My current system - better to upgrade CPU or GPU for better game performance?

[bigmike.1832]

Assassins Creed Odyssey is bench marked at 53 fps, and is sluggish running on:
Core i5-3570 on Asus LGA 1155 Z77 / 980 ti / 27" 144hz @ 2560 x 1440.

Where is my best option to upgrade: CPU or GPU for better performance, without having to build an entirely new machine.

 

[kindangrysliceofpie]

I’d suggest upgrading your CPU. your GPU is basically equivalent of the 1070, which is pretty high performance. I’d suggest a ryzen 5 2600 (which would require a new motherboard) or perhaps an i5-9600k. Depends on your budget.

 

[WildCard999]

Open world games benefit from a strong CPU, without having to change the MB or RAM I'd go with the 3770K and decent cooling if you can find one used for a good price. Your current 980 ti is still a really good GPU for 1440P so there's no reason to change it.

 

[mgallo848]

CPU is holding you back. If you're looking to try and get anywhere near 144fps an i7 3770k won't get there either (although it would be a very nice improvement from what you have now)

 

[bigmike.1832]

based on the responses, the simplest solution is the i7-3770K as it fits my 1155 socket, on sale for $428 (newegg), and will provide about 25% CPU increase.
(i was not wanting to game at 144 fps, but run the monitor at 144hz)

 

[WildCard999]

based on the responses, the simplest solution is the i7-3770K as it fits my 1155 socket, on sale for $428 (newegg), and will provide about 25% CPU increase.
(i was not wanting to game at 144 fps, but run the monitor at 144hz)

Way too expensive! Buy used for much cheaper!

 

[mgallo848]

based on the responses, the simplest solution is the i7-3770K as it fits my 1155 socket, on sale for $428 (newegg), and will provide about 25% CPU increase.
(i was not wanting to game at 144 fps, but run the monitor at 144hz)

DO NOT BUY IT FROM NEW EGG. WAAAY OVERPRICED. You could get a whole new CPU, motherboard and DDR4 memory for that price.

I would buy one from Ebay instead. Just be careful about buying any coming from China.

 

[WildCard999]

Even if you do find a 3770K for under $200 you might just be better off getting a newer platform for like $100 more. The 2600 easily outperforms the 3570 and even the 3770K in multi-thread apps.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($60.98 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $280.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-11 12:06 EST-0500

The only downside to going this route is that you'll need to reinstall Windows & drivers.