I'm looking for some guidance on upgrading my gaming PC. Here are my current specs: Intel Core i7-8700K CPU, dual NVIDIA GTX 1080 EVGA SC GPUs running in SLI, 32GB of DDR4 RAM at 3200MHz, a Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB NVMe SSD, a Gigabyte Z370 motherboard, a 1000W Corsair RM1000 power supply, and an NZXT Kraken water cooler. My case is an older Corsair model that I plan to replace. I've noticed modern games aren't performing well anymore, and I'm considering the RX 9060 XT 16GB. However, I'm concerned if my CPU will bottleneck it, or if there's another part I should prioritize for upgrading that's less expensive.
5 Answers
I’d suggest leveraging your 32GB of RAM and upgrading your CPU and motherboard to something like a Ryzen 5800X along with a B550 board. That’s going to give you a nice performance boost. For the GPU, it would help to know your gaming resolution—if you're playing at high 1440p or 4K, the 9070 XT would be a solid choice.
I think any upgrade you make will definitely help. You’ll see a good boost in GPU-heavy games. But if you're tight on cash, start with the GPU and tackle the CPU and motherboard later.
If you’re on a budget, I’d recommend selling those 1080s and upgrading to a 3080 or 4070 graphics card. The RX 9060 XT would do wonders for your setup—it might bottleneck a bit, but it's the most noticeable upgrade for the price. Down the line, you can look at upgrading your CPU without needing to swap out your DDR4 RAM, like with a 14600K.
Honestly, if it were me, I'd just get a whole new PC at this point. You could sell one of your GTX 1080s individually since having SLI isn't really worth it anymore—most games are moving away from supporting it anyway.
You might want to consider upgrading your GPU first, like getting the RX 9060 XT. Your i7-8700K is still decent for 1440p gaming, and SLI isn't the best option anymore. You could even look into a 5070 Ti if your budget allows, but just know you'll be somewhat bottlenecked by the CPU.
Totally agree! Upgrading just the GPU is smart, and then you can think about getting a new CPU and motherboard later on.