i7-7700k upgrade to 5700X3D worth it?

[frogmonkey]

Currently using an i7-7700k and a GTX 1070, mainly for games at 1440p.

I struggle to hit 60 fps in newer games and was wondering what I could change out that would have the biggest difference.

I have an AM4 Motherboard in another PC, and I've done research and come to find that the 5700X3D seems to be really good and I can get it for 200 USD, which is amazing for me.

On the GPU side, where I live I can get an RTX 3060 TI for 220 USD. Looking at benchmarks on YouTube I see that the 3060 TI can hit 60 fps at 1440p high/med settings. Games such as POE2, Cyberpunk, Helldivers 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Red Dead 2. I'm looking forward to the new Monster Hunter but that seems to need a pretty beefy PC to run. Seeing as DLSS 4 will work on 3060 series I might be able to run that on low/med settings at 1440/60.

For around 400 USD it seems I can get pretty big upgrade no? Most advice I see is on the internet tell people to get an AM5 board but since I already have a AM4 board around and the 5700X3D came out in 2024 and is still very good I don't see a good reason why. I just want a minor upgrade and would like a fresh build when AM6 hits, I'm I being silly?

 

[dirtyferret]

since you already have the AM4 board, you can definitely make a case with going with the 5700X3D and combined with the 3060ti would make a major difference in gaming compared to the 7700k & GTX 1070 of your current build.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Would be totally worth it!!!

 

[Anth0789]

If you already have the AM4 board might as well switch to it for sure you will notice the difference in FPS.

 

[dgianstefani]

There's always the option to sell your AM4 board.

5700X3D may have "released" in 2024 but make no mistakes it's a 2022 architecture.

Grab the 3060 Ti or something like a 5060 and save up for something newer platform wise.

At 1440p with your GPU tier you're unlikely to be CPU limited anyway.

The only part of DLSS 4 that will work on the 3060 is the standard upscaler, not the frame generation.

60 Hz gaming means GPU is focus not CPU.

 

[frogmonkey]

There's always the option to sell your AM4 board.

5700X3D may have "released" in 2024 but make no mistakes it's a 2022 architecture.

Grab the 3060 Ti or something like a 5060 and save up for something newer platform wise.

At 1440p with your GPU tier you're unlikely to be CPU limited anyway.

The only part of DLSS 4 that will work on the 3060 is the standard upscaler, not the frame generation.

60 Hz gaming means GPU is focus not CPU.

You might have a point. Looking at the nvidia overlay while gaming shows that my GPU usage is 98% while CPU is around 55-60ish. Getting a new CPU might not have a massive difference, but then again the i7-7700k is 8 years old. The 5000 series will be out this month so maybe the used GPU market will be flooded with 4000 series cards.

Does it really matter that much that the the 5700X3D is using 2022 architecture? I have not been paying a lot of attention to PC parts, but I get the impression that the differences in new hardware is not the massive jump it used to be.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Does it really matter that much that the the 5700X3D is using 2022 architecture? I

Yes. Because of 3D-V-Cache. It puts the CPU above everything else on AM4 when it comes to gaming.

 

[AusWolf]

There's always the option to sell your AM4 board.

5700X3D may have "released" in 2024 but make no mistakes it's a 2022 architecture.

Grab the 3060 Ti or something like a 5060 and save up for something newer platform wise.

At 1440p with your GPU tier you're unlikely to be CPU limited anyway.

The only part of DLSS 4 that will work on the 3060 is the standard upscaler, not the frame generation.

60 Hz gaming means GPU is focus not CPU.

I never thought I'd see anyone recommending to game on a 4-core CPU in 2025 especially against a 5700X3D with an already existing motherboard.

You might have a point. Looking at the nvidia overlay while gaming shows that my GPU usage is 98% while CPU is around 55-60ish. Getting a new CPU might not have a massive difference, but then again the i7-7700k is 8 years old. The 5000 series will be out this month so maybe the used GPU market will be flooded with 4000 series cards.

Does it really matter that much that the the 5700X3D is using 2022 architecture? I have not been paying a lot of attention to PC parts, but I get the impression that the differences in new hardware is not the massive jump it used to be.

No, it does not matter. It's still a fine CPU, and one of the best for gaming. While you may be OK to keep the 7700K for a bit, you could keep the 5700X3D much longer before needing an upgrade again.

And since you already have an AM4 board, using that, and relegating your 7700K to other tasks it's kind of a no-brainer.

 

[Vario]

I think its a good move, I would do the 5700X3D.

I went 8600K to 12900KS and it was a good move, I imagine your experience will be similar.

 

[izy]

5700X3D looks good but i would go for RTX 3070 instead of the 3060 ti if possible.

 

[dgianstefani]

I never thought I'd see anyone recommending to game on a 4-core CPU in 2025 especially against a 5700X3D with an already existing motherboard.

You believe in pointless upgrades?

my GPU usage is 98%

 

[dirtyferret]

gaming shows that my GPU usage is 98% while CPU is around 55-60ish

that doesn't mean much especially if the game just dumps as much rendering as it can on one or two cores. Your best bet would be to see those games tested on the same GPU while using a better performing CPU to see if you are leaving performance on the table and if it's just benchmark or real world performance.

I never thought I'd see anyone recommending to game on a 4-core CPU in 2025 especially against a 5700X3D with an already existing motherboard.

i3-12100,13100, 14100 are decent "4 core" CPUs in terms of modern gaming performance compared to the 7700k although none would be as good as the 5700X3D

 

[AusWolf]

You believe in pointless upgrades?

GPU usage at 98%... yes, with a 1070. But OP also intends to get a 3060 Ti - and potentially something else when that gets old, in which case, the 5700X3D will hold much more long-term value.

that doesn't mean much especially if the game just dumps as much rendering as it can on one or two cores. Your best bet would be to see those games tested on the same GPU while using a better performing CPU to see if you are leaving performance on the table and if it's just benchmark or real world performance.

i3-12100,13100, 14100 are decent "4 core" CPUs in terms of modern gaming performance compared to the 7700k although none would be as good as the 5700X3D

I agree. Not to mention OP already has an AM4 board.

 

[nomdeplume]

Interesting question.

Even with 1070 you could broadly expect gaming with a more powerful (and much larger cache) cpu to be improved. The debatable end is directly related to what games you play in relation to "software companies" that dominate the physical gpu market. My thought is weight gpu higher in your budget unless you spend thousands of hour a year in a severely cpu heavy game. With understanding AM4 X3D outside of gaming is less stellar.

As to my own experience. i5-8400/GTX1060 STRIX was a slideshow even at low settings in less optimized games. 3080 might be worth considering or even a 40 series someone is upgrading beyond.

 

[dgianstefani]

GPU usage at 98%... yes, with a 1070. But OP also intends to get a 3060 Ti - and potentially something else when that gets old, in which case, the 5700X3D will hold much more long-term value.


I agree. Not to mention OP already has an AM4 board.

60 Hz target.

 

[Marcus L]

There's always the option to sell your AM4 board.

5700X3D may have "released" in 2024 but make no mistakes it's a 2022 architecture.

Grab the 3060 Ti or something like a 5060 and save up for something newer platform wise.

At 1440p with your GPU tier you're unlikely to be CPU limited anyway.

The only part of DLSS 4 that will work on the 3060 is the standard upscaler, not the frame generation.

60 Hz gaming means GPU is focus not CPU.

5700x3D is as good as 13700k/Ryzen 7600x in gaming, both of which would be a much more expensive platform upgrade considering he has an AM4 motherboard already, Surely if going down a more expensive route is your suggestion then spending more on the GPU rather than the platform would be the wiser option and net better performance than a more expensive platform with the same class of GPU... but hey, anyone but AMD with your posts so I get it

 

[AusWolf]

60 Hz target.

Does that mean he should keep the 7700K forever?

My thought is weight gpu higher in your budget

That might be a good idea. Get something like a 5600X instead of the 5700X3D, and get a 3080 instead of the 3060 Ti.

Although, with AM4 being at the end of its store shelf-life, I'd just get the best thing available for it and keep it until AM6 probably. Planning another intermediate upgrade is not worth the hassle.

 

[nomdeplume]

I have an AM4 Motherboard in another PC, and I've done research and come to find that the 5700X3D seems to be really good and I can get it for 200 USD, which is amazing for me.

We might be getting ahead of ourselves. Could you list system specs for both builds.

That might be a good idea. Get something like a 5600X instead of the 5700X3D, and get a 3080 instead of the 3060 Ti.

Although, with AM4 being at the end of its store shelf-life, I'd just get the best thing available for it and keep it until AM6 probably. Planning another intermediate upgrade is not worth the hassle.

Let's see what level of hardware outside the rough description OP has.

 

[Toothless]

I went from a 4790k OC'd to a 3700x and it was night and day even with my 1080ti. Do the 5700x3d and 3060ti. You'll be happy.

I don't understand the "buh 60hz" comments when that refresh rate is higher than the critical thinking capacity of holding onto a chip that will be a limiter.

If he's already hitting 60 Hz in the games he plays with 98% GPU usage (he is), a CPU upgrade will achieve literally nothing, even with a stronger GPU.

Whereas a bigger GPU upgrade will allow higher detail settings.

It's not that complicated guys.

Turn one bottleneck to another and not think about other upgrades he might do? You're right it's not complicated.

Edit: nice delete.

 

[dgianstefani]

Does that mean he should keep the 7700K forever?

Does it mean he should spend $200 on a dead end platform?

Turn one bottleneck to another and not think about other upgrades he might do? You're right it's not complicated.

If he gets a faster monitor in future he can consider a platform upgrade then. Like the fresh build AM6 he mentioned.

 

[dirtyferret]

60 Hz target.

is that the limit of the monitor or simply OP's current target due to their hardware limits? I don't know as the initial posts doesn't make that clear

 

[Toothless]

Does it mean he should spend $200 on a dead end platform?


If he gets a faster monitor in future he can consider a platform upgrade then. Like the fresh build AM6 he mentioned.

Or he could hold off til late AM6/AM7 with the x3d that's a minor investment. AM4 is not getting more chips but it's far from dead.

 

[dgianstefani]

AM4 is not getting more chips but it's far from dead.

This sentence makes sense to you?

Dead end platform = no further chips, literally the definition.

 

[AusWolf]

Does it mean he should spend $200 on a dead end platform?

That $200 spent would let him postpone until AM6 hits, which is OP's intention anyway. I'm not sure a 7700K would do for so long.

Or he could hold off til late AM6/AM7 with the x3d that's a minor investment. AM4 is not getting more chips but it's far from dead.

Exactly my thoughts.

Dead end platform = no further chips, literally the definition.

Dead = not usable or not fit for purpose. Whether a platform gets more chips or not is irrelevant in the present topic (as OP intends to drag it out until AM6 anyway).

 

[Toothless]

This sentence makes sense to you?

Dead end platform = no further chips, literally the definition.

It's not dead in the sense it doesn't make sense to use. OP already has the board and ram from the 7700k build. $200 for a huge upgrade is fine.