My current system has an Intel Core i5-12400F, a GIGABYTE RTX 2080 Gaming OC 8GB, an MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 motherboard, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 CL16 memory, and a Corsair RM850x 850W Gold power supply. I'd like to keep my next major upgrade under $1,000. For newer AAA games at 1440p, should I upgrade the graphics card first, the processor, or both?
4 Answers
With a $1,000 budget, you may be able to upgrade both parts. Put most of the money toward the GPU, then consider a reasonably priced used i7 or another compatible LGA1700 processor if you find one. Your 850W power supply should be sufficient for many of these upgrades, but check the specific card’s power requirements.
Upgrade the GPU first. The RTX 2080 is the component most likely to limit 1440p performance and image quality in newer AAA games. A Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB would be a strong option, while a lower-cost 16GB card such as the RX 9060 XT could make sense if you want to spend less.
For features such as ray tracing, an RTX 5070 Ti 16GB would be worth considering instead of the RX 9070 XT. Otherwise, the 9070 XT is likely the better straightforward choice for strong 1440p rasterized performance.
A graphics card upgrade should come before the CPU. Your 12400F is still capable, but once you move to a much faster GPU, a newer processor such as the i5-14600K could help maintain higher frame rates. Update the motherboard BIOS before installing a 14th-generation CPU.
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