I've recently picked up gaming on my old PC again, but I'm experiencing poor performance with modern titles. I'm curious if just upgrading my GPU will make a significant difference, or if my CPU or other components will limit the upgrade. My current specs are:
- CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
- GPU: GTX 1060
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz
- Motherboard: B350 Tomahawk.
I'm considering the RTX 5060 priced around €340, but the 5060 Ti with 16GB costs over €480, which is out of my budget for now. I don't play very frequently, so I'm not in a rush to upgrade, but I'm wondering if I should focus on the GPU or look into upgrading my CPU as well.
5 Answers
If you're mainly playing GPU-heavy games, then just upgrading the GPU could still work. However, for the best overall performance, upgrading both the CPU and GPU will give you a noticeable boost in gaming, especially at 1080p.
You might want to consider getting a motherboard that supports newer CPUs. Some B350 boards do support 5000 series Ryzen chips, which could really help if you decide to upgrade both the CPU and GPU. It’s all about keeping things balanced!
Upgrading just the GPU might not fully improve your performance, especially with your current CPU. If possible, consider upgrading to a Ryzen 5 5600 to get the most out of a new graphics card.
Honestly, anything above a GTX 3060 will likely be bottlenecked by your Ryzen 2600. If you're looking for a budget-friendly option, the RX 6600 could provide a good upgrade without overspending.
You should check how much your CPU is being used while gaming. If it’s maxed out, then upgrading just the GPU won't help much. Ideally, you want a balanced setup, so looking into a CPU upgrade as well could be beneficial.
That makes sense! I'll definitely monitor the CPU usage.