Upgrading: PSU or mobo/cpu/ram?

[morbid_slayer_25]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and I hope to find some answers among the Tom's Hardware community. But first, my specs:

Windows 10
GPU: R7-370
CPU: i5-4670 3.40Ghz, LGA1150
RAM: Ripjaws X Series 2x8Gb 1600 (PC3 12800)
MOBO: Asus Z-87k
Storage: Kingston SSD 120Gb, Segate 1TB

So, the problem is, I'm saving up for a Geforce GTX1080 but according to Bottlenecker, my CPU is causing an 18% bottleneck. I checked the most generations of i7 and with a mobo and new RAMS, it's pretty costly. Sooo, I'm at a loss.

Would it still be worth getting a 1080 even with the bottleneck? I wanted to take full advantage of my 4K TV.

Should I just wait and save up to get a full i7/mobo/RAMs combo? It'll take a while to save up enough, though.

Or should I just buy an i7 for my current mobo before getting the 1080?

Many thanks to whomever will take the time to help me out.

 

[jay32267]

Well.....right now.....I'm thinking your 1060 is a small bottleneck.

If you go to a 1080....that will change to your CPU.....but I still think you will see significant improvement in games.

Upgrading your MB/CPU/RAM isn't going to get you much in games.

So if it were me....I might go for the 1080....and then upgrade the rest of the stuff later and I'd still have the 1080.

 

[Barty1884]

What PSU do you have?

Don't put too much weight into "bottlenecker"..... it really depends on the workload.

For 4K gaming, the CPu will matter a bit less. While an i7 would be nice, for 4K, you'd benefit from the upgraded GPU more than anything else.

 

[morbid_slayer_25]

My PSU is a 850 watts Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro. Power doesn't worry me too much. So I could still get 4k with such an old CPU? Mind you, if I can't get decent 4k, I don't mind playing at 1080p with better graphics. I'll wait for a few more advices but so far, picking up a 1080 and upgrading the rest later seems like the best idea.

 

[jankerson]

My PSU is a 850 watts Cooler Master M2 Silent Pro. Power doesn't worry me too much. So I could still get 4k with such an old CPU? Mind you, if I can't get decent 4k, I don't mind playing at 1080p with better graphics. I'll wait for a few more advices but so far, picking up a 1080 and upgrading the rest later seems like the best idea.

Yes, you can move the GTX 1080 to a new system later.

At 4K it's all about the graphics card, not so much about the CPU.

 

[Barty1884]

You'll benefit more from a GPU upgrade currently, although a CPU upgrade wouldn't hurt.

I'd opt for the 1080 (or 1080TI if you can stretch to it - would be helpful for 4K) and upgrade the CPU if/when you need it.

 

[morbid_slayer_25]

I just realized I type PSU instead of GPU in the title, sorry about the confusion. :O

Thanks for the help, peeps, I'll focus on the GPU fo now, then. thanks again!

 

[geofelt]

"bottlenecker" is considered as junk science.

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.

If it turns out that you need more cpu core speed, look to upgrading to a I5-4690K or a I7-4790K and plan on overclocking which your Z87 motherboard will allow you to do.