What should I upgrade?

wallofillusion · 7 Oct 2018 at 12:36

Hi all,

I self built my PC around 5 years ago and it's starting to show it's age. I'm looking to upgrade certain components if it's worthwhile - I'd rather avoid starting again if I can help it.

The primary motivator for the upgrade is the fact that I've started playing CS:GO again after a few years away, and I can't reliably get a decent framerate unless I seriously reduce the video settings. But I don't really know if my motherboard can support a decent graphics card, or whether my CPU is the bottleneck.

Here's what I bought 5 years ago:

1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x MSI HD 7850 OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Cards £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 530W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £66.95
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99

I also have installed an SSD. Can anyone please advise?

mattyfez · 7 Oct 2018 at 13:46

What resolution are you running at and what do you class as decent frame rate?

arc@css · 7 Oct 2018 at 15:05

As above, resolution?

Is your processor overclocked?

That's a very similar system to what I had. Quite a plucky CPU as I recall.

twistedheat · 7 Oct 2018 at 22:30

I had a very similar system to yours, HD 7850, i5-4670k, Z87-c mobo etc.

I purchased a decent CPU cooler (I got a NH-U14s) and overclocked my CPU significantly to 4.5ghz, then purchased a decent graphics card (1060 6gb). On the second hand market the combined cost would be like £200, and you'll pretty much get 200% more performance at high settings. I went from 20fps on Witcher 3 Ultra to 60ish fps on Witcher 3 ultra. Whilst I don't expect 200% rise in CSGO as you'll eventually become CPU bound, you'll get a hell lot more fps at least double.

wallofillusion · 8 Oct 2018 at 12:12

Thanks for the replies.

I'd like to get over 100 fps during firefights, ideally. When there's 3-4 people on screen it gets a bit laggy (down to around 40-50fps). I'm playing at 1024x768 with everything turned down to low at the moment, which just about makes it playable. I'd like to be able to play the game at higher

My processor is not overclocked.

If a new cooler and GPU are the things I should be looking at upgrading, does anyone please have any recommendations?

arc@css · 8 Oct 2018 at 12:46

Definitely overclock that CPU. I assume you're using a stock cooler so just keep an eye on the temps.

EsaT · 8 Oct 2018 at 17:28

wallofillusion said:
can't reliably get a decent framerate unless I seriously reduce the video settings

That tells bottleneck is mostly caused by GPU.
Most of video settings don't affect CPU load much or any.

wallofillusion said:
If a new cooler and GPU are the things I should be looking at upgrading, does anyone please have any recommendations?

Scythe Mugen 5 would be good for very long time, regardless if you later upgrade PC with modern high end CPU.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/scythe-scmg-5100-mugen-5-cpu-cooler-hs-046-sy.html
(step below highest end)
Cryorig H7 is very good for price step lower cooler.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cryorig-h7-single-tower-heatsink-with-120mm-fan-hs-008-cy.html
Both should fit to any non-medieval case.

That PSU was low end budget PSU to start with, so would replace that.
Bitfenix Formula would be good starting level.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-550w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22y-bx.html
Antec Earthwatts Gold Pro would be semi-modular step up, with 7 year warranty.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ante...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-24m-an.html
And Seasonic Focus Plus very good fully modular PSU with 10 year warranty.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seas...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-05p-ss.html

wallofillusion · 9 Oct 2018 at 11:33

Thank you. I'm going to get the Cryoig H7 and the Antec PSU.

Does anyone have suggestions for the GPU?

alex crossland · 9 Oct 2018 at 17:17

I’d say your system is fine but I’d go for a gpu upgrade if it was me. You should be able to get a pretty decent frame rate on a 1060 but maybe wait and see what the 20 series cards do to second hand prices.

Swinbag · 22 Oct 2018 at 16:07

I'd definitely see if you can squeeze some more performance out of your CPU - CS:GO tends to like faster core clocks generally.

GPU-wise, if it's primarily CS:GO you're looking to play then I'd say a used GTX 980 or 1060 would be a great shout.