[SOLVED] should i uppgrade cpu or gpu

[supahotfire21]

hi i am wondering if i should upgrade cpu or gpu first
i am a semi proffesionale fortnite player wanting to get the highest fps possible
games i play: apex and fortnite and i want to be able to stream.
btw i am gonna upgrade both paths in 5-6 months i just want to know what i shoulv uppgrade first
current components

i5 7400
8gb ddr4 ram 2400mhz
gtx 1050
500watt psu

uppgrade 1
cpu Ryzen 5 2600x
16 gb ddr4 3000mhz
b450 motherboard
256gb m.2 ssd

uppgrade 2
gtx 1070
16gb ddr4
m.2 ssd

wich of those should i uppgrade first need a quick answer

 

[Lutfij]

500W does not speak about the quality nor reliability of the PSU. Please include the make and model of the unit and it's age.

 

[geofelt]

A 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.
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------

If fortnite, I think fast cores trumps many threads.
Here is one analysis I found:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fortnite-best-performance-benchmarks,5541-6.html
Even two threads looks to be sufficient, not that I recommend that if you will also be streaming.
I think the best processor would be a 6 core I5-9600K which can oc to 5.0.
The similarly priced 2600X is very nice with 12 threads but an overclock limit of perhaps 4.3.

For multitasking, 2 x 8gb is the way to go.

There are some very good graphics upgrades out there today.
GTX1070 would be a big boost over your GTX1050.
I think I would look at the upcoming GTX1660ti which should perform better and be cheaper.

 

[supahotfire21]

thank you i tested ingame on trying on epic settings (highest) where i got 50-70 fps average. and i switched to low settings where i got 100-110 average. also on the lowest i switched to stretch res.

 

[supahotfire21]

500W does not speak about the quality nor reliability of the PSU. Please include the make and model of the unit and it's age.

i know the wattage isnt the important thing to a psu, but the psu quality is irrelevenat for this thread

 

[Lutfij]

i know the wattage isnt the important thing to a psu, but the psu quality is irrelevenat for this thread

Hmm, so you're saying that the quality of your PSU doesn't affect the path you take in terms of upgrades?

 

[geofelt]

Your test tells me that your i5-7400 is strong enough and that your first upgrade would be the graphics card.
In theory, a 500w psu is sufficient for a GTX1070.
Here is a chart for other options:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

The make/model of your psu can be important.
A cheap psu will not deliver advertised power.
An older unit will deliver power to the 3.3 and 5.5 rails, not on the 12v rails where modern processors and graphics cards need them.
Perhaps more important, a cheap psu that fails under load will not have the protective circuitry to keep from damaging other parts.

Hopefully, this caveat is not an issue for you.
Here is one list of psu quality:

PSU Tier List [OLD]

Credit to @Starelementpokeand @Energycore for helping out with this long-awaited refresh of the old PSU tier list by Aniallation (who previously went several months without logging in), leaving the old list in need of help. This is simply an update of the list that was flawed in creation by the P...

linustechtips.com

 

[King_V]

It also strongly depends on your monitor:

• What is its native resolution?
• What is its refresh rate?
• Does it have FreeSync, GSync, or neither?

 

[DSzymborski]

i know the wattage isnt the important thing to a psu, but the psu quality is irrelevenat for this thread

PSU quality is always relevant when discussing any GPU upgrade. To offer counsel on GPU upgrades without inquiring about PSU quality is malpractice.