should i upgrade or no?

[kaitlin4599]

ok so right now i game on a socket 1366 PC the specks for my PC are in my signature below.

my cpu is overclocked to 4.315.57Mhz at 1.344 volts on the vcore. ram was able to be run at stock speeds so no overclock on the ram which im fine with. my GPU is an EVGA 1660Ti black edition. i dont think i can overclock my cpu any higher without increasing the volts beyond what i consider safe for 24/7 gaming/computing, temps while gaming max out around 50-55c they idle around 40c using 3 5.20mm/H2O high static pressure ek vadar black fans.

below is a sample list of some of the games i free just in case they might help you answer my question

all tomb raider 2013,rise of the tomb raider,shadow of the tomb raider
doom 2016
the witcher 3
the metro series to name a few

i game on a 1280x1024 monitor that i bought used because its all i could afford at the time

my question is do i keep my CPU and GPU even tho socket 1266 is old or do i keep the GPU and upgrade to a better intel CPU?

i know there is AMD RYZEN but my cpu aio cooler is already configured for intel board and i dotn have the amd mobo clips for my aio i gave them away hence why if i upgraded it would be to intel

i guess the reason im asking this is because im unsure if my current setup will hold well in games seeing as how i had to swap out my RX 470 to the 1660Ti just to get shadow of the tomb raider to run at decent frame rates?

thanks for your time

 

[bigtallanddopey]

I upgraded from a i7 950 (which is socket 1366) to a first Gen ryzen and saw significant FPS gains and that was a few years ago. Remember it isn’t just the cpu you will need new ram as well which will be faster.

For your resolution that gpu is more than capable and maybe actually you would be better off spending some of your money on a new higher res monitor.

As for not considering ryzen because of an aio bracket. You will have to be mindful that a new intel socket may also be different and not fit unless it is an adjustable bracket. Plus as it sounds like you are on a budget, ryzen offers greater performance in the mid range when compare to the price of what intel offers.

 

[Zerileous]

Those games, except for the newer titles if you're planning to play that, will definitely be CPU bound at that resolution. If you want you can use a program like MSI afterburner to give you an on screen display while gaming, it will show things like CPU and GPU load. If GPU load is low and CPU load is high (keeping in mind this may be reflected as 100 divided by the number of cores or threads available, i.e. on a 6 core CPU, 18% load can represent 100% load on one core). In games where you desire improved performance, you can then see if the game is GPU or CPU bound on your system, and decide from there.

I would still compare prices of a Ryzen system at your budget vs Intel, including a new bracket for your cooler.

I agree with bigtallanddopey that you should be focusing on a better monitor. Probably 1080P will do well with your GPU for some time. Looking at features like refresh rate, g-sync or freesync. Increasing the resolution will also allow your GPU to work harder for a given amount of CPU load, likely changing the balance of which games are CPU vs GPU bound on your system, and better utilizing your 1660Ti.

 

[EarthDog]

i game on a 1280x1024 monitor that i bought used because its all i could afford at the time

Regardless of the game, you are on a VERY low, highly CPU bound resolution. Upgrading your CPU will improve performance on that low of a resolution... even at 1080p. How much, who knows, but a 4 GHz Ryzen or almost 5 GHz Intel will improve things quite a bit.

Since you seem budget oriented, a Ryzen CPU seems like a great update indeed. If you can swing an INtel CPU, that would be even better (assuming latest gen on both).

But thjat means a new mobo, DDR4 RAM, etc.

 

[wingman99]

I would wait untill you have the money for CPU and GPU upgrade. I would purchase a 1080p monitor now. ASUS VG279Q Black 27" ISP 1920 x 1080 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX8HV1899

 

[EarthDog]

A monitor first is a good idea. Though 1080p is pretty CPU limited too, the increase in resolution will put more stress on the GPU. Your bottleneck will still be the X58 platform/CPU though. If you are playing on that low of a resolution, you really need to get your CPU up to par for best results. BUt sticking at that low res (I used that in 1999 IIRC), you need CPU horsepower.

 

[DaPoets]

Yeah it's time w/ that hardware. I would say pick the best hardware in your budget to match the screen that you plan on gaming on for the next couple of years (even if you don't own that screen yet).