So at the end of last year i built a pc and much to my demise intel launched their new pentium line up just 3 weeks after so i was left with a g4400 and a gtx 570, with a 1024x1280 75hz monitor i had kicking around and this build has let me play fallout 4 on high and most games on high but i noticed the gpu always hovering at about 50% usage with war thunder being the only exception but im already playing at movie settings at a steady 75fps never diping below 70 so i was wondering if it would be more worth it to u+grade first my cpu or gpu as the gtx 570 does lack short on the vram department at obly 1.25 gb, but something like an i5 7400 would also be a massive upgrade and maybe even going to dip a bit in price with the release of coffee lake
should i upgrade my cpu or gpu first
- Thread starter romerrr
- Start date
Solution
geofelt
Titan
- Oct 9, 2006
- 54,298
- 4,146
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If your games are playing well, there would seem to be no reason to upgrade.
Do not be concerned about vram. The amount you have will be appropriate to the graphics card.
For better gaming, I could certainly see how a cpu or a gpu upgrade could be better.
This is a perennial question.
Here is my stock approach to evaluating that:
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.
You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:
a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.
You should also experiment with removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.
It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------
What is your motherboard?
What is your budget?
You will have options for a cpu upgrade, keeping your motherboard.
You can increase your core or thread count, and you can improve the performance per core.
A power supply capable of running a GTX570 can also handle a upgrade to a modern card as good as a GTX1080.
Do not be concerned about vram. The amount you have will be appropriate to the graphics card.
For better gaming, I could certainly see how a cpu or a gpu upgrade could be better.
This is a perennial question.
Here is my stock approach to evaluating that:
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.
You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:
a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.
You should also experiment with removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.
It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------
What is your motherboard?
What is your budget?
You will have options for a cpu upgrade, keeping your motherboard.
You can increase your core or thread count, and you can improve the performance per core.
A power supply capable of running a GTX570 can also handle a upgrade to a modern card as good as a GTX1080.
i do see some cpu lag in strategy games as those are my prefered kind of games for example although my gpu runs wargame red dragon at max settings during battles i notice stutter on the simulation but the actual fps stay at 75 and gpu usage at 60
also my power supply is 700w so it should be able to handle any new gpu and cpu
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