Question GPU upgrade compatability advice?

May 28, 2019
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Im looking to upgrade my gpu and I need some advice. I built my pc 5 or 6 years ago with a Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD7950 gpu and I feel its reaching its limits in terms of keeping up with modern graphics. Ive been looking at the GeForce rtx 2070 as a possible upgrade but I guess im just concerned that the rest of my components wont be able to keep up. Im running a gigabyte GA-z77x-Ud5h motherboard, and intel i7-3770k cpu, a rosewill 750 watt power supply, and 2 sticks of 8gb corsair vengeance ram. Will this be compatible or should I explore other options? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
Well if you leave your pc for 5-6 years with no upgrades then in most cases you need to change almost the most parts of the system. First of all i would look for mobo,ram,cpu upgrade. Ryzen 3rd gen will release at july 7.Anyway whats the resolution you are playing right now?
 
May 28, 2019
5
0
10
Well if you leave your pc for 5-6 years with no upgrades then in most cases you need to change almost the most parts of the system. First of all i would look for mobo,ram,cpu upgrade. Ryzen 3rd gen will release at july 7.Anyway whats the resolution you are playing right now?
damn that's what I was afraid of lol. not sure specific res rn but for example im currently playing far cry 5 and ive got the graphics turned down quite a bit to maintain 60 frames. I know I should have been making upgrades but I've been busy with school and hadn't been gaming much. Now that I have time I want to make some upgrades but was hoping to do so without essentially building a whole new pc.
 
I think your 3770K is likely to still be a decent gaming processor.
Particularly with a bit of an overclock.
It has 8 threads and a passmark rating of 9508 and a single thread rating of 2082.
Here is my stock answer to the perennial question... CPU or GPU??
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
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To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.



It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
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If you come out thinking GPU, a RTX2070 is a very good upgrade that can be carried forward to a later cpu upgrade.

If you need CPU more, you are looking at a motherboard and ram upgrade also.
Intel 9th gen or ryzen 2/3rd gen is what you want.
 
A few weeks ago Anandtech did a review on how the i7-2600K would work in today's games against the i7-7700K and i9-9700K.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/1404...el-core-i7-2600k-testing-sandy-bridge-in-2019
It is a good read to understand about where your CPU will be in comparison. The 3770K has a little bit higher IPC than the 2600K, but the non overclocked results will be close enough to what you would see if you added a RTX2070.
 
your cpu is absolutely fine, it might bottleneck you gpu a bit, but why would you wait?

It will still deliver super nice graphics and fps

you can transfer your shiny 2070 to a new rig when you decide it is time to upgrade that too

the hd 7950 is quite old, just swap it and you will be a happy camper

you may want to get a new monitor that supports 4k to fully enjoy your 2070 tho

when it comes to gaming gpu is most important
 
your cpu is absolutely fine, it might bottleneck you gpu a bit, but why would you wait?

It will still deliver super nice graphics and fps

you can transfer your shiny 2070 to a new rig when you decide it is time to upgrade that too

the hd 7950 is quite old, just swap it and you will be a happy camper

you may want to get a new monitor that supports 4k to fully enjoy your 2070 tho

when it comes to gaming gpu is most important
why not 1440p it looks nearly as good and you get much more fps
 
Buy the GPU, but keep in mind you'll need to upgrade your BIOS. That's it.

Any CPU after Sandy Bridge can ABSOLUTELY get any GPU on the market today and you will see a huge increase in FPS. Do not concern yourself with silly thoughts of "bottleneck" as that is like fear mongering for dummies. You won't get as many FPS'es than what you'd get with a newer CPU (be it Intel or AMD), but you will still have a NET GAIN of a bazillion FPS'es anyway.

Plus, if you so decide to upgrade anyway, you can keep the GPU for your next build as a new GPU can indeed be moved across.

Cheers!
 
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May 28, 2019
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10
Buy the GPU, but keep in mind you'll need to upgrade your BIOS. That's it.

Any CPU after Sandy Bridge can ABSOLUTELY get any GPU on the market today and you will see a huge increase in FPS. Do not concern yourself with silly thoughts of "bottleneck" as that is like fear mongering for dummies. You won't get as many FPS'es than what you'd get with a newer CPU (be it Intel or AMD), but you will still have a NET GAIN of a bazillion FPS'es anyway.

Plus, if you so decide to upgrade anyway, you can keep the GPU for your next build as a new GPU can indeed be moved across.

Cheers!
Thanks for the advice! I went ahead and purchased it. I'll definitely be upgrading my cpu and motherboard in the near future but for now my old rig will have to suffice.
 
I have an i7-2600k with an RTX 2060 @1080p nothing stops it. Your CPU is more than powerful to run 2060 - 2070 will still see you get benefits.
Granted you may get 90fps in a game instead of 100fps because your CPU isn't the latest, but that's not important when you are reaching high fps anyway.
 
There is no such thing as "bottlenecking"
If, by that, you mean that upgrading a cpu or graphics card can
somehow lower your performance or FPS.
A better term might be limiting factor.
That is where adding more cpu or gpu becomes increasingly
less effective.
 
There is no such thing as "bottlenecking"
If, by that, you mean that upgrading a cpu or graphics card can
somehow lower your performance or FPS.
A better term might be limiting factor.
That is where adding more cpu or gpu becomes increasingly
less effective.
No, the term "bottleneck" is fine on its own, but it's being used out of context more often than not and subjected to scaring people off upgrading.

There IS a case to make (fine print, if you like) of a severe bottlenecking problem when upgrading any other component in your system expecting an improvement, does nothing. For instance: if by magic you could pair a 2080ti with a Pentium 3 500Mhz, you'd probably get some extra FPS'es, but mostly get an unplayable experience anyway. That's when talking about a bottleneck makes perfect sense. You identify a single component in the system that will hold you back to the point of swapping anything yields zero gains.

But just to reiterate the point: the i7 3770K can handle everything up to a 2080ti with big FPS gains. The card won't perform to it's fullest, but you will still get more FPSes than having to upgrade the whole PC and getting a lesser GPU on the process.

Cheers!
 
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