I'm deciding whether to upgrade my current PC or sell it and start over. My goal is a consistent 140+ FPS at 1080p using medium or low settings in GPU-heavy games such as Black Ops 7. At the moment, I'm getting about 70 FPS in Zombies on the lowest settings, with frequent drops.
My current system has an Intel i5-10400F, GTX 1660 Ti, ASRock B460M-HDV motherboard, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 500W 80+ Bronze power supply, existing storage, and a case I'd prefer to keep. I was considering an RX 7700 XT as a major graphics upgrade, but I'm concerned that the i5-10400F could cause serious CPU bottlenecks or poor 1% lows. I also wondered whether upgrading to an i9-10900F would help, although replacing the motherboard would likely mean buying DDR5 memory, which makes a complete replacement system seem more appealing. I'm also unsure whether my case can fit a larger graphics card or power supply. Would a GPU and PSU upgrade be enough, or would rebuilding the entire PC make more sense?
2 Answers
A lower-cost upgrade path would be keeping the B460 motherboard and DDR4 memory, moving to an i7-10700F, and pairing it with a newer midrange GPU such as an RX 9060 XT 16GB. That could improve both average FPS and CPU-limited frame consistency without requiring a complete platform replacement. However, verify the graphics card’s power requirements and make sure the existing 500W supply is actually adequate before reusing it.
You probably don’t need to replace the entire PC. An RX 7700 XT would be a substantial improvement over the GTX 1660 Ti, but the 500W Bronze power supply should be replaced with something around 650W from a reputable model. Many 10400F systems can continue working well after a GPU and PSU upgrade. Before buying anything, check the maximum GPU length and PSU dimensions supported by your case.
My biggest concern is whether the i5-10400F can keep up with such a large GPU upgrade. I’m mainly trying to avoid poor 1% lows and inconsistent frame pacing.