Do i need to upgrade my CPU or GPU?

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Ericisspicy

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Oct 22, 2016
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I've had my PC for almost 2 years now and I'm wondering if i need to upgrade it yet or not. The only things i can think of that would need to be upgraded is either my CPU or GPU.
I have a
MSI B150 pro motherboard and
Intel core I5-6500.
Should i upgrade either one of these? And if not when should I?
 
Solution
Barty1884
When the system is no longer doing what you want it to, adequately. AND, when the cost of an upgrade makes sense in real-world performance gains.
OR
When you decide to opt for a new monitor, with a higher resolution your card can no longer drive adequately.
OR
When you have a lot of extra cash to spend, without necessarily needing to justify the spend with performance improvements.

When a new game comes along that you struggle to achieve your desired settings &/or frame rate at a given resolution, would be one example.

An i5-6500 + 6GB 1060 is going to be relevant for a while yet.

Sure, you *could* upgrade to an i7-8700K, Z370 board, CPU cooler and GTX 1080TI (for arguments sake), while reusing everything else. BUT, if you're...
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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What GPU do you have?

How is the system performing for you? Assuming gaming?

Memory might be a place to look too - titles are increasingly using ~8GB themselves.

An i5-6500 while "obsolete" if buying new, is still a strong gaming CPU and, assuming you're not looking to pair it with a 1080TI or something, should still be perfectly adequate.
 
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2sidedpolygon

2sidedpolygon

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Jul 1, 2018
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Whenever you begin to find that you think the extra performance would be worth the investment. If you do upgrade down the road, the GPU would be the component to invest in. That CPU should serve you well for a while longer.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
22,250
1,350
108,740
When the system is no longer doing what you want it to, adequately. AND, when the cost of an upgrade makes sense in real-world performance gains.
OR
When you decide to opt for a new monitor, with a higher resolution your card can no longer drive adequately.
OR
When you have a lot of extra cash to spend, without necessarily needing to justify the spend with performance improvements.

When a new game comes along that you struggle to achieve your desired settings &/or frame rate at a given resolution, would be one example.

An i5-6500 + 6GB 1060 is going to be relevant for a while yet.

Sure, you *could* upgrade to an i7-8700K, Z370 board, CPU cooler and GTX 1080TI (for arguments sake), while reusing everything else. BUT, if you're gaming at 1080p/60Hz, you're not going to net close to the ~$1,100 outlay on new components in raw performance improvements.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($379.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($36.40 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370P D3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card ($669.99 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $1166.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-10-02 18:42 EDT-0400
 
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