Looking to upgrade my rig

[noxnoctum]

I'm mostly trying to improve my performance in flight sims (IL-2:BOS and DCS series mainly) and FPS games with huge maps (ARMA series, Squad, Post Scriptum etc.). Also the latest in the Total War series (I want to be able to play at "Huge" unit size on ultra). Currently I have to turn my graphics to medium/low in most of these games and even then only sometimes get 50-60 FPS. I'd like to be at 60+ consistently and never drop below 50.

My current system is this:

-Processor: Intel Core i5 4690K Unlocked Quad Core 3.5GHZ/3.9GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail

-GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-2974-KR 4GB SC GAMING w/ACX 2.0, Silent Cooling Graphics Card

-RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

-SSD: Samsung 850 EVO - 120GB - 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E120B/AM)

-HDD: WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (WD10EZEX)

-Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme4 LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

-Monitor: VX238

-Fan: Raijintek Themis Evo CPU Cooler LGA 775/1150/1155/1156/1366/2011/ FM2+/FM2/FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2

-Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 110-B2-0750-VR 80+ BRONZE 750W Semi Modular

-CD/DVD drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

-Case: Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Window Case Black 2X5.25 1X3.5 8X3.5INT 2X2.5SSD No PSU

Could I get away with just upgrading the GPU (I was suggested the 1060) and adding another 8 gigs of RAM? Would that be sufficient to get the gains I want or would I be too bottlenecked by the processor? I usually see the titles I mentioned described as "processor dependent" so that was definitely a concern I had.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Shektron]

Ok so first of all, if you haven't already, go download and install MSI Afterburner, and play all the games where you think performance should be better. In each of these games, check what the GPU usage is normally at. If the GPU usage is around 95-100% in each and every game, then a GPU upgrade will improve performance. But not a 1060 - a 1060 is only slightly faster than a 970 - go with at least a 1070.

If the GPU usage in some or all games is going below, say, 90%, then your CPU is bottlenecking the GPU in those games. Now, check CPU usage for these games. If it is 100%, upgrade to either the i5 8600K or the i7 8700K, because you are running short on cores. If the CPU usage is NOT close to 100%, then that means your clock speed and IPC is not good enough, in which case overclocking can help, or buying a CPU with better IPC(there aren't many CPU's with significantly better IPC than your current CPU). The i5 8600K has a 19% better single core performance than the 4690K, so that will probably be your best option, other than the 8700K.

 

[noxnoctum]

Ok so first of all, if you haven't already, go download and install MSI Afterburner, and play all the games where you think performance should be better. In each of these games, check what the GPU usage is normally at. If the GPU usage is around 95-100% in each and every game, then a GPU upgrade will improve performance. But not a 1060 - a 1060 is only slightly faster than a 970 - go with at least a 1070.

If the GPU usage in some or all games is going below, say, 90%, then your CPU is bottlenecking the GPU in those games. Now, check CPU usage for these games. If it is 100%, upgrade to either the i5 8600K or the i7 8700K, because you are running short on cores. If the CPU usage is NOT close to 100%, then that means your clock speed and IPC is not good enough, in which case overclocking can help, or buying a CPU with better IPC(there aren't many CPU's with significantly better IPC than your current CPU). The i5 8600K has a 19% better single core performance than the 4690K, so that will probably be your best option, other than the 8700K.

Excellent advice sir, thank you.