How to Determine What You Should Upgrade?
Once you understand what the difference between a CPU and GPU is, and what affects the performance of your gaming PC, you can start deciding what you should upgrade first. Here are some steps you can follow:
- Define your goals: What do you want to achieve by upgrading your PC? Do you want to play the latest games with the highest graphics settings? Do you want to increase your frame rate or resolution? Do you want to fix stuttering or lagging problems? Do you want to run multiple applications at the same time? Your goals will determine what you should prioritize in your upgrades.
- Determine your budget: How much money can you spend upgrading your PC? Your budget will determine how much change you can make, and how many components you can replace. Figure out the market price of the components you want and compare them to your expected performance. You should also consider additional costs, such as postage, taxes, and installation. You should find out if you can upgrade your PC yourself, or if you need help from a professional.
- Determine your current PC specs: What components are in your PC today, and how do they perform? You should know the model, brand, and specifications of your CPU, GPU, RAM, hard drive, motherboard, power supply, and cooling system. You should also know how fast your PC can run the games you play, and how high the graphics settings you use. You can use applications such as CPU-Z, GPU-Z, Speccy, or MSI Afterburner to get this information. You can also use benchmarks like 3DMark, Cinebench, or UserBenchmark to measure your PC’s performance.
- Determine your PC’s bottleneck: A bottleneck is a condition where one of your PC’s components becomes a bottleneck to your PC’s overall performance. For example, if your CPU is too weak for your GPU, then your GPU will not be able to work optimally, and vice versa. You’ll need to find out if your PC has a bottleneck, and which component is the cause. You can use apps like MSI Afterburner to monitor your CPU and GPU usage while gaming. If one of them reaches 100%, then it means that the component becomes a bottleneck. You can also use websites like PC-Builds.com to calculate how big a bottleneck your PC is.
- Decide which components you want to upgrade: Once you figure out your PC’s bottleneck, you can determine which components you want to upgrade first. You should choose the components that can deliver the most significant performance improvements, according to your goals and budget.
Here are some tips you can use:
- If your PC’s bottleneck is CPU, then you should upgrade your CPU first. A weak CPU can cause frame rate drops, stuttering, and lagging, especially for games that require a lot of logical processes, such as strategy, simulation, or RPGs. You should look for a CPU that has a higher clock speed, cores, and threads and is compatible with your motherboard. You should also pay attention to the TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the CPU, which shows how much power and heat are generated by the CPU. Make sure that your power supply and cooling system can handle your new CPU.
- If your PC’s bottleneck is the GPU, then you’ll need to upgrade your GPU first. A weak GPU can cause a decrease in graphics quality, frame rate, and resolution, especially for games that require a lot of graphics processing, such as FPS, racing, or action. You should look for a GPU that has a higher clock speed, memory, and bandwidth and is compatible with your motherboard. You should also pay attention to the TDP of the GPU, which shows how much power and heat the GPU is generating. Make sure that your power supply and cooling system can handle your new GPU.
- If your PC’s bottleneck is RAM, then you should upgrade your RAM first. Less RAM can cause performance degradation, long loading times, and crashes, especially for games that require a lot of memory, such as open world, sandbox, or MMO. You should look for RAM that has better capacity, speed, and latency and is compatible with your motherboard. You should also pay attention to the number of RAM slots available on your motherboard, and whether you can add new RAM or have to replace your old RAM.
- If your PC’s bottleneck is the hard drive, then you should upgrade your hard drive first. A slow hard drive can cause decreased performance, long loading times, and freezes, especially for games that have large file sizes, such as AAA, adventure, or horror. You should look for a hard drive that has better capacity, speed, and reliability and is compatible with your motherboard. You should also pay attention to the type of connection used by your hard drive, whether SATA, M.2, or PCIe. You should make sure that your motherboard has the slot for your new hard drive.
- If your PC’s bottleneck is the motherboard, then you’ll need to upgrade your motherboard first. Outdated motherboards can cause decreased performance, compatibility, and stability, especially for games that require the latest features, such as ray tracing, VR, or streaming. You should look for a motherboard that has a better chipset, socket, and form factor, and supports other components. You should also pay attention to additional features offered by the motherboard, such as audio, LAN, Wi-Fi, RGB, or overclocking. You should make sure that your new motherboard fits your case and power supply.