FPS Issues While Gaming/Streaming

drukun · Nov 28, 2016

Hello All!

Ive been trying to learn more and more about my computer and upgrade it as best i can. Lately, ive been noticing random FPS drops while gaming, usually while something important happens.

What im assuming is my CPU just isnt making the cut for me and working against me with a bottleneck, but i am unsure.

My specs are as follows;
Raedon RX 480
Gigabyte board (Model 970A-D3P)
8GB Ram (DDR3)
AMD FX 8100
SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Let me know if the issue is obvious, or if theres something i can do to make it better!

Thanks!

rhysiam · Nov 28, 2016

The CPU not cutting is certainly likely. What games are you playing specifically?

What you need to do is monitor your GPU & CPU usage while you're gaming. Task Manager will give you CPU usage. MSI Afterburner, or GPU-Z (or lots of utilities) will give you GPU usage. If, when your FPS drops, you see spikes in CPU usage and your GPU usage drops below 95-100%, then it's a pretty solid indication that you're hitting a CPU bottleneck. Note that you don't necessarily see 100% CPU usage. Your CPU can handle 8 threads, meaning it can (sort of) actively work on 8 difference processes at a time. Games often won't generate that many different processes, but might have 2-4 critical processes. If the CPU isn't fast enough to keep up with those critical processes, then you hit a CPU bottleneck. But that can happen while some CPU cores are sitting idle... which is why you don't necessarily see 100% CPU usage in a CPU bottleneck. The real give away is the GPU usage dropping, because that's a good indication that your GPU is spending some of it's time sitting idle while it waits for other parts of the system (almost always the CPU) to give it work to do.

Also worth monitoring temperatures on CPU & GPU using something like HW monitor.

drukun · Nov 28, 2016

rhysiam :

I play a wide variety of games, but primarily where I see the drops is League of Legends. From my minimal research, I've heard it's a very heavy single core game which is why I assume my CPU is immediately the culprit.

I've actually used SpeedFan for temps any they hold steady around 50-55 for the CPU and 60 for the GPU during prime game time. I know these might not be 100% accurate because its software but it's something.

I know overclocking is always an option, but if my CPU is the main issue would an upgrade help more so than clocking? My motherboard is pretty limited to how high it can go on new stuff so that may mean a complete overhaul, which might be called for soon anyways.

Thanks for the input so far! I really appreciate it

Plumboby · Nov 29, 2016

yeah your cpu is maxing out the AMD arnt the best cpus around try upgrade if you can your cpu aint cutting it

rhysiam · Nov 29, 2016

drukun :

It's a good idea to follow the steps I suggested, watch your GPU usage, and just be 100% sure it is a CPU bottleneck.

But yeah, there's no way an RX480 struggles with LoL. It's almost certainly a CPU bottleneck. Even though lightly threaded, LoL is a super-lightweight game. So I suspect your issues are more related to the streaming than the game itself.

The real solution would be a platform upgrade. If you really want to be a streamer, that's going to be the best long term option.

In the meantime, have you looked into some of the hardware-assisted streaming options? Your RX480 actually has dedicated hardware which will handle the lion share of the recording/streaming tasks, taking a massive load off your CPU. The trick is finding the right streaming software/settings within streaming software to utilise this hardware and still have the flexibility you want.

I haven't done this before, so others will no doubt have more insight on this, but it's definitely worth looking in to.
Here's some instructions for OBS that will leverage hardware encode on an RX480: https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/4rfxxn/guide_for_all_the_new_rx480_ownersand_any_other/
There are other options out there too.

From what I understand, quality isn't the best, and you often lose functionality that comes with more flexible software encoders. But, if you want to keep streaming and you don't have the budget right now for an upgrade, it might be worth looking at.

OCing might help, but you can't push the 8100 too far on that motherboard, and you're looking at maybe 20-25% bump at best? If you're getting noticeable frame spikes, it seems unlikely that increasing your performance by 25% is going to actually fix the problem in any real way.

James Mason · Nov 29, 2016

So, yeah a newer CPU with better single thread performance will help a lot. But that'll also require a new motherboard and new ram.

If you only really care about games at LoL's level of.... quality(?) this will work:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $150.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 00:27 EST-0500

If you want to play games more along the lines of GTAV or other higher end newer release titles, you'll want this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $236.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 00:28 EST-0500

If you REALLY care about streaming/recording though, you'll want something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $440.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 00:30 EST-0500

If you're only playing games like LoL, this is the memory you need:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $44.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 00:31 EST-0500

If you're playing games like GTAV and also streaming, this is the ram you'll need:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $79.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-29 00:33 EST-0500

drukun · Nov 29, 2016

rhysiam :

I didn't know that at all! That's super neato to say the least. I'll do more research on that in the morning.

A full overhaul is actually completely obtainable currently for me, and was something I was looking into doing soon (aka Christmas time). I know my motherboard can really only do AMD up to fx 8350 or so, would it be better to maybe consider intel for the future? Processors and motherboards are my worst subjects currently.

I'm sure there's a thread here somewhere explaining it fully, but do you have any recommendations for motherboard CPU combinations? I'd probably drop anywhere up to 500 or more for a good upgrade set if needed. I'm sure I'd need new RAM too because DDR3 is fairly outdated to my knowledge.

You're awesome! Thanks a bunch so far!

drukun · Nov 29, 2016

James Mason :

You're awesome! This is a good list.

I know league has basically no quality to it. I'm in this for the best quality possible. Running league better will just be along for the ride.

Which it be more beneficial to go even higher than those options you gave me? I know there comes a point when value per dollar kind of diminishes and it doesn't make a huge difference to pay more for a smaller upgrade. I am completely willing to spend more is basically what I'm saying.

Thanks a million!

Edit: just sAw the last set hardware you posted on that list. I'm on my iPad currently and didn't scroll. That looks perfect! What I'm aiming for for the future is to be able to make a small career as a streamer/youtuber (more so for fun than profit) and those would probably kick ass. Thanks!

rhysiam · Nov 29, 2016

drukun :

Yeah - if you can afford an upgrade, don't sink any cash into your current platform, it's a dead end.

AMD Zen is supposedly coming out in January. Rumour mill is running wild and there's plenty of people claiming their $400-$500 CPU will smash the $1K + Intel CPUs. There's loads of hype, but we can't really know until it's released.

The simple fact is that if you want to purchase for Christmas, Intel is your only real option.

You've got some great suggestions above. While some serious streamers would move to 6 or 8 core CPUs on the Intel HEDT (High End Desktop) platform, honestly, the 6700K should be able to handle everything you can throw at it for a good while yet. Depending on how you value the streaming vs your own personal gaming enjoyment, a serious gaming monitor would (IMHO) be a much better investment than a HEDT CPU & motherboard.

James Mason · Nov 29, 2016

rhysiam :

drukun :

Until streaming is your job, don't bother with anything higher than a 6700k. And even for gaming a i7 doesn't provide any real benefit over an i5, it's only if you add streaming into the mix that the extra threads and cache help.

rhysiam · Nov 29, 2016

James Mason :

Yep, we're on the same page there. At the point where a 6700K no longer cuts it for streaming, I suspect that it might be better to get a second dedicated streaming PC with a capture card anyway. But that's total overkill unless you're a hugely successful streamer moving to a studio style set up.

drukun · Nov 29, 2016

Thanks for all the information everyone. Purchase has been made and upgrades will be coming in soon! Thanks for everything!

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