Most games run at 50% usage, leading to FPS problems. (Tight situation)
Most games run at 50% usage, leading to FPS problems. (Tight situation)
You're working with a solid setup but experiencing limited GPU performance. Your RTX 2080 and Ryzen 5 3600 should handle most tasks smoothly, especially at lower settings. The bottleneck might not be the CPU after all—your GPU is only under 8.8% utilization in most games, which suggests it's not the limiting factor. Upgrading the CPU could help, but if you're considering a GPU upgrade, ensure it matches or exceeds your current GPU's capabilities for optimal performance.
Your CPU would really benefit from an upgrade for those games, though it should handle more GPU-intensive titles well. What kind of motherboard do you have? For AM4 models, you could switch to a Ryzen 7 5700x or 5800x, or if you can afford more, the top gaming CPU for AM4 is the 5800X3D.
These titles demand powerful processors, so that's correct. Based on your budget, I'd consider switching to an AM5 or a 13th generation Intel chip.
Your processor is probably the main constraint here. The DDR4-2666 memory isn’t doing much, even though Ryzen prefers quick RAM. Have you thought about pushing your RAM up? I’ve managed to upgrade from DDR4-3000 to DDR4-3333, which improved performance in demanding games. Keep in mind, even with better RAM, the CPU will still be the bottleneck. Upgrading to an i9 14900K or R7 7800X3D won’t change that unless you boost graphics settings. I own a Ryzen 9 5900X paired with an RTX 2060 Super – a setup that’s heavily CPU-dependent. In Fortnite, my GPU usage is around 70-80%, mainly because I run the game at competitive levels to squeeze higher FPS. I use DLSS Balanced and only tweak View Distance and Textures; the latter boosts visuals without much impact on performance. Everything else stays low, since I don’t want the GPU to hold me back. The real bottleneck is always going to be the CPU. If you’re satisfied with what you have, no upgrade is needed. If not, consider it only if you can afford it. It’s simple: overclocking RAM might help a bit, but it won’t solve everything. Even DDR4-3200 could work, and the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is another solid pick since it doesn’t rely as much on fast RAM. The main reason it shines is its single CCX cores, which means the L3 cache helps keep performance stable. If you can’t afford a full overhaul, swapping to an 8-core Ryzen 5000 series chip could bypass the RAM issue without breaking the bank.
The CPU plays a key role in those titles. Apex and Warzone gain a lot from X3D, making an upgrade to 5800X3D worthwhile for those games. Keep in mind that Apex has an in-game FPS limit of around 200 or 240 FPS... I’m not sure exactly. In Overwatch, the X3D impact is minimal, so a 5700X should suffice.
The X3D isn't a big factor for you since your setup already handles high settings smoothly. With a 2080Ti, 3600X, and 1440p low settings at 180-250fps on a 300Hz display, you're well within the performance range. Upgrading to a 5800X3D or a 7800X3D could be worth considering if you want even better performance, but it depends on your specific needs and budget.
Games such as Overwatch don't need constant heavy memory transfers, and the extra X3D cache provides a significant advantage for applications and games that rely on it. Accessing the large cache pool is much quicker than using DRAM, so a faster CPU becomes more beneficial. In your situation, both the 5800X3D and 7800X3D offer improvements not just from more cache but from better IPC and higher clock speeds overall. Regarding OW specifically, the discussion focuses on performance gains rather than cache quantity.