CPU or GPU upgrade?

[glhf21]

So this is my first post in the forum and I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but I have a question that has been on my mind for a while now. Upgrade my CPU or GPU? I mainly play online games such as Battlefield, CoD Modern Warfare, Rocket League, WoT and occasionally games like GTA V and Borderlands (mainly playing CoD as of now). I also use it for school work as I am in college. My main concern is newer AAA games as I have to play on medium-high settings to get 80-90fps where I'd like to play on high-ultra settings and get 120-130fps. I did just recently upgrade from a 75hz monitor and I'd like to be able to take advantage of my new FPS potential. I know I should probably upgrade my GPU due to lack of VRAM, but I don't want to bottleneck my CPU. Playing CoD I've been noticing stutters and freezes since I've started playing. I've been considering the RX 5700 non XT and XT models, but also open to 20xx Supers but not so much considering price to performance of the 5700 cards. Any insight is appreciated!

 
PC Specs:

-i5 8400 (stock cooler)

-MSI RX 580 4gb
-MSI B360M Bazooka mobo

-16gb Corsair Vengeance @2666mhz

-1tb HDD
-500w PSU (upgrading to a 750w EVGA Supernova)
-1080p 165hz monitor w/ Freesync

[Juular]

Well, it's tough, you'll likely need to upgrade both to get to 120-130 FPS, you may try to upgrade GPU first but this CPU will struggle to keep up. Speaking of PSU, you don't need 750W for this (or any single-GPU gaming build) and if you're referring to EVGA G3 or G5, they're inferior both in terms of performance and price to other offers. I'd recommend either Enermax Revolution D.F 650W, it's on sale for 80$ now, or Corsair RM550x for the same price.

[glhf21]

6 minutes ago, Juular said:

Well, it's tough, you'll likely need to upgrade both to get to 120-130 FPS, you may try to upgrade GPU first but this CPU will struggle to keep up. Speaking of PSU, you don't need 750W for this (or any single-GPU gaming build) and if you're referring to EVGA G3 or G5, they're inferior both in terms of performance and price to other offers. I'd recommend either Enermax Revolution D.F 650W, it's on sale for 80$ now.

I figured that was the case. I feel whatever route I go, it will benefit my PC equally, but just in different ways. Regardless, a bottleneck will still occur. Just more of a debate as to which will benefit gaming more. Both will eventually be upgraded within a year though. As for the PSU, it's a G5 and currently on sale for $69 on Newegg after rebate (originally $139). I know it's overkill, but I will never have to worry about having enough power and it's a great deal. 

[Juular]

26 minutes ago, glhf21 said:

I figured that was the case. I feel whatever route I go, it will benefit my PC equally, but just in different ways. Regardless, a bottleneck will still occur. Just more of a debate as to which will benefit gaming more. Both will eventually be upgraded within a year though. As for the PSU, it's a G5 and currently on sale for $69 on Newegg after rebate (originally $139). I know it's overkill, but I will never have to worry about having enough power and it's a great deal. 

It's just that this PSU is kinda lower-performance than expected from it, even Corsair TXm for the same price would be better.

[xXfunn105Xx]

It would be a good idea to get some performance monitoring software (msi afterburner) and play the games you usually play. Record the % usage of both your CPU and GPU on those games, the higher one is likely holding you back more. Until you do that, i personally wouldn't feel comfortable reccomending anything to you. I did the same when i had a 1050 TI and an FX 8120, upgraded the FX first because it was the more limiting factor and i noticed the difference. On a side note, the 5700 and 5700 XT(i own this one) are awesome value, often trading blows with the 2070 super but priced against the 2060 super. My 5700 XT runs every game that i have tried above 120 fps in 1080p and i am now getting into VR and 1440p and both perform great. Hope this helps!

[glhf21]

46 minutes ago, xXfunn105Xx said:

It would be a good idea to get some performance monitoring software (msi afterburner) and play the games you usually play. Record the % usage of both your CPU and GPU on those games, the higher one is likely holding you back more. Until you do that, i personally wouldn't feel comfortable reccomending anything to you. I did the same when i had a 1050 TI and an FX 8120, upgraded the FX first because it was the more limiting factor and i noticed the difference. On a side note, the 5700 and 5700 XT(i own this one) are awesome value, often trading blows with the 2070 super but priced against the 2060 super. My 5700 XT runs every game that i have tried above 120 fps in 1080p and i am now getting into VR and 1440p and both perform great. Hope this helps!

That's a good idea with afterburner, but isn't it ideal to have your GPU at 100% during games? Good to hear good things about the 5700XT though. 

[xXfunn105Xx]

7 minutes ago, glhf21 said:

That's a good idea with afterburner, but isn't it ideal to have your GPU at 100% during games? Good to hear good things about the 5700XT though. 

Mine is at about 60 to 70% on average. 

[Ru5h]

What you also tend to find is that at 1080p, higher end cards will yield higher fps but will actually have a lower usage %. My 2070 does it, but runs games so easily. As you go into 1440p gaming it will go up to 100% eventually and then you'll see the performance ceiling