What would be the better upgrade between my gpu and cpu/mobo combo?

phclyde · Oct 2, 2016

I am thinking of upgrading my PC, but I am not sure whether to upgrade to a better graphics card, or whether to go for a new mobo, cpu, and ram. My specs are:

i7-920 OC'd to 3.4 ghz
Gtx 980 non-ti
Evga X58 motherboard
16 gb DDr3 Ram, Corsair

I was thinking of upgrading to a Gtx 1070 SC, but now I'm wondering if my CPU would bottleneck it? Or perhaps it would be a better upgrade to get a better CPU. I was thinking instead I could get an i5-6600k with an ASUS Z170-A motherboard? My budget is about $450. Any help anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Zerk2012 · Oct 2, 2016

That GTX 980 should run games just fine in 1080p. I have one and gaming in 1440p with it with no problems.
I would go with the new processor and board (new memory also required)

BadActor · Oct 2, 2016

A CPU upgrade isn't going to net you many FPS right now. I would upgrade the graphics card first and then the CPU later. You will get immediate results using the GTX 1070, even if it is being held back a little.

Zerk2012 · Oct 2, 2016

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/451/Intel_Core_i5_i5-6600K_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-920.html
I would disagree with that the GTX 980 is still a fine card so no reason to upgrade by the time he needs a new card they will be much better out than a GTX 1070 and the 8 year old 920 is getting a little winded and new CPU now would put him good on that end for 5 or so more years.

k1114 · Oct 2, 2016

It'll depend on the game. Check cpu and gpu usage and see.

Karadjgne · Oct 2, 2016

An i7 at 3.4GHz should be holding its own vrs any newer cpu, that speed is sufficient for most games. The only issue there being instruction sets usage that newer cpus have access to that'll optimize game usage. Make sure you have the absolute last bios revision, and and all motherboard updates.

A 980 can handle anything at 1080p just about, so even a move to a 1070 will do nothing for a 60Hz monitor other than raise benchmark fps. Makes no difference if you get 100fps at ultra settings, or 300fps at ultra settings, you'll only get 60. Period.

Depending on the exact usage of your pc will be what matters most. If it's a pure gaming platform, other components would be of more use. Such as a good ssd. For rendering etc, the older i7 might be better than a newer i5, simply because of thread count, more threads at a slower speed get more work done than fewer threads at a faster speed..

Might be moving to a 1080p/144Hz or 1440p/60Hz monitor would net better gaming experience.

Zerk2012 · Oct 2, 2016

Karadjgne :

An i7 at 3.4GHz should be holding its own vrs any newer cpu, that speed is sufficient for most games. The only issue there being instruction sets usage that newer cpus have access to that'll optimize game usage. Make sure you have the absolute last bios revision, and and all motherboard updates.

A 980 can handle anything at 1080p just about, so even a move to a 1070 will do nothing for a 60Hz monitor other than raise benchmark fps. Makes no difference if you get 100fps at ultra settings, or 300fps at ultra settings, you'll only get 60. Period.

Depending on the exact usage of your pc will be what matters most. If it's a pure gaming platform, other components would be of more use. Such as a good ssd. For rendering etc, the older i7 might be better than a newer i5, simply because of thread count, more threads at a slower speed get more work done than fewer threads at a faster speed..

Might be moving to a 1080p/144Hz or 1440p/60Hz monitor would net better gaming experience.

No the i5 is 60% faster in muti core performance and is the upgrade to make.
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/451/Intel_Core_i5_i5-6600K_vs_Intel_Core_i7_i7-920.html

phclyde · Oct 2, 2016

Zerk2012 :

I am pretty sure the website you posted is comparing an i5-6600k vs an i7-920 without an overclock. I think that with an overclock, the i5-6600k wouldn't be 60% faster. My problem is for games like the Witcher, I don't get full 60 fps on ultra settings which is something that I want. Also in the BF1 beta, on ultra settings, it would dip down to 50 fps sometimes. I want something that will help it to stay at 60 all the time. Then I can consider upgrading my peripherals.

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