[SOLVED] What should I upgrade for gaming?

[TayJ4]

I'm currently looking to upgrade my PC to get more FPS out of the game Escape from Tarkov, as well as other games in the future. I'm not really sure what to upgrade next, however I was thinking about a GPU because it's usually the most important upgrade however EFT is a ram/cpu intensive game, so maybe I should attempt to do a mobo/cpu/ram/case/cooling upgrade instead? I'm not looking to break the bank and eventually plan on upgrading both but as of now I have around $450 to put in.

My specs:
Core i5-3340
EVGA GTX 960 SC (2 GB)
Dell 084J0R Mobo
Corsair CX600M
500 GB WD Blue SSD
1 TB 7200 RPM HDD (running at Sata 3)
8 GB SK HYNIX DDR3 1600Mhz
Windows 10 64-bit
Stock Dell Inspiron 660 case and cooling.

 

[Barty1884]

Escape from Tarkov is relatively CPU intensive, so the 3340 is probably holding you back at this stage.... Although paired with a 960, it's probably a decent pairing.

As you upgrade one or the other (CPU or GPU), the issue is likely to become more noticeable.

~$450 is a solid budget.... it's a little short of "ideal" IMO, but you're so, so close.

EXample:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor ($85.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB OC Video Card ($159.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Total: $428.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-22 13:22 EDT-0400

NOTE this assumes you can find the Ryzen5 1600 "AF" at $85, it's MSRP. The "AF" is a Ryzen5 2600 is all but name.

Now, this means reusing your current PSU... which wouldn't be preferred route to go, as it's not particularly good quality or known to be overly reliable for the long-term. Given the components I'm proposing though, it should be ok for a while.

If you could squeeze in a little bit more into the budget, the newer CX (like the CX450) would be a great choice for the money:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Q7...onze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020120-na

 

[TayJ4]

Escape from Tarkov is relatively CPU intensive, so the 3340 is probably holding you back at this stage.... Although paired with a 960, it's probably a decent pairing.

As you upgrade one or the other (CPU or GPU), the issue is likely to become more noticeable.

~$450 is a solid budget.... it's a little short of "ideal" IMO, but you're so, so close.

EXample:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor ($85.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB OC Video Card ($159.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Total: $428.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-22 13:22 EDT-0400

NOTE this assumes you can find the Ryzen5 1600 "AF" at $85, it's MSRP. The "AF" is a Ryzen5 2600 is all but name.

Now, this means reusing your current PSU... which wouldn't be preferred route to go, as it's not particularly good quality or known to be overly reliable for the long-term. Given the components I'm proposing though, it should be ok for a while.

If you could squeeze in a little bit more into the budget, the newer CX (like the CX450) would be a great choice for the money:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Q7...onze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020120-na

Seems like a pretty solid list, do you think it's worth neglecting the GPU for some time to put more of my budget towards the rest of the components?

 

[Barty1884]

Seems like a pretty solid list, do you think it's worth neglecting the GPU for some time to put more of my budget towards the rest of the components?

You could argue that, yes.
However, if you upgrade the platform and continue with the 960, it's shortcomings are going to be more noticeable.

A revision to free up PSU budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor ($85.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $448.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-22 13:48 EDT-0400

However personally, I wouldn't spend ~$120 on an RX570. It's a great 1080p/60Hz card, no doubt about it..... but there's an abundance of them available on the used market for more in the ~$70 range.
If you're not comfortable with used components (there's always a risk), then a new 570 @ ~$120 is still a good card.

 

[TayJ4]

You could argue that, yes.
However, if you upgrade the platform and continue with the 960, it's shortcomings are going to be more noticeable.

A revision to free up PSU budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor ($85.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $448.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-22 13:48 EDT-0400

However personally, I wouldn't spend ~$120 on an RX570. It's a great 1080p/60Hz card, no doubt about it..... but there's an abundance of them available on the used market for more in the ~$70 range.
If you're not comfortable with used components (there's always a risk), then a new 570 @ ~$120 is still a good card.

Thank you for the great suggestions, I think I'll probably upgrade the system as a whole with my budget and some of the parts on this list then put better parts in as time goes on.