GPU upgrade vs full upgrade

Associate
Joined
16 Nov 2014
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529
Hi all,

Running a 1070ti with a 4690k overclocked to (I think, 4.3ghz - not at it atm) and 16gb of fast RAM.

Considering upgrading to an RTX 2070 - mainly playing MW/GTA Online. Not doing anything like rendering or editing, purely a gaming machine.

Is my CPU likely to be throttling my performance and should I consider changing this first?


Thanks
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2008
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11,616
Location
Finland
If you're playing any newer games quad core CPU will be bottleneck.
Though if monitor is 60Hz that might not be much in most games.
But with just four threads background processes and Windows needing CPU time will cause fps drops in more demanding games.
Because CPU simply doesn't have "enough workers to do many tasks simultaneously".
 
Associate
OP
Joined
16 Nov 2014
Posts
529
Fire up monitoring tools to check. Task Manager, Afterburner,and so on
Best monitoring tool?
If you're playing any newer games quad core CPU will be bottleneck.
Though if monitor is 60Hz that might not be much in most games.
But with just four threads background processes and Windows needing CPU time will cause fps drops in more demanding games.
Because CPU simply doesn't have "enough workers to do many tasks simultaneously".

Thanks EsaT - i'm running a GSync monitor, up to 144hz. I understand the concept of cores' impact on performance, but my understanding was that some games don't necessarily suffer too much if only 4 cores are still in play. I also am not doing anything else at the same time (no big apps/programmes running or no second screen). I think i'll probably wait for next-gen stuff and do a whole new build - this is mainly due to looking at 2nd hand prices and realising there's not much value in my current rig to put towards a replacement.
 
Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2008
Posts
11,616
Location
Finland
Thanks EsaT - i'm running a GSync monitor, up to 144hz. I understand the concept of cores' impact on performance, but my understanding was that some games don't necessarily suffer too much if only 4 cores are still in play.
Old games and those made for Intel stagnation era hardware aren't bottlenecked much compared to modern CPUs.
But newer heavy games demand more.
For example Assassin's Creed Odyssey scales even past 8 cores:
https://youtu.be/vVjdhXAdKE0?t=1m50s

And such demands are going to start increasing fast in heavier games:
Next-gen consoles coming in fall/before Christmas bring pretty much underclocked for energy efficiency 8 core/16 thread 3700X as base level for game developers.
 
Soldato
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15 Oct 2019
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11,656
Location
Uk
Hi all,

Running a 1070ti with a 4690k overclocked to (I think, 4.3ghz - not at it atm) and 16gb of fast RAM.

Considering upgrading to an RTX 2070 - mainly playing MW/GTA Online. Not doing anything like rendering or editing, purely a gaming machine.

Is my CPU likely to be throttling my performance and should I consider changing this first?


Thanks
I think your best upgrading CPU, MB and ram first then waiting till the new RTX30 series and Radeon 6000 before making a Gpu upgrade as the GTX 1070ti is still a very good card and upgrading it to an RTX2070 isn't going to give you much of a boost for the price you will be paying.
 
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