should i upgrade if not why

[kaitlin4599]

i need some pc upgrade advice from the pros.

im on disability. so i dont get much money to play around with in terms of pc upgrades, example i bought my 3900X on lauch day and it took me from lauch day till 2023 just to have enough moey saved up for a 5000 series cpu anyhow
specs below
asus crosshair 7 hero X470
ryzen 3900x
4x 8 gig teamgroup 3733mhz ddr4 ram
1000 watt seasonic gold rated psu
6700xt sapphire pulse
1tb sabrent rocket nvme drive
360mm cooler master aio
screen res currently 1080p since i got the monitor used for 50$
the question im posing to the group is this:
do i keep my 3900X for a few more years till i can afford to save up for AM5 or do i upgrade to a 5000 series cpu and call it a day

im so torn because part of me says the 3900x+6700XT combo cant max out games the other part of me says the cpu is fine tough it out

i also feel like i need to upgrade because most of my friends have upgraded to either a 5000 series or the new AM5

 

[Janus67]

You didn't say which games you are targeting to play or what max-out means. Do you want to do Ray tracing?

In either case a video card upgrade would probably give more of a bump than a 1gen CPU increase.

 

[ATMINSIDE]

3900X is fine, if you want more FPS then upgrade the GPU.

 

[Woomack]

For sure upgrading because friends have something faster is not the best reason to spend money. If you feel it's slow, then upgrade, but I would wait 1-2 years more for something significantly faster. The CPU has enough cores, but maybe a bit lower clock. The GPU is not really slow too.

 

[EarthDog]

i also feel like i need to upgrade because most of my friends have upgraded to either a 5000 series or the new AM5

Sounds like a want...

Does it do what you need? I mean...don't worry about the Jones'...worry about you!

 

[freeagent]

Its super easy to fall into the upgrade trap

But if it helps.. I did notice a difference going from a 3600XT to a 5600X..

 

[freakdiablo]

What model is your monitor and what frame rates are you currently getting?

I feel like your current setup may even be overkill if all you're looking at is 1080@60.

 

[EarthDog]

Yep, there's no doubt you'll get a bit of a performance bump at 1080p with a new CPU, but, not sure the juice is worth the squeeze. It may be best to save for AM5 and ride this out for a couple more months.

 

[kaitlin4599]

@EarthDog would you maybe mind doing me a small favor if you suggest i save and upgrade to am5 considering the fact that all i need is a cpu mobo and ram since my case psu gpu and storage drives will be carried over from my current build would you mind piecing me together a decently priced am5 build on pcpartpicker so i can get an idea on how much i would need to save up for im not really that tech savy in terms of what parts to choose

 

[ATMINSIDE]

@kaitlin4599 before we make recommendations, what games are you playing?

 

[kaitlin4599]

@EarthDog @ATMINSIDE heres my steam list there are 3 games not on the list eldenring CP2077 and lastly the last of us part 1 which doesnt come out till march 28th

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I see nothing that I would upgrade for on that list.

 

[EarthDog]

Yeah, CP2077 is a GPU killer (at higher settings), but, even a 4090 chokes in that IIRC.

 

[don256us]

Perhaps a better way to ask this question is: What does it not do that makes you want to upgrade? Are you having any trouble with game settings, crashing, stuttering? What problem are you trying to resolve? If you aren't having any real problem, keep saving your money. I *just* upgraded my system to AM4. I saw no need for me to jump into AM5 with DDR5 and such. The price is too "bleeding edge" for me. My games suffer no problem.

 

[kaitlin4599]

@don256us its not that my system doesnt perform well i just feel the need to upgrade its hard for me to explain

 

[JLK03F150]

@don256us its not that my system doesnt perform well i just feel the need to upgrade its hard for me to explain

As E-Dawg said, that's a want. We all get them, that's for sure. Are you in the US and can you get to a Microcenter? They have some of the best deals on core component upgrades, but they are in-store only. If not... nevermind.

 

[kaitlin4599]

@JLK03F150 i am in arizona and closest microcenter is 12 hours away

 

[Nebulous]

@JLK03F150 i am in arizona and closest microcenter is 12 hours away

I know that feeling. Nearest MC is 4 hours away in either direction from where I am. 8 hour round trip is not something I would want to do.

 

[kaitlin4599]

@Nebulous still havent decided what ima do yet i dont think upgrading to am5 is financially feasible at least not for another 3 years

 

[EarthDog]

You can also consider 13000 series intel and DDR4. That's a cheaper way in (than DDR5, will save a 50-100). But yeah, save up...seems like you're ok and just want to scratch an itch (we totally get it).