should i upgrade or start new?

karljordan16

Prominent
Mar 4, 2017
2
0
510
hi my gaming pc is struggling to play most AAA/recent games on high/ ulta at 60fps at 1080p
my current set up is
i5 4590 3.3
amd r9 270 2gb
8gb ddr3
course air cx 600w
gigabyte b85m-hd3 mother board
should i just upgrade my gpu (thinking maybe rx 480 8gb)
or should i just cut my losses and rebuild a new system
thanks in advance
 
Solution
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer with many participants tend to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU 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 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan...

karljordan16

Prominent
Mar 4, 2017
2
0
510


thanks for the quick reply would it be worth upgrading the ram to 16 gb while im at it or would it not really give a noticable increase in performance ( sorry for the questions im a noob to this pc gaming stuff)
 
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer with many participants tend to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU 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 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one or more cores. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.



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.
-------------------------------------------------------------

My guess is that you will do better with a graphics upgrade.
Make it a big enough jump so you notice the difference. R9-480 would be ok, GTX1060 would usually be better for 1080P

And... on ram, if you are only playing a game, then 8gb is fine.
If you are also multitasking, then 16gb would be good.
Be advised that simply adding 8gb will not work 100% of the time.
Ram needs to be matched so buying a compatible 2 x 8gb kit would be my recommendation to insure compatibility.
Probably not worth it.
 
Solution
actually, with driver updates, the 480 is now slightly better tnan the 1060.

as for the cpu/gpu test, he has a still very solid haswell I5. neither neither kaby lake or ryzen is enough better to make it worth the cost of upgrading yet, so only the R7 270 is a target.

Since he's already in the AMD environment, the 480 is the best upgrade option.

as for jumping up to 16 GB? it can't hurt if you want to do so.