Upgrade
Upgrade
Hello everyone, I'm seeking advice on upgrading. My brother currently uses a PC and I want to know if it's best to upgrade his CPU with an i5 6600/7600 or 6700/7700 i7. Considering the current generation, he might prefer an upgrade to a better generation like Intel 8/9 or AMD Ryzen series 3xxx. He mainly plays games such as Rainbow Six Siege, Rust, Fallout 76, Grand Theft Auto V, Rust, Conan Exile at 1080p on a 27" setup. His specs are: CPU Intel Core i5 6400, RAM MSI H110m-Pro V, 16GB DDR4, GPU Nvidia GTX 1080, SSD Kingston A400 120GB, and HDD Seagate Barracuda Alim with Corsair CX 500W. Thank you!
To determine if a CPU upgrade is necessary, we need to understand your monitor's refresh rate, your satisfaction with the current configuration, and how you use gaming. The refresh rate matters because achieving a higher average FPS than your monitor can support offers limited benefit unless you're investing more. For instance, if you're using a 240Hz monitor at 1080p with your GTX 1080 but your older CPU struggles to hit even 240 FPS, upgrading would make sense. The same applies to 144Hz setups. Generally, aim to surpass your monitor's refresh rate in FPS—mostly for casual players, always for competitive ones. Going beyond is usually unnecessary. I won’t jump into details here; you’ll need to check your specs and decide based on your needs. If you're aiming for a smooth experience, the i5 9400F is a solid, plug-and-play choice without complex tweaks. Your focus should be on matching your GPU’s demands with a capable CPU, not chasing arbitrary numbers.
The device my brother uses is an LG 27gk750F with a 27" display running at 144Hz in memory. It plays videos at 1920x1080 resolution using an ultra preset. He doesn’t compete much; he mainly enjoys casual playback. Whenever possible, he opts for ultra quality.
I managed the CPU and GPU demands on his PC in Rainbow Six Siege. The screen displayed 2253x1920 at 60Hz with a GPU utilization of 80% and a temperature of 69°C. The CPU was at 100% load with a temperature of 55°C. The OS usage was around 50%, and the settings were set to 400K, 256GB. Is this typical?