Should I upgrade my CPU or graphics card?

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tommmb

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I'm thinking about upgrading my pc but I don't know what to upgrade first - my CPU (i5 6400) or my graphics card (gtx 1050 2gb) I mainly play games such as GTA V, Just Cause 3 and Rainbow Six Siege. I play at 1080p and am aiming to get 60fps at near enough max settings. What should I upgrade first?
 
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Mark RM
In RB6 a GTX 1060 can keep a constant frame rate over 100 no problem. But if I were focused on that game alone, an RX 580 with a 1080p Freesync IPS panel is extremely smooth to game on.

You can also buy G-sync monitors, they're just a lot more expensive and lose their value proposition a little when you consider what you get for your money, after all these are midrange cards.

Neither card can keep a 144hz panel fed at rb6 without dropping the quality stuff down. It's not peak frames they can both do that at reduced quality, it's the minimum frames per second where it hurts.
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Mark RM

Mark RM

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In RB6 a GTX 1060 can keep a constant frame rate over 100 no problem. But if I were focused on that game alone, an RX 580 with a 1080p Freesync IPS panel is extremely smooth to game on.

You can also buy G-sync monitors, they're just a lot more expensive and lose their value proposition a little when you consider what you get for your money, after all these are midrange cards.

Neither card can keep a 144hz panel fed at rb6 without dropping the quality stuff down. It's not peak frames they can both do that at reduced quality, it's the minimum frames per second where it hurts.
 
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mcarmi

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That is a pretty decent CPU i would upgrade to a 1060-6GB. The CPU doesn't do as much as the GPU does while play games like that especially that one it is a pretty good one.
 
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mcarmi

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How much are you willing to spend
 
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tommmb

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the monitors I am looking at are the Asus VG245H and the Asus VG248QE. Both are 1080p, should I upgrade to an RX580 instead of the 1060 if I was going for these monitors since they have freesync?

Monitor ~200
Graphics card ~300
 
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Mark RM

Mark RM

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Freesync is literally AMD's only saving grace in my opinion. The cards generally perform within fractions of each other. If you've never played with Freesync or Gysnc, I encourage you to try it at a friends or something.

If I wanted adaptive sync in the mid range, it's AMD all the way, at the high end I'd go NV just because there's really no serious competition on the card side and I'd have the money for it anyhow.
 
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tommmb

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So if you're suggesting going with amd + freesync because it's cheaper, which of the amd cards would you recommend? No clue what any of the card names mean, I've only ever been with NVIDIA
 
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Mark RM

Mark RM

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mcarmi

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Just to clarify you want to get both a monitor and gpu or one
 
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tommmb

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Because the RX 580 has 8gb of vram would that mean it could play at higher resolutions than the 1060 6gb? Also, if they were the same price which one would you say is the best for the price and is there much of a difference between freesync and gsync?

 
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Mark RM

Mark RM

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Not really much of a difference because of RAM, 6GB is currently enough for midrange gaming, I suppose there are a few edge cases where 8 GB could mean something vs 6GB.

If they were the same price gsync and freesync are pretty much the same, but they're not, gsync is more costly for no benefit over freesync.

 
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tommmb

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Graphics card cost a lot of money (for me anyway) so I don't want to buy the wrong one. I've been with NVidia and I am not sure about AMD (RX 580) I know if I went for the freesync monitor with the rx 580 it would look better, but is it actually worth it that much to go for an AMD gpu over NVIDIA?

The monitor I have in mind is the Asus VG248QE.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-VG248QE-Widescreen-Multimedia-80000000/dp/B00B19T7QC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513778282&sr=8-1&keywords=vg248qe
But keep in mind this is not Freesync

[/quotemsg]

 
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Mark RM

Mark RM

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That depends entirely on what you play, my boys play on 1080P 144Hz Freesync panels with RX 580's in games like RB6 and COD etc ,,, my daughter plays at 1440p with a GTX 1070. All three of them prefer first person shooters on the RX 580's with the freesync, smoother, cleaner seemingly more responsive

I'm not a salesman for freesync, but it sure makes gaming nicer. I haven't found any real difference between a 1060 and rx580 in most games except GTA V where the 1060 is definitely better in ways you can feel.

It's your money, buy what makes you comfortable.
 
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tommmb

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Mark RM

Mark RM

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The nvidia control panel is an antique POS and I find the AMD control panel slow and laggy.
so "better" is relative.

But it's what we have to work with.

 
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