I have $500 CAD should I upgrade my CPU or GPU? Or both?

JonTheJew · Dec 22, 2016

Hey there! So I have been saving for a bit and have managed to somehow keep $500 in my savings and I am looking to upgrade my computer. Here are my specs!

CPU - i3 6100
GPU - r9 270x 2GB
RAM - 8GB 2133MHZ

I recently bought a 144hz monitor and would like to be able to play Battlefield one at a bit more than what I am getting now! Any tips would be awesome! Thanks ^_^

khashayar2000 · Dec 22, 2016

U Should Upgrade Ur Ram+Cpu+Gpu

Because The Recommended Ram IS 16 Gb And With 8gb U Will See Fewer Performance In Fhd - QHd - Uhd Resolutions :/

Here Are The Suggestions

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KF8H99/geil-memory-gpr416gb2133c15dc

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7V7CmG/intel-cpu-bx80662i76700

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7wkwrH/msi-radeon-rx-470-4gb-armor-oc-video-card-radeon-rx-470-armor-4g-oc

Its More Than 500 $

So If U can Afford About 65$ More So Its A Very Very Good Upgrades

But If U Cant So U Should Switch To i5 6500

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xwhj4D/intel-cpu-bx80662i56500

and The Overall Will be 460 $

Hope U Realize Wel

Regards

RCFProd · Dec 22, 2016

Get a solid GPU: GTX 1070 8GB

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($519.99 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $519.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-22 03:07 EST-0500

Or if your power supply can handle it, an R9 Fury for a bit cheaper (Most likely need a 600 watts PSU or better):

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury 4GB NITRO Video Card ($371.73 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $371.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-22 03:08 EST-0500

rcald2000 · Dec 22, 2016

Hi +Jon. Below are my suggestions.

Upgrade GPU FROM R9 270X TO GTX 1060 6 GB (not 3 GB version).
Upgrade RAM FROM 8 GB TO 16 GB

Sell R9 270X
Sell i3-6100

Upgrade CPU from i3-6100 to whatever is left in budget, including proceeds from R9 270X + i3-6100
* note strive to upgrade to at least an i5-6600K & Cryorig H7 CPU cooler or Hyper 212/212X EVO

*** BF1 recommended specs (right column) ***
https://www.battlefield.com/games/battlefield-1/tech

RCFProd · Dec 22, 2016

I would keep the Intel i3-6100. It performs nearly as well as an i5-6500 in most games including good performance in Battlefield 1.

khashayar2000 · Dec 22, 2016

RCFProd :

Bro probably u Have A Gpu Loss That U See The Same Or Near Process Between i3 6100 And i5 6500

The i5 6500 Is Much Better Than i3 6100 :/

RCFProd · Dec 22, 2016

^ Prove it with sources/benchmarks.

You'll see that the i3-6100 performs nearly as good as the i5-6500 in most games

the i5-6500 is better in CPU intensive games and almost identical in regular CPU loaded games. It's not ncessary to upgrade it IMO.

JonTheJew · Dec 22, 2016

khashayar2000 :

Unfortunately I am from Canada and everything you listed there would be quite out of my budget. Thanks for the response though!

JonTheJew · Dec 22, 2016

rcald2000 :

Would upgrading to 16gb really make that much of a difference in my system? Right now I have 2 sticks of 4GB and only have 2 ram slots so for me to get 16gb I would have to buy 2 sticks of 8GB which would run me $130 CAD+

RCFProd · Dec 22, 2016

RAM isn't necessary to upgrade either. If you manage it well there won't be a difference. I still use 2x4GB RAM without ever being short of memory.

JonTheJew · Dec 22, 2016

RCFProd :

I was looking at the 1060 because I figured that my i3 6100 would bottle neck the 1070 for sure. I see you have a rx480, is it pretty good?

RCFProd · Dec 22, 2016

In plenty of games you'd run a GTX 1070 fine but you might have better balance with a mid-range GPU like the GTX 1060 or the RX 480.

I'm happy with the RX 480 8GB, mainly because I use a FreeSync monitor along with it.

khashayar2000 · Dec 23, 2016

RCFProd :

Hi

He Exactly Mentioned To Wanna Play Bf1

Check The Websites Bro

It Needs 16gb Ram :/

So If The Ram Be 8gb It Mentioned As Minimum System Requirements And The Good performance Of The Cpu And Gpu Will Be Wasted Because He Cant Play That Game More Than Hd+ Resolution Above 25 Fps

Hope U Can Be Logical Bro

Regards

RCFProd · Dec 23, 2016

I play Battlefield at 75 FPS 1080p with 8GB RAM. BF1 never actually uses more than 5GB VRAM.

If you want to keep posting do keep it polite.

khashayar2000 · Dec 23, 2016

RCFProd :

Ok :/

Plz Just Take A look

http://gamesystemrequirements.com/game/battlefield-1#cresult

Saga Lout · Dec 23, 2016

khashayar2000 :

And the Moderation Team hopes you can be friendly.

RCFProd · Dec 23, 2016

khashayar2000 :

The reason 16GB is recommended in plenty of games nowadays is because games are nearing 5-6GB RAM usage. So you usually have to close other programs, Spotify, Google Chrome, Skype and such to avoid shortage of memory resulting in FPS drops, stuttering etc.

That is why game developers usually recommend 16GB now, so you can keep a programs open in the background and still be comfortable with memory.

This brings me back to my initial post: The RAM upgrade isn't necessary, It's solely optional. If he manages his available memory well, he will run Battlefield 1 without 100% memory usage. Again, I can tell you, I own the game and I play it. Only CPU spikes from time to time, but not 100% memory being used.

Look at benchmarks if doubtful, not requirement pages to see how much RAM is really used in-game.

I have $500 CAD should I upgrade my CPU or GPU? Or both?

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