Need help - Upgrade GPU, CPU or both?

CrazyGamersMom

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Dec 20, 2015
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For Christmas, I'm trying to improve my son's PC's FPS. I'm thinking of getting him a EVGA GeForce 960 4GB SSC but am clearly in over my head Will this improve his FP? On lowest settings he's getting the following:

GTA5 40-50
CSGO 120
Rust 35 with lagging and dropping
Fallout 4 35-40 with lagging and dropping

I'd appreciate component recommendations and the priority I should follow in the upgrade path.

His build:

intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge Dual-Core 3.3 GHz

MSI B75MA-P45 LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

1 x CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti DirectX 12 (feature level 11_0) 01G-P4-3650-KR 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0

CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

I'd like to stay under $300, if possible, but will also consider a longer term plan if that's the best course.

Thanks in advance!


 
Solution
Upgrade the GPU for now. I will say get a GTX 960. I will also recommend you to buy a new power supply which has a better power rating to be able to upgrade without much hassle. I will say get an EVGA G2 850 W, which will allow you to have multi GPU configurations, allowing for easy upgrades.. These two parts should cost you $290 or so in total.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/G78Gpg
If you don't plan to have multi gpu configurations, get an EVGA G2 650 W instead.

rohitbaran

Distinguished
Upgrade the GPU for now. I will say get a GTX 960. I will also recommend you to buy a new power supply which has a better power rating to be able to upgrade without much hassle. I will say get an EVGA G2 850 W, which will allow you to have multi GPU configurations, allowing for easy upgrades.. These two parts should cost you $290 or so in total.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/G78Gpg
If you don't plan to have multi gpu configurations, get an EVGA G2 650 W instead.
 
Solution