Upgrade GPU or CPU?

[albin.farme]

Hi.

I am looking to upgrade my rig to handle Destiny 2 and upcoming titles better.

I am currently running Destiny 2 on a 144Hz monitor but I am not always at 144 fps which obviously is not optimal (I am usually around 90-110 with some low lows and high highs).

I have a few questions: Should I upgrade my GPU or CPU? If I choose to upgrade my CPU I will have to replace the motherboard as well as the one I currently have uses an outdated socket slot.

If I upgrade the GPU to say a GTX 1080, will my CPU or motherboard be too weak for the GPU to be run properly? It seems like it would fit as my 970 fits without problem.

My specs currently:

Fractal Design Define R4 (space in the chassi is not a problem)
Corsair CX 750M, 750W PSU
ASUS P9X79 LE, Socket-2011, PC-REP
Kingston DDR3 HyperX blu 1600MHz 16GB
Intel Core i7-3820 Processor
Nvidia GTX 970.

If there is anything I missed then I will happily add more information.

 

[vapour]

For 2k gaming, upgrade your GPU to 1080 first, i7-3820 is still very good for 2k gaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T95XesfH5Q
GTX 970 can not cut it for 2k gaming.

 

[albin.farme]

For 2k gaming, upgrade your GPU to 1080 first, i7-3820 is still very good for 2k gaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T95XesfH5Q

Okay, thank you for your quick reply.

Follow up question: do you know if the GTX 1080 would fit on my motherboard?

I have been looking at a few 1080s and the length seem to be around 280mm and my motherboard only has a width of about 245mm, will this be a problem in a tower chassi?

 

[gasaraki]

With your specs, upgrade the GPU for sure. 1080 or 1080Ti will keep your frames at 144.

 

[vapour]

mb is fine, what case do you have? If too small, 1080ti will be too big.

 

[albin.farme]

mb is fine, what case do you have? If too small, 1080ti will be too big.

I have a Fractal Design Define R4, which I think is pretty large? It's a tower chassi. I'll check the dimensions and add them to this post.

Found them: 232mm x 464mm x 523mm

 

[vapour]

will fit just fine

 

[albin.farme]

will fit just fine

Big thanks for your help.

Now I can safely buy a 1080 without being worried. Marking your answer as solution.

 

[vapour]

welcome and good luck. Do remember to delete old gpu drivers before you install your new gpu