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GPU vs. CPU upgrade

pithball
By pithball
in New Builds and Planning
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my friend is planning to upgrade his monitor to a 1080p 144hz one, his current one is some old 1280x1024 75hz monitor which is dying, there are some dead pixels now and screen-tearing.

He mostly plays CSGO but I don't think that his i3-6100 and GTX 960 will keep up, what do you guys think that he should upgrade first? He will probably wait for Ryzen and Vega, he just wants to know what to upgrade first.

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My computers as of 2017/03

 

My Old PC

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Dell Vostro 260 $150 2010

CPU: i3-2120@3.3Ghz, GPU: Intel HD Graphics 2000, ATI Radeon X1300, RAM: 4GB Axevir Budget Series, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: random 250GB and random 160 GB, CASE: Crap from Dell, OS: Windows 7 Enterprise

My Current PC

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Custom Build $1200 2016

CPU: i5-6600k@3.6Ghz, GPU: Sapphire R9 Fury, RAM: 16GB Geil EVO X, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: Hitachi 500GB, CASE: Deepcool Kendomen, OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit

Laptop

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ASUS F8S $1150 2008

CPU: Core 2 Duo T7500, GPU: ATI 2400 Mobility, RAM: 8GB Mushkins, SSHD: 1TB Seagate Hybrid Drive, OS: Windows 7 Ultimate N and Windows 10 Professional

HTPC

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MSi Cubi $200 2016

CPU: Pentium 3805u@1.9Ghz, GPU: Intel HD, RAM: 4GB Crucial DDR3L, SSD: 120GB Radeon R7

 

Other Laptop

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HP 2210b $400 2009

CPU: Core 2 Duo T8100@2.1Ghz, GPU: Intel GM965, RAM: 2GB Hynix, HDD: Hitachi 160GB, OS: Linux Mint 17.3 and Lubuntu

*All Prices in the Canadian Dollar

 

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Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

get a good cpu first like a 6700k than get a rx 480 or a 1070.

a 6700k seems really overkill...

and the RX 480 and GTX 1070 aren't really in the same league.

 

Spoiler

My computers as of 2017/03

 

My Old PC

Spoiler

Dell Vostro 260 $150 2010

CPU: i3-2120@3.3Ghz, GPU: Intel HD Graphics 2000, ATI Radeon X1300, RAM: 4GB Axevir Budget Series, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: random 250GB and random 160 GB, CASE: Crap from Dell, OS: Windows 7 Enterprise

My Current PC

Spoiler

Custom Build $1200 2016

CPU: i5-6600k@3.6Ghz, GPU: Sapphire R9 Fury, RAM: 16GB Geil EVO X, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: Hitachi 500GB, CASE: Deepcool Kendomen, OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit

Laptop

Spoiler

ASUS F8S $1150 2008

CPU: Core 2 Duo T7500, GPU: ATI 2400 Mobility, RAM: 8GB Mushkins, SSHD: 1TB Seagate Hybrid Drive, OS: Windows 7 Ultimate N and Windows 10 Professional

HTPC

Spoiler

MSi Cubi $200 2016

CPU: Pentium 3805u@1.9Ghz, GPU: Intel HD, RAM: 4GB Crucial DDR3L, SSD: 120GB Radeon R7

 

Other Laptop

Spoiler

HP 2210b $400 2009

CPU: Core 2 Duo T8100@2.1Ghz, GPU: Intel GM965, RAM: 2GB Hynix, HDD: Hitachi 160GB, OS: Linux Mint 17.3 and Lubuntu

*All Prices in the Canadian Dollar

 

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Posted

id drop in an I5 6500 in that, then go for an RX 480

I spent $2500 on building my PC and all i do with it is play no games atm & watch anime at 1080p(finally) watch YT and write essays...  nothing, it just sits there collecting dust...

Builds:

The Toaster Project! Northern Bee!

 

The original LAN PC build log! (Old, dead and replaced by The Toaster Project & 5.0)

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"Here is some advice that might have gotten lost somewhere along the way in your life. 

 

#1. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

#2. It's best to keep your mouth shut; and appear to be stupid, rather than open it and remove all doubt.

#3. There is nothing "wrong" with being wrong. Learning from a mistake can be more valuable than not making one in the first place.

 

Follow these simple rules in life, and I promise you, things magically get easier. " - MageTank 31-10-2016

 

 

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For high refresh gaming like that, a strong CPU is important.

If he has a Z170 motherboard with a BIOS update that supports Kabylake, I'd suggest a 7600k with a good cooler and run the chip in the 4.8-5ghz area.

There's something cool here - you just can't see it.

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1 minute ago, nerdslayer1 said:

get a good cpu first like a 6700k than get a rx 480 or a 1070.

If he's running an i3-6100, I doubt he can afford a 6700k.  Besides, that could easily mean upgrading the motherboard to a Z series.

Make sure to quote or tag me (@JoostinOnline) or I won't see your response!

PSU Tier List  |  The Real Reason Delidding Improves Temperatures | "2K" does not mean 2560×1440 

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3 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

For high refresh gaming like that, a strong CPU is important.

If he has a Z170 motherboard with a BIOS update that supports Kabylake, I'd suggest a 7600k with a good cooler and run the chip in the 4.8-5ghz area.

I think thats what I'll do then, I'll go for something like a 66/7600k 

Spoiler

My computers as of 2017/03

 

My Old PC

Spoiler

Dell Vostro 260 $150 2010

CPU: i3-2120@3.3Ghz, GPU: Intel HD Graphics 2000, ATI Radeon X1300, RAM: 4GB Axevir Budget Series, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: random 250GB and random 160 GB, CASE: Crap from Dell, OS: Windows 7 Enterprise

My Current PC

Spoiler

Custom Build $1200 2016

CPU: i5-6600k@3.6Ghz, GPU: Sapphire R9 Fury, RAM: 16GB Geil EVO X, SSD: 240GB Radeon R7, HDD: Hitachi 500GB, CASE: Deepcool Kendomen, OS: Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit

Laptop

Spoiler

ASUS F8S $1150 2008

CPU: Core 2 Duo T7500, GPU: ATI 2400 Mobility, RAM: 8GB Mushkins, SSHD: 1TB Seagate Hybrid Drive, OS: Windows 7 Ultimate N and Windows 10 Professional

HTPC

Spoiler

MSi Cubi $200 2016

CPU: Pentium 3805u@1.9Ghz, GPU: Intel HD, RAM: 4GB Crucial DDR3L, SSD: 120GB Radeon R7

 

Other Laptop

Spoiler

HP 2210b $400 2009

CPU: Core 2 Duo T8100@2.1Ghz, GPU: Intel GM965, RAM: 2GB Hynix, HDD: Hitachi 160GB, OS: Linux Mint 17.3 and Lubuntu

*All Prices in the Canadian Dollar

 

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6 minutes ago, Hydraxiler32 said:

I think thats what I'll do then, I'll go for something like a 66/7600k 

Make sure you have a Z170/Z270 board first, otherwise you can't overclock.

 

I think you're going overboard.  An i5-6400 is going to work just fine.

Make sure to quote or tag me (@JoostinOnline) or I won't see your response!

PSU Tier List  |  The Real Reason Delidding Improves Temperatures | "2K" does not mean 2560×1440 

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