Should I upgrade to 1440p and rx 480?

[Badger_Knight]

Hello,

I currently have an r9 270 graphics card and I'm thinking about upgrading to an rx 480 and a 1440p monitor. Would that card be powerful enough for that resolution? I am not looking to play the latest games, probably games from 2 or more years ago like the witcher 3. My current monitor is 1280x960 so if I didn't buy a 1440p monitor I would still want to buy a 1080p. I also have an fx 6300 cpu that I will upgrade. What do you think I should upgrade that to?

 

[Chugalug_]

I'd actually upgrade to 1920x1080, it's not outdated, and a perfect fit for the 580. (480 is the older version, 580 is higher clocked)
It's currently out of stock atm though since miners are buying them out.
Upgrade your CPU to a Ryzen 1500X or 1600 if you can stretch it, then save for a good GPU.

 

[Ohmybad]

as someone who runs similar hardware, using a RX480 +1440p is doable, the most graphically demanding game I own (GTAV) runs on high settings at 60+ fps.

 

[Badger_Knight]

Because I'm playing older games (really anything from 2000 to 2015 or so), I was wondering if 1440p would be better, or do you think 1080p would be good enough?

 

[Badger_Knight]

Thank you for the cpu suggestion. Also, if I were to get a 1440p monitor, would it be okay to use 1080p on that if I couldn't run a game well at 1440p?

 

[Chugalug_]

It would be, but it wouldn't look anywhere near as good, just get a native 1080 monitor, 1440p won't run well on the 580 anyway.

 

[Badger_Knight]

It would be, but it wouldn't look anywhere near as good, just get a native 1080 monitor, 1440p won't run well on the 580 anyway.

Thanks, what would be a good 1080p monitor to get?

 

[Chugalug_]

Budget?
I recommend this.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bk648d/dell-monitor-se2416h

 

[Badger_Knight]

Budget?
I recommend this.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bk648d/dell-monitor-se2416h

I'm still leaning towards 1440p though, and Ohmybad said it could work with a rx 480. Or would you still recommend 1080p?

 

[Chugalug_]

It will work, but you'll be hitting 30-40fps as opposed to 60fps constant at 1080p, and the visual quality won't be that much better as to warrant that drop in frames. If you want to gain that back you'd be dropping texture quality which would then balance out anyway.

 

[Badger_Knight]

It will work, but you'll be hitting 30-40fps as opposed to 60fps constant at 1080p, and the visual quality won't be that much better as to warrant that drop in frames. If you want to gain that back you'd be dropping texture quality which would then balance out anyway.

I could go for a better graphics card, what would be needed for 1440p 60fps (doesn't have to be with new games)?

 

[Chugalug_]

A 1070.
Save up enough for a CPU upgrade first before upgrading any of this, it can wait.

 

[Badger_Knight]

A 1070.
Save up enough for a CPU upgrade first before upgrading any of this, it can wait.

I can afford a better cpu as well, what would you suggest with a 1070?

 

[Chugalug_]

What budget are we looking at here and when?
You'd need a new mobo and RAM too remember.

 

[Badger_Knight]

What budget are we looking at here and when?
You'd need a new mobo and RAM too remember.

I've got over £1000 that I COULD spend on upgrading. I'm just a bit unsure how much I'm willing to spend, though something that can play in 1440p would be a good point to aim for.
Is 16GB of RAM important for 1440p? I currently have 8.

 

[Chugalug_]

8GB is fine, but you're upgrading that anyway.
Are you OCing?
What would you be comfortable with spending?
This is the best value.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor (£257.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-B250M-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£78.36 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£109.32 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Palit - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB JetStream Video Card (£448.36 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £893.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-20 05:48 BST+0100

 

[Badger_Knight]

Couldn't I just buy 8GB RAM and use my old one as well?
I haven't OCed before because I didn't think my cooling would be good enough, but I would if I upgraded that.
And is there any big disadvantage to having a micro ATX mobo?

 

[Chugalug_]

No, you need DDR4.
No disadvantage at all, performs the exact same as an ATX one.
Just slightly less spacing between the large PCIE slots and less PCIE slots overall.

 

[Badger_Knight]

Thank you for all your help, it;s been very helpful.