Question 1080p Gaming - Upgrade my CPU or GPU first?

[AndrewC.]

Hey all,

Setup:

• i7-8700
• GTX1070Ti
• 16GB DDR4 2400
• 1080p 144hz monitor

I'm stuck on whether I should upgrade my CPU first or my GPU first.

With my current budget:

1. Upgrade my CPU to 13th gen Core i5 with a new motherboard and perhaps a pair of new RAM.
2. Upgrade my GPU to RTX 3060Ti with a new power supply.

Which one should I prioritize?

 

[boju]

I'm stuck on whether I should upgrade my CPU first or my GPU first.

In whichever game, what fps do you get with lowest settings? Try multiple games like this. That will determine fps level your cpu is capable of providing a faster card.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Cpu drives fps, gpu drives the eye candy. So if you want higher fps you are looking at a platform upgrade. For higher details you’d want a better gpu though for 1080p at 60hz the 1070 should be still somewhat capable.

 

[NaClKnight]

Hey all,

Setup:

• i7-8700
• GTX1070Ti
• 16GB DDR4 2400
• 1080p 144hz monitor

I'm stuck on whether I should upgrade my CPU first or my GPU first.

With my current budget:

1. Upgrade my CPU to 13th gen Core i5 with a new motherboard and perhaps a pair of new RAM.
2. Upgrade my GPU to RTX 3060Ti with a new power supply.

Which one should I prioritize?

What PSU are you currently running? The 3060 Ti has a similar power draw and you may not need to upgrade PSU yet. The similar AMD 6750 XT has a slightly higher power draw but not dramatically so and can often be found for significantly cheaper in the US

Is your current build struggling in any specific games? Pr are you only interested in future proofing?

 

[sizzling]

Do a test in your games. Drop the resolution to 720p, if you achieve satisfactory fps then most likely a gpu upgrade is what you want. If you don’t get satisfactory fps and the gpu is not close to 100% you are going to need at least a cpu upgrade to achieve satisfactory fps but you may have no choice but to also upgrade gpu for 1080p.