What gives more value for money, a new processor or a new graphics card? The usual answer is “it depends,” although for the majority of enthusiasts a graphics card would be a better upgrade. Tom's Hardware set out to thoroughly test the problem.
In the new the test Tested in 19 games With four different resolution and quality settings (1080p Medium, 1080p Ultra, 1440p Ultra, and 4K Ultra).
The averages across all 19 games clearly show that the graphics card is significantly more important than the processor at 4K and clearly more important at 1440p, but at 1080p the processor starts to have a noticeable impact. With Ultra settings, the RTX 3080 with 7800X3D or 13900K is slightly faster than the RTX 4080 with 8700K.
With medium settings, the effect is even greater, as the old 8700K with the RTX 4080 is slower than all the other processors with the 2080, 3080 or 4080. The 13900K and 7800X3D with the RTX 3080 are also faster than the 11900K with the RTX 4080.
In some games, the processor has a greater impact on the results. In Assassin's Creed Mirage, for example, there's almost no difference between 4080 and 3080 at 8700K, even at 1440p. The same in Microsoft Flight Simulator and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, among others. But the worst is Diablo 4 with ray tracing, where the 2080, 3080 and 4080 all end up at around 55fps at 8700K.
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