when to upgrade

[Avyire]

i have an evga 3070 ftw ultra currently, but am starting to wonder when it would be best to upgrade, as its starting to show its age for my use cases

quick info: rest of system is:

9800x3d for cpu

32gb 6000 cl30

850w full modular

3 total monitors, one 1080p 360hz, one 1440p 120hz, one (vertical) 1080p 100hz

 

as i said, my gpu is starting to feel a little out of date. i know gpu generation scaling is insane rn because of how everything is, but whenever i have pc issues, it feels gpu limited. editing, unity coding, cyberpunk and god of war all want more vram(my 3070 has 8gb), fps drops always coincide with gpu usage surges and spikes, not to mention my cpu sits usually at 10-30% usage while my gpu never drops below 50-60% during anything remotely gpu-using and during things like java minecraft it is constantly at 80-90+% usage. 

 

i just upgraded my build at the start of this year, but the gpu was one of the only things i kept using since the 50 series was about to release. now with it out, but not looking like an amazing option, i feel stuck with what to do

 

if i go ryzen (probably higher end, 7800 or 7900/9070 tiers), i have to learn all new gpu things, plus i lose all the little nvidia perks with raytracing and all their driver things. im not against this, i just feel very uninformed when it comes to amd gpus, and am more comfortable with nvidia currently

 

but if i go nvidia, i either have to buy a 50 series, which seems scary, having all the bugs and most of its performance coming from ai, not to mention pricing, especially with tarrifs coming soon(im in US btw). i could go 40 series, but their prices are inflated rn because of scalpings and then im still only going up a single generation. but if i try to wait and hope for 60 series, that could be years, and my pc will be even more out of date

 

just looking for advice on what to do, as someone whos a little more inexperienced with pcs. ive only built one and upgraded it twice since, so im out of my depth a little and would like some help and advice. any and all replies, help, and details are appreciated!

[podkall]

13 minutes ago, Avyire said:

as i said, my gpu is starting to feel a little out of date. i know gpu generation scaling is insane rn because of how everything is, but whenever i have pc issues, it feels gpu limited. editing, unity coding, cyberpunk and god of war all want more vram(my 3070 has 8gb), fps drops always coincide with gpu usage surges and spikes, not to mention my cpu sits usually at 10-30% usage while my gpu never drops below 50-60% during anything remotely gpu-using and during things like java minecraft it is constantly at 80-90+% usage. 

Pretty normal when you paired top-of-the-line CPU with your "old" GPU.

 

13 minutes ago, Avyire said:

during anything remotely gpu-using and during things like java minecraft it is constantly at 80-90+% usage. 

Normal, MC doesn't use many cores anyway, usage isn't just how "fast" the component is going.

 

14 minutes ago, Avyire said:

if i go ryzen (probably higher end, 7800 or 7900/9070 tiers), i have to learn all new gpu things, plus i lose all the little nvidia perks with raytracing and all their driver things. im not against this, i just feel very uninformed when it comes to amd gpus, and am more comfortable with nvidia currently

You can just get comparison to Nvidia GPUs with AMD, if your use-case is only gaming it's not that hard to compare them.

 

Also Ryzens are only CPUs, unless you speak of the infamous Ryzen 4070. Though that one is never in stock so good luck.

 

15 minutes ago, Avyire said:

but if i go nvidia, i either have to buy a 50 series, which seems scary, having all the bugs and most of its performance coming from ai, not to mention pricing, especially with tarrifs coming soon(im in US btw). i could go 40 series, but their prices are inflated rn because of scalpings and then im still only going up a single generation. but if i try to wait and hope for 60 series, that could be years, and my pc will be even more out of date

Not years, just one, and I doubt your PC would be out of date, when you have fastest gaming x3D CPU, things don't age this fast.

 

Some people still play on 9700K, and some people still sit comfortably on 13700(k)(f) without worrying they'll have to upgrade soon.

 

17 minutes ago, Avyire said:

just looking for advice on what to do, as someone whos a little more inexperienced with pcs. ive only built one and upgraded it twice since, so im out of my depth a little and would like some help and advice. any and all replies, help, and details are appreciated!

how is your GPU showing it's age? if it's just a number % on utilization but your games run fine without problems, it's merely just "showing" maybe it's age but isn't still being really much "affected" by it.

[dizmo]

No one here has a crystal ball, and unfortunately a lot of what you're asking comes down to chance, whens, and what-ifs.

If you feel you need the performance increase, upgrade now.

If you don't, wait. Performance will always improve. There will always be something better. Your hardware will always get older.

 

Personally I wouldn't be buying a GPU right now. I might even sell mine while it has a higher value.

[Salted Spinach]

With your setup you are probably looking to use the 1440p display for gaming. Which means anything less than a 4080 or 5070Ti or 9070XT is going to be a worthwhile purchase.

 

Your options are

1. Pony up the dough to get one of those
2. Save up and then get one of those
3. Keep waiting (no one can predict the future)

And if you have a significant use case that is only optimised with Nvidia hardware, then eliminate the AMD option.

 

If you want to make a decision, look only at facts and reasoning. Your feelings and worrying about prices is not going to help.

 

Not sure why I have say all this to someone who has gone through the process of buying a 9800X3D

[ewitte]

Wait for stock.  If there is stock and the prices are too high, they will be forced to bring the price down regardless of tariffs.  The ones you need to be careful with are 5080/5090 as they may have strong demand the entire lifecycle.