What should I upgrade first for smooth 1080p gaming on my older PC?
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MellowKite42
I have a roughly seven-year-old gaming PC that can still run newer games, but I often need to use low settings. My goal is comfortable 1080p gaming, ideally around 80 FPS or better. The system has an Intel Core i7-9700KF, GeForce RTX 2070 Super, MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge motherboard, 32 GB of DDR4-3600 memory, and a 750 W Bronze power supply. I recently had to lower everything significantly in Dawnwalker to reach about 80 FPS, so I'm wondering whether I should upgrade now or wait. Which component would make the biggest difference?
Answers
I wouldn’t replace the whole platform just because it’s older. The 9700KF and 32 GB of RAM are still usable for 1080p, and replacing the GPU should be the first step if your games are GPU-limited. Also check your temperatures, utilization, drivers, and in-game resolution scaling before buying anything. If the processor is consistently near 100% while the graphics card is underused, then a platform upgrade becomes more worthwhile.
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Your system isn’t obsolete, so I’d start with the graphics card. The RTX 2070 Super is probably the part holding you back in newer, GPU-heavy games. A current midrange card such as a Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16 GB of VRAM could provide a noticeable improvement at 1080p. Check current prices first, though, since upgrading only makes sense if the performance-per-dollar is good.
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A clean Windows installation can help if the system has accumulated years of software, drivers, and background processes, although it won’t create a dramatic hardware-level performance increase. Before spending money, reinstall Windows or at least remove unnecessary startup programs and update the chipset and graphics drivers. Also consider replacing the seven-year-old power supply eventually; age matters, regardless of its wattage, especially if you install a newer graphics card.
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MellowKite42: That’s the upgrade I was considering, but the current price is higher than I’d like. I’m mainly looking for a way to keep around 80 FPS in games like Dawnwalker without dropping every setting to low.