What upgrade will Impact my PC perfomance most? GPU or CPU

[juliushoh]

Please read this before answering

I recently built a gaming PC with a Ryzen 1500x and an 8gb RX 580 and was wondering what should I purchase to get more power out of gaming: Another RX 580 in crossfire or a Ryzen 1700x? Keep in mind that The CPU is and will be watercooled while the GPU's will not be.

Specs: AMD Ryzen 1500x w/ Silverstone TD-02 LITE
16GB DDR4 2400
Corsair RM750x PSU
Toshiba 1TB HDD
KingDian 240GB SSD
ASUS Prime B350 Plus
Corsair 270R

Thanks!

 

[sceypt]

Both of those should be able to run almost every game just fine? Would you not rather just wait for something new to come out? and I would just buy a new gpu if you really have to for some reason, but with all the miners atm buying a gpu is way too overpriced...

 

[Bob125484]

ownload MSI Afterburner or use window task manager to check CPU/GPU/RAM usage. If any of them runs at or near 100% consistently, then that one is bottleneck your system. Most games don't support SLI or X-fire, so better to get one strong GPU.

 

[geofelt]

Do some testing of YOUR games.

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

My guess is that a graphics upgrade will be most effective.
But... do not go the crossfire route.
You may win synthetic fps benchmarks, but your gameplay will be better with a single good card.
dual gpu is prone to stuttering, screen tearing, and non support in some games.
RX580 is a hot card.
You may be pushing it with only a 750w psu
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Your best option is to sell the RX580 in favor of a GTX1080 or GTX1080ti.

If your limit is cpu power, adding more threads with a 1700X is not likely to do much good.
ryzen 1500x and 1700X will overclock to perhaps the same 3.9 level if you get a good chip.
If you need a cpu replacement look for a I5-8600K or a I7-8700K each of which can oc to the 4.7-5.0 level
Unfortunately, that also includes a motherboard change.