The original post: /r/buildapc by /u/supercakefish on 2025-06-02 09:24:46.

I’ve just upgraded from a 3080 to a 5070 Ti (primarily due to VRAM frustrations) and quickly discovered that in Horizon Forbidden West my venerable i9-9900K is holding this new GPU back even at 4K. In DLSS Quality mode the GPU load is never a smooth consistent 100% and the CPU fans ramp up to unpleasantly loud levels, unless I cap the framerate well below my display’s native 144Hz.

It’s making me wonder whether it’s finally time to start considering potential CPU upgrade paths?

My current full build for additional context: PCPartPicker

Browsing Amazon UK I can see the current pricing works out roughly like so:

  • AMD R7 9700X (£270)
  • Gigabyte X870 Eagle (£200)
  • Crucial Vengeance 32GB 6000MHz CL30 (£97)
  • Noctua NH-D15 G2 (£128) (people wisely pointing out it’s more sensible to get the AM5 mounting kit for my current D15 instead)

Is this a sensible upgrade path in terms of parts? Anything different that you would advise? Thanks in advance!