To upgrade my CPU/Mobo or wait until GPU's drop?

Black_adder

Black_adder

Black_adder

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Joined
21 Jan 2008
Posts
52
Hi all,
So currently im running:
1060 3gb
Overclocked and watercooled i7-2700k
Asus P8Z77-v Pro
16gb Ram
SSD's.

Overall my rig runs ok but im definately not hitting high FPS on the Medium/High settings for gaming at 1080p-4k (Star Citizen, Ship Breaker, Dying light)

Would it be more worth it to wait for GPU prices to become reasonable or to upgrade my CPU/Mobo?

Am i going to see a worthwhile improvement from say, a Ryzen 7 5800X... or is the GPU my true bottleneck?

Im short on budget (£400-500ish) and would like to do 1 or the other first, and then save for the second...

Thanks for any advice.
 
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I'd probably save up and then upgrade everything at once, AM5 / raptorlake is coming out later this year and also the next gen Gpus should be arriving in about 5 months.
 
Yeah the current gen stuff always drops a lot once the newer products are revealed, Gpus are already dropping in price every month now and will continue to do so.
 
Black_adder said:
Suggests that the price of current gen will drop a lot?
Click to expand...

New cheaper Ryzen 5000 chips are supposed to be coming out soon, AMD rumored to launch not one but four new consumer Ryzen CPUs this month (guru3d.com).
GPU prices are falling and intel might release its gpu series to desktop May/June, which might bring availability up and prices down, Rumor: High-end Intel Arc Alchemist Video Cards will be released in May/June (guru3d.com)

So hopefully prices and availability will improve by July. Obviously waiting until Ryzen on the AM5 platform should bring prices even lower on the older parts. You will notice that your PC is quicker for tasks like internet browsing when you upgrade your PC, I noticed a nice difference going from a i2500k to the Ryzen 3600. However, the i2500k still provided an enjoyable experience in the older games that I enjoy. If your experience is still ok then there is no harm in holding on to what you have
 
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Black_adder said:
Hi all,
So currently im running:
1060 3gb
Overclocked and watercooled Q6600 cpu
Asus P8Z77-v Pro
16gb Ram
SSD's.
Click to expand...
I'd be surprised ;) (... As the cpu and MOBO are different generation /socket)

Overall my rig runs ok but im definately not hitting high FPS on the Medium/High settings for gaming at 1080p-4k (Star Citizen, Ship Breaker, Dying light)

Would it be more worth it to wait for GPU prices to become reasonable or to upgrade my CPU/Mobo?

Am i going to see a worthwhile improvement from say, a Ryzen 7 5800X... or is the GPU my true bottleneck?

Im short on budget (£400-500ish) and would like to do 1 or the other first, and then save for the second...

Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

I'd go for the CPU + MOBO + RAM upgrade at this point... The GPU will still hold it back, but not as much as your old kit would hold back a new GPU!

Also, GPU prices are still insane at the moment, but CPU etc. are back where they should be.
OCUK have the b450 tomahawk motherboard for under £60, which us a total bargain.
I'd also replace your psu, if it's as old as the rest of your rig.
Should be able to fit a 5600x build in budget, I'm on my phone but will drop some links when I have time.
 
TrojanWhore said:
I'd be surprised ;) (... As the cpu and MOBO are different generation /socket).
Click to expand...

Ugh i'm an idiot. That's my older rig. This one is an i7-2700k, with the Asus P8. Nice catch and now i feel silly.
However! My original point still stands that i feel like upgrading my GPU is'nt going to be efficient because i'll be CPU bottlenecked, as you said. Doesn't seem worth grabbing a 3060 and then not having the CPU to handle it.
I'd be willing to shell out more for a futureproof CPU/MOBO now, and then wait for the GPU prices to drop... Other people are mentioning the new AM5 stuff coming out soonish... that might allow me to pick up a ryzon 9 or something.

My PSU is a high quality modular 750w so I think im ok there. I'll look at it closely at it when it comes time to picking a GPU.
 
Black_adder said:
Ugh i'm an idiot. That's my older rig. This one is an i7-2700k, with the Asus P8. Nice catch and now i feel silly.
However! My original point still stands that i feel like upgrading my GPU is'nt going to be efficient because i'll be CPU bottlenecked, as you said. Doesn't seem worth grabbing a 3060 and then not having the CPU to handle it.
I'd be willing to shell out more for a futureproof CPU/MOBO now, and then wait for the GPU prices to drop... Other people are mentioning the new AM5 stuff coming out soonish... that might allow me to pick up a ryzon 9 or something.

My PSU is a high quality modular 750w so I think im ok there. I'll look at it closely at it when it comes time to picking a GPU.
Click to expand...
Your motherboard, cpu and ram will net you £150 in the used market paying for a cpu like the 12400f. A b660 Motherboard and memory would be £150+ depending model which isn't bad for a move to a modern platform.
 
Black_adder said:
Ugh i'm an idiot. That's my older rig. This one is an i7-2700k, with the Asus P8. Nice catch and now i feel silly.
Click to expand...
No worries, was just poking fun :)

2700k is still a pretty good chip for it's age, but I definitely noticed the difference going from my old 2500k (4.4GHz) to Ryzen 1700 and again a noticable (but smaller) increase in responsiveness/smoothness when I upgraded to the 3700x, I think the jump from your i7 to Zen 3/Alder lake will be very noticeable, even with a 1060.

Thrown together a basic AM4 bundle below, I've assumed your watercooling is custom loop so included a block, but obviously if not just swap out for a AIO/Air cooler, or might be able to get a mounting kit for your current cooler. Also you could step up to a 5800x/5900x if you wanted more cores
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £376.46 (includes delivery: £10.50)​






​

or an intel based build (I'd stick with DDR4 tbh, the price jump to DDR5 doesn't seem worth it! As Micky said above, 12400f is probably the best bang for buck at the moment - about £170 but OCUK don't seem to have them yet)

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £266.47 (includes delivery: £10.50)​





​

I'd also stick a 1TB nvme drive in there while you're at it:
My basket at OcUK:

Total: £88.69 (includes delivery: £8.70)​



​

....but as others have suggested, if you're happy to wait, you may be able to get something better for the same money in a few months when the new generation stuff lands
 
So, i'm actually about to click Checkout on a more expensive build, for futureproofing. Im looking at:


Total: £799.40 (includes delivery: £10.50)​

Ooorrrr I go for a GPU:

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3060Ti Vision OC V2 LHR 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-1E6-GI) = £629.99

Which is going to get me more for gaming?
 
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Your 1060 will be the limiting factor if you upgrade your cpu first, and in games you might get some improved low fps but otherwise I doubt you will tell the difference with the naked eye between your current rig and the new one with the 1060 in place. Having said that I would buy the cpu first and then save up to get the gpu, prices are continuing to come down on gpus. https://youtu.be/fFbSPP-kgHQ

https://youtu.be/hoMgJ8tLCH8
 
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If you are going to upgrade something right now then I'd be more inclined to do the CPU + MB etc as Gpus are still over priced and likely to drop a lot by the time you've saved up some more cash so you may end up being able to get the 3060ti for around £450 rather than the 600+ they are going for now.
 
My advice would be trying to get an RRP 3070/6800 when they drop, failing that CPU/MB/Ram, at 4k a gpu will make a much bigger difference, at 1080p the cpu more so.
 
I would also just upgrade the GPU.

I use a 3300X with a 3080 and it’s fine.

4 cores and 8 threads is fine for most games.

spend your hard earned money on a 3070 or 3060 ti if you want 1440P gaming.

12th gen has that early adopters tax and £500 gets you either a GPU or a mobo, CPu and ram.

I see you quoted a higher spec PC and I do love the 12700K for it’s performance per £, I just think pairing a 12700K with a GPU that isn’t really bottlenecked as is is a waste. Your computer would then open games very quickly and you’d still be stuck on medium settings.

12600K is much cheaper by the way and better value for money.

it’s really your money at the end of the day.
 
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