Upgrade CPU or GPU

Oct 1, 2018
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Good Morning All

I am looking for advice in regards to upgrading. since GPUs are pretty expensive at the moment. I would like your opinion on making the right choice to upgrading my system.

Currently Running
Intel i7 4790k (overclocked to 4.68)
Asus Dual Gtx 1060 6GB
16Gb of Ram
Asus Z96m-plus
Samsung SSD

Which option would make more sense for upgrading at the moment.

1) Leave all components the same and upgrade to 1080Ti and purchase 4k monitor.

2) Keep my 1060 and upgrade to 8700k with new associated mother board and ram cpu cooler etc

price point are pretty much the same after I add up all the components compared to card and monitor.

any insight would be greatly appreciated.
 
Solution
I have a similar setup with a GTX 1080 ti and a 4790K at 4.8GHz. At 4K it runs just as good as any newer computer. You can get 4K 60 fps with that setup in just about any game. For some games you will have to lower the graphics settings to do it though. But yeah at 4K there is little need to worry about CPU bottlenecking. In fact you could even underclock the CPU if you wanted and still have some headroom. It's simply unnecessary to have a faster CPU in your case. If you wanted 1440p 144hz a faster CPU would help you stay at higher fps for longer and would average a bit higher fps but still it wouldn't be totally necessary to upgrade. Upgrading the graphics card and monitor makes more sense for you.
If everything runs fine, I don’t see the point upgrading. Looks like you want to game on 4K, then 1080ti and 4K screen makes more sense. Overclocking your 4790k is still close to top tier single core, I won’t get 8700k at this point. However, 1440p 144 FPS is better gaming experience if you play FPS games.
 
Oct 1, 2018
4
0
10
To be specific in my upgrades here is the comparison

8700k ($499)
Asus Rog Z370-E ($259)
G Skill 16Gb Ram 3200Mhz (249)
Noctua D15 ( $141)
NZXT h700i ($259)

Total is 1413 before taxes

or

EVGA GeForce 1080ti FTW3 ($1049)
Ben EL287U 28" 4K HDR ($499)

Total is 1549 before taxes

 
A perennial question, here is my stock approach:
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.
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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.
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Your cpu is till a very good one.
I would not expect for it to be the limiting factor .
I think I would buy my 4k monitor and see how you do.
Going 4k does not necessarily demand as much from the cpu as it does from the graphics card.

If you really need more cpu grunt, look for the upcoming 9th gen intel K processors.
 
This is the most sensible if you are wanting to game at 4k today. The 1080Ti will still be the bottleneck at 4k not your CPU.

"1) Leave all components the same and upgrade to 1080Ti and purchase 4k monitor."

I personally think 1440p is the sweet spot for gaming especially if you are looking at 27" monitors as it is very hard to see difference between 2k and 4k at that monitor size. That was my move 2 years ago, 2k(1440p) monitor and a 1070 until 4k makes it more mainstream ie. doesn't need a $600 GPU.

 

King_V

Illustrious
Ambassador
geofelt's approach is the correct way to go, especially if your monitor is 1920x1080@60Hz and you plan on sticking with that monitor.


That said, what is your goal here? Do you feel your current setup is falling short?


Finally, to address some other points being made, given how intensive 4K can be even against a 1080Ti, I'd actually suggest something like going to a 3440x1440 monitor, and then using a 1080 or 1080Ti GPU to pair with it. I can't speak for everyone, but my eyes aren't going to be able to take advantage of 4K at most monitor sizes.

That's if you like 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratios, of course.

Alternately, a 2560x1080 monitor (again, ultrawide), and then a GTX 1070 is more than enough to handle it. Alternately, a Vega56, since it seems there's far more FreeSync 2560x1080 monitors available than there are GSync.
 
I have a similar setup with a GTX 1080 ti and a 4790K at 4.8GHz. At 4K it runs just as good as any newer computer. You can get 4K 60 fps with that setup in just about any game. For some games you will have to lower the graphics settings to do it though. But yeah at 4K there is little need to worry about CPU bottlenecking. In fact you could even underclock the CPU if you wanted and still have some headroom. It's simply unnecessary to have a faster CPU in your case. If you wanted 1440p 144hz a faster CPU would help you stay at higher fps for longer and would average a bit higher fps but still it wouldn't be totally necessary to upgrade. Upgrading the graphics card and monitor makes more sense for you.
 
Solution