Upgrade Advice

[Want0n]

Hullo!

I'm currently running an i5-4690K (4 cores, 4 threads) in an H97-HD3 (socket LGA 1150), with 12 Gb of DDR3 across 4 sticks. Graphics card is a Geforce GTX 970. I've been running this for a few years without major problems, but it's just starting to creak on the newer games, especially at 1440 resolutions, which is native for my monitor.

After some advice - what's likely to give the biggest performance boost for gaming? Newer graphics card, or new mobo/cpu (and presumably memory?). Looking to minimise the spend (and time upgrading/reinstalling) if possible. In essence, is it time to retire the mobo/cpu/memory yet?

Cheers in advance!

 

[koooowweeee]

Definitely a GPU upgrade will get you more power. What's your budget ? A 2070s will give you a very nice boost. I would overclock your CPU if you haven't already

 

[EsaT]

If you play only older games made in four cores is high end Intel stagnation or lighter games, then GPU.
In newer heavier games by todays standards really low end 4c/4t CPU is bottleneck if you upgrade GPU.

For example Assassin's Creed Odyssey already scales past 8 cores.
And next-gen consoles bringing slightly underclocked variant of 8c/16t Ryzen 3700X will certainly start core demand increase in multiplatter games.

 

[sideways14a]

Maybe a job for a really cheep AM4 board and a 1600AF?

 

[Grim5]

GPU will almost always five you better performance but really you need a new cpu and gpu

 

[CWorange]

My second rig has a 4670k @ 4.5 ghz and I recently upgraded the GPU to a GTX 1650S (comprarable to a GTX 980 non TI) from an old HD 7850 and although only 4GB it's actually quite fast (for what is is) @ 1080p res it's a huge gaming boost for games that are slightly older. I would say you could get a nice new GPU now and simply move it over to a new build later on that way you could substantially improve gaming now - although with bottleneck in some situations and in some games until you finally upgrade to a new CPU/mobo/DDR4 unit.

 

[jokerguv]

Definitely a GPU upgrade should be top on the list.

Other than that, regarding your question on whether its time to retire your setup? Well you got two options:

1. The quick and easy option; which would be to keep it as is and be on the lookout for a cheap i7 4790/4770. 8-threaded Haswell parts still have some life left, especially with the newer games and consoles on the horizon that would likely benefit from the increased thread count. However, finding a cheap i7 4790/4770 is easier said than done and given its price/time/effort involved, you might as well just go for...

2. The more time-consuming option; which would be to sell your existing setup and, depending on how much you wanna spend, upgrade to the latest AMD/Intel part whichever you fancy.

 

[Want0n]

Thanks all, some great advice there. Looks like a new GPU for now, before gutting the thing in about 12 months. Much appreciated!

 

[Terrorfirmer]

It does really depend on the games. In some newer ones, the i5 will cripple performance. You really need the new CPU platform and GPU combo.

Stuff like COD or Apex - struggle on with the i5 and new GPU.

Stuff like Assassins Creed/new Battlefield - I'd genuinely prefer a Ryzen 3600 + GTX970 over an i5-4th gen + whatever. At least you can always play at low settings with the 970 for high framerate (and games these days at low still look pretty good)