Did I make a mistake buying a 7800X3D for modern AAA games with RT at 1080p?
Title: Did I choose the wrong CPU for my RTX 4080 Super? (7800X3D vs 9800X3D concern)
Post: I have an Asus TUF X870 motherboard, a 1000W TUF PSU, 32GB RAM, and an Asus TUF RTX 4080 Super 16GB GPU. The CPU is a Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
Right now I can only play on a Full HD 180Hz monitor, and my expectation is that in the newest AAA games (Stalker 2, Mafia: The Old Country, Hogwarts Legacy, Alan Wake 2), my FPS should not drop below 60 at Full HD on Ultra settings with Ultra Ray Tracing.
I watched a lot of videos, and there is a lot of variation. Originally I wanted an RTX 5070, but I saw that in Alan Wake 2 it cannot maintain 60 FPS with RT, and in Mafia: The Old Country it also drops below 60 on Epic settings. So I decided to buy a used RTX 4080 Super to be more confident, since I saw it can handle even 1440p or 4K well.
BUT now I’m worried about the CPU.
In Stalker 2, on Epic settings, I saw scenes where FPS drops to 47, even though in other places it’s around 70. This really disappointed me.
In Hogwarts Legacy, at Full HD with RT Ultra, it also gets close to 60, and in some videos at 1440p DLSS Quality + RT Ultra, it drops to around 50 FPS in the city.
I know Full HD puts more load on the CPU, so I started thinking about selling my 7800X3D (I bought it new) and getting a Ryzen 7 9800X3D instead.
But even with the 9800X3D, I saw that Hogwarts Legacy can still drop below 60 FPS at Full HD with RT Ultra (for example in the city at night).
So now I’m really confused and worried.
If the 9800X3D also drops below 60 FPS, what will happen with the 7800X3D?
Did I make a mistake choosing this CPU? Should I have bought something stronger?
Posted Apr 5, 2026, 3:10 PM UTC