Wich component is the bottleneck of my system?

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Hansssa

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Hello!

I recently bought myself a 1440p monitor. Sadly, I got quite ahead of myself, considering I cannot run anything above League of Legends / Diablo in 1440p on a satisfying FPS (certainly not shooters like Rinbow Six Siege and BF4 where I'm only getting around 30 FPS in 1440p with moderate settings...)

At the moment I'm unsure if it is the CPU, the GUP or the RAM that needs upgrading for me to get a major FPS boost. Here are my specs:

GPU: GTX670 2GB
CPU: Intel Core i7 950 (1st gen?!) 3,07GHz
RAM: 12 GB DDR3

If I'm upgrading my GPU, it will be a GTX970 since it seems to be the most "bang for the buck" atm (Won't use AMD since I have a G-Sync monitor). Will this help, or will this only lead to my old generation i7 becoming another bottleneck?
 
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DasHotShot
If you only have budget to replace one component, it is very clearly the GPU. In order to run modern games on 1440p and to use Gsync for more than just 60FPS you need a very powerful GPU. A 970 is really optimal for 1080p as it has slightly less (actual)Vram than the 4GB limit which many games hit these days.

I wouldn't deploy it for you screen. Your options are diverse: AMD's 390/390x will represent the best value for money and deal with the res the best...but wait, you have a gsync screen, so this route is blocked.

Seeing as you are locked to Nvidia and need a quick fix you are stuck with a 980 or a 980 Ti. The latter being the better choice for the long term and to ensure you can really let the screen to do its work. Will the CPU...
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Well, the I7 will struggle in some games, so really it'll only be a matter of time before you need to upgrade both. Which to start with? I think the GPU. If you want to find out if your I7 is a bottleneck, monitor CPU usage of each core while gaming, and see if any are at 100%.
 
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DasHotShot

DasHotShot

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Feb 17, 2015
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If you only have budget to replace one component, it is very clearly the GPU. In order to run modern games on 1440p and to use Gsync for more than just 60FPS you need a very powerful GPU. A 970 is really optimal for 1080p as it has slightly less (actual)Vram than the 4GB limit which many games hit these days.

I wouldn't deploy it for you screen. Your options are diverse: AMD's 390/390x will represent the best value for money and deal with the res the best...but wait, you have a gsync screen, so this route is blocked.

Seeing as you are locked to Nvidia and need a quick fix you are stuck with a 980 or a 980 Ti. The latter being the better choice for the long term and to ensure you can really let the screen to do its work. Will the CPU bottleneck it...not really.

I know of systems with Gulftown processors which have a 980Ti upgrade and run most games effortlessly on high resolutions. It will be come an issue sooner than later though as CPU power has become ever more important in many modern, complex titles.

Your best bet really, would be to either go for a high end Nvidia solution now and reuse it in an updated build or wait a few months for the Pascal offerings which are due, upgrading the CPU along with it.

Unfortunately your screen puts you in a bind and means you will have to spend relatively big either way.
 
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Hansssa

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AMD GPUs are out of the question since i have a Rog Swift with nVidia-only G-Sync tech =/

Thanks for the tip turkey, will try to monitor my CPU usage aswell. If that truly becomes a bottleneck this year I'm in deep sh**, as I'll need a new motherboard to fit the newer Skylake-CPUs. And then I might aswell get new DDR4 RAM aswell. Wich I have no budget for in 2016 :p

 
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Hansssa

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Thank you for the in-depth answer! :)

As I've blown most of my budget on future-proofing my monitor, I fear I will still have to go with a GTX 970 for the time being. Then trying to stick with this rig untill 2017 when a total overhaul (motherboard, CPU and RAM) is required. All I wish for now is to achieve some 100+ FPS in Rainbow Six Siege, as the other games I play require less (LoL, D3, StarCraft 2)
 
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DasHotShot

DasHotShot

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Rainbow six might not run on 100 FPS if you max the settings, however if you are clever about it and make compromises here and there, the 970 is still very potent and will do fine.

Also Gsync makes up for low FPS in certain situations, so you're covered there as well. You're right, a 970 will jog through the other games you play, so it is a good choice on a budget.
 
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