Should I upgrade my GPU or CPU ?

[Djak372]

Wondering if you guys can help me decide if I should buy a new GPU or CPU.

I'm looking to get around 60fps with graphics maxed out if possible, but my current setup only gets around 50fps at medium graphic settings in most recent titles.

Here is my setup:

RESOLUTION: 2560×1440

CPU: i5-4460

GPU: Powercolor R9 280X

RAM: DDR3 667mhz (2x 4GB sticks) Kingston

POWER SUPPLY: Corsair 650wts

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS B85M-E

 

[klipschkiller]

By the listed motherboard, it would be better to upgrade your gpu since you can't really overclock without a premium chipset. At best go with a GTX 1060 3gb or 6gb vram, if your games are primarily Directx11 or older; go with a RX 480 or 580 with 4gb or 8gb of vram, if your games are primarily Directx 12 or Vulkan API. Since your cpu is locked, it wouldn't best to purchase a upper-tier graphic card for 1080p gaming... or, unless you've a 1440p monitor, you'll see a significant cpu bottleneck versus newer cpu with premium chipset that can overclock. In short, if you want a gpu better then a GTX 1060 or RX 580, then you'll need hop on Ebay for a unlocked cpu and premium chipset or using PCPartPicker.com to start from scratch with DDR4 memory- Then again, Xmas sales right around the corner and PCPartPicker.com list daily price drops.

 

[ddferrari]

A GPU upgrade will always have more impact on gaming than a CPU upgrade. You forgot to include the most important spec for this question: Monitor Resolution