Should I upgrade my GPU or CPU for gaming?

[Ghost_Kage]

Hello!

I am looking to upgrade either my GPU or CPU however I am not sure which would benefit me the most. My goal is to get more FPS on games like The Witcher 3 which I am currently getting on average about 30 FPS, however on lower settings. My goal is to get this to 45-60 FPS on higher settings. I am considering upgrading both CPU and GPU if necessary however not if only upgrading one would be adequate for my goals. From what I have read regarding my current CPU it could be causing the issue however I also read GPU's have a lot to do with frame rates and graphical settings.

Here is my current build:

Processor: AMD FX-4100 Quad-Core Processor, 3600 Mhz, 2 Cores, 4 Logical Processors
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6950
Motherboard: Gigabyte Technology, Model: GA-970A-D3
RAM: 16GB DDR3
Power Supply: 800W Corsair

I have also attached screenshots of these components in CPUID and GPU-Z:

GPU:

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CPU:

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Motherboard:

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Memory:

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SPD:

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I am currently looking at possibly the EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Super Clocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card and Intel Core i7-4790K Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.40 GHz) as replacements. Let me know if there is any other information I can provide and thank you in advance for any help!

-Ghost Kage

 

[Elixer]

Well, depends on how much you want to spend, the Core i7-4790K Processor is good, far faster than the CPU you got now, but you need a new motherboard, and possibly new RAM. You can reuse your old PSU though.
The 970 is subpar because of the 3.5GB & .5GB RAM partition.
IMO, better to get a 285/290(x)/380/390(x) card, for the coming DX 12 games, or a 960 or a 980 if you don't care about that.

 

[Ghost_Kage]

My total budget for both parts would be $600, however I would obviously like to get the most bang for my buck. What would you recommend CPU wise if I wanted to keep my current motherboard?

How would a AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor work in comparison to the i7 or my current processor?

Thanks for your response!

Edit: How much better is the 960 than my current AMD 6950?

 

[raghu78]

Definitely the GPU upgrade will provide a much better improvement than CPU for gaming. Your HD 695O is very old and completely outdated. Get a R9 390 or GTX 970 whichever you want.

btw overclock your CPU to 4.2-4.4 Ghz if you have a good CPU cooler (or invest in a good CPU cooler if you have the stock cooler).

http://www.techspot.com/review/1006-the-witcher-3-benchmarks/page5.html

You should be able to hit 60 fps at 1080p with Ultra settings and Hairworks off.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...nt_gameplay_performance_review/7#.Vekzivmqqko

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2015/07/09/msi-r9-390x/8

 

[Ghost_Kage]

Thanks for the info raghu! As the previous poster mentioned would the 960 be a better choice than the 970 due to the 3.5GB & .5GB RAM partition?

Thanks again!

 

[raghu78]

Thanks for the info raghu! As the previous poster mentioned would the 960 be a better choice than the 970 due to the 3.5GB & .5GB RAM partition?

Thanks again!

GTX 960 is a pathetic card. GTX 970 crushes it. 60% faster

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_960_Gaming/29.html
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming/27.html

but imo R9 390 is the better card. massive 8 GB VRAM which keeps you well prepared for future games. AMD is likely to provide better performance optimizations over the next 2-3 years for GCN products than Nvidia for Maxwell once Pascal launches in 2016. We have seen Kepler cards perform poorly in the latest titles over the last 12 months and there is definitely a chance that this trend will repeat in 2016/2017.

I would recommend the Sapphire R9 390 Nitro or MSI GTX 970 Gaming. go with whatever you like.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Sapphire-Nitro-Radeon-R9-390-8GB-Review

http://www.eteknix.com/sapphire-nitro-r9-390-8gb-graphics-card-review/14/

 

[Ghost_Kage]

Okay I'm liking the 970 since it is a little cheaper. This will work on my current motherboard?

 

[raghu78]

Okay I'm liking the 970 since it is a little cheaper. This will work on my current motherboard?

definitely. any PCI-E 3.0 graphics card will work on a PCI-E 3.0 or lower (2.0 , 1.0) graphics slot as its backward compatible. Your motherboard has PCI-E 2.0 16x graphics slot. Thats more than enough for GTX 970.

 

[Ghost_Kage]

You, my friend, are awesome thanks for all of your help!

 

[NTMBK]

For your budget, you could get both a Radeon R9 380 and an FX 8370. This would significantly improve both your GPU and CPU performance without needing to replace your motherboard.

By the way, which specific revision of the GA-970A-D3 do you have? Different versions of it have different CPU support- some models don't support the 8350 or 8370, according to Gigabyte's website. CPU-Z doesn't seem to have been able to determine the revision correctly, so you may need to check for writing on the motherboard itself or take a look in the BIOS.

 

[MeldarthX]

8320e and a 390.....390s pretty much similar price as the 970s but faster. 8320e is awesome cpu at 95w....and they OC much better than 8350s with lower volts.

mine hits 5ghz with 1.46v ave....once I got higher the volts start getting crazy...but you'll hit 4.7ghz without breaking a sweat...

both well within your budget...

 

[Headfoot]

second vote for 8320(e) + good CPU cooler + 290x/390/970 as a solid upgrade without having to change platforms.

 

[tential]

Id get a new cpu/mobo first then gpu later....

 

[KingFatty]

Are you particularly attached to your current CPU or motherboard? I say go all in and replace the motherboard/CPU and the video card.

 

[boozzer]

upgrade your cpu first and gpu 9 months to 1 year from now when 16nm hit the shelves.

 

[Techhog]

upgrade your cpu first and gpu 9 months to 1 year from now when 16nm hit the shelves.

This might be the best solution. A 6950 is still capable, and HBM2 + the die shrink should result in enormous performance increases.

 

[Gikaseixas]

8320e and a 390

And you can buy a SSD drive too if you don't have one

 

[tweakboy]

You have no bottleneck. Yes get the 970 GTX. sick card. Youll be set for couple years easy..... or play @ 4k res and what not..

 

[Ken g6]

Are you particularly attached to your current CPU or motherboard? I say go all in and replace the motherboard/CPU and the video card.

I agree if you don't plan to overclock. Intel generally looks better than AMD for TW3.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.90 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($75.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: *EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($308.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $597.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-04 23:55 EDT-0400

Look, I fit an SSD in there too! If you already have an SSD, get a H97 with 4 RAM slots, and maybe a slightly better i5.

 

[Elixer]

8320e and a 390.....390s pretty much similar price as the 970s but faster. 8320e is awesome cpu at 95w....and they OC much better than 8350s with lower volts.

mine hits 5ghz with 1.46v ave....once I got higher the volts start getting crazy...but you'll hit 4.7ghz without breaking a sweat...

both well within your budget...

This is a good way to go as well...

It still depends on what your plans are though.
If you want a short term fix for the current crop of games, then, yeah, a 9xx will be faster than your 6950, but, you are going to be CPU limited unless you start to O/C the CPU. (You would have the same issue with a 285/380/390 card as well.)

If you want to go with a longer term plan, then you get a 285/380/390 card, then you will be set for when DX12 games ship, and you can do what MeldarthX suggests.

If you are looking to not upgrade again for a few years, then, that is when you would get a intel CPU + new mobo + new RAM + new video card.

 

[Ghost_Kage]

Thank you everyone for the assistance and suggestions! I elected to try the GTX 970 and I am very happy with the outcome. I am now getting 50-75 FPS on High/Ultra settings in the games I am playing. In the future I will probably take everyone's opinion into account and then update my processor. As it stands I am now very happy with my system!

Thanks again,

Ghost Kage

 

[NTMBK]

Thank you everyone for the assistance and suggestions! I elected to try the GTX 970 and I am very happy with the outcome. I am now getting 50-75 FPS on High/Ultra settings in the games I am playing. In the future I will probably take everyone's opinion into account and then update my processor. As it stands I am now very happy with my system!

Thanks again,

Ghost Kage

Sounds like a good result! Enjoy your games :thumbsup:

 

[Gikaseixas]

Thank you everyone for the assistance and suggestions! I elected to try the GTX 970 and I am very happy with the outcome. I am now getting 50-75 FPS on High/Ultra settings in the games I am playing. In the future I will probably take everyone's opinion into account and then update my processor. As it stands I am now very happy with my system!

Thanks again,

Ghost Kage

Great choice, enjoy it

 

[Ranulf]

Thank you everyone for the assistance and suggestions! I elected to try the GTX 970 and I am very happy with the outcome. I am now getting 50-75 FPS on High/Ultra settings in the games I am playing. In the future I will probably take everyone's opinion into account and then update my processor. As it stands I am now very happy with my system!

Thanks again,

Ghost Kage

Good deal. Video card first would've been my recommendation. I upgraded my amd system to a 8350 last year but I wouldn't recommend doing that now. I'd go new board/chip.