PC Build Questions

rowdyjosh02 · December 27, 2022

Budget (including currency):

Country:

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

this is for one of my friends, there existing setup is a 9700k on a asus z390-e with a 1070ti with the ram thats in that list. He plays 1080p 144hrz but looking towards 1440p 144hrz, im wondering if its worth him upgrading from the 9700k to the i7 13700k or if he should stick with what he has and just upgrade gpu.

SleepDeprivationTheITGuy · December 27, 2022

Going from 1080p to 1440p isn't really a reason to upgrade the CPU, it could actually decrease the load on the CPU depending on what game is being played. The 9700K definitely is getting slightly long in the tooth at this point but I think that you should throw a GPU in there before you decide whether or not to upgrade the CPU. Think about it like this; you're going to need to upgrade the GPU anyways because the 1070 Ti is not at all fit for 1440p/144fps gaming, so upgrade the GPU first. You don't need to change anything else other than maybe the power supply.

If it meets their needs this way without further change, then a CPU upgrade can wait and they'll save a little money. If it does end up being needed, then you can just order a new CPU, motherboard, and maybe cooler if the current one isn't up to a 13700K, if it is you can probably just get LGA 1700 mounting brackets for it. That's all you really need. You don't need a new case and new storage unless storage space is also an issue and upping resolution isn't all they want.