So I got a new video card (XFX Double Dissipation R9 390) and a new processor (AMD FX-8350) in anticipation of Fallout 4, but it turns out the motherboard of the prebuilt I got three years ago (Gigabyte GA-M68T-S2 rev 3.1) is not a great one and can't handle that processor, so that processor got returned and now I'm left with my AMD FX-4100 at 3.6Ghz. I looked into a lesser processor upgrade, like the FX-6300, but it looks like that processor is not supported by this motherboard either (see here and it's not on the approved CPU list of that motherboard either) and the motherboard is also notoriously bad for overclocking. Not that that's a route I'd immediately go for though, I'm new to building and upgrading and have never overclocked anything or in fact done anything more complicated than replace a blown PSU.
So in the meantime even though I know I have a good GPU and a fair-to-bad everything else, I'm still not really getting the performance I expected. In Borderlands 2 I get 18-29 fps during combat, but even though I expected some CPU bottlenecking, when I run MSI Afterburner in the background during play (is this a reasonable way to benchmark your system? I'm one or two days and about two dozen Google searches into all of this, so still very new) I notice that none of the CPU cores get above 80% utilization during those stretches. If the CPU is a bottleneck, shouldn't it be running at 100% for extended stretches?
So here are my options as I see them:
1) There's some combination of settings I need to adjust because I'm not getting the most out of my current hardware, both the good and the bad. Maybe there's some way to better utilize the GPU over the CPU. I feel like the R9 390 should be giving me a bigger boost than I'm seeing. Skyrim runs at about 35-45 fps, that doesn't seem much better than my old card (AMD Radeon HD 6670). Is this possible? Are there tweaks I'm missing?
2) Get a new motherboard and processor. After the new video card, I still have about $400-$450 in my budget for upgrades. This daunts me a little on a technical level, though. I've never replaced a processor before, let alone a motherboard and processor. And wouldn't I need to install an OS? I've never installed or re-installed an OS before either. I currently have Win7 64 bit, eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 but I haven't done it yet. If I upgrade to Windows 10, could I migrate my copy over to a new board, or would I need to buy a fresh copy?
Also, should I stick with AMD CPUs since I have an AMD videocard, or does that not really matter?
I'd be willing to try this upgrade if I could be pointed in the right direction, I think. Tutorials and Youtube videos and such.
3) Save my nickels, see how Fallout 4 runs on my machine, and maybe build a new computer from scratch (which I've also never done, but somehow seems easier than fiddling with my current Frankensystem) on Black Friday or Christmas sales or something, put my old video card back in this machine and use it as a secondary HTPC or something.
So what do you think? I know I have a lot of questions. Just pointing me in the right direction to learn though would be helpful.
Thanks!
So in the meantime even though I know I have a good GPU and a fair-to-bad everything else, I'm still not really getting the performance I expected. In Borderlands 2 I get 18-29 fps during combat, but even though I expected some CPU bottlenecking, when I run MSI Afterburner in the background during play (is this a reasonable way to benchmark your system? I'm one or two days and about two dozen Google searches into all of this, so still very new) I notice that none of the CPU cores get above 80% utilization during those stretches. If the CPU is a bottleneck, shouldn't it be running at 100% for extended stretches?
So here are my options as I see them:
1) There's some combination of settings I need to adjust because I'm not getting the most out of my current hardware, both the good and the bad. Maybe there's some way to better utilize the GPU over the CPU. I feel like the R9 390 should be giving me a bigger boost than I'm seeing. Skyrim runs at about 35-45 fps, that doesn't seem much better than my old card (AMD Radeon HD 6670). Is this possible? Are there tweaks I'm missing?
2) Get a new motherboard and processor. After the new video card, I still have about $400-$450 in my budget for upgrades. This daunts me a little on a technical level, though. I've never replaced a processor before, let alone a motherboard and processor. And wouldn't I need to install an OS? I've never installed or re-installed an OS before either. I currently have Win7 64 bit, eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 but I haven't done it yet. If I upgrade to Windows 10, could I migrate my copy over to a new board, or would I need to buy a fresh copy?
Also, should I stick with AMD CPUs since I have an AMD videocard, or does that not really matter?
I'd be willing to try this upgrade if I could be pointed in the right direction, I think. Tutorials and Youtube videos and such.
3) Save my nickels, see how Fallout 4 runs on my machine, and maybe build a new computer from scratch (which I've also never done, but somehow seems easier than fiddling with my current Frankensystem) on Black Friday or Christmas sales or something, put my old video card back in this machine and use it as a secondary HTPC or something.
So what do you think? I know I have a lot of questions. Just pointing me in the right direction to learn though would be helpful.
Thanks!
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