16GB for GTX 1080?

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MrMe123

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Sep 21, 2016
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Hello everyone,
I recently bought a GTX 1080 to replace my previous GTX 970 and unfortunately, the frames I am getting in a lot of games are quite disappointing... (Around 30-40 in games like Fallout 4, Arma 3, Rust, etc). I've looked for answers, and apparently, I need around 16GB as 8GB of RAM (my current size) does not pair well with a GTX 1080. Do I really need to increase my RAM? Or would the cause be something else like the CPU?

Here are my PC specs:

CPU: i5 4690 (non-k)
GPU: GTX 1080 GeForce GIGABYTE Xtreme 8GB
RAM: 8GB
Motherboard: GIGABTYE ga-h97-hd3
PSU: fsp aurum s 650w
Storage device: Seagate 2TB SSHD/256GB SSD
OS: Windows 10

I currently have a 1080p 60Hz monitor which I plan on upgrading very soon (would the monitor be bottle-necking my GPU if that's possible)?

Sorry for the annoying question, just really confused and quite frankly a bit worried. Any replies would be immensely appreciated!

Thanks!!

 
Solution
Supernova1138
Unfortunately the games you are playing are infamous for being really CPU heavy and badly optimized, so dips into the 40s is likely to be expected. Arma 3 is insanely CPU heavy but has very poor multithreading so single core performance is vital, and having an overclockable CPU is very helpful for that game. Rust is an unfinished title known for poor optimization. Fallout 4 can get quite CPU heavy and due to Bethesda not changing their engine since Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, is also heavily reliant on single core performance, and also has optimization issues.
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GameFreak01048

GameFreak01048

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Feb 17, 2016
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Hello!

I think that your CPU is a bottleneck for your graphics card so because of that you may need to upgrade your CPU sadly.

8GB of RAM should be fine to use with that card.

Sorry but in order to get the most out of your graphics card I would upgrade the processor to something newer like even an i7 4790K so that means you will not need to get a new motherboard.
 
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Snipergod87

Snipergod87

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May 26, 2009
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What? 4690 is more than enough. You most likely would want more RAM depending on how much you have running in the background, but with that setup even with 8GB of RAM you should be getting way higher framerates

What is your CPU/GPU and RAM usage while gaming? and what is the resolution you play at?
 
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GameFreak01048

GameFreak01048

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Feb 17, 2016
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I was thinking given the age of the processor and the fact its not a K, performance could be lost because games that demand the performance of a card like a 1080 would struggle with that processor, take Battlefield 1 for example, that game needs an i7 4790 for a CPU and only a 1080 so taking that into account if the OP expects to play on ultra, it won't happen. That's the basis I am going from. The OP could do with a processor upgrade otherwise getting a 1080 would be a waste of money in my opinion because the processor will be a bottleneck.
 
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MrMe123

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Sep 21, 2016
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Okay, so I've ran MSI afterburner with onscreen display monitoring of my GPU, CPU and RAM on Arma 3 MP
GPU - around 20% usage with temp at 47
CPU - around 60% usage
RAM - around 6000 MB
Now I'm not an expert at this, but it appears my GPU isn't going well...
 
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RobCrezz

RobCrezz

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Mar 14, 2013
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Are any of the cpu cores maxing out? What about the clock speed?

Arma 3 probably isnt a great example as its fairly well known as a game that isnt particularly well optimized.

Low GPU usage is symptomatic of something else in the system bottlenecking (cpu throttling etc).
 
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M

Mitochle

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Sep 13, 2016
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Could be worth having a look at the BIOS settings, make sure its not throttling CPU performance. Try changing the settings to "performance" and increase the thermal throttling to a higher temperature.
Also have a look in Geforce Control Panel and change some of the GPU settings in there in the same way.
May have some settings in these that's throttling performance.
 
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Snipergod87

Snipergod87

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May 26, 2009
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They recommend a 4790, but they also say a FX-8350 which is vastly inferior to a 4790 or a 4690, or really any i5-4xxx quad cores.
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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Mar 22, 2011
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Unfortunately the games you are playing are infamous for being really CPU heavy and badly optimized, so dips into the 40s is likely to be expected. Arma 3 is insanely CPU heavy but has very poor multithreading so single core performance is vital, and having an overclockable CPU is very helpful for that game. Rust is an unfinished title known for poor optimization. Fallout 4 can get quite CPU heavy and due to Bethesda not changing their engine since Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, is also heavily reliant on single core performance, and also has optimization issues.
 
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Solution
M

MrMe123

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Sep 21, 2016
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So would a CPU upgrade be useful since a lot of games I play are CPU intensive? Or would it be a waste of money?
 
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Supernova1138

Supernova1138

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Mar 22, 2011
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For the games you play, you'd benefit most from an overclockable CPU, which would require a new motherboard as well, as H97 boards can't be used for overclocking. Moving to an i7 wouldn't be all that helpful other than maybe on Fallout 4, and even then you'd still get dips below 60FPS in places due to optimization issues with the ancient game engine. If you really wanted to spend some money without changing your motherboard, the best option would be to get the i7 4790k, which offers hyperthreading which seems to help a bit in Fallout 4 as well as the highest stock clockspeed you can get which would help a bit in Rust and Arma. The performance difference probably isn't worth the $350 though.
 
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frank_hnd

frank_hnd

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May 6, 2016
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1. CPU is not bottleneck
2. 8GB RAM is also not bottleneck, but what speed is it? there are some problems with slow RAMs and 10x0s cards. you could try another RAM speed .
3. did you completely delete any trace of previous drivers? DDU?
4. if you do upgrade your build an unlocked CPU like the i5-6600K should do the trick.
 
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Token_Senpai

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Feb 2, 2017
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Your CPU is actually the problem. It is bottle necking because its highly recommended to have at least an i7 when using a GTX 1080.
 
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