For a stream and gaming pc, better to get 1 Geforce GTX 1060 6gb, or 2 Geforce GTX 1050 4gb cards?

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

I'm a smaller streamer who has mostly done streaming my console to an El Gato HD60 capture device using OBS. More recently I've wanted to play games like H1Z1, PUBG, and ultimately Destiny 2 on my PC. The video card i have in the PC now is a Geforce GT 610 2gb, so not adequate enough to even play those games.

My question is do I go with a little bit higher end video card, the Geforce GTX 1060 6gb for around $280, or spend a little more and go with 2 Geforce 1050 4gb video cards. I've never run dual cards before so I'm not sure of the advantages and disadvantages. I use 2 monitors currently, 1 BenQ Zowie 24" Gaming Monitor, and a Dell 24" HD Monitor.

Current Computer Specs:
Windows 10 64bit
AMD 8350 4.0Ghz
ASUS M5A97 2.0
Corsair H100i Dual Fan Liquid Cooler
16GB of PNY Ram (only 7.9 usable, but that's on another thread.)
Geforce GT 610 2gb
240GB SSD
1TB Internal HDD
1TB External HDD

On another note will be changing the motherboard as it will only allow 7.9 of my 16GB installed ram to be used. Thinking of going to an MSI if anyone has any recommendations.

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

First off, the GTX 1050 doesn't support SLI, also VRAM doesn't stack so you'd only have 2gb. Next your motherboard doesn't support SLI (x8,x8 or faster). Also with SLI/CF support dwindling I would advise against it. Your always better off getting the best single GPU you can afford which pairs well with your system which yes the 1060 would be your best choice.

Your motherboard supports up to 32gb so it should be fine with 16gb, why do you say it's only allowing 7.9?

rcald2000 · Aug 30, 2017

jbishop0425 I'm very familiar with Twitch streaming and the systems used to do it. I also play PUBG. I agree 100% that the GTX 1050 does not support SLI. A few thing: Your AMD 8350 is underpowered. Since you have a AIO CPU cooler, you should consider downloading, and running AMD Overdrive, to automatically overclock it. In the future you should plan on upgrading platforms.

Your RAM: Most likely cause of Windows only recognizing 7.9 GB is that one of the RAM modules is in the wrong RAM slot on the motherboard. Both RAM modules should be installed in slots of the same color, both blue or both black.

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

Ok, those are things I didn't know about for sure. So i'll definitely go with the 1060 then.

I'll look into the AMD Overdrive software when I get home. As far as upgrading it I'd love to but when I do I'll most likely go with a high end Ryzen and thats more dollars just not available atm.

The Ram issue has been plaguing me since I built the computer. I've tried each stick individually and they both do work individually. I've tried them in every slot, every order that I could place them in on the motherboard. I think they are both in blue at the moment. When I go to task manager is shows 16GB up top, but only 7.9 available, 8.1 System reserved. I also made sure that max memory wasn't checked as well.

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

"When I go to task manager is shows 16GB up top, but only 7.9 available, 8.1 System reserved. I also made sure that max memory wasn't checked as well."

That's perfectly normal and will utilize up to 16gb if needed.

If you haven't then yes I would overclock that 8350 as far as it will safely go.

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

As far as the overclocking goes, How far would you recommend pushing it to. I've seen numbers as far as 4.7Ghz but don't want to push it beyond safe limits or what the H100 cooler can handle.

rcald2000 · Aug 30, 2017

Check this out.

Windows 10 Won’t Use Full RAM
https://appuals.com/windows-10-wont-use-full-ram/

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

rcald2000 :

Thanks for the info. I believe I've tried most of that. My mobo doesn't have on board graphics so I don't think there is an option in the bios but will give it a look over when I get home.

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

jbishop0425 :

You will want to increase it in 100mhz increments and it may require some voltage adjustments. For that CPU I'd start at 4.3ghz which is 100mhz over the turbo feature. I would think the H100 would at least push 4.4ghz but it depends on a few factors such as ambient temp, motherboard & the CPU itself.

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

WildCard999 :

OK I will most definitely look into that when I get home. As far as streaming goes it utilizes 25 maybe 30% so any more should be good enough to game on.

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

On the same note, would a 990 series motherboard increase my performance of the same processor and ram?

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

Probably not enough to justify the cost plus it's older tech and IMHO isn't worth dumping money into.

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

Thank you for the input, was about to drop 120 on one but will probably just save up for my Ryzen build.

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

jbishop0425 :

That's a much better choice! For Ryzen I would go with a Ryzen 5 1600 or better paired with a B350 motherboard and DDR4 RAM @2666mhz+ which will be much faster then your current build.

R5 1600 vs FX 8350.
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600-vs-AMD-FX-8350/3919vs1489

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

WildCard999 :

I think i'll go kinda big with at least a 1700x maybe 1800x depending on how funds are at the time. If the stream gets to have a steady number of subs and some donations hopefully will happen sooner rather than later.

WildCard999 · Aug 30, 2017

Personally I'd pass on the X versions of Ryzen as the only difference (I've seen) is a higher clock speed which really doesn't matter as the non-X version can be overclocked just as high as Ryzen has a cap I believe around 4.1 or 4.2. Using those saving you can put that money into a M.2 SSD, higher speed RAM or another crucial part which will affect performance. Also don't bother with a aftermarket cooler (yet) for Ryzen as most of them will OC to at least 3.8ghz with the stock AMD Wraith coolers (also the X version don't come with a cooler so you would need to add that to the cost).

jbishop0425 · Aug 30, 2017

Well that is certainly more information than I knew about the Ryzen builds, and will certainly save me some money when I start the build for sure. I know ram is a big part of it, running H1Z1 and PUBG uses 85% of the ram I have. Not sure if that will drop at all with the better GPU in there but trying to think ahead to being able to put that in the next build which is another reason to spend some more now instead of going with a more base model like the 1050 series.

For a stream and gaming pc, better to get 1 Geforce GTX 1060 6gb, or 2 Geforce GTX 1050 4gb cards?

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