is my cpu bottlenecking? need general advice on upgrading system

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azn96

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Hello all!

My rig is very outdated, and I tried to upgrade it as best as I could without spending a fortune. I didn't care to upgrade until now, because I only played a few games that were able to run fine. I recently got hooked on fortnite, ran 30-80 FPS on low settings and decided it was time for an upgrade.

These were my specs before my upgrade:
Mobo - Asus p8z77-v LK
Ram - 6ggb DDR3 (off brand)
GPU - PnY GTX 260
CPU - Intel i5-3570k 3.4 ghz
PSU - 650W (off brand)
w/o SSD

Specs after:
Mobo - SAME
Ram - 16ggb DDR3 Ripjaws
GPU - Gigabyte GTX 1060 6gb
CPU - SAME
PSU - 700W EVGA Gold
w/ SSD

My fps after the upgrade was about 120-240 fps on low settings, which I was happy with. Until Fortnite had a weird update that messed with my fps, so now I currently sit on 80-140 fps.

Unhappy with my fps, I realized it was probably my CPU that was bottlenecking, so I overclocked to 4.3ghz. My performance went up by a smudge, but at this point there is probably nothing I can do but to upgrade. With fortnite running, my CPU usage is at 95%, which is probably because of only having 4-cores.

Here is where I made a mistake... The GPU upgrade was very necessary, but like a dummy I bought DDR3 Ram while thinking it would make a big difference, instead of buying an up to date motherboard, an up to date CPU, and DDR4 ram. So, I am stuck with the DDR3 ram, my outdated motherboard, and need to upgrade my CPU, but the best I can upgrade to and is compatible with my current motherboard is a i7 3770K.

Is upgrading to a i7 3770K with my current rig worth it? It costs basically the same as the newer CPU's and probably won't make a big difference on my FPS.

Or should I spend the extra cash on a new up to date mobo + new up to date CPU? I probably need to upgrade to DDR4 ram as well?

Thanks for your time!
 
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Hellfire13
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Hellfire13

Hellfire13

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AFAIK, Fortnite is mostly a GPU bound game. So the CPU usage could be caused by something else, like background operations running on high ping. Even with a newer platform like Coffelake or Ryzen, most probably you wont see much improvement with the same card.
I would rather try to get a used but healthy 3770k cheap and OC it to around 4/4.5 ghz and call it a day. Should perform well with your current setup.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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I'm assuming you meant I5-3570k. Games are increasingly making use of 8 threads, and that CPU may slightly limit your FPS in some titles. However, that chip is pretty balanced with the GTX 1060.

What you could do is purchase an aftermarket cooler and overclock the 3570K to 4.2Ghz or so. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is a staple budget aftermarket cooler around here($20-30 depending on sales) and will get the job done for overclocking (and it's reusable on later builds).

I would also recommend increasing your memory to at least 8GB, pref. with 2x4GB sticks, or 4x2GB sticks so you can run in dual channel. A good 4GB stick of DDR3 will run about $30.

Cheers!
 
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azn96

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oops, you're right its a 3570k. Not sure if you read my entire post, but I already oc'd to 4.3ghz and upgraded to 16gb of ram. FPS hasn't increased much with those two changes.
 
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azn96

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I make sure nothing is running in the background. On task manager, fortnite is basically the main cause of my high cpu usage. I can't see why a gtx 1060 isn't good enough. If that is the case, would overclocking my GPU be a good idea?
 
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Hellfire13

Hellfire13

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"Show process from all users" should show you the tasks mostly hidden on general tab. Fortnite might not be the only thing running.
Also click on "view" and enable "cpu time" to know which process is consuming most resource other than the game.

OCing GPU usually does not improve performance much, but you can give it a shot. I am also curious about your screen specs.
 
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quilciri

quilciri

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Ah, sorry. If you were getting much higher FPS before a fortnite update, I would research that update to see if others are having the same issue. An update shouldn't cause a huge drop in framerate like you're seeing. I would also look into rolling back GPU drivers and windows updates if there were any recent.
 
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mgallo848

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I honestly think 80-140 fps is about right for your setup. Nothing wrong with that. Here's an article from Tom's Hardware showing the 1060 getting 60 fps on Epic settings @1080 https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fortnite-best-performance-benchmarks,5541-3.html

Those numbers are based on a testbed using a Ryzen 5 1600x. I think you are getting the right numbers based on your setup.

In one of my backup PCs I am running an i7 3770k with a GTX 1060 3GB. I don't play fortnite so I can't say for sure what it's capable of.

Normally I wouldn't recommend buying a i7 3770k at this point but you're already so far in it might make sense if you can find one for the right price. It will most likely stabilize your fps so it's not jumping from 80 to 140.
 
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azn96

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asus vg248 144 hz. From what I know, everyone that has a quad core gets a high usage % when running fortnite. I am 100% sure fortnite is the only thing causing it.
 
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azn96

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Stabilizing my fps sounds nice, but I'd like to be at a stable 240 fps if possible with my current gpu. I play comfortably on low settings. Would you recommend an 8th gen i7, along with a new mobo and ram?
 
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azn96

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It really does suck. I've researched quite a bit and found a lot of people having the same issue. Most have good rigs too. Who knew fortnite was such a demanding game?

I reformatted very recently, i'll try different drivers. But right now, I believe my cpu is the issue.
 
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mgallo848

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I'm pretty sure 240 fps is not possible with a GTX 1060. Look for a You Tube video from Jayz2cents. I'm pretty sure he did a video using a GTX 1060 featuring Fortnite and PUBG.

Also, read the review in the link I posted in my last reply. I don't think a GTX 1060 is going to jump up an additional 180 fps from Epic settings.
 
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azn96

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eLxSOoSdjY

This guy has the same video card + i7 8770k and is running 200-400 fps on low settings. With my video card the highest fps I could get is 280, it's the stability that kills me. I don't care for more fps, I just want to play at the highest my gpu can handle without any drops.

I really do think my cpu is the issue here. I'm stuck on deciding if buying a i7 3770k is worth it. If it were cheaper, I'd go for it, but they cost the same as the newer ones.
 
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Hellfire13

Hellfire13

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1060 is not your typical 144hz card.
I might be wrong abut the game bearing on component, but here is one thread which seconds GPU bearing... https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/914666-is-fortnite-a-cpu-or-gpu-intensive-game/
Now that i read more about it, I think your results are fine in terms of FPS with the kind of hardware you have.
 
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azn96

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Hmm, interesting. These guys have the opposite issue from me though, i'm getting low gpu usage and high cpu. Ultimately, do you think an i7 3770k is worth it?
 
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mgallo848

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Don't forget you'll also need a new motherboard and DDR4 memory which isn't cheap ATM
 
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Hellfire13

Hellfire13

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Try calibrating the settings of both the monitor and the game with incremental variation. Try anti aliasing off with vsync.`See if you find any improvement or stable run at a better fps. If not, then 3770k might be a good option.
 
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