Should I first upgrade my CPU or GPU?

A bit of a dilemma here. Last June I have built myself a gaming PC with these components:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• GPU: I had it already, an Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX 580 OC Edition 8 GB GDDR5
• MB: Asus ROG Strix X570-I with 32G DDR4 3200MHz and 500G SSD
• Monitor: I had it already, an LG 21:9 29" 2560x1080 @60Hz

Now, my original plan was to upgrade the graphics card at the end of the year with a new gen card. But I heard so much praise for the new Ryzen CPUs and their single-core performance.
So the question: given that I am not running triples, VR or even 4k screens, should I upgrade the CPU with the latest Ryzen one, or is my graphics card really too old and needing an upgrade first?

Thank you.

 

What GPU would you consider? Depends on the budget you have.
For now your system seems to be fairly balanced, but what would give the better bang for the buck?

Going for a AMD 6800(XT) or a RTX3080 will be a good step up and later on I would go for a Ryzen 5600x/5800x
If you are not going for that class of GPU but a step lower I would recommend the CPU upgrade first and later on a GPU upgrade.

 

Thanks for the advice Andy. I was considering an AMD 6800XT as my build is all AMD-based. I'll check availability here in Italy. Grazie!

 

I think it's time for PC users to seriously start looking at moving to 4K displays and then consider what hardware you need to run it. All the development in hardware seems to be focused on that resolution so that's probably where the big gins will be made in processing power.

It's going to be hard to get one of the new GPUs the way supplies are.

 

Given you are running a 1080p monitor my question to you would be; why upgrade at all?

Your system seems to be fine for 1080p. The only reason to upgrade it, would be to eventually go 1440p or 4k right? And in that case, I would think the gpu is the first component to upgrade.

 

Well, actually with my configuration I cannot run ACC maxed out.. or even AC + Shaders Patch maxed out. I have an average 50 fps in ACC with graphics setting on "medium", and even less in AC with volumetric shadows active.

 

he is not. 1080p would be 1920x1080, he has a 2560x1080 (UW-UXGA) monitor, that's 33% increase in pixels, wider fov and more geometric to render.

 

Ah, I must have looked over that. That might be too much for his system to handle yes.

So it seems an upgrade might be nessesary after all. The advice is the same though. Start with the gpu.

 

i suggest to go for a new gpu because i think your cpu is good enough for 25 or more cars (probably full grid too depending on track and weathers), the real problem is gpu availability in italy (you probably need to wait march to buy an rtx3000 or rx 6800/Xt).
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guido il vantaggio di una cpu migliore secondo me si riduce a poter correre con più auto dell'IA giocando da solo e migliorare un po' le prestazioni minime quando ci sono i cali, ma con la 580 su uno schermo a 60Hz penso davvero che ti cambierebbe quasi niente.

 

Guidofoc, you should consider upgrading your GPU but don't go crazy if you plan to play only on your current screen. Something bellow 350usd will be enough to play ACC at 60FPS at 1440p on maxed details. Consider used 1080ti or 5700xt, or better wait for availability of upcoming nvidia 3060ti or AMD 6700xt.

Think twice if you really need to run ACC on full details though. In my opinion it's worth upgrading only if you need to push higher resolutions. Spending money just for some better effects is kinda waste.

Regarding your CPU, don't bother upgrading it unless you plan to play in VR at 90FPS. Your 3700x should be able to easily handle even 30 cars at 60+FPS.

 

To each his own.
One wants to have 120+ fps.
The next wants to have graphics all on max, but is ok with stable 30fps+
And Another one wants to have all on max and 60fps+

Each has to decide what it is worth to have his wish fulfilled. I don't judge.

 

the 3700x will be good for few more years, if i were in your situation i would look into upgrading the GPU, but also getting a 144hz monitor.
I have one, and although i downclocked it to 100hz (my pc can't push 144hz unless i chop down the details quite a lot), it's way smoother and less stressful for my eyes.

 

I'm with VoodooChild. See my spec in the signature. I have the 3700x as well and I'm not CPU limited at all. Just upgraded from an old 42" TV 1080p with 60Hz (and long response time) to a the new mi Curved 34" 144Hz. Gaming changed for me a lot and I'm now GPU (GTX1070) bounded, but because I don't care that much about graphics at the moment I reduced Resolution Scale and some settings to get around fluent 100Hz. If next year the GPU's are available at a reasonable price I will get one.

 

3700x can run full grids 49 at Spa with high settings at 60fps 1440p , I just reduce total cars visible to 30. Done that in rain conditions also.
A few drops at the start but pretty steady after that.

 

What i forgot to mention is that I only play online. I don't know what the CPU achieves in Singeplayer with 30 cars and more....

 

Online must be a lot easier as you aren't running all the physics calculations for the ai.
Id go GPU anyway if you want to upgrade.

 

I bump this thread just to say that as the new Nvidia and AMD graphics cards aren't available here in Italy (or are available with crazy prices) I ended up changing my CPU.
I am replacing my (relatively new) Ryzen 7 3700X with the Ryzen 5 5600X. I saw tests on YouTube and apparently there is a bump in ACC performance by up to 30% .
When I have the CPU I'll let you know, but I have seen other people, including devs, praising the 5600X so I am rather optimistic. I also intend to try some VR in ACC, we'll see.

 

You'll not see any performance improvement if your GPU limited. Don't upgrade unless you absolutely need 90fps with full grid. 3700x is good enough... I upgraded both, so you can trust me

 

I agree that the 3700X is a good CPU, also it has 8 cores, 2 more than the 5600X. I don't really NEED to upgrade it but I wanted to upgrade my GPU first and it's impossible at the moment. With the 5600X I expect some improvement in single-core performance (especially with many cars on track) and also to be ready for when the graphics cards reach human prices.

 

I got the CPU yesterday evening and only had the time to install it (after updating my MB bios) and check a few replays with different settings. There is a definite improvement even with my GPU-limited configuration. With vsync on, using "High" video settings, 20 visible cars and increased drawing distance the replays are super smooth, which means constant 60+ FPS. (of course it's only replays, i need to check real gameplay). My wild guess is that there is a 15%-20% gain in FPS compared to the 3700x (i remember it was sitting at around 50+). Am I crazy? In terms of playability I don't expect huge differences but I think the CPU will help with big grids.
Check what @pankykapus (a dev) says about it: https://www.assettocorsa.net/forum/index.php?threads/large-grid-performance.67909/#post-1182779