Upgrade CPU or GPU?

[filpo]

Budget (including currency): £300 or £650 depending on what I should upgrade (for you guys to decide)

Country: United Kingdom

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Rocket league, apex legends, CS GO, no productivity, Dying Light 1: The enhanced edition

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): Full parts list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/qxJvMb

 

I'm planning on buying either during the summer or after. I play rocket league and apex on my TV, which i would like to have at 1440p 120hz (even tho my tv is only 60). I only really play CS GO and dying light 1: the enhanced edition on my 1080p monitor so I understand that if i upgrade my gpu first, there will be a cpu bottleneck but I'm fine with that. I mostly play video games on my TV, which can go up to 4k so thats fine. 

 

I am currently on a 5600 on an MSI B550 gaming plus paired with a 3060 build, its been treating me well and for the power its a good card, but i've been thinking about upgrading and this is just as a template for the future. I've got two choices (I won't do any of these now, but maybe the CPU upgrade sooner)

 

Choice 1: Upgrade my CPU to a 5800X3D (decided on that being the best gaming CPU for am4, not really wanting to budge from that) and then upgrade my GPU down the line. Already done the BIOS update and this mobo has BIOS flashback anyway

 

OR 

 

Choice 2: Upgrade my GPU now and play on my tv at 4k/1440p instead of at 1080p/1440p sometimes. I am conscious of the CPU bottleneck however and am willing to go with choice 1 (which will also be cheaper). 

 

Problem is i'm undecided on which GPU to go with since I've seen the 6950 xt at 600 for an ok one, 640 for a good one but the problem is power consumption. Not that I don't have a good PSU but as I'm sure UK people would know that energy prices have only been going up, like in Europe. Gamers Nexus has shown that the 6950 xt draws about 380 watts by itself on full synthetic load. Thats double my current gpu at full synthetic load. That's the only problem I have with the 6950 xt. The 3090 used is also another decision but with all of AMD's offerings that's probably not the best idea + it also has slightly higher power draw than the 6950 xt

 

Yes, I know how you'll mock me, but maybe I should get a 40 series card (not the 4070) but wait for the 4060 ti. OR I could get a 6800/xt or even the 6900 xt since that draws 75 less watts according to GN under full load

 

What do you guys think I should do? 

[CommanderAlex]

6 minutes ago, filpo said:

Budget (including currency): £300 or £650 depending on what I should upgrade (for you guys to decide)

Country: United Kingdom

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Rocket league, apex legends, CS GO, no productivity, Dying Light 1: The enhanced edition

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): Full parts list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/qxJvMb

 

I'm planning on buying either during the summer or after. I play rocket league and apex on my TV, which i would like to have at 1440p 120hz (even tho my tv is only 60). I only really play CS GO and dying light 1: the enhanced edition on my 1080p monitor so I understand that if i upgrade my gpu first, there will be a cpu bottleneck but I'm fine with that. I mostly play video games on my TV, which can go up to 4k so thats fine. 

 

I am currently on a 5600 on an MSI B550 gaming plus paired with a 3060 build, its been treating me well and for the power its a good card, but i've been thinking about upgrading and this is just as a template for the future. I've got two choices (I won't do any of these now, but maybe the CPU upgrade sooner)

 

Choice 1: Upgrade my CPU to a 5800X3D (decided on that being the best gaming CPU for am4, not really wanting to budge from that) and then upgrade my GPU down the line. Already done the BIOS update and this mobo has BIOS flashback anyway

 

OR 

 

Choice 2: Upgrade my GPU now and play on my tv at 4k/1440p instead of at 1080p/1440p sometimes. I am conscious of the CPU bottleneck however and am willing to go with choice 1 (which will also be cheaper). 

 

Problem is i'm undecided on which GPU to go with since I've seen the 6950 xt at 600 for an ok one, 640 for a good one but the problem is power consumption. Not that I don't have a good PSU but as I'm sure UK people would know that energy prices have only been going up, like in Europe. Gamers Nexus has shown that the 6950 xt draws about 380 watts by itself on full synthetic load. Thats double my current gpu at full synthetic load. That's the only problem I have with the 6950 xt. The 3090 used is also another decision but with all of AMD's offerings that's probably not the best idea + it also has slightly higher power draw than the 6950 xt

 

Yes, I know how you'll mock me, but maybe I should get a 40 series card (not the 4070) but wait for the 4060 ti. OR I could get a 6800/xt or even the 6900 xt since that draws 75 less watts according to GN under full load

 

What do you guys think I should do? 

The 5600 should perform just well with a 6950XT and I don't see the need for a CPU upgrade yet as it won't give a significant boost to performance for 1440. I would honestly try underclocking the card to lower the power draw and also a 6900XT doesn't consume nearly as much as a 6950XT while performing ~5% within range to a 6950XT. 

 

EDIT: Therefore, I would say go for choice 2. 

[filpo]

Just now, CommanderAlex said:

The 5600 should perform just well with a 6950XT and I don't see the need for a CPU upgrade yet as it won't give a significant boost to performance for 1440. I would honestly try underclocking the card to lower the power draw and also a 6900XT doesn't consume nearly as much as a 6950XT while performing ~5% within range to a 6950XT. 

thanks. Good to know that the 5600 can handle the 6900 xt/6950 xt at 1440/4k. Underclocking is a good idea, thanks for the insight

[CommanderAlex]

Just now, filpo said:

thanks. Good to know that the 5600 can handle the 6900 xt/6950 xt at 1440/4k. Underclocking is a good idea, thanks for the insight

No problem! I just think that you'll benefit more from a GPU upgrade from a RTX 3060 than going for a CPU upgrade, which will be a bigger GPU bottleneck in the system. I'm pretty sure those numbers are correct between a 6900XT/6950XT in performance so for the extra power draw on a 6950XT, I can't justify getting it if power draw is a concern and underclocking a 6900XT will still give you a majority of the performance you'd expect. 

[filpo]

4 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

I just think that you'll benefit more from a GPU upgrade from a RTX 3060 than going for a CPU upgrade

ye now I think that too. IMO the 5800x3d is the future then. My gpu goes straight to 100% in apex even with a 120fps cap (i use max settings) but at 1080p so with that upgrade later down the line I'll get some better frames. 4k rocket league anyone?

 

4 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

I can't justify getting it if power draw is a concern and underclocking a 6900XT will still give you a majority of the performance you'd expect. 

ye good point. 6900 xts here over the pond are about 660 new for a good one. But the used ones are about 560 for an asrock phantom gaming oc card. What do you think of that? is that a good deal? (there's also free shipping) 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266239660809?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=PF9Eq57eSAa&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=Hd0-JnKRQ66&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[CommanderAlex]

5 minutes ago, filpo said:

ye now I think that too. IMO the 5800x3d is the future then. My gpu goes straight to 100% in apex even with a 120fps cap (i use max settings) but at 1080p so with that upgrade later down the line I'll get some better frames. 4k rocket league anyone?

 

ye good point. 6900 xts here over the pond are about 660 new for a good one. But the used ones are about 560 for an asrock phantom gaming oc card. What do you think of that? is that a good deal? (there's also free shipping) 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266239660809?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=PF9Eq57eSAa&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=Hd0-JnKRQ66&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Definitely down the line before they eventually run out of stock for the 5800X3D. 

 

According to Internet calculations, 560 GBP to USD is ~$704. It's nearly $150 over new here in the states. It seems pricy going off the conversions for a used model but I'd guess that the UK used markets get more for their money due to a stronger currency. 

[filpo]

Just now, CommanderAlex said:

but I'd guess that the UK used markets get more for their money due to a stronger currency. 

yup

 

Just now, CommanderAlex said:

According to Internet calculations, 560 GBP to USD is ~$704. It's nearly $150 over new here in the states.

ye it is a bit pricey but the 6950 xt seems to be fairing better. IMO the used 6900 xt i linked (or another one) would be the best for me

[CommanderAlex]

2 minutes ago, filpo said:

yup

 

ye it is a bit pricey but the 6950 xt seems to be fairing better. IMO the used 6900 xt i linked (or another one) would be the best for me

Then I think this card would be the best fit for you.