[SOLVED] Should I upgrade cpu or gpu?

[sp1ga]

d

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

the GTX 1660 is more powerful than the GTX 1050 Ti
and you would see a bit of an improvement in the majority of games.

but, it is still a lower tiered card and you would still not see great performance with decent settings.
the lowest i would bother with, also considering the GPU marketplace at the current time, is a GTX 1080 or maybe an RTX 2060 S.

 

[David0ne86]

You would def get a bumps in performance upgrading from a 50ti to a 60. That said the market right now is really f'ed. So unless you can get a 1660 for a decent price, just grit your teeth and carry on using the 1050ti until better time to upgrade gpu come. By waiting you could 1) save alot of unnecessary spent money to replace a low tier card with an entry level card 2) you will have a bigger budget once the market stabilizes itself and get a better card than a 1660 3) the 1660 is kind of a slap in the face because nvidia launched the 1660 super version which ridicules the performances of the "base" 1660 for a 10% price increase (when the market is normalized, not right now).

Long story short, i would just wait. If you really can't then yeah, the 1660 is a better card and you will get 20% fps more at 1080p. But if i was, i would just wait and keep saving my hard earned money and hunt down a 2060super/2070/2070super if you want stay nvidia, a 580/5600xt/5700xt if you want to go amd.

EDIT: Fully agree with John.

 

[logainofhades]

the GTX 1660 is more powerful than the GTX 1050 Ti
and you would see a bit of an improvement in the majority of games.

but, it is still a lower tiered card and you would still not see great performance with decent settings.
the lowest i would bother with, also considering the GPU marketplace at the current time, is a GTX 1080 or maybe an RTX 2060 S.

The 1660 is roughly twice as fast, as a 1050ti.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_1660_gaming_x_review,12.html

Frankly, before an upgrade is even considered, we need to know make/model of the power supply.

 

[geofelt]

My stock approach to this perennial question:

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.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------

As a practical matter, a GPU upgrade is hard to do these days.
Good units are selling at 2x MSRP and that is even if you can find one to buy.

On the cpu side, you can likely upgrade to a I7-8700K and keep your motherboard.
They go for $250 or so on ebay.
Stronger than that, and you will need a new motherboard and cpu.
For about $275, you can buy a stronger i5-11400 and a B560 based motherboard.
Here is a review:

Intel Core i5-11400F Review: The New Value Champ

The Core i5-11400F coupled with a B560 motherboard make for an interesting build configuration, as it's significantly cheaper than the Core i5-11600K/Z590 and less than the cost...

www.techspot.com

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

the GTX 1660 is more powerful than the GTX 1050 Ti
and you would see a bit of an improvement in the majority of games.

The 1660 is roughly twice as fast, as a 1050ti.

and being twice as fast as the 1050 Ti doesn't mean much in reality,
it is still only a bit more powerful compared to a high-tiered performing model.

 

[sp1ga]

You would def get a bumps in performance upgrading from a 50ti to a 60. That said the market right now is really f'ed. So unless you can get a 1660 for a decent price, just grit your teeth and carry on using the 1050ti until better time to upgrade gpu come. By waiting you could 1) save alot of unnecessary spent money to replace a low tier card with an entry level card 2) you will have a bigger budget once the market stabilizes itself and get a better card than a 1660 3) the 1660 is kind of a slap in the face because nvidia launched the 1660 super version which ridicules the performances of the "base" 1660 for a 10% price increase (when the market is normalized, not right now).

Long story short, i would just wait. If you really can't then yeah, the 1660 is a better card and you will get 20% fps more at 1080p. But if i was, i would just wait and keep saving my hard earned money and hunt down a 2060super/2070/2070super if you want stay nvidia, a 580/5600xt/5700xt if you want to go amd.

EDIT: Fully agree with John.

I think ill wait then

My stock approach to this perennial question:

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.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------

As a practical matter, a GPU upgrade is hard to do these days.
Good units are selling at 2x MSRP and that is even if you can find one to buy.

On the cpu side, you can likely upgrade to a I7-8700K and keep your motherboard.
They go for $250 or so on ebay.
Stronger than that, and you will need a new motherboard and cpu.
For about $275, you can buy a stronger i5-11400 and a B560 based motherboard.
Here is a review:

Intel Core i5-11400F Review: The New Value Champ

The Core i5-11400F coupled with a B560 motherboard make for an interesting build configuration, as it's significantly cheaper than the Core i5-11600K/Z590 and less than the cost...

www.techspot.com

thanks for all this unnecessary info

You would def get a bumps in performance upgrading from a 50ti to a 60. That said the market right now is really f'ed. So unless you can get a 1660 for a decent price, just grit your teeth and carry on using the 1050ti until better time to upgrade gpu come. By waiting you could 1) save alot of unnecessary spent money to replace a low tier card with an entry level card 2) you will have a bigger budget once the market stabilizes itself and get a better card than a 1660 3) the 1660 is kind of a slap in the face because nvidia launched the 1660 super version which ridicules the performances of the "base" 1660 for a 10% price increase (when the market is normalized, not right now).

Long story short, i would just wait. If you really can't then yeah, the 1660 is a better card and you will get 20% fps more at 1080p. But if i was, i would just wait and keep saving my hard earned money and hunt down a 2060super/2070/2070super if you want stay nvidia, a 580/5600xt/5700xt if you want to go amd.

EDIT: Fully agree with John.

theres a 1660 gpu for around 200 pound, is that a good price?

 

[David0ne86]

For that price it would be ok. I still wouldn't but it's your pc and money ultimately.

 

[dotas1]

thanks for all this unnecessary info

Are you serious?
He gave you the best way to find out on your own what you really need based on what you play and your system configuration.
It's the correct answer of this thread.
You should be grateful he taught you something you could use next time you have this question.