What should I upgrade first for a move to 1440p gaming?
Asked by
MapleOrbit42
My PC was built around 2018–2019 and is starting to struggle with newer games at Ultra settings in 1080p. For example, the Stellar Blade demo has noticeable slowdowns. My current setup is a Ryzen 5 3600X with the stock Wraith Spire cooler, a GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, 16GB of DDR4-3600 memory, a 2TB hard drive, a 1TB SSD with Windows installed, a 650W 80 Plus Gold be quiet! power supply, an X570 Gaming X motherboard, and a Silent Base 601 case. I currently use a 24-inch 1080p 75Hz IPS monitor, but since I'm upgrading, I'm considering moving to 1440p. What should I upgrade first, and which parts would offer the best long-term value?
Answers
The graphics card is the main bottleneck, especially if you want to make the jump to 1440p. I’d upgrade the GPU first and keep the rest of the system for now. A 16GB Radeon RX 9060 XT would be a sensible new option for 1440p, since some newer games can exceed 8GB of VRAM. A discounted or refurbished RTX 4070 could also be worth considering. Your 650W power supply should be checked against the exact card’s requirements, but it may be sufficient for many options.
Reply to this answer
You can stay on the AM4 platform rather than replacing the motherboard, memory, and CPU all at once. After the GPU, a Ryzen 7 5800X3D—or a similar compatible X3D chip if available at a better price—would be a strong gaming upgrade. Check the motherboard’s CPU support list and update the BIOS before installing it. Adding more memory could also help; 32GB using a matched 2x16GB kit would be preferable to mixing extra modules.
MapleOrbit42: I’ve used 1080p since 2018–2019 and it still suits me, so I’m unsure how noticeable 1440p would be. Still, it feels like a good time to try it if I’m investing in a meaningful upgrade.
Reply to this answer
Add your answer
Answers are reviewed before publication.
MapleOrbit42: I haven’t settled on a budget yet, so I wanted to see the recommendations first. My main goal is to buy something that will last several years like this system has. I’m comfortable with 1080p, but since I’m already upgrading, moving to 1440p seems worth considering.