Elder Scrolls Online - which GPU for my PC setup? Do I need to buy a new CPU as well?

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510
Hello guys,

I know there is a lot of similar topics where ppl ask the same question. I read some of them...
But Im sure you understand why I created my own topic - choice of proper GPU depends on your individual PC setup, or at least on your CPU because of possibility of bottleneck...

Obviously, Elder Scrolls Online does work very well with most of Radeon Cards, so I decided I will buy NVidia this time... Avarage FPS = 30 with my actual 4GB Radeon R9 270X and while Im in dungeons it drops under 20fps. Mass pvp is just not possible....

I also read this comparison of GPUs performance for ESO, but it is 2 years old...

According to this comparison, the GTX 760 should be a good choice 2 years back from now.
I would like to know if something changed - there were probably some graphics changes in the game and there are some new graphics cards available...

Anyway, HERE you can see my PC setup.

Briefly:
SSD
16GB RAM
CPU AMD Fx(tm)-6300 Six-core (more details about CPU HERE)

I would like to hit stable 60+ fps at high/ultra settings while outside/in dungeons and at least around 40-30 fps in mass pvp with dozens ppl runing around...


Which Nvidia card would you recommend? My limit is 260 Eur / 280 USD...
Or do you think I need to buy a new CPU at the first place because of bottleneck?

I prefer advices from ppl playing the game, because it looks like the game works well with a very few GPUs... (according to some other threads even certain NVidia cards are not suitable for ESO)
 
Solution


CPUs are only compatible with specific types of motherboard sockets. That is why Maxalge said you have no no upgrade path without a new build. The motherboard your FX 6300 uses is a dead platform. There will never be new CPUs released for it. None of the CPUs that do fit your motherboard would improve your performance in ESO.

The only upgrades that make sense for you are an Intel i3 or i5. The current models of the i3 and i5 require a motherboard with an LGA 1151 socket. Your motherboard, and all AMD and older Intel CPU motherboards do not have that socket. The motherboard I recommended is pretty much the...

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Thx, but I dont really want to spend money for a new CPU :-( ...

Do you thing it is not possible to hit mentioned fps with my current CPU? Meaning -> buying less powerful GPU that will not be bottlenecked

BTW: I dont think I want to buy another Radeon...
 

Pkai92

Respectable
Oct 20, 2016
357
0
1,860
Tbh, i like Nvidia but with your budget it is best to go with Rx 480 8Gb since it is better than the 1060. If you are willing to spend that much it is better to get this now since it will be a better future proof. What if in the near future you want to play another game ? Anyway, you can get a Gtx 970-980 but there will be a bottleneck also i guess. Your CPU is the biggest bottleneck here.
 
When you play the game, can you use MSI Afterburner to watch CPU and GPU usage? I'm curious to see if right now, with the 270x, if you are getting 100% usage or close to 100% on your CPU. Especially in the areas that run worst, check usage. Another thing you could try, lower the resolution to 720p and lower the settings to low. Now play the game and check framerate. I assume you normally play at 1080p. Did your framerate go up a lot when you lowered the resolution and settings. If it did, that means you'd probably get better performance with a more powerful videocard. If your framerate did not go up much, or did not go up at all, that means your CPU is already doing as much as it can and a new videocard won't help.
 

Tanoxil

Reputable
Jan 27, 2017
232
0
4,760
I don't think upgrading the GPU will significantly boost your performance since TESO is heavily a CPU-based game. If you want to increase your frame rates I strongly recommend overclocking your CPU if you have a decent CPU cooler.
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


I installed MSI afterburner and played a while, running outside with a bunch of ppl, killing mobs ... I had 30 fps avarage, sometimes lower... and the results are here:

CPU usage
GPU usage

I also checked individual cores usage:

CPU1 - max 59%
CPU2 - max 71%
CPU3 - max 100%
CPU4 - max 94%
CPU5 - max 66%
CPU6 - max 100%

It was at 1920x1080...

What do you think?

To me it does not look like that the CPU is not running max... Only some cores are running higher than others - I dont even know it that is usual or not... CPU in total runs around 50%.

GPU usage looks fine too...

Or am I wrong guys?

Or am I wrong?


 

maxalge

Champion
Ambassador


gpu is plenty for ultra 1080p in that game


it's your cpu that is weak


upgrading the gpu will do nothing for you




you need an new intel build to meet your goals
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


I guess you are right... but CPU usage in total was at 60% max... more like 50%. Only individual cores went high, others dont. But I dont even understand it...

CPU at 50% means bad? Where is the problem?

 

maxalge

Champion
Ambassador


that game does not use 6 cores, most online games only use 1 - 2 whiich is why you want a processor with great performance per core

each core of your processor is very weak

that is why
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Which specific CPU would you suggest for my setup?
 

maxalge

Champion
Ambassador


your current setup has no cpu upgrade that will help you


if you have a good motherboard/cpu cooler you can try overclocking

short of a new build that is about all you can do
 

king3pj

Distinguished
You will need a new CPU, Motherboard, and RAM. The rest of your parts can be reused. Something like this would provide a nice upgrade over your FX 6300. Judging by your CPU usage numbers ESO is only using a few CPU cores so an i3 with 2 cores and 4 threads thanks to hyperthreading will work fine. The i3 has less cores than your FX 6300 but they are significantly faster.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-E/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $206.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-28 09:47 EST-0500

If you can afford to spend a little more I would recommend a true quad core i5. It won't make much difference versus the i3 in ESO since that game is only using a couple cores. If you play other, more modern games that are properly multithreaded the i5 will be quite a bit better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-E/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $285.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-28 09:52 EST-0500
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Why do you think I need a new motherboard? The one I have now is pretty good... It cost like 200 USD - you think its bad?
 

king3pj

Distinguished


CPUs are only compatible with specific types of motherboard sockets. That is why Maxalge said you have no no upgrade path without a new build. The motherboard your FX 6300 uses is a dead platform. There will never be new CPUs released for it. None of the CPUs that do fit your motherboard would improve your performance in ESO.

The only upgrades that make sense for you are an Intel i3 or i5. The current models of the i3 and i5 require a motherboard with an LGA 1151 socket. Your motherboard, and all AMD and older Intel CPU motherboards do not have that socket. The motherboard I recommended is pretty much the cheapest one available that will work with the current Intel CPUs.

Having 16GB of RAM is great. That's what I have in my machine too. The problem is that your 16GB of RAM is DDR3 because that is what the AMD FX CPUs support. The current Intel CPUs only support DDR4 RAM.

The reason I recommended 8GB instead of 16GB is because I was trying to keep the budget down for you and 8GB will be enough for ESO and just about any other game you could want to play.
 
Solution

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Ok, I understand now... Thank you for your patience. Well, Im very disappointed about the motherboard, because it cost me like 200 USD...
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Which motherboard would you suggest not sticking to the budget? But again, not too much expensive...

 

king3pj

Distinguished
I wouldn't devote too much of your budget to the motherboard. Better motherboards are nice to have but they won't improve your gaming performance unless you go with a more expensive unlocked CPU that you can overclock.

If you are going to increase the budget somewhere I would suggest going with the i5-6500 instead of the i3-6100. That will make an actual difference in gaming performance, although maybe not for ESO.

If you did want to splurge for a better all around setup I would go with something like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B150 Gaming M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $378.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-28 11:10 EST-0500
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Thank you! I will think it trough.

Anyway, as far as I know, there is a lot of ppl with great setups and they still got less than 30 fps - they claim its caused by their Radeon GPUs in general, because the game is not optimized for them...

So it would be hilarious if I would buy all the stuff and than I would have to change the GPU to Nvidia as well anyway :-D
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


I asked about this setup somewhere else and some guy told me to buy this instead:

MSI B250 PC MATE
Intel Core i5-7500
Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB (Kit 2x8GB) 2400MHz DDR4 CL15

What is your opinion on this?
 

Pkai92

Respectable
Oct 20, 2016
357
0
1,860
The i5-7500 is a little bit better. What are their prices ? If there is a huge difference in price between the i5-6500 and i5-7500 it is not worth at all. Overall, if there is a very slight difference in the price, then get them. Best of luck.
 

king3pj

Distinguished


The i5-7500 is a little faster than the i5-6500. They are very similar but the 6500 is clocked at 3.2GHz while the 7500 is clocked at 3.4GHz.

Like I said in a previous post, I was trying to keep the budget down for you. While the i5-7500 is a little faster, it also costs a little more money. If it fits in your budget go for it. If not the i5-6500 will still be plenty for ESO and whatever else you would want to play.

Going with the i5 7500 and B250 motherboard will cost you about $25 more than going with the i5-6500 and a B150 motherboard. Of course, the price difference may be higher or lower in your country.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B250 PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $403.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-30 09:38 EST-0500
 

Dinael

Commendable
Jan 26, 2017
13
0
1,510


Just to let you know guys - I was consulting all this with local TOP electronics distributor.
Thanks to circumstances I decided to expand the budget.

I will go for this:
Processor - Intel i5 7500 Kaby Lake
MB - MSI B250 GAMING M3 (more compatible with Kaby Lake than the B150)
RAM - Kingston 16GB KIT DDR4 2400MHz CL15 HyperX Fury Black Series (I was told that the 3000Mhz is just too much - not even B250 can transfer such high rate... And the processor would not be able to use it at 100% as well...)
GPU - for now I will stick to my R9 270x and maybe later I will upgrade it....
 

king3pj

Distinguished


The reason I recommended the 3000MHz RAM is because it was the cheapest 16GB kit from a reputable brand. The i5-6500 and i5-7500 are both fully capable running RAM at 3000MHz RAM if you put it in a Z170 or Z270 motherboard capable of handling those speeds.

The 3000MHz RAM is compatible with the B250 motherboard. It would just run it at 2400MHz. Buying 2400MHz RAM instead is totally fine if that is the cheapest option where you live. I wasn't going to recommend 2400MHz RAM that was more expensive than the 3000MHz RAM I selected in the US though.