Should you upgrade your GPU or monitor first? (2024)

PC gaming is a grand hobby that encompasses everything from building your own PC to choosing the right gaming accessories to sitting down in front of a monitor for hours at a time. There's really nothing like a good gaming marathon alone or with friends to remind you of the finer things in life.

There comes a time in every PC gamer's life, however, when tough decisions need to be made. No computer can stand the test of time, and rising system requirements to run your favorite games will always catch up with your current PC. Graphics cards (GPU), processors (CPU), and other components don't come cheap.

You'll begin noticing signs that it's time to upgrade your PC, but where do you first put your money to maximize value? Do you upgrade your CPU or GPU first? Is a completely new build necessary? These aren't easy questions to answer, especially when you mix your monitor into the equation.

Upgrading the right PC components at the right time

Let's consider a scenario where you know that PC upgrades are in your future. Your processor's life can be extended for awhile longer, and you're really considering a new GPU. One question that often gets asked involves whether it makes sense to first upgrade your GPU or your monitor.

Buying a monster graphics card is always fun, but it might not be the best route if your monitor isn't able to make good on the GPU's promise of elevated performance. What's the point of shelling out hundreds of dollars on a GPU if you can't see what it has to offer? If the question of whether you should first upgrade your GPU or monitor is holding you back, we can help.

When it makes sense to first upgrade your GPU

Is a new GPU really the right buy?

Balancing high, stable framerates with a quality picture is a common goal for almost all PC gamers. If you've noticed that your gaming PC is having a hard time hitting your current monitor's maximum framerate (or your desired framerate) in your favorite games, it makes sense to buy a new GPU first. Depending on how big of an upgrade you can afford, your current monitor's extra performance ceiling can be used up by a new GPU, giving you a temporary boost while you wait to pair it with a new screen.

For example, let's say your current monitor already has a 144Hz refresh rate, of which only about 50% to 75% is utilized by your GPU. Buying a new monitor — especially at a higher resolution — might make your games look more crisp and vivid, but overall performance won't improve. It will most likely even get worse if you add more pixels. For some people that won't matter as much, but for most, the balance of smooth, high framerates and picture quality is the goal.

GPU prices have leveled out compared to just a year or two ago, but they're still very expensive pieces of hardware. If you find a great deal on a top gaming GPU, I'd throw most advice out the window and focus on saving money. Even if your new GPU has to live with a monitor that can't show its full potential, you'll be happy in the long run knowing you saved a big chunk of money.

When it makes sense to first upgrade your monitor

A whole new look

I don't know how many times I've visited a gamer friend, only to discover that their powerful gaming PC is connected to an old monitor lacking many modern features. There's often a disconnect between powerful PC and powerful monitor, which is why I'm glad the question being answered here is becoming more common.

It makes sense to upgrade your monitor first when your GPU can already keep up with your current display. Let's say that you have a 1080p (FHD) monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate; your favorite games can hit 144 frames-per-second and stay there with your current GPU. There's likely some potential being left on the table, and buying a new monitor with a higher refresh rate will unlock it. You might even discover that a new GPU isn't necessary until a year or two in the future.

However, you need to factor in resolution changes if you're chasing picture quality over high framerates. Quad HD, otherwise known as 1440p, is becoming ever-more prevalent as performance hardware scales up, and those working with 1080p are no doubt tempted to make the change to a higher resolution. Your games will look better than ever, and you might also land some new monitor features — like HDR support, G-Sync or FreeSync, or even AI tuning — that you didn't know you needed.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The move from 1080p to 1440p is a bigger leap than you might think, and your GPU is going to have to work nearly twice as hard (about 1.77x to be more exact) to hit the same framerate at QHD than it does at FHD. If you're currently seeing 100FPS at 1080p, a move to 1440p will theoretically lower that to about 56FPS. Similar math can be applied to the jump from 1440p to 4K, or if you're adding more horizontal pixels with an ultrawide monitor.

I'd still recommend buying a new, higher-res monitor first if your GPU is already tapping out your current monitor's capabilities. You can always see how your hardware keeps up with a new screen, and you'll at least know that a GPU upgrade is next. You might even be surprised by how well your current GPU can display games on a new, high-end monitor.

Wrapping up

Making the choice between upgrading your GPU or monitor first will come down to whether you value picture quality or framerate, as well as how your current PC pairs with your current monitor. If you already have a quality gaming monitor that isn't being fully utilized by your GPU, it makes a lot more sense to upgrade the graphics card first. Buying a new monitor isn't going to make your GPU perform any better, and it will actually have the opposite effect if you make the jump to a higher resolution.

Those with a powerful GPU that can already hit high framerates at, say, 1080p should look into upgrading their monitor first. The existing GPU might have enough power to handle a higher resolution while still delivering acceptable framerates. Even if it doesn't reach a new monitor's true potential, you'll have some wiggle room when you finally do upgrade your GPU.