CPU vs GPU priority

[shoutingsteve]

I hear about all these folks on here building systems with 30x0 GPUs, spending anywhere from 800-2000 on graphics cards, then putting them into systems with i5 CPUs.   Am I missing something here or does that seem a little off course?  Why spend so much on a graphics card that gives you 15% increase over cards half the price (or less) but not spend the extra hundred or two to get more horsepower outta your CPU?
I can't be the only person prioritizing FLOPS over FPS?  Or am I just a curmudgeon? 

[Guest]

Triple A titles, you want 8 threads minimum and the biggest card you can get.

 

Gaming competitively something like CSGO, the CPU and memory frequency really helps a lot. 

 

Just depends on what you want to game.

 

We have 2700x paired with 2060 and it's a decent entry level 4k system. HTPC is how I have mine set up.

[Mister Woof]

All depends on what you want to do.

 

An 8 core isn't absolutely necessary for a high end GPU at modest resolutions, but the reasoning is that if you can afford an expensive high end GPU, why skimp on the processor?

 

A wider CPU will slightly improve gaming performance, open you up to better multitasking, and allow you to have room for growth if you decide to do things that require more cores.

[Quackers101]

Most recent big titles are more GPU demanding, although they can be CPU demanding too.

It just need to be fast enough to not bottleneck the GPU, older titles like CSGO is more focused on single core speed and recent generation is becoming more multi-threaded? You don't need the best CPU, however it can be nice for further generations if you buy at the "right time" and "right verison", as there is future tech upgrades soon (DDR5 memory,resizable bar etc, which might take 1-2 years).

 

Sadly with the pushing of "graphics" or rather more demanding visuals that might not always look great, some future games are going to be even more demanding and you shouldn't expect to hit certain FPS targets. So turning off many graphic options might be your safest bet and have a relativity newer gen GPU like a RTX3000 or 6000xt series. Until you can't run at 30-60 fps. as for the pushing of raytracing, streaming assets, and more which could affect older hardware.

[RONOTHAN##]

I'm with you in making sure that your CPU is just as powerful as your GPU, but for a lot of games it doesn't really make a difference. If in the games you're playing, buying an i9 doesn't give better performance than an i5, why not save the extra $200-300 and put it towards a baller keyboard or something? Personally, I buy the best CPU I can afford and then just constantly upgrade my GPU (the longest I've run the same GPU in my system is 1 year) and just upgrade my CPU platform every 3-4 years, but most people don't and something like an i5 is going to continue to perform great with their GPU for as long as they run it. 

[Mark Kaine]

rule of thumb is its better to be gpu bound cause u then can just lower settings, if youre cpu bound no such luck.

 

And yes many people seem to do the opposite…

 

 

Me, idk im lucky i already had a 3600, its pretty damn well balanced with my 3070.

 

But yes, generally a good cpu will go a long way, literally , maybe for 2 card generations even.

 

 

[Chris Pratt]

There's a lot of people that build PCs purely for gaming. For gaming alone single core perf matters more than anything else, and most games will run perfectly fine with 6c/12t. If you're literally not going to be using the rig for anything else, it doesn't honestly make much sense to go heavier on the CPU, even if you are spending a ton on a GPU.

 

However, I've personally never understood the whole buying/building a PC just to game. Consoles are a much better value, especially with GPUs being as insane as they are now. The point of a PC is that you can do other stuff on it as well, and that's where a better CPU starts to make a difference.

 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

6 core cpus like the 5600x are good gaming cpus without the need for paying for more cores that give marginal increases in gaming performance. Unless specified, most builds here are for gaming. if one has a set budget for a gaming build, the principle behind budget gaming builds has always been fastest gpu + cpu that does not bottleneck gpu. I don't think this has changed through the years.