Question Is my PC good enough for RTX 3090?

[bde]

Hi,
I need desperately need your advice;
I recently purchased an ROG STRIX RTX 3090, havent received it yet, I didn't think I would get lucky enough to get my hands on it, Was really looking for an RTX 3080...but I said what the heck...its been a rough year so let me indulge myself...Obviously didnt to my homework prior...
you would think money is not an issue, but it kinda is...the least changes I could make, the better...

my PC is as follows:
Asus Z370-E
i7 8700K
2 x G.Skill F4-3200C16-8GTRZ DDR4
Samsung NMVe 960 evo 1TB
CORSAIR HX750i
Rog Strix 1080Ti

purpose; fps games, with max fps, max graphic settings on an Asus 360hz PG259QN and maybe LG CX 65 4K TV) but priority is the PG259QN monitor..I have also read that the PCIe 4.0 diffrence is minuscule, maybe dont have to change my board...however for example is my CPU good enough?
I am open to making the necessary changes...but obviously for great budget-ish components... even the board for that matter..

I guess my questions are:

1)What would I absolutely need to upgrade or else it wont work?
2)What would be nice to upgrade in order to take full advantage of the card?

Thank you kindly,

 

[UsandThem]

There's really nothing you need to upgrade in that list in order to make use of the RTX 3090.

Maybe revisit the question in another few years, and you can move to an 8 core CPU. Right now, there's really not enough difference in scrapping your motherboard and CPU unless you have the hardware upgrade itch. Here are the latest Intel/AMD reviews, so you can see how your current CPU compares.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15785/the-intel-comet-lake-review-skylake-we-go-again

https://www.anandtech.com/show/1621...ive-review-5950x-5900x-5800x-and-5700x-tested

 

[Shmee]

I suspect you may get higher minimum FPS if you OC the 8700k, if you are not already. Overall you should be ok but a bit CPU bound at 1080p I suspect.

 

[bde]

There's really nothing you need to upgrade in that list in order to make use of the RTX 3090.

Maybe revisit the question in another few years, and you can move to an 8 core CPU. Right now, there's really not enough difference in scrapping your motherboard and CPU unless you have the hardware upgrade itch. Here are the latest Intel/AMD reviews, so you can see how your current CPU compares.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/15785/the-intel-comet-lake-review-skylake-we-go-again

https://www.anandtech.com/show/1621...ive-review-5950x-5900x-5800x-and-5700x-tested

thank your for your response, I appreciate it.

 

[bde]

I suspect you may get higher minimum FPS if you OC the 8700k, if you are not already. Overall you should be ok but a bit CPU bound at 1080p I suspect.

thank you for your response, Much appreciated, I didnt quite catch what you meant by ”a bit CPU bound at 1080p”? Like a nice leap forward I assume?, sorry english is not my first language 🤣

 

[In2Photos]

thank you for your response, Much appreciated, I didnt quite catch what you meant by ”a bit CPU bound at 1080p”? Like a nice leap forward I assume?, sorry english is not my first language 🤣

At 1080p the CPU is the primary device that will limit your frame rate. So if you were "CPU bound" you would see the same FPS even with lesser video cards than the 3090. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the primary device that limits frame rate, so with a 3090 you might not see much difference between your 8700k and say a 10900k.

 

[bde]

At 1080p the CPU is the primary device that will limit your frame rate. So if you were "CPU bound" you would see the same FPS even with lesser video cards than the 3090. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the primary device that limits frame rate, so with a 3090 you might not see much difference between your 8700k and say a 10900k.

I see, just to make sure I understood correctly....in other words, given that I want to use the 3090 with the Asus PG259QN 360hz 1080p for now, my 8700K should do the trick? unless when I hook it up to my 4K monitor... and thats where my 8700K will hold me back?

 

[In2Photos]

I see, just to make sure I understood correctly....in other words, given that I want to use the 3090 with the Asus PG259QN 360hz 1080p for now, my 8700K should do the trick? unless when I hook it up to my 4K monitor... and thats where my 8700K will hold me back?

No, you have it backwards.

On your 360Hz 1080p monitor your 8700k may limit your frame rates depending on the specific game you play. The CPU has to work harder at 1080p.
On your 4k display the 8700k will not hold you back. The GPU is doing more of the work.

The 8700k is still quite a capable CPU though, so if you have good cooling you might be able to OC it to get better frame rates on your 1080p monitor, just don't expect more than maybe 5-10% improvement.

What kind of frame rates do you get with your 1080Ti now on your favorite games?

 

[bde]

No, you have it backwards.

On your 360Hz 1080p monitor your 8700k may limit your frame rates depending on the specific game you play. The CPU has to work harder at 1080p.
On your 4k display the 8700k will not hold you back. The GPU is doing more of the work.

The 8700k is still quite a capable CPU though, so if you have good cooling you might be able to OC it to get better frame rates on your 1080p monitor, just don't expect more than maybe 5-10% improvement.

What kind of frame rates do you get with your 1080Ti now on your favorite games?

I play mainly FPS games, Cods and Overwatch online I get decent 90-150 fps on my current 2K monitor (I also have disabled some unnecessary shadows, particles and such, but model and texture always on the highest) I have OC'ed my 8700K to 5100 with a kraken X62. temps are high 80s but below 90s.. quite stable after couple of CINEBENCH and 3DMARK runs... my ultimate goal is to get the maximum fps out of them on that monitor 360hz with the 3090(ideally I was hoping to reach 360fps)....but based on what you mentioned sounds like a 10900K is almost eminent.. Im bummed out a bit tbh...kinda didnt want to spend more
What you would recommend in terms of components, great quality but budget-ish..?

 

[In2Photos]

I play mainly FPS games, Cods and Overwatch online I get decent 90-150 fps on my current 2K monitor (I also have disabled some unnecessary shadows, particles and such, but model and texture always on the highest) I have OC'ed my 8700K to 5100 with a kraken X62. temps are high 80s but below 90s.. quite stable after couple of CINEBENCH and 3DMARK runs... my ultimate goal is to get the maximum fps out of them on that monitor 360hz with the 3090(ideally I was hoping to reach 360fps)....but based on what you mentioned sounds like a 10900K is almost eminent.. Im bummed out a bit tbh...kinda didnt want to spend more
What you would recommend in terms of components, great quality but budget-ish..?

I'd try the 3090 in your current system first, before spending any more. It's an easy change to make. See what kind of frames you get at 2k. After that, change the resolution in game to 1080p and see how many frames you get. Keep an eye on CPU and GPU utilization and see what they look like, along with those CPU temps.

 

[bde]

I'd try the 3090 in your current system first, before spending any more. It's an easy change to make. See what kind of frames you get at 2k. After that, change the resolution in game to 1080p and see how many frames you get. Keep an eye on CPU and GPU utilization and see what they look like, along with those CPU temps.

Thanks thats great advice, whats your favorite monitoring app, i use cam

 

[In2Photos]

Thanks thats great advice, whats your favorite monitoring app, i use cam

I have an OLD PC so I use Hardware Info. It shows EVERYTHING though so it can be daunting to look at when you first start out. I hide most of the things I'm not interested in monitoring. I also use Argus Monitor, but that's primarily for fan control.

 

[aigomorla]

What you would recommend in terms of components, great quality but budget-ish..?

only way your gonna unlock that 3090 in an uneconomical way is to put it on a PCI-E 4.0 lane.
which isn't bugdet, but more splurg excess.

Honestly keep what you have, it will be fine.
The 8700k is a 6 core 4.7ghz boosting processor.
Its actually not that much slower then the newer stuff.

If you want to spend on something... id get a 4TB SATA SSD to compliment your game drive as SATA SSD vs nVME shows very little improvement on the nVME, and 4TB should last you a while for game titles and sizes.
Make sure its SATA so you don't use any PCI-E Lanes your limited on that 8700k.

But definitely that would probably be the best upgrade at that point instead of trying to maximize your GPU performance.... get a 4TB QLC or MLC Sata SSD for game storage.

 

[bde]

I have an OLD PC so I use Hardware Info. It shows EVERYTHING though so it can be daunting to look at when you first start out. I hide most of the things I'm not interested in monitoring. I also use Argus Monitor, but that's primarily for fan control.

thanks dude ill use that

 

[bde]

only way your gonna unlock that 3090 in an uneconomical way is to put it on a PCI-E 4.0 lane.
which isn't bugdet, but more splurg excess.

Honestly keep what you have, it will be fine.
The 8700k is a 6 core 4.7ghz boosting processor.
Its actually not that much slower then the newer stuff.

If you want to spend on something... id get a 4TB SATA SSD to compliment your game drive as SATA SSD vs nVME shows very little improvement on the nVME, and 4TB should last you a while for game titles and sizes.
Make sure its SATA so you don't use any PCI-E Lanes your limited on that 8700k.

But definitely that would probably be the best upgrade at that point instead of trying to maximize your GPU performance.... get a 4TB QLC or MLC Sata SSD for game storage.

so what you are saying my nvme is sucking juice out of my 8700k which that juice can be used to push the rtx 3090? im on the pg259qn does it matter? how much of diffrence we talking?
and am i goiing to completely remove my nvme ?
ps. im getting 5150ghz our of 8700k (with the default oc wizard) super stable....whats your opinion there? thanks dude

 

[aigomorla]

depends on how many nvme you have running with other cards.

If you have more then 2, then yes, chances are its driving your gpu at 8x.

 

[bde]

depends on how many nvme you have running with other cards.

If you have more then 2, then yes, chances are its driving your gpu at 8x.

i use one stick of 1tb, ive put in the main slot with the fancy heatsink that i had to remove first