Upgrade cpu or GPU first

[Johnnyboyhogg]

Hi all so I'm currently running a i3 2120 on a h61 motherboard with 8gb ddr and a r7 360 GPU should I upgrade the cpu to a i5 3570 or go for a GPU upgrade I use my rig for gaming and a plex server thanks in advance 

[ARikozuM]

CPU should be done first.

[edwbob]

25 minutes ago, Johnnyboyhogg said:

Hi all so I'm currently running a i3 2120 on a h61 motherboard with 8gb ddr and a r7 360 GPU should I upgrade the cpu to a i5 3570 or go for a GPU upgrade I use my rig for gaming and a plex server thanks in advance 

GPU is essential for gaming. If you really want a good framerate, GPU should be priority #1. However, GPU will also be bottlenecked by your CPU, so you wont unleash its full potential until that CPU is upgraded. Is overclocking possible for you? if so, that would be a nice way to round out the performance in the meanwhile. Here is a video about this: 

 

 

[Johnnyboyhogg]

1 minute ago, edwbob said:

GPU is essential for gaming. If you really want a good framerate, GPU should be priority #1. However, GPU will also be bottlenecked by your GPU, so you wont unleash its full potential until that CPU is upgraded. Is overclocking possible for you? if so, that would be a nice way to round out the performance in the meanwhile. Here is a video about this: 

 

H61 motherboard and i3 2120 can not overclock and my GPU gas a small oc on the core already 

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 minute ago, edwbob said:

GPU is essential for gaming. If you really want a good framerate, GPU should be priority #1. However, GPU will also be bottlenecked by your GPU, so you wont unleash its full potential until that CPU is upgraded. Is overclocking possible for you? if so, that would be a nice way to round out the performance in the meanwhile. Here is a video about this: 

 

 

i3 2120 is non-overclockable because it's not a k unlocked part and i3s of that era were never designed with overclocking in mind. I believe it's only when 7000 series came along was there ever a k unlocked Core i3 part.

[Kamina]

A GPU.

[edwbob]

Just now, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

i3 2120 is non-overclockable because it's not a k unlocked part and i3s of that era were never designed with overclocking in mind. I believe it's only when 7000 series came along was there ever a k unlocked Core i3 part.

OK, good to know. Thanks for the info!

 

[bowrilla]

Well … depends on what you're aiming for? GPU would be a good choice IF you get one for a decent price. The issue is: all the mid range cards are sold out or horribly overpriced. Getting a RX470/480 or RX570/580 is almost impossible and when there are a few ones available you have to pay up to 100% premium or more thanks to Ethereum mining. GTX 1060s are also rising in price, supply is also running lower and lower and 1070s are again overpriced af thanks to mining.

So while GPU would be a good choice in a regular market situation, right now I'd say : get a new mainboard, CPU and matching RAM. Thanks to Ryzen, upcoming Threadripper and Intels i9 launch prices are pretty attractive. Since your board is really old there's no sensible update available. If it was a Z87 or Z97 board, story would be different but a H61 chipset – well, it's obsolete. So new cpu, board and ram are on the list. Gaming on a budget: i5 6600k/7600k or Ryzen 5 1600. Just Gaming: probably i7 6700k/7700k and still Ryzen 5 1600 as an alternative. Productive work: go Ryzen 7 1700 or 1700X (all Ryzen 7 are technically identical, it's pure chip selection).

But keep in mind that you will have to get a GPU as soon as possible (or as soon as prices are dropping) to really benefit from your upgrade. Both your cpu and gpu are fairly old and are in dire need of an upgrade.

[Johnnyboyhogg]

5 hours ago, bowrilla said:

Well … depends on what you're aiming for? GPU would be a good choice IF you get one for a decent price. The issue is: all the mid range cards are sold out or horribly overpriced. Getting a RX470/480 or RX570/580 is almost impossible and when there are a few ones available you have to pay up to 100% premium or more thanks to Ethereum mining. GTX 1060s are also rising in price, supply is also running lower and lower and 1070s are again overpriced af thanks to mining.

So while GPU would be a good choice in a regular market situation, right now I'd say : get a new mainboard, CPU and matching RAM. Thanks to Ryzen, upcoming Threadripper and Intels i9 launch prices are pretty attractive. Since your board is really old there's no sensible update available. If it was a Z87 or Z97 board, story would be different but a H61 chipset – well, it's obsolete. So new cpu, board and ram are on the list. Gaming on a budget: i5 6600k/7600k or Ryzen 5 1600. Just Gaming: probably i7 6700k/7700k and still Ryzen 5 1600 as an alternative. Productive work: go Ryzen 7 1700 or 1700X (all Ryzen 7 are technically identical, it's pure chip selection).

But keep in mind that you will have to get a GPU as soon as possible (or as soon as prices are dropping) to really benefit from your upgrade. Both your cpu and gpu are fairly old and are in dire need of an upgrade.

The board and ram will not be getting updated that's not a option for me right now, a second hand i5 3570 can be picked up for  £50-60 and I know GPU prices are all over the place right now which is part of the reason for the question 

[Ground]

You could also check if you can find a used Xeon e3 1230 or 1230 v2 - it is basically an i7, so you would be able to get a little bit more performance. If the price difference is to big then stay with the i5.
GPU - hope that the mining craze ends soon and buy once they all get dumped onto the market.

[bowrilla]

26 minutes ago, Johnnyboyhogg said:

The board and ram will not be getting updated that's not a option for me right now, a second hand i5 3570 can be picked up for  £50-60 and I know GPU prices are all over the place right now which is part of the reason for the question 

Sorry, missed that info with the i5. 

£50–60 is quite a lot compared to like an Ryzen 5 1400 (new £146.99) or 1500X (new £166.74). It might buy you another year? Would be the absolute limit for me in that case. Tried to find an i7?

[Johnnyboyhogg]

I'm not to fussed about only getting another year or so out of it as hopefully by then il be able to do a full system up grade and then my current system will be handed down to one of my kids

[Johnnyboyhogg]

Just a update ended up picking up a i5 3470 for £40