I was given an older iBUYPOWER desktop from around 2017 and would like to improve it as cheaply and efficiently as possible. It has an MSI MS-7A72 motherboard, an Intel Core i7-7700K, a GTX 1080 8 GB, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and Windows 11 Pro 64-bit. I mainly want to play WARDOGS and the Galactic Contention mod for Squad. A benchmark suggested the CPU may be the weakest part of the system, but I'm not sure whether I should upgrade the graphics card, processor, memory, or the entire platform.
5 Answers
The GTX 1080 is still roughly in the range needed for these games, especially at 1080p. If you’re happy with around 60 FPS and reasonable settings, you may not need to upgrade yet. A newer graphics card would work in the system, but the older CPU could limit its benefit in CPU-heavy games, so avoid buying an expensive high-end card for this platform.
WARDOGS is likely to be the difficult game here because it can put heavy load on the CPU. More RAM may help if the system is actually running out of memory, but 16 GB is still usable. Adding another matching 16 GB kit for 32 GB is a relatively inexpensive temporary upgrade, provided the memory is compatible. The bigger long-term improvement would be a new platform, such as a modern Ryzen system with a B550 motherboard and a Ryzen 7 5700X, if that CPU is listed as recommended for the game.
Your benchmark scores don’t automatically prove the CPU is the problem. Check actual in-game CPU and GPU usage, frame times, and temperatures while playing. If the GPU is near full usage, lower graphics settings or a GPU upgrade may help; if one or more CPU cores are maxed while the GPU is underused, the processor is the limit. For now, enable XMP, check temperatures, and try the games before buying parts.
Before spending anything, check the BIOS and make sure XMP is enabled for your memory. It allows the RAM to run at its advertised speed. There’s generally no downside as long as the system remains stable, and it’s a free performance improvement.
Your i7-7700K is already the best practical CPU for that motherboard socket, so there isn’t a worthwhile drop-in processor upgrade. You can try a modest overclock if you have adequate cooling, but a major CPU improvement means replacing the motherboard, CPU, and possibly the RAM together.
That makes sense. I was worried the CPU was the weak point, but it sounds like upgrading only that part would not be worthwhile.