I5-4570 3.2Ghz with a 1060 6gb for strategy games = overkill? CPU bottleneck?

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discomute

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Hello everyone, my current specs are:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570, 3.2ghz
RAM: Kingston 8gb RAM DDR3
Mother: Gigabyte GA-Z87M-D3H

And I am looking to get back into some games. I am primarily interested in strategy games, Total War: Warhammer 1&2 is the one I am most interested on. Other games like Starcraft II and Dawn of War III are also of interest. And probably some CS haha.

So I am looking to get a GPU. I will also need a new power supply (as I have a generic one, so was thinking Corsair TX550M) and I was thinking a 1060 6gb. I was also going to put another 4gig of RAM inside, as I had read it is generally best to double your RAM compared to your GPU.

However... I have realised I cannot overclock my CPU at all. I have also realised that these sort of strategy games are generally known to be CPU intensive. So I was wondering if I was overdoing it with the card. I could get a 1050ti for half the price.

Given I am only getting back into things, I am hesitant to spend a lot given I might not even end up playing a lot.

Any advice would be welcome.

EDIT: Haven't had any responses yet. If I have failed to give enough information please let me know.
 
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Don't worry about the downvote, happens all the time :)
If you're on a tight budget, then the 1050ti would be the way to go. If your budget can afford a 1060 (which obviously it can, or you wouldn't be asking about it), then get it. What a better GPU allows for is both higher resolution (if you upgrade your...
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maxalge

maxalge

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leave it at 8gb or go to 16gb dont add half steps, can lead to problems with mixed sticks

a 1060 is a good card that will treat you well at 1080p, gonna need it for total war
it would be a good idea to grab a i7 4790k as well to maintain ~60 fps
 
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discomute

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Thanks for.your response!
I was unaware adding RAM could cause a problem like that.

I cannot afford to replace the CPU. Given I am sticking with i5-4570, do you think the 1060 will work?



Edit - I originally posed this question "you think I should jump to 16gb or should 8gb be enough?" But the max specs for total war say 8gb so that's good enough for me
 
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pete_101

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You may want 16GB in the long term, but to start with 8 should be enough, use "MSI afterburner" to monitor usage and you'll soon see if you need more.
 
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pete_101

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No, not too much...maybe un-necessary :)
Here's the thing about computers, there is always going to be a component that's the limiting factor, and this will change from application to application and from one game to another. Some games require a good CPU to run smooth and others need a good GPU to get a high frame rate.
If you put a low end GPU in your computer you will never get those high frame rates, even when your CPU is running freely and could deliver more, the GPU will hold it back......by putting in a GTX 1060, your would get those higher frame rates. Other times your CPU will limit performance, but that was going to happen anyway, having a more powerful GPU isn't going to make the performance worse. Also, if you do upgrade in the future, the 1060 would probably still be fine for a new build, where as a lower end GPU would need to be replaced too.

 
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discomute

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Cool - first up I tried to upvote your answer and hit the wrong one with my fat thumbs, it won't let me change it! Sorry about that.

Your point about upgrading is well made.

"Unnecessary" for twice the price is "too much". But I think you're saying that the GPU isn't too far above the processor. That there will be games where the GPU extra oomph (over the 1050ti) is being used.

If that's correct(?) then the 1060 will be my card.
 
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pete_101

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Don't worry about the downvote, happens all the time :)
If you're on a tight budget, then the 1050ti would be the way to go. If your budget can afford a 1060 (which obviously it can, or you wouldn't be asking about it), then get it. What a better GPU allows for is both higher resolution (if you upgrade your monitor) and/or higher graphic settings in the games, as both of these don't put any extra stress on your CPU.

I've been running an i5-4590 (3.3GHz) and a R9 290X for almost 3 years now, your CPU isn't much worse than mine and the 1060 isn't a huge increase over the 290X. To me, I've got the balance between CPU and GPU about right, so I don't think you're being silly with a 1060 as an upgrade.

 
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