this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2024
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Buildapc

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**Current specs:

CPU: Intel i5 10400F

GPU: RTX 3070

RAM: 32GB (2 x 16GB) 2666MHz DDR4

Motherboard: PRIME H410M-E

SSD: 480GB (Windows 11)

HDD: 2TB **

In short I'm stumped as to where I go upgrading my current rig. Various bottleneck sites suggest my CPU might not be able to keep up with the 3070 which might hinder FPS and performance, but I also know that for the most part this information cant be trusted.

Main reasons for wanting to upgrade include doing away with the extra dongles I have for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which aren't always reliable and futureproofing.

I'm currently hanging my nose over an MSI B760M GAMING PLUS WIFI Motherboard and i5-12400F processor. I could get both for just over £200 right now, but don't really know if this would be worth it, or if investment would be better placed elsewhere. I've not considered GPU update because a) EXPENSIVE and b) current information seems to suggest that 40 series GPU do not have much bang for the buck.

So the question, what do people here think makes sense to do?

Thanks in advance!

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (3 children)

I don't know if it's this simple but:

If your computer is for gaming, play games you like at settings that you want, and see if CPU, GPU, or memory utilization reach 100%. Whichever it is, that would be your bottleneck.

Edit: while your CPU is getting a little older, your RAM is also pretty slow. It's hard to say if you need to upgrade the RAM alone. Because if you do, you might as well upgrade the CPU (and motherboard) at the same time.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

GPU will often be at 100% load, but the CPU can be a bottleneck even if the displayed load is way below 100%.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Thanks for the feedback guys!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago

Back then, I swapped my i5-6600k out for a Ryzen 3700X. Games like GTA V would never exceed 50% CPU usage, so I always thought the i5 was plenty. Once I got the 3700X, the frame pacing improved dramatically and the game felt so much smoother, even though I was frame-capped at 70 due to the monitor I was using. CPU usage often does not tell you half the story.