[SOLVED] Should I upgrade to an RTX graphics card first, or upgrade my CPU first?

[Vincent7]

Hi, I recently bought Insurgency: Sandstorm and I am only able to run the game on lowest settings while maintaining a somehow consistent 80 fps. These are my specs:

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4690 CPU @ 3.50GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 3
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 (build 17134), 64-bit

The game's recommended specs are a GTX 980 and an Intel i7-8700. I want to be able to run the game at at least high settings with around 100 fps. I only have the choice to choose between upgrading my GPU to maybe an RTX GPU (or if there is really a better choice, just tell me your opinion) or upgrade to the game's recommended CPU. I know an RTX GPU is far from the recommended GPU, but I'd also want to be able to run other hardware-demanding games smoothly. I just don't know what to upgrade first, the GPU or the CPU.

I'm hoping to upgrade to an RTX graphics card, hopefully one of the cheapest ones I can find in Amazon (As of now, I'm looking at the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 2070 Blower at the price of $499.99).

I would also like to know how much performance gain I can receive for upgrading to either of the two: any RTX GPU or an i7.

I'm not really familiar with PC specs and building a PC. My brother was the one who picked the parts for my computer, and I'm not really sure how to know if a PC part is compatible with my computer right now. Is there a website that can help me with this?

 

[Lutfij]

PCPartpicker should help you out but we tend to give the helping hand first.

About our CPU, you would need to look into a current gen platform since the latter gen processors will not drop into your current motherboard. You're also going to need new ram since DDR3 will not work on the latter motherboards.

 

[velocityg4]

It's going to struggle on that game no matter which one you upgrade first. However, most detail settings have little or no effect on CPU usage. Meaning you'll get the same FPS with a GTX 960 at low settings as an RTX 2070 at high settings for example. As you'll be hitting a hard FPS limit from the CPU.

This is just for simplification. There are a few settings which could effect CPU usage. View distance can have an impact on the CPU. As can some extras like grass on/off or physics settings. You'll have to play with it to see.

It all depends on the game. If that game is simply too much for the CPU. It won't matter what GPU you have. If you want all settings on high and at least 60 FPS. You are going to have to wait until you can upgrade the CPU and GPU. There are plenty of other entertaining games. Rather than spending a lot of money on the latest. Buy one or two $5 Steam packs loaded with old fun games. You can play those in the meantime and save money much more rapidly for a complete new system. Rather than buying multiple $40 to $60 games.

 

[Vincent7]

It's going to struggle on that game no matter which one you upgrade first. However, most detail settings have little or no effect on CPU usage. Meaning you'll get the same FPS with a GTX 960 at low settings as an RTX 2070 at high settings for example. As you'll be hitting a hard FPS limit from the CPU.

This is just for simplification. There are a few settings which could effect CPU usage. View distance can have an impact on the CPU. As can some extras like grass on/off or physics settings. You'll have to play with it to see.

It all depends on the game. If that game is simply too much for the CPU. It won't matter what GPU you have. If you want all settings on high and at least 60 FPS. You are going to have to wait until you can upgrade the CPU and GPU. There are plenty of other entertaining games. Rather than spending a lot of money on the latest. Buy one or two $5 Steam packs loaded with old fun games. You can play those in the meantime and save money much more rapidly for a complete new system. Rather than buying multiple $40 to $60 games.

Thanks, but I'm not really interested in getting new games (even if they're cheap). I'm happy with my current games, I just want to be able to run on higher settings.

I think I might upgrade my GPU instead. Is it worth it to upgrade immediately to an RTX, or go for cheaper alternatives, maybe a GTX 10?0 GPU?