Please help identify my pc's bottlenecks.

bbull0077 · Sep 13, 2018

Hello all, new member so please forgive any mistakes i may have made.

Currently my system components are as follows,

cpu: amd fx 8350 (8 core 4.2ghz)
gpu: geforce gtx 1060 (6gb)
mobo: asus rog crosshair v formula-z
cpu cooler: cooler master nepton 240m
ram: Adata 16gb 1600mhz (2x8gb sticks)
power supply: raidmax RX-600af (80+bronze)
ssd: adata premier pro sp900
storage: Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB
monitor: LG 27ea33 (27" 60hz 1080p)
operating system: windows 8.1 64-bit (installed on ssd)

I was planning on buying a new monitor with a higher resolution and refresh rate because i feel as though ive been experiencing input lag during games like fortnite but after some research im not sure if buying a big ultra-wide monitor is going to make much difference to my gaming experience if my system itself can't drive it, im hoping someone can tell me what is bottlenecking my pc the most at the moment and suggest replacement components that will make the biggest difference to gaming performance.

Rite now i have a budget of about 1200 AUD to spend so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Bull.

jay32267 · Sep 13, 2018

I think that what you have....should run just about anything on pretty near max settings @ pretty near 60 Hz. Is that what you are seeing?

and actually.....after looking at your system.....I think it's pretty well balanced. I don't see anything that stands out as a major bottleneck.

I think you may be able to go to a 1070 or maybe even a 1080.....because I think the bottleneck right now is the 1060.....but I don't think it's a real significant one.

gingerrankin · Sep 13, 2018

It seems to me that although the system is balanced, its CPU is somewhat weak and, the most it can support is the GTX 1060 6G.

If you want to be able to use a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 you have to change the CPU.

To improve the CPU you need to change the CPU + Mobo + memory to DDR4.

The good news is that there are good alternatives in both AMD and Intel.

To explain it better, I would need to know if you intend to do OC light, aggressive or not interested in the OC.

Vic 40 · Sep 13, 2018

The cpu seems bottlenek to me,if upgrading could you look at the next,comes even with higher res+refresfrate monitor,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($266.43 @ Mighty Ape)
Motherboard: ASRock - B360 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($135.00 @ IJK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($219.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: Asus - MG278Q 27.0" 2560x1440 144Hz Monitor ($579.00 @ Scorptec)
Total: $1199.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-14 00:42 AEST+1000
You could also look at a 1080P 144hrz monitor,but would leave you with the same res and for the future might this included be a better choice..

Or just look at the pcparts side and upgrade that (1080ti maybe or RTX),Sell the current gpu and upgrade it with the cpu+motherboard+ram.That would leave you to work with the monitor you have.Which btw seems to offer 75hrz acording to one Dutch site?? This maybe would leave the option for 4K open in the future.

jay32267 · Sep 13, 2018

For what it's worth....

Here are posts from two people that have actually paired an FX-8350 with a 1070.

"
Commander-Cuddles
5 points ·
2 years ago

I just upgraded from a 7870 to a 1070 a couple days ago. i also have a 8350 and 8 gb of RAM and am playing on a 1080p 60 htz monitor. So far i got over twice as many points on firestrike benchmark and i have been playing the witcher 3 on with everything on ultra at 60fps. at 1080p 60 fps i dont think there is any bottle necking.

Amanat361
11 points ·
2 years ago

Just got my 1070 today. Works perfect with the 8350. You will love it

Gam3r01 · Sep 13, 2018

jay32267 :

Just because the 8350 can support the cards, does not mean its not the issue.
Not holding back a GPU is one thing, but the CPU itself probably is the limiting factor in games.

jay32267 · Sep 13, 2018

I'm running an i7-980 and a 1060 bottlenecks the CPU hard.
CPU<50% usage. Card is pegged.

An FX-8350 is similar in performance to an i7-980.

i7-980 multithread passmark 8675
singlethread passmark 1451

FX-8350 multithread passmark 8948
singlethread passmark 1509

This indicates an FX-8350 should work fine with a 1070.

Gam3r01 · Sep 13, 2018

Again, working "fine" with a 1070 is not the point. Though it can run the card, depending on the game the processors performance itself could be the point of concern.

Either way, the 1060 is still capable, no reason to upgrade it to a 1070. A modern processor+mobo+ram would be a better option.

Vic 40 · Sep 13, 2018

Passmark scores and real game performance are not the same.

Barty1884 · Sep 13, 2018

The 8350 will be very likely be holding back the 1060 in some titles.

If I were you, I'd consider a platform upgrade - especially with the budget you're working with.

On top of the obvious (CPU+MB+RAM), that PSU shoudl probably go too.

IIRC, that "600w" unit is only spec'd at 432W, was a pretty cheap unit at launch in 2012 ($60) and not exactly good quality either.

*EDIT* Corrected some mid-rememberings.

bbull0077 · Sep 13, 2018

Hello all, thanks for your fast replies I really appreciate your help with this.

So as it is now, on medium/high graphics settings limited to 144fps the system sits around 70-90 fps on fortnite and can hit the 144fps limit but it also goes as low as 45 fps sometimes( basically the same story with wow) with v-sync on it does hover at 60fps mostly but still does drop as low as 40fps in some cases.

I must admit my knowledge in terms of hardware is limited to the basics I didn't realise that an 8 core CPU @4.2 GHz would even be capable of bottlenecking a 6gb GPU to be honest I thought it was a fairly good CPU as it never really goes over 45degrees even under full load with prime95.

I'm certainly not against overclocking but again my knowledge is limited in that area as well, I've never really done any proper overclocking beyond what tweakers can do automatically but it is something I'd be happy to learn and implement.

The memory and PSU are stock from when I bought the system all other components have been updated at least once so I would like to upgrade them as well if it's within my budget.

With all that in mind I would say my immediate goal would be 1440p at 144hz and 144fps on mid to high graphics settings, I have added a little to my budget to bring it up to 1400(AUD) but I'm still not sure if it's possible to reach my goal within budget, if not what's the best I can hope for?

Thanks, Bull.

*Edit: so after more research I realise my goal above is most likely going to be outside my budget and now that I understand how a CPU actually works ive decided to take everyone's advice and I'm going to ignore the monitor for now and instead get a new CPU,motherboard,ram and a case with psu.

http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

This is the store I will be going to tommorow, so with my $1400 budget and my current system components in mind which combination of new components is going to be my best option (I have no preference between amd and Intel) for gaming performance?

Thanks, Bull.

madmatt30 · Sep 14, 2018

Ryzen 2600x $309
MSI B450 Tomahawk or MSI B450 Pro Carbon AC $189/229
16G Kit (8Gx2) 3200 G.Skill Ripjaws $239
Corsair CX 650M OR Corsair TX650m $103/135

This brings you in around $900 tops - left you 2 options on both board & psu (the cheaper ooptions are still very good) ,the more expensive options are better quality but obviously more expensive.

I haven't included a case simply because its a personal choice.

Pick something off the list ,post it here & Ill tell you whether I think its decent or not.

1440p 144htz? A gtx 1060 is honestly not going to push a monitor of those specs anyway.You need a 1070ti/1080 for that at least.

madmatt30 · Sep 14, 2018

If you want to sink more budget for the sake of 10-15 more fps
Intel core I7 8700K $589
ASrock Z370 Taichi $299 OR MSI Z370 Pro Carbon AC $275
16G Kit (8Gx2) 3200 G.Skill Ripjaws $239
Corsair CX 650M OR Corsair TX650m $103/135

The i7 will require the addition of a very good cpu cooler - If you have the intel brackets for your Nepton 240 still then you could use that.
Otherwise you need to add one

bbull0077 · Sep 14, 2018

madmatt30 :

Hi madmatt,

I like the coolermaster MasterCase H500P RGB ($189) although i don't know if its compatible with my components or the ones you've picked out, if it is then that's the one i will most likely get unless you can suggest a better one.

So if i went with the 2600x and that case would you still recommend the same motherboard, RAM and PSU?
there will be money left over if i get the parts you've suggested what would you use the rest on? a better board or more ram or a bigger ssd perhaps or would it be better spent on a better cpu cooler or something else im not thinking of?

Thanks, Bull.

madmatt30 · Sep 14, 2018

bbull0077 :

The h500p is an amazing looking case but suffers fairly mediocre airflow & internal temps.
Dont get me wrong it will do the job but has been overtly criticised in reviews because at its pricepoint you would expect excellent thermal performance.

If the mesh fronted version is available its plain better but If youre hooked on its aesthetics & the rgb aspect the h500p is still a nice case.

You dont need more than 16gb ram,only you know if your current storage is enough.
So im not going to recommend you fritter your bvudget away pointlessly.

I would definitely go with the pro carbon board (it has very good rgb compatibility & the gold rated txm if budget isnt a massive concern.

You could up the cpu to the ryzen 2700x which comes with a customisable rgb cooler too.
Id deem the 2700x unwarranted really for plain gaming use but on the plus side its future proofed headroom wise to the point of stupidity.

RAM ? IF they have something in stock that aesthetically is more to your liking then feel free to swap it - just be sure to go for 2 x 8gb sticks of 3000/3200mhz spec wise.
I believe the trident z 3200 RGB at $279 is controllable colour wise on that msi motherboard via software.

bbull0077 · Sep 14, 2018

madmatt30 :

bbull0077 :

The h500p is an amazing looking case but suffers fairly mediocre airflow & internal temps.
Dont get me wrong it will do the job but has been overtly criticised in reviews because at its pricepoint you would expect excellent thermal performance.

If the mesh fronted version is available its plain better but If youre hooked on its aesthetics & the rgb aspect the h500p is still a nice case.

You dont need more than 16gb ram,only you know if your current storage is enough.
So im not going to recommend you fritter your bvudget away pointlessly.

I would definitely go with the pro carbon board (it has very good rgb compatibility & the gold rated txm if budget isnt a massive concern.

You could up the cpu to the ryzen 2700x which comes with a customisable rgb cooler too.
Id deem the 2700x unwarranted really for plain gaming use but on the plus side its future proofed headroom wise to the point of stupidity.

RAM ? IF they have something in stock that aesthetically is more to your liking then feel free to swap it - just be sure to go for 2 x 8gb sticks of 3000/3200mhz spec wise.
I believe the trident z 3200 RGB at $279 is controllable colour wise on that msi motherboard via software.

OK, so if i go with 2700x chip, the h500p case, the pro carbon ac board, the ripjaws RAM and the tx650m psu that brings me in around $1250 which will leave a little over for things like thermal compound(which do you reccomend?), speaking of which this will essentially be the first time i build a full pc so along the lines of things like thermal compound what else will i need should i get fans or cables or anything else you can think of?

Thanks, Bull.

madmatt30 · Sep 15, 2018

You dont really need anything more.

That case even comes with rgb splitter cables for the fans.
The board has 2 rgb headers so no issue at all there.

If youre using the included wraith prism rgb cpu cooler it already has paste pre-applied.

Should you decide to hunt down an am4 bracket to use your nepton 240 in the future you may want to grab tbermal paste while youre there.

https://www.cmstore.eu/cooling/amd-am4-upgrade-kit-for-nepton-series-rl-am4b-neps-r1/

You can actually purchase direct for under €10 (you do need paypal) from cm.

bbull0077 · Sep 15, 2018

madmatt30 :

ok so here's what i got,

2600x cpu
h500p case
x470 AORUS ultra gaming motherboard
TX650m PSU
ripjaws v ddr4 3200mhz 16gb kit
samsung 970 evo m.2 250gb ssd
coolermaster ML240R RGB cpu cooler (and arctic silver)

im trying to build it now actually (emphasis on trying, this is my first build ever) so far i have the motherboard, RAM,PSU,SSD and the water cooler installed into the case and i believe ive done it all right so far.

i need to figure out the ssd,gpu and hdd that are in the computer im posting this from now haha.

something i probably should have thought of from the start but what do i do about the storage from this pc will it just work on the new rig? if i install the ssd out of this pc that has windows on it into the new rig will it just boot to windows or do i need to install windows from a usb?

madmatt30 · Sep 15, 2018

Im mobile bound at the minute mate so its awkward but Ill help if I can.

Front panel connectors from case to board.

Download the manual from here.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X470-AORUS-ULTRA-GAMING-rev-10#support-dl

Goto page 18 for the front panel header layout , its bottom right corner of the board.

Windows ? You bought a 970 evo m2 ?

Really you want windows installed on that from fresh via usb.

If you want to carry the license over then make sure you have a microsoft user account on your current pc.

Hopefully you have a 8gb flash drive knocking around?

If so use the media creation tool here.

https://www.microsoft.com/eb-gb/software-download/windows10

It will blank the drive first.

Dont physically install other drives in the new pc until you have win 10 installed

bbull0077 · Sep 15, 2018

madmatt30 :

Thanks madmatt i really appreciate your help,

I figured out the front i/o i misplaced the connector for it and had no clue until i found it.

I got the 970 because the ssd i have now is only small and doesnt really have room for AAA titles and windows, im not sure if its any good or not but the guy in the store said it was good.

ive been doing some research and i think a clean install as you suggested will be best, i have an activation key for my 8.1 OS so can i just re-activate it when i install windows on the new ssd? also can i upgrade it to windows 10 for free or would i have to buy W10?

so basically i need to get any flash drive thats got 8gb of space then download the media creation tool and use it on the usb then install the graphics card in the new pc and boot it up with the usb inserted then it will install windows and the drivers for the components automatically and then i can install the old ssd and hdd into the new rig?

bbull0077 · Sep 16, 2018

Hello all,

I can now report that my first PC build has been a success.

I would like to thank everyone for their advice and especially madmatt30 for all of your invaluable help.

I haven't done any benchmarking yet but I have it running stable at 4.2ghz on W10 and honestly it looks and runs so much better than my old system so I'm very pleased with the result.

Thanks again,
Bull.

madmatt30 · Sep 17, 2018

Excellent mate, how did you get on with all the rgb stuff ??

bbull0077 · Sep 17, 2018

madmatt30 :

By some miracle I actually managed to figure that maze of wires out and get it rite the first time haha, I haven't figured out the control software yet though I can download and preview the colour profiles but couldn't figure out how to actually set what I wanted so I'll have to find a tutorial for the program when I get home.

I think my next step is going to be getting out the dremmel and putting about a thousand little holes in that Plexi on the front and top to improve the airflow, I am comfortable with the temps now but it can definitely be improved like you said and once I do the top I can add more fans to the rad aswell so I'm gonna get 4 noctua's and run them with the RGB ones in some push-pull formation.

After that I'm going to do a shit-tonne of research on overclocking it's stable up to 4ghz now with the auto settings but I think it can go higher.

I foolishly played with it yesterday and managed to corrupt the windows boot files on the 970 in about 10 minutes luckily I had that USB handy so I got into the BIOS and booted from that. I assumed I would have to reinstall windows all over again but it booted straight up and I'm guessing it must have repaired the boot files on the 970 automatically because I took the USB out and rebooted it and everything was fine again so the only damage was to my heart after I thought I'd destroyed my brand new PC.

Please help identify my pc's bottlenecks.

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