Will Upgrading from a Dual-Core to a Quad-Core Improve FPS?

[thatweirdwhale]

So I current have a Intel Core i3 2130 @ 3.40GHz and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 on my PC. I noticed with all these new titles coming out that my PC is struggling to provide 60 Fps the majority of time i'm playing these games. So the main question im asking here is will upgrading from my Intel Core i3 2130 to a Intel Core i5-2500 improve my over all FPS performance!?

I was wondering that it might be my GPU also, but all requirements for the new titles meet my GPU model (EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 SC 2GB)

I really want to know if its worth the money to buy a new CPU or a new GPU? Or maybe both?!

 

[Outlander_04]

In some games it wont make any difference
In some games it will
Most likely to have the biggest effect in online play

 

[IndyAJD]

If you play more demanding games like BF4, than its likely both the CPU and GPU aren't capable of running on ultra @ 60 FPS. If you have the money, upgrading to a nice i5 and a 760 or 770 should help.

 

[ikaz]

Once you should check to see if you CPU usages is peaking in your favorite game

 

[IndyAJD]

Yes, this can be done by opening task manager and going to the performance tab.

 

[Rationale]

Most games I suspect you're being limited by your GTX 660 - in the newest and most graphically demanding titles on ultra you can only expect 40+ fps. I used to have a GTX 660 myself. Ofc the GTX 750 Ti I switched to is actually 3-4 fps slower so I just aim for 35+ fps, but there were extenuating circumstances around that.

In a few games you will be limited by the i3-2130, but not all, probably not even many. Who knows, perhaps none. It's something you can test easily, however.

 

[thatweirdwhale]

Once you should check to see if you CPU usages is peaking in your favorite game

Yes I do notice in Multi-player games i lag alot more than in single player!

 

[thatweirdwhale]

Most games I suspect you're being limited by your GTX 660 - in the newest and most graphically demanding titles on ultra you can only expect 40+ fps. I used to have a GTX 660 myself. Ofc the GTX 750 Ti I switched to is actually 3-4 fps slower so I just aim for 35+ fps, but there were extenuating circumstances around that.

In a few games you will be limited by the i3-2130, but not all, probably not even many. Who knows, perhaps none. It's something you can test easily, however.

So would a better CPU give me better frames in multiplayer games? and/or Single Player games?

 

[thatweirdwhale]

Once you should check to see if you CPU usages is peaking in your favorite game

Yes, this can be done by opening task manager and going to the performance tab.

If it is peaking does it mean that its the CPU that need upgrading? or the GPU?

 

[Rationale]

Once you should check to see if you CPU usages is peaking in your favorite game

Yes I do notice in Multi-player games i lag alot more than in single player!

Multiplayer is almost always more stressful than single player, it doesn't necessarily mean the CPU is bottlenecking.
If at least one core of your CPU is consistently hitting, or near, 98-100%, then it's a CPU bottleneck. If neither core is at/near 100%, replacing the CPU would not offer significant performance improvements. That can be checked using several monitoring programs, but the quickest way to check would be what other people have already said; the Windows task manager.

 

[thatweirdwhale]

Once you should check to see if you CPU usages is peaking in your favorite game

Yes I do notice in Multi-player games i lag alot more than in single player!

Multiplayer is almost always more stressful than single player, it doesn't necessarily mean the CPU is bottlenecking.
If at least one core of your CPU is consistently hitting, or near, 98-100%, then it's a CPU bottleneck. If neither core is at/near 100%, replacing the CPU would not offer significant performance improvements. That can be checked using several monitoring programs, but the quickest way to check would be what other people have already said; the Windows task manager.

Alright got ya! I have enough info now! Thanks so much for the support