Upgrading PC: Is it enough to upgrade GPU for now, or should I swap CPU+MOBO first?

xxTU_PAPITOxx · Nov 24, 2017

This is my setup right now.

CPU: FX-8320 OC @ 4.0GHz
FAN: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
MOBO: ASUS M5A97 R2.0
GPU: Sapphire Dual-X R9 270 2GB OC Edition (1020 MHz Core Clock)
RAM: ADATA XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
PSU: EVGA 600B 80+ Bronze

Question 1: Should I focus on upgrading my GPU to a 1060 FIRST, or should I swap my CPU+MOBO+RAM, to a Ryzen 5 1600 setup (RAM is included since I've been reading that Ryzen scales well with memory clock)? Main games I play right now are Playerunknown's Battlegrounds as well as Battlefield 1 and Fallout 4.

Question 2: Kinda covered in Q1, but would I NEED to upgrade my RAM if I went with a Ryzen 5 1600 upgrade, and would it be better to get 8GB or 16GB?

Bonus Question: Any recommendations on a USB WiFi adapter?? I feel like mine is limiting my download speeds, currently have a Belkin N600.

Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated, thank you!

sid.sinha12300 · Nov 24, 2017

it i'll be better to upgrade your complete rig and if your going with ryzen yes you need to upgrade your ram as it support ddr4 ram
mobo - motherboard - MSI ProSeries AMD Ryzen B350 DDR4 VR Ready HDMI USB 3 micro-ATX Motherboard (B350M PRO-VDH)

ram - Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15 (CMK16GX4M2B3000C15)

graphic card - msi gtx 1060 gaming x 6g

geofelt · Nov 24, 2017

Your current graphics card is weak.
A GTX1060 upgrade first is probably a good idea.
Later it is easy to move the card to a better mobo/cpu/ram.

But... I think your games are cpu limited.
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.

Either intel 8th gen or ryzen would be reasonable.
for pure gaming(no batch multithread apps) I like intel better than ryzen.

In either case, you will need DDR4 ram. If you will EVER want 16gb of ram, it is best to buy it up front.
Adding ram, later is iffy, particularly with amd processors.

On wifi, look for an adapter with real antennas, they are likely to be stronger.

xxTU_PAPITOxx · Nov 24, 2017

geofelt :

Your current graphics card is weak.
A GTX1060 upgrade first is probably a good idea.
Later it is easy to move the card to a better mobo/cpu/ram.

But... I think your games are cpu limited.
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.

Either intel 8th gen or ryzen would be reasonable.
for pure gaming(no batch multithread apps) I like intel better than ryzen.

In either case, you will need DDR4 ram. If you will EVER want 16gb of ram, it is best to buy it up front.
Adding ram, later is iffy, particularly with amd processors.

On wifi, look for an adapter with real antennas, they are likely to be stronger.

Wow that was very informative and I will definitely run those tests. I agree, my GPU is definitely weak, I I think I'll be ordering a 1060 but only the 3GB since I don't think I'll be doing any gaming over 1080p for a while.

Thanks a ton for that response, it was awesome!

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