Question What should I upgrade on my PC first?

[RobotsGo.rar]

Hi all, I'm an avid mid-ranged PC gamer and with new games announced at E3, and more coming by the end of the year I thought that I should upgrade my PC but i dont know what to upgrade first.

I was thinking of getting a better gpu, then a 144hz monitor (I currently have a 1920x1080 60hz display), followed by 16gb ram then an ssd. But what order do you all think i should upgrade/get first?

I can only buy one upgrade at a time so for the first hardware upgrade I can spend around $350 or less.

My specs are:

cpu: i7-7700 @3.6ghz (8cpus)
gpu: GTX 1050Ti DDR5 4gb 128bit
Ram: Kingston Hyper-X DDR4 8gb
PSU: Seasonic M12II 620w
motherboard: Asus H110M-D
storage: HDD seagate Barracuda Sata 1Tb

 

[Pizza PowerXYZ]

What is the mhz of the ram?


If that's 3000 or up it's good

The thing I would tell you to get is NOT a 1440p monitor
The cost about how much you have
And your system isnt that beefy
If you can get a 144hz 27inch monitor or even a 240hz monitor!
Tant is if you can push it

 

[AngelTech]

GPU Monitor RAM SSD that's what I believe and a 1660Ti is a good budget option and also a pretty good GPU and a good upgrade from the 1050Ti and just get a good budget gsync panel for monitor 144hz would be an ideal upgrade

 

[Pizza PowerXYZ]

Well, if your using a gtx 1050ti
I would suggest to upgrade that
But you'd have to wait
The best price/performance is the rtx 2060 or 2070
I have the 2070 and I get above 100fps EASILY on demanding games
Like far cry 5 or rise of the tomb raider...

It does cost $600 for the gaming z but ti does really well


What is your ram speed?
In mhz
Just check your bios

 

[cryoburner]

I was thinking of getting a better gpu, then a 144hz monitor (I currently have a 1920x1080 60hz display), followed by 16gb ram then an ssd.

Yeah, for gaming, upgrading the graphics card would likely give you the largest performance uplift. Probably to something like an RTX 2060 if you want to spend around $350, or perhaps a GTX 1660 Ti if you want to spend less and simultaneously pick up additional RAM or an SSD.

You might also want to see what upcoming graphics cards have to offer though, if you are not in a hurry to upgrade immediately. AMD will be launching their RX 5700 in a few weeks, which will likely be a little faster than Nvidia's RTX 2060, though it will also apparently be priced a little higher, while lacking dedicated raytracing hardware, so I'm not entirely convinced on that card's value. They haven't announced any new cards priced below the 2060 yet either. There are also rumors that Nvidia might be announcing an updated RTX lineup soon though, perhaps with price cuts to existing models. So, it might be worth looking into reviews and announcments in these coming weeks.

 

[RobotsGo.rar]

Well, if your using a gtx 1050ti
I would suggest to upgrade that
But you'd have to wait
The best price/performance is the rtx 2060 or 2070
I have the 2070 and I get above 100fps EASILY on demanding games
Like far cry 5 or rise of the tomb raider...

It does cost $600 for the gaming z but ti does really well


What is your ram speed?
In mhz
Just check your bios

it's only 2400 mhz

 

[RobotsGo.rar]

Yeah, for gaming, upgrading the graphics card would likely give you the largest performance uplift. Probably to something like an RTX 2060 if you want to spend around $350, or perhaps a GTX 1660 Ti if you want to spend less and simultaneously pick up additional RAM or an SSD.

You might also want to see what upcoming graphics cards have to offer though, if you are not in a hurry to upgrade immediately. AMD will be launching their RX 5700 in a few weeks, which will likely be a little faster than Nvidia's RTX 2060, though it will also apparently be priced a little higher, while lacking dedicated raytracing hardware, so I'm not entirely convinced on that card's value. They haven't announced any new cards priced below the 2060 yet either. There are also rumors that Nvidia might be announcing an updated RTX lineup soon though, perhaps with price cuts to existing models. So, it might be worth looking into reviews and announcments in these coming weeks.

I might be able to wait a couple of weeks, will look further into AMD though, never really used any card of theirs. thanks.

 

[geofelt]

Your i7-7700 is still a good gaming processor.
Likely, a graphics card upgrade would be best, particularly if you play fast action games.
Your Seasonic 620w psu is excellent quality and will support even the strongest of upgrades.
I might suggest something like a GTX1660ti.

Intel does not depend on ram speed for performance when using discrete graphics.
No need to change that. 8gb is ok so long as you are not multitasking while gaming.

Past that, you can upgrade in any order you want.

A SSD will make everything you do feel snappier.
I like the Samsung EVO. If the used portion of your 1tb HDD can fit on the ssd, Samsung supplies a good C drive mover app.

Take your time on the monitor.
Save up for a really good one because they are relevant for a long time.
If you can see one in person, that is best.
I would look at larger/wider units.
Look for a 4k monitor, they are getting cheaper and you can always dial back the resolution.
IPS type panels with 178/178 viewing angle will look best, but those with tn panels will be faster.
Pick tn if you value fps over all else. The value of g.sync/freesync and such is probably not worth the extra cost. there are driver buffering solutions do accomplish much of the same frame matching functions.

If your ram is a single 8gb stick, you could take a chance and buy a second matching stick.
Proper operation is not 100% guaranteed, ram must be matched.
Likely your odds are perhaps 90% of success.
Not bad assuming you can return your purchase if it does now work nice with your old ram.


Here is my stock answer to this perennial question.

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.
------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

[cryoburner]

Look for a 4k monitor, they are getting cheaper and you can always dial back the resolution.

They are not likely to find a 4K monitor with a refresh rate higher than 60Hz though, at least not without spending around $1000 or more. And unless one is going with a very large screen in the 32+ inch range, they likely won't notice that much difference in detail between 4K and 1440p anyway. At least not enough to justify the huge price difference, or otherwise lack of high refresh rates for a gaming system. It's possible to find 27-32" 144Hz 1440p screens for not much more than $300, and decent frame rates in most modern games should be possible at that resolution on graphics cards within that budget. Or a number of 24-27" 144Hz 1080p screens can be found for around $200 or less.

Also, Freesync shouldn't add significantly to a monitor's cost, and is featured in many of these lower-priced 144Hz screens, so it would definitely be worth looking for a screen that supports that feature. Chances are, you are not going to push over 144 fps in most games, so having a variable refresh rate can help make unstable frame rates appear smoother while eliminating screen tearing. As long as the screen supports Freesync over a DisplayPort connection, the feature should work on Nvidia cards as well now. Nvidia has certified a handful of DisplayPort Adaptive Sync (Freesync) screens as being "G-sync compatible", and those will enable the feature automatically, but it can also be manually enabled in the graphics card's control panel for other Freesync displays.