Upgrade CPU or GPU

[Gadda]

Budget (including currency): 1500

Country: Sweden

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Mostly gaming, like Cyberpunk. 

Other details 

I'm currently using:

I5 10600k

32GB ram

RTX 3080

Main monitor a 3440x1440 ultra wide at 175hz.

I'm thinking about upgrading my CPU and mobo and all that, to a ryzen 7 9800x3d. But will I notice a big difference in more graphically intense games?  Currently playing through Cyberpunk and getting around 60fps with everything except raytracing turned up all the way, but it doesn't feel very smooth and drops at times.

So I guess my main question is; is it worth upgrading to the 9800x3d, or would I benefit more from a GPU upgrade?

 

[Millios]

A 3080 at 1440p ultra no RT should be around 50-60 FPS

My honest opinion is to downsize the CPU a bit  as at 1440p GPU is the limiting factor more often than not and a new gpu like a used 4080 or better yet if you dont care about Raytracing a used 7900xt

[Somerandomtechyboi]

9 minutes ago, Gadda said:

but it doesn't feel very smooth and drops at times.

In that case its the cpu though considering the resolution youd also benifit from a gpu upgrade to a 9070xt/5080

 

forgot the 3080 only has 10gb of vram

 

Lower some settings particularly the vram intensive settings and see if the drops go away or improve, an overlay like rtss (included with msi afterburner) will be a helpful tool to check for utilizations on cpu gpu core and vram

[Millios]

1 minute ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

In that case its the cpu though considering the resolution youd also benifit from a gpu upgrade to a 9070xt/5080

I'd argue used is the way for the GPU rathen than smt new

A used 4080 super with even a r5 7600 would get us where we need to be I reckon

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Just now, Millios said:

I'd argue used is the way for the GPU rathen than smt new

A used 4080 super with even a r5 7600 would get us where we need to be I reckon

Read edited comment as i forgot the 3080 is a 10gb card and the drops could be running out of vram and not just the cpu

[strange13930]

2 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Read edited comment as i forgot the 3080 is a 10gb card and the drops could be running out of vram and not just the cpu

have task manager open as you play and see the vram usage.

[Millios]

1 minute ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Read edited comment as i forgot the 3080 is a 10gb card and the drops could be running out of vram and not just the cpu

There is a 12gb version too so https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-3080-12-gb.c3834

Just saying there is the posibility OP is running a 12gb one rather than the 10gb one

[Somerandomtechyboi]

9 minutes ago, Millios said:

There is a 12gb version too so https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/geforce-rtx-3080-12-gb.c3834

Just saying there is the posibility OP is running a 12gb one rather than the 10gb one

This is ultrawide 1440p so even that 12gb vram version might still hit vram limit hence why the graphical settings should be tested first before jumping onto a cpu upgrade only to see the same results cause it wasnt a cpu issue but a gpu issue

[Gadda]

Yes it is a 12gb version, sits at about 10.7-11gb used while in game.

I should also add, whatever I don't upgrade now, I will most likely change out next year or so