CPU vs GPU Upgrade

[tjwally]

Hi guys

 

Was wondering what I should upgrade first. Currently I have:

 

• AMD FX 6300
• GTX 960 4GB

And I want to upgrade to:

• i5 7600k
• RX 580 (I have a freesync monitor)

I can only afford each upgrade at a time and I'm not sure which one would be best to do. Any advice???

[Damascus]

1 minute ago, tjwally said:

• i5 7600k

Dude don't get an i5.  Get an r5 1600 + b350 mobo instead for the same price for 6c/12t SO MUCH BETTER.

 

Definitely CPU first though

[21rkosta]

i would go cpu first, the current cpu is still a bottleneck to your current gpu, it would be a much larger bottleneck to your new planned gpu

[tjwally]

4 minutes ago, Damascus said:

Dude don't get an i5.  Get an r5 1600 + b350 mobo instead for the same price for 6c/12t SO MUCH BETTER.

 

Definitely CPU first though

do you think a r5 1400 would also be ok? i don't really need the extra 2 cores

[Zyndo]

8 minutes ago, tjwally said:

Hi guys

 

Was wondering what I should upgrade first. Currently I have:

 

• AMD FX 6300
• GTX 960 4GB

And I want to upgrade to:

• i5 7600k
• RX 580 (I have a freesync monitor)

I can only afford each upgrade at a time and I'm not sure which one would be best to do. Any advice???

my advice would be to not get a 7600k. get an R5 1400-1600 and a cheap B350 motherboard instead. once you make that change, you will also find that you will have more money left over and be a lot closer to your desired GPU as well.

[hadouken317]

3 minutes ago, tjwally said:

do you think a r5 1400 would also be ok? i don't really need the extra 2 cores

If you're going through a place like MicroCenter, the $30 cost difference seems almost negligible to me... 

 

I second the Ryzen 5 1600 + B350 motherboard suggestion. Also through a MicroCenter, you would save $50 if you bought CPU and Mobo in the same visit. If you were willing enough to spend the money for the 7600K, either of these Ryzen 5's wouldn't be an issue.

 

 

EDIT: Also, good luck landing an RX580 for anything near MSRP

[HelpMeOrIWillSuffer]

CPU first definitely. The GPU you can upgrade later mate.

[tjwally]

Should probably say, I'm from Europe :')

 

But probably will go with a Ryzen chip first

[SPARTAN VI]

Assuming "gaming" is your priority, then I'd actually back the RX580 choice. That is... if you can actually find one at a reasonable price. Cryptocurrency miners are snatching them up faster than AMD can stock them, which is driving up prices. Games will sooner bottleneck at your GPU before your CPU begins to show its age, so you'd see a large net gain out of upgrading that first, then your CPU/mobo at a later date. 

Ex: GTAV on equal GPUs, a FX-6300 vs. i7 6700K is a difference of 70-90fps vs 90-110fps. Whereas on equal CPUs, a GTX 960 vs. RX580 is roughly a 50% swing. Both at 1080P, but can't say how similar the settings are. 

[Zyndo]

15 minutes ago, tjwally said:

do you think a r5 1400 would also be ok? i don't really need the extra 2 cores

You could... but for only an extra 30 bucks you can get the 1600, which comes with more cache (as well as additional cores, frequency and a better stock cooler) which can be very helpful in gaming on the Ryzen architecture

 

and those extra cores will becomes much more relevant as the years go on.... more and more games are starting to support more and more cores. honestly for how little extra you need pay for a 1600, you would be crazy not to do this investment, especially considering you were talking about blowing money on  7600k, so you definitely have the funds as it is.

 

Here is a typical 7600k budget: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KXjtkT

 

Here is a typical r5 1600 budget: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hht9pb

 

sure both builds could be cheaper (or more expensive) depending on what you're looking for in a motherboard, I just picked ones which are reasonably priced and not missing out on any features. the 7600k also requires you to invest in a cooler to really milk the max potential out of the CPU, whereas the R5 comes with a good stock cooler to get a decent amount of overclocking out of your system as is.

 

 

so going R5 1600 saves you $120 right out the gate (although that is USD, being from Europe your prices may and will vary, but you're still going to be saving a ton of money against a 7600k choice) which gets you pretty much halfway to a 1060 6GB or RX480/580 of your choice.

[tjwally]

1 minute ago, Zyndo said:

You could... but for only an extra 30 bucks you can get the 1600, which comes with more cache (as well as additional cores, frequency and a better stock cooler) which can be very helpful in gaming on the Ryzen architecture

 

and those extra cores will becomes much more relevant as the years go on.... more and more games are starting to support more and more cores. honestly for how little extra you need pay for a 1600, you would be crazy not to do this investment, especially considering you were talking about blowing money on  7600k, so you definitely have the funds as it is.

 

Here is a typical 7600k budget: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KXjtkT

 

Here is a typical r5 1600 budget: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hht9pb

 

sure both builds could be cheaper (or more expensive) depending on what you're looking for in a motherboard, I just picked ones which are reasonably priced priced and not missing out on any features. the 7600k also requires you to invest in a cooler to really milk the max potential out of the CPU, whereas the R5 comes with a good stock cooler to get a decent amount of overclocking out of your system as is.

 

 

so going R5 1600 saves you $120 right out the gate (although that is USD, being from Europe your prices may and will vary, but you're still going to be saving a ton of money against a 7600k choice) which gets you pretty much halfway to a 1060 6GB or RX480/580 of your choice.

that makes a lot of sense, thanks

[Damascus]

56 minutes ago, tjwally said:

do you think a r5 1400 would also be ok? i don't really need the extra 2 cores

1600 has a better stock cooler