Question What do I need to get the most of my Apex Legends performance wise?

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THJohn

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Jun 2, 2013
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Hello!

Looking for some advice to get the most bang for my buck, it's for playing Apex Legends.

So my (very old) setup used to be:

- i5 4590
- R9 390
- 8 GB DDR3 RAM
- 250 GB SSD
- 2 TB HDD
- GIGABYTE GA-Z97P-D3 motherboard
- Cooler Master V650 PSU
- Windows 10
- Simple 1080p monitor @ 60Hz

Now i have replaced my GPU with a MSI GTX 1080Ti 11GB.
Also i have upgraded my RAM to 16GB
Also i have bought a 1080p monitor which supports 165Hz refresh rate.

I get around 70-120 fps in Apex Legends now at 1080p. It's inconsistent. But still for me its an amazing upgrade coming from just a 60Hz monitor.
I still play some other games and i think my old i5 4590 is kind of bottlenecking my 1080ti. (CPU is 95%-99% usage all the time playing, sometimes even freezing due to 100%)

I would love to upgrade my system without breaking the bank. I just want to make it happen to play Apex Legends on a constant 144Hz/FPS or 165Hz/FPS.
Low settings does not matter, it's even better for me playing this game.

So my questions are:

- Is the 1080Ti GPU even capable of running Apex Legends at 144FPS constantly? Or even 165FPS? Again, low settings does not matter.
- If the GPU can't handle it let me know, then i won't be upgrading for this game.
- If the GPU can indeed handle it, i would like to know what CPU/MOBO/RAM I need to just make it happen, I don't need futureproofing or scalability. I would like to upgrade to at least DDR4, my DDR3 system has had it's best days.
So no breaking the bank, i would like to just spend what I need in order to achieve this goal.

I have researched a lot but i'm not up to date enough anymore so know i will be really helped out with some advice. I have no preference for AMD or Intel but would love to see both options.

Thanks in advance,

John
 
What kind of budget are you working with and where are you shopping?

Apex calls for a 6th gen i3 minimum. I don't know if it is an instruction set issue or if something like the 4th gen i7 would be workable. IMO, if you have some cash and faith I would probably look towards a used 2xxx Ryzen based AM4 system. If you try to go used Intel (and in spite of the bad rap) an 11th gen should be workable pretty cheap.

I think the 1080ti is still relevant enough to continue using until a next upgrade jump.

.02
 
Thanks! I was looking a few weeks ago into 4th gen i7's, i'm also not sure if that would get me the results i want. I don't think FPS calculators are very reliable and as far as i can see upgrading the CPU on this old socket won't cut it. I have cash to spend, but i just don't want to spend more than i need to get the job done. I hope and think €300-350 max will get the job done. (This is for a new or used CPU/MOBO/RAM combo).

Indeed a 11th gen i5 might do it. I heard about the bad reps of 11th an 12th gen Intels. Not really afraid of that though. Would you advice me to go AMD since a lot of people claim "it's better for gaming"? I don't know and it takes me awful lot of time to figure everything out. I think it has a lot to do with actual clockspeeds and LVL 1,2,3 cache memory on the CPU.

Yes for me the 1080ti does an amazing job, very happy with it. I will check out the 2xxx Ryzen series see if i can verify.
 
Everything up to 12th gen Intel is fine. 13 and 14 gen K skews have a degradation issue. 11th gen got a bad rap and in honesty unless you can score a whole system trying to piece something together on that is probably not worthwhile. 12th gen here have been on great pricing but that is starting to fade as stock runs out and so on.

AM4 is a great value place even still, in spite of its age. There are some great deals even on new CPU here in the states. Motherboards tend to be the issue in this space.

AM5 are probably the most desirable consumer end gaming CPU available at this moment in time. This would also be your money route. It is safe to say that anything in this line will be well beyond the capabilities of that aging legend in the 1080ti. It will instantly be the weak point for the next upgrade route. Since you have a 1080 monitor as well this probably won't be an immediate issue.
 
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Since lowering settings does not do anything, I conclude that your cpu is the limiting factor.
The strongest processor that your motherboard can support is the I7-4790K.
You can buy one on ebay for about $55.

With a decent cooler you can probably overclock that for an extra 25%.


More than that, you are looking at not only a stronger cpu but also the requisite motherboard and possibly ram.
 
Not possibly, definitely ram. Nothing useful beyond 4th gen that uses DDR3. Getting a hybrid DDR3L 6th gen board and CPU is not a smart move.

And honestly to all of these, you should probably look at 1TB NVMe SSD.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YV...tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds100t3x0e

12600K, DDR4 on the cheap.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($128.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE PLUS 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $328.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:31 EDT-0400

12600K DDR5, reasonable

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($128.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z790 PRO RS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($87.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $402.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:32 EDT-0400

More future proof AMD:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($135.99 @ MSI)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $433.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:34 EDT-0400
 
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geofelt said:
Since lowering settings does not do anything, I conclude that your cpu is the limiting factor.
The strongest processor that your motherboard can support is the I7-4790K.
You can buy one on ebay for about $55.

With a decent cooler you can probably overclock that for an extra 25%.


More than that, you are looking at not only a stronger cpu but also the requisite motherboard and possibly ram.
Click to expand...
Yes i agree! Thanks for confirming this.
 
Eximo said:
Not possibly, definitely ram. Nothing useful beyond 4th gen that uses DDR3. Getting a hybrid DDR3L 6th gen board and CPU is not a smart move.

And honestly to all of these, you should probably look at 1TB NVMe SSD.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YV...tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds100t3x0e

12600K, DDR4 on the cheap.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($128.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE PLUS 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $328.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:31 EDT-0400

12600K DDR5, reasonable

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($128.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z790 PRO RS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($87.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $402.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:32 EDT-0400

More future proof AMD:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($135.99 @ MSI)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $433.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-03 11:34 EDT-0400
Click to expand...
Thanks you very much for these sets and links. This is exactly what i need, it gives me a clear understanding of what i need to achieve my goal. The more futureproof one is an excellent addition for this also thanks for taking the time to help me out.
 
punkncat said:
Everything up to 12th gen Intel is fine. 13 and 14 gen K skews have a degradation issue. 11th gen got a bad rap and in honesty unless you can score a whole system trying to piece something together on that is probably not worthwhile. 12th gen here have been on great pricing but that is starting to fade as stock runs out and so on.

AM4 is a great value place even still, in spite of its age. There are some great deals even on new CPU here in the states. Motherboards tend to be the issue in this space.

AM5 are probably the most desirable consumer end gaming CPU available at this moment in time. This would also be your money route. It is safe to say that anything in this line will be well beyond the capabilities of that aging legend in the 1080ti. It will instantly be the weak point for the next upgrade route. Since you have a 1080 monitor as well this probably won't be an immediate issue.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your information, appreciated. Indeed i will stay on 1080p for now so it's all good.
 
geofelt said:
13/14th gen SKU's(pronounced as skew) processors did have a problem.
It was first reported in 2022 and was prevalent in 2023.
The root cause has been identified and fixed since the summer of 2024
Read about it from an authoritative source, namely Intel.
https://community.intel.com/t5/Mobi...en-Desktop-Instability-Root-Cause/m-p/1633442
The latest info comes from may 2025.
https://community.intel.com/t5/Mobi...-Vmin-Shift-Instabilty-Update-New/m-p/1686948
Click to expand...
Thank you for your information, i've read about it a few months back i thought it was the 11th & 12th gens. Good too see it was fixed.
 
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