do you guys have any quick recommendations for 2k 144hz monitors?

[BruhMoment]

Also is selling my current GPU the best option for it?

[DailyProcrastinator]

10 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp @TheDailyProcrastinator So should just a GPU and monitor upgrade be fine? Do you guys have any quick recommendations for 2k 144hz monitors?

Yeah, and as you move to 1440p (2k) the load is more GPU bound. An OC on you CPU would be beneficial as well. 

 

This with a 3070 would be great value:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DNH8TW/gigabyte-g27qc-270-2560x1440-165-hz-monitor-g27qc

 

Other good options include:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/87VD4D/viewsonic-xg2760-270-2560x1440-165-hz-monitor-xg2760

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bjxbt6/asus-tuf-gaming-vg27aql1a-270-2560x1440-170-hz-monitor-vg27aql1a

[DailyProcrastinator]

24 minutes ago, TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp said:

when closer up, yes, but you would prefer high refresh rate. Everyone can tell 144hz is bett, but some dont think its as big of a deal. The resolution will be lower, but most games, FPS is more important than resolution. 

Agreed. My opinion on this is once you go high refresh rate you can NEVER go back. It may not be noticeable immediately but if you go from 144Hz to even 75Hz it is instantly noticeable for anyone who has had that experience while gaming for a few hours. 

 

13 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

Also is selling my current GPU the best option for it?

Yes.

[BruhMoment]

@TheDailyProcrastinator With a $300 monitor I could afford a $400 CPU, is there an Intel CPU for this price that is better because It would be hard to switch motherboard with my current budget. Thanks for the recommendations! That Gigabyte one has a great price!^

[DailyProcrastinator]

2 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheDailyProcrastinator With a $300 monitor I could afford a $400 CPU, is there an Intel CPU for this price that is better because It would be hard to switch motherboard with my current budget. Thanks for the recommendations! That Gigabyte one has a great price!^

There is no CPU upgrade option that is logical at this point. Unless you got used i7-7700k for like $100-150. That is literally the best CPU you could get for the motherboard. But you need to flash the bios prior to placing the new CPU in the socket. If you could find a used CPU+motherboard (something like an i7-8700k or 9700k) that would be good. 

 

You could then sell your GPU and CPU to retain some $$$. 

 

Otherwise with your current hardware I recommend:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$549.99 @ Walmart
Power Supply	Corsair TXM Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$118.99 @ Newegg
Monitor	Gigabyte G27QC 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor	$289.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$958.97
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-02 18:51 EDT-0400

2070S is a stand in for the new 3070. 

[BruhMoment]

@TheDailyProcrastinator Thanks so much! I guess my last question has to deal with why the 3070 over the 3080. The value in the extra $200 seems pretty great and the 3070 doesn't claim to do 4k 60 frames. Is the 3070 choice because the CPU wont be able to handle the 4k 60frames anyway?

There are some benchmarks here:

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/30-series/rtx-3080/

 

It seems I could sell my CPU and GPU for around $350-400 as well. This could re-evaluate this while situation. If my budget then becomes something like 1700-1800 would you have different thoughts?

If I were to get a new motherboard and power supply I may be able to sell those as well.

[DailyProcrastinator]

36 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheDailyProcrastinator Thanks so much! I guess my last question has to deal with why the 3070 over the 3080. The value in the extra $200 seems pretty great and the 3070 doesn't claim to do 4k 60 frames. Is the 3070 choice because the CPU wont be able to handle the 4k 60frames anyway?

Considering the 2080Ti can game at above 4k 60FPS I'm pretty sure the 3070 will do just fine.

 

37 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

If I were to get a new motherboard and power supply I may be able to sell those as well.

You 100% should get a new PSU and yes you could sell them as well. 

 

38 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

It seems I could sell my CPU and GPU for around $350-400 as well. This could re-evaluate this while situation. If my budget then becomes something like 1700-1800 would you have different thoughts?

What GPU do you have?

[BruhMoment]

@TheDailyProcrastinator I have a GTX 1060 dual fan 6gb OC Edition

With this new budget what do you think would be the best mix of hardware?

[DailyProcrastinator]

2 hours ago, BruhMoment said:

@TheDailyProcrastinator I have a GTX 1060 dual fan 6gb OC Edition

With this new budget what do you think would be the best mix of hardware?

Used could still go a long way, i think an i7 8700k or 9700k would be a really good buy with a 3070. 

[adstr]

7 hours ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Yeah, and as you move to 1440p (2k) the load is more GPU bound. An OC on you CPU would be beneficial as well. 

 

This with a 3070 would be great value:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/DNH8TW/gigabyte-g27qc-270-2560x1440-165-hz-monitor-g27qc

 

Other good options include:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/87VD4D/viewsonic-xg2760-270-2560x1440-165-hz-monitor-xg2760

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bjxbt6/asus-tuf-gaming-vg27aql1a-270-2560x1440-170-hz-monitor-vg27aql1a

Wait moving from 4K to 2K means the load is more GPU bound? Or do you mean moving from 1080p to 2K?

[adstr]

2 hours ago, TheDailyProcrastinator said:

Used could still go a long way, i think an i7 8700k or 9700k would be a really good buy with a 3070. 

What about a ryzen cpu? I know intel doesn't support pcie 4.0 (amd 3rd gen does) and I've heard that could be around a 5% performance jump from just the use of pcie 4.0 but this is speculation. 

 

The idea is that you could spend $200 on a new ryzen 5 3600 and get that pcie 4.0 compatibility vs. spend $300 on an i7-9700 and don't get the pcie 4.0 compatibility. However, it could very well be that pcie 4.0 has no large effect to performance over pcie 3.0. If that's the case then the i7-9700 would be better (for gaming that is).

 

Am I thinking about this right? What are your thoughts?

[Bombastinator]

Went to look at some pricing.  The advantage of ryzen has never been raw speed, it’s been price/performance. I think comparing a 3600 and a 9700k doesn’t make sense price/performance wise because they’re different price points.  Currently in the US a 3700x and a 9700k are nearly the same price. Both are 8 core.  One clocks higher in OC, and the other has more threads. Currently an 8700k is $50 more than a 3700x. 
 

The competitor for the 3600 currently according to PcPartPicker is the 9600kf

 

one that looks interesting to me in the $300 range is the 10700(non k)

Edited September 3, 2020 by Bombastinator

[BruhMoment]

7 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Went to look at some pricing.  The advantage of ryzen has never been raw speed, it’s been price/performance. I think comparing a 3600 and a 9700k doesn’t make sense price/performance wise because they’re different price points.  Currently in the US a 3700x and a 9700k are nearly the same price. Both are 8 core.  One clocks higher in OC, and the other has more threads. Currently an 8700k is $50 more than a 3700x. 
 

The competitor for the 3600 currently according to PcPartPicker is the 9600kf

 

one that looks interesting to me in the $300 range is the 10700(non 

I was thinking to perhaps grab a 3080 and a new monitor around now, then wait until around Christmas to get a new PCU and CPU if the system could be running better. The reason I am still a bit confused is because no-one is really able to have a very straightforward answer to a potential bottlenecking with my current i7-6700 so I will just continue to collect as many recommendations as I can. What do you think about the upcoming ryzen 4000 series?

[Bombastinator]

6 minutes ago, BruhMoment said:

I was thinking to perhaps grab a 3080 and a new monitor around now, then wait until around Christmas to get a new PCU and CPU if the system could be running better. The reason I am still a bit confused is because no-one is really able to have a very straightforward answer to a potential bottlenecking with my current i7-6700 so I will just continue to collect as many recommendations as I can. What do you think about the upcoming ryzen 4000 series?

Well that’s to be expected.  Nvidia 30xx isn’t actually out yet.  Same with desktop zen3.  There are some 4xxx chips out but theyre zen2 and laptop. They seem to be performing a lot like zen2 did in other situations.  A tiny twitch slower in single thread, vastly faster in multicore, and much more energy efficient.