Advice on PC upgrading

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jeesh101

Honorable
Jan 10, 2014
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10,510
Hi,

I recently got a mid to high-spec gaming PC which can run Battlefield 4 on Medium settings. The specs are:

CPU: AMD FX 4100 Quad Core 3.6 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 2GB
8GB RAM

I'd like to upgrade it so that I can run next gen games on High-Ultra settings and so I'm planning to get a GTX 760, but my friend who knows a fair amount about PCs says that the GPU might be bottlenecked by the CPU and I should also upgrade my CPU (he recommended the AMD FX 8350 Eight Core 4 GHz). My question is, will I need to upgrade my CPU when I upgrade my GPU?

PS any advice on a different GPU/CPU to upgrade to is appreciated.
 
Solution
geofelt
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 more 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.


You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your...
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,307
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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 more 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.


You could also experiment with removing one core in the bios. This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many cores.

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.

If you need a cpu upgrade, I suspect you will do better with Intel.
Few games use more than 2-3 cores so the 8 cores on a FX-8350 may not be that useful.
Here is an older article with comparisons:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-9.html

 
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Solution
larkspur

larkspur

Distinguished
Mar 10, 2011
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Here's the CPU benchmarks from Tom's BF4 beta review: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-4-graphics-card-performance,3634-10.html

A FX-4170 (an overclocked version of your FX-4100) runs BF4 multi with an nvidia Titan between 40 and 52fps. What that means is that it is holding back the titan compared to the more powerful chips in that list that are running 60fps. Yes it holds back the titan a bit but it's still "playable" on ultra. With the 760, the FX-4100 will hold you back a bit in cpu-intensive scenarios, but it shouldn't be too bad otherwise. Overclocking the FX-4100 would help. I suggest you get the 760 and then do what geofelt said. Then decide if you want to upgrade the cpu if its holding you back too much.
 
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J

jeesh101

Honorable
Jan 10, 2014
2
0
10,510
Fantastic advice from you both, thank you very much, I'll give this a try.


 
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