Need help with Upgrades that don't appear to be working...

whiteknightfall

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Jun 19, 2013
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So, I'm using a budget rig - HP p7-1254. This rig is used for general home use with some heavy slant on gaming. Mostly, I play WoW and perhaps a few other games here and there. The system isn't supposed to be the great end-all/be-all of gaming, but I like it to run as smoothly and effectively as possible.

My problem is, I'm trying to dump some easy money into pushing the system to the "max" potential while saving up for a better rig one day. I purchased a video card about a year or so ago - the Radeon HD 6670. This was a nice bump, it allows me to play WoW at "high" settings with a floating 30ish framerate. In a 25 man raid setting, I do find myself lowering my settings to "low" in order to make it through an encounter. But I found myself wanting a bit more from my rig.

I recently purchased/installed a new cpu - the A8-3670K (from the previous A6-3xxx). I also swapped in a 600 watt PSU (it was what I had easily available) in the event my upgrades needed the extra power (i'm very much a learning novice) and installed an SSD as a secondary Hard Drive. Finally, because this is an AMD Duel Graphics capable rig, I decided to link the new APU and GPU together for max effect.

All that said, my problem is simply - I don't notice any difference whatsoever in performance. Yes, the SSD does seemingly boot up WoW faster, but my settings aren't changing, my framerate in-game isn't changing, my other applications don't seem to be affected at all. I'm wondering if maybe I haven't set up my new pieces accordingly or if the money was just not well spent on my end. Like I said, I'm trying to push what I have to the top, then ride it out until I pick up a much better system later on.

I worry that perhaps I needed to do more in the BIOS, or perhaps I needed to set up something special inside the AMD Engine settings...thoughts?

Brian
 

unoriginal1

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Apr 11, 2012
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The ssd won't improve gaming.
Wow is a very cpu dependent game... No need to upgrade the gpu any further or even worry about using the apu and gpu together.
You made good upgrades for what you had to work with and you have pieces that can carry over to a gaming system some day....

I'd look into OC'ng your proc. Getting a cheap air cooler.
 
I suspect your limitation is with the graphics card, not so much the cpu.
The 6670 is a fine card, but it is bare minimum for gaming.
The fact that you do better at lowered resolutions is some confirming evidence.
Your 600w psu will let you upgrade the graphics card to something as strong as a 7970 or GTX780.
I might suggest that you do your better rig plan by first upgrading to the best graphics card you feel comfortable paying for. Make the jump one of several tiers, or you may be disappointed if you do not see much difference.
I would think, as a minimum, a GTX650ti or 7770 class card.
Here is some guidance: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
 

unoriginal1

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After looking up benchmarks for the card I agree.
WoW is still a cpu dependent game... But the card as mentioned above isn't extreme by any means. It averaged around 29 fps on most of the settings they ran it through.
 

whiteknightfall

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Jun 19, 2013
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But shouldn't my upgrading the CPU make a valid difference if WoW is such a CPU dependent game?...I understand the video card isn't top of the line, but I was under the impression in this case, the CPU would win the day. And the SSD is running WoW currently, it'll mostly be a game drive that I can drop into a better rig later on. Was the CPU purchase all for not, then?
 
To help clarify your options, run these two tests:

a) Run your games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 50%.
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.


Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
set to 50% and see how you do.


If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system, and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
 

unoriginal1

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Nope... Thats what Bottlenecking is called...

Think about it. Your card only allows you to get to point B. So that's as far as your "system" as a whole can take you. Is your cpu capable of more? Probably. But until the cards upgraded that is where your stuck. That's why in building gaming machines people will always say to build a balanced system.

WoW is a very cpu dependent game. But it does use the gpu also.. Just not as much as say... BF3 or other titles that require a beefier gpu. For comparisons and such Google your cpu followed by wow benchmarks. Then do the same with your current gpu. That will help you see exactly what it should be capable of, and what you want to shoot for.