GPU vs CPU upgrade

graysonheadley

So my current specs on my computer are an i9-9900k with a blower model[:(] rtx 2080, and i was thinking about upgrading one or the other, either getting a i5-14600k with a z690 motherboard and drr5 (more expensive route), or i will upgrade to a rtx 3070, or rtx 4060, anyone wanna give me some wise thoughts?

PowerSpec_Alex

Hello!

I'll do my best to help!

Your 9900k and your 2080 are pretty well paired for each other, one isn't really bottlenecking the other in terms of performance.

I'm gonna assume you're using using the PC for gaming (if that's not right just let me know!)

Upgrading either means that the other will probably bottleneck the system as a whole which is okay. It just means you'll want to upgrade the other as well when you get the chance.

I was looking up costs for the i5-14600k, a z690 motherboard, and 32gb of ddr5 ram and found it to be ~$500-$600.

The great news here is that we can get you something even better for that price!

We have a bundle right now for a i7-14700k, z790 motherboard, and 32GB of ddr5 ram for ~$550 (you can see it here: https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006601/intel-i7-14700k,-msi-z790-mag-tomahawk-wifi,-gskill-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle )

That's great if you decide to go this way! The 14600k vs the 9900k is about a 45% improvement across the board but the 14700k vs your 9900k is about a 75% improvement and for about the same price (cheaper depending on the z690 motherboard you were looking at). I would definitely take advantage of this bundle if updating the CPU.

Moving on to the GPU. A 4060 is pretty comparable to a 2080 in overall performance so let's look for something greater.

A 4060 TI would provide ~20% improvement, a 4070 ~55% improvement, and a 4070 TI ~100% improvement VS the 2080.

The 4060 TI runs just over ~$400, the 4070 for ~$550, and the 4070 TI for ~$800.

I think that the 4070TI is your best long term investment here as its massively powerful for the money.

But I know you're trying to not break the bank, in that case, I recommend the 4070 as the best price for performance and its right where the bundle above is price wise.

I wouldn't recommend the 4060 at all and only the 4060 TI if you're really trying to keep the cost way down.

Ultimately, I'd love to see you with a 14700K and a 4070 for a massively improved experience overall while still staying really nicely balanced in performance, just like the system you have now. Choosing just one, I think the CPU/motherboard/RAM bundle is going to get you the best parts for you're money right now and you can get that GPU upgrade down the road (hopefully cheaper later too!).

I hope this helps!

graysonheadley

thank you sm!, i do have 2 systems(in 2 diffrent locations), ones a i9-13900k, with z690 carbon(ddr5), with an aurous 3080 in the most powerful model, so i'm not trying to go above this pc(as its my main pc), so i think the 4070 will be perfect!