[SOLVED] Best GPU upgrade pair to i5-9400f

[Delorien]

Hi all,

So I would like to make an upgrade to my pc.
I'm not satisfied with the current performance that I'm getting in some games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2, which even I not playing with all the graphics settings on ultra, it only gives me something around 50 fps.

For the following configuration, would it be a good option to buy an RTX 2070 super or RX 5700 XT? I would suffer bottleneck? Is investing in RTX 2080 super out of the question?

My present setup:
RTX 2060
CPU: i5-9400f
Mobo: Gigabyte B365M D3H
16gb DDR4
650 Watt Corsair VS650

I am playing at 1080p on the FreeSync monitor AOC 32G1 144Hz. Wich also is resulting in some annoying brightness flickering since I like to play with VSync disabled. So, would be better to get the RX 5700 XT instead RTX 2070 from a compatibility point of view?

Thanks for any tips 😀

 

[sizzling]

What’s your cpu usage on all cores when in game? Are any cores hitting 100%?

 

[Delorien]

What’s your cpu usage on all cores when in game? Are any cores hitting 100%?

My CPU usage is the most part of the time on 100% while gaming indeed. Also, this PC is performing very poorly on some most demanding CPU games like Kingdom Come Deliverance. And most part of the time I really enjoy playing RPG games style. Wich I believe is most CPU demanding anyway.

 

[sizzling]

My CPU usage is the most part of the time on 100% while gaming indeed. Also, this PC is performing very poorly on some most demanding CPU games like Kingdom Come Deliverance. And most part of the time I really enjoy playing RPG games style. Wich I believe is most CPU demanding anyway.

If you are already pushing the cpu to 100% then upgrading the gpu won’t give you any noticeable FPS increase. The cpu determines the best possible FPS you can achieve.

However I would have thought a 9400f would do better. What speed is your RAM and is it 2x8gb or 1x16gb?

What’s your cpu temperature and speed (GHz) while gaming?

 

[Delorien]

If you are already pushing the cpu to 100% then upgrading the gpu won’t give you any noticeable FPS increase. The cpu determines the best possible FPS you can achieve.

However I would have thought a 9400f would do better. What speed is your RAM and is it 2x8gb or 1x16gb?

What’s your cpu temperature and speed (GHz) while gaming?

Following a screenshot with the CPU workload running RDR2 at 48fps

The CPU temperature is 50 degrees celsius according to Gigabyte SIV.
And I am using a single 16gb Kingston HyperX Fury 2666Mhz

 

[sizzling]

Ok single channel RAM (single stick) will hurt performance and I’ve seen benchmarks where it can be as much as 30+% difference.

As a test try dropping the resolution to 720p. If you don’t see much of an increase in FPS this would suggest your cpu/RAM are the limiting factor and not the gpu.

 

[geofelt]

It seems to me that you are cpu limited, not graphics limited.
Your games seem to depend on a fast processor.
The i5-9400f is no slouch in that department.
One thing which you could do is to buy a dual channel ram kit so you can operate in faster dual channel mode.
Adding a second 16gb stick may or may not be compatible.
I think you could benefit by buying a 2 x 8gb kit and selling the old.

Dual channel helps, but nothing magical.

If your budget permits the $800 for a RTX2080 super, you have many options.

First, try this test:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
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.

If you come out thinking that you need an increase in processor power there are two ways to go,
a) The strongest processor your motherboard supports is the i9-9900K which is now discounted to about $425.
You will not be able to overclock on your motherboard, but the 9900K is still a beast.
You will need to use a strong cooler for such a beast.
The best for air would be a noctua NH-D15s at about $85.
Liquid cooling would need to be at least a comparable 240 aio.
What is your case?
That will determine what your cooling options are.

b) $400 or so will also buy you a i7-10700K which is comparable or better than the 9900K.
For that you will need a Z490 based motherboard. Probably in the $200 range.
Either should still use a dual channel ram kit, but you could see how you do with the kit you have first.

If you come out still thinking a graphics upgrade, buy the EVGA version.
They have a free 90 day upgrade option if you should decide you need something stronger.

 

[Delorien]

First of all, thanks for the help guys

So, I did the 720p test in 3 games:

RDR2 was around 50 fps on 1080p, and become around 68 fps at 720p
Assassin's Creed Odyssey went from 52 fps at 1080p to 58 fps at 720p
I also tried with Resident Evil 3, and strangely in that game, I had more fps running at 1080p 🤔
it was about 150fps on 1080p and become 130 with 720p

 

[sizzling]

First of all, thanks for the help guys

So, I did the 720p test in 3 games:

RDR2 was around 50 fps on 1080p, and become around 68 fps at 720p
Assassin's Creed Odyssey went from 52 fps at 1080p to 58 fps at 720p
I also tried with Resident Evil 3, and strangely in that game, I had more fps running at 1080p 🤔
it was about 150fps on 1080p and become 130 with 720p

If you were gpu limited you would see significant FPS improvements. Those results indicate a limitation elsewhere and I’d expect it’s a combination of the cpu and RAM.

 

[Delorien]

If you were gpu limited you would see significant FPS improvements. Those results indicate a limitation elsewhere and I’d expect it’s a combination of the cpu and RAM.

I'll try the option to buy a Dual Channel first.
Because if I really need to change the CPU, the Dual Channel will be useful anyway. And seems to be no an expensive shot.

Being that, I know that my chipset limits the RAM to 2666Mhz. But I guess that it's not so easy to find a good kit offer with that frequency currently.
Is there any downfall to buying a kit of a higher frequency and using it with this chipset?

 

[sizzling]

I'll try the option to buy a Dual Channel first.
Because if I really need to change the CPU, the Dual Channel will be useful anyway. And seems to be no an expensive shot.

Being that, I know that my chipset limits the RAM to 2666Mhz. But I guess that it's not so easy to find a good kit offer with that frequency currently.
Is there any downfall to buying a kit of a higher frequency and using it with this chipset?

Using higher Hz RAM should work but capping the speed to 2666mhz. However you may have to set the speed and timings manually in the BIOS. I cannot guarantee it will work, only RAM on the motherboards memory support list is guaranteed to work or if the RAM manufacturer guarantees that RAM and motherboard combination.

 

[Delorien]

It seems to me that you are cpu limited, not graphics limited.
Your games seem to depend on a fast processor.
The i5-9400f is no slouch in that department.
One thing which you could do is to buy a dual channel ram kit so you can operate in faster dual channel mode.
Adding a second 16gb stick may or may not be compatible.
I think you could benefit by buying a 2 x 8gb kit and selling the old.

Dual channel helps, but nothing magical.

If your budget permits the $800 for a RTX2080 super, you have many options.

First, try this test:

Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
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.

If you come out thinking that you need an increase in processor power there are two ways to go,
a) The strongest processor your motherboard supports is the i9-9900K which is now discounted to about $425.
You will not be able to overclock on your motherboard, but the 9900K is still a beast.
You will need to use a strong cooler for such a beast.
The best for air would be a noctua NH-D15s at about $85.
Liquid cooling would need to be at least a comparable 240 aio.
What is your case?
That will determine what your cooling options are.

b) $400 or so will also buy you a i7-10700K which is comparable or better than the 9900K.
For that you will need a Z490 based motherboard. Probably in the $200 range.
Either should still use a dual channel ram kit, but you could see how you do with the kit you have first.

If you come out still thinking a graphics upgrade, buy the EVGA version.
They have a free 90 day upgrade option if you should decide you need something stronger.

Okay. I will definitely change the CPU in addition to the memories.
Would it be a good idea to use the i9-9900K on my current motherboard? I believe it is a very weak motherboard. Would I be missing something out using that?

Or should I buy the i7-10700K + a new motherboard?

I can't believe that I'm going to overclock it anyway. My intention is just to play games with High settings. But since I'm going to spend money I would like to make a wise choice this time.
Also, next year would be nice to have a configuration that allows me to upgrade to the next RTX gen.