Upgrade Help

[Leej065]

Hello! Im a bit stuck on what to do I was thinking about upgrading to a new graphics card (specifically the GTX 1660 Super), I currently have a MSI GTX 970,Intel i7 4790k, 16GB ddr3 Ram. Should i just upgrade the graphics card or should i do a whole system rebuild? I dont play games that are that graphically intensive but I do want to play cyberpunk when it comes out with some decent frames.

 

Thanks in advance!

[bellabichon]

What's your budget? The 4790K is still a perfectly fine CPU in 2020, so I might recommend you go with something newer and more powerful, like an RTX 3070 (if you can get your hands on one when they launch).

[Leej065]

Just now, bellabichon said:

What's your budget? The 4790K is still a perfectly fine CPU in 2020, so I might recommend you go with something newer and more powerful, like am RTX 3070 (if you can get your hands on one when they launch).

I wanted to keep it rather cheap. (Hence why i was looking at the 1660s) as I said the games I play don't really warrant something like a 3070. Its more that my pc has been running slow and im struggling to pinpoint it and at this point I'm assuming its graphics card/cpu. For example if i run nvidia shadow play and play warzone at the same time i get 30 fps if im lucky and thats most settings on low 

[bellabichon]

Just now, Leej065 said:

I wanted to keep it rather cheap. (Hence why i was looking at the 1660s) as I said the games I play don't really warrant something like a 3070. Its more that my pc has been running slow and im struggling to pinpoint it and at this point I'm assuming its graphics card/cpu. For example if i run nvidia shadow play and play warzone at the same time i get 30 fps if im lucky and thats most settings on low 

Warzone is pretty GPU-bound, and your CPU is pretty powerful, so I would pinpoint your GPU as the source of your low framerate. If you don't have the cash to dish out for a 3070, that's completely understandable, but you're not going to find a better GPU for $500 any time soon. As an added note, Nvidia will be (eventually) releasing some more mid-low range cards in the coming months (most likely an RTX 3060, 3060Ti/Super, etc). That, coupled with AMD's Big Navi on the way, means that buying a 1660 Super right now doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because you'd already be buying a generation behind. 

[Leej065]

3 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

Warzone is pretty GPU-bound, and your CPU is pretty powerful, so I would pinpoint your GPU as the source of your low framerate. If you don't have the cash to dish out for a 3070, that's completely understandable, but you're not going to find a better GPU for $500 any time soon. As an added note, Nvidia will be (eventually) releasing some more mid-low range cards in the coming months (most likely an RTX 3060, 3060Ti/Super, etc). That, coupled with AMD's Big Navi on the way, means that buying a 1660 Super right now doesn't make a whole lot of sense, because you'd already be buying a generation behind. 

Yeah that's a very good point about the 1660 Thank you! I'll probably try save the extra money and get a 3070. My only issue is wont it bottleneck?

[bellabichon]

9 minutes ago, Leej065 said:

Yeah that's a very good point about the 1660 Thank you! I'll probably try save the extra money and get a 3070. My only issue is wont it bottleneck?

Bottlenecking isn't really a yes/no situation. It all depends on what games you play and at what resolution. If you have a weaker CPU and you're playing CPU-bound games, your CPU will be the limiting factor in your performance, and vice-versa for your GPU. Resolution is a similar idea. If you're playing at 4K, your GPU will be working harder than your CPU, so it'll be the limiting factor. If you're playing at 1080p, that's fewer pixels for your GPU to calculate, so your CPU might be the limiting factor. 

 

Overall, I wouldn't worry. Most games these days are so GPU-bound that have a CPU that's a few generations old isn't a big deal.

[Leej065]

4 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

Bottlenecking isn't really a yes/no situation. It all depends on what games you play and at what resolution. If you have a weaker CPU and you're playing CPU-bound games, your CPU will be the limiting factor in your performance, and vice-versa for your GPU. Resolution is a similar idea. If you're playing at 4K, your GPU will be working harder than your CPU, so it'll be the limiting factor. If you're playing at 1080p, that's fewer pixels for your GPU to calculate, so your CPU might be the limiting factor. 

 

Overall, I wouldn't worry. Most games these days are so GPU-bound that have a CPU that's a few generations old isn't a big deal.

Thank you will try and grab some extra cash and get my hands on a 3070 You've been very helpful! Thanks again