Question Cpu performing way worse than it should.

[eyywassup]

Hey people, I have an AMD x4-950 and I know it's not a great cpu but I thought it would get the job done( youtube thought that too, according to the benchmark videos.).

I've always thought that it was faulty but I recently benchmarked it using CpuMark benchmark, and the results were normal, it was even slightly higher than the average x4 950 score.

The score was 5319 and I know it kinda sucks but it should handle the games I play. I'm talking about fps drops in nearly all games I play. Performance doesn't change with the settings, decreasing the shadow setting kind of helps. I drop as much as to 40 fps in Rainbow Six Siege on LOW. Witcher 3 drops to 20fps on mid-high settings, even Borderlands 2 drops to 30fps sometimes when looking at the distance.

It's been one and a half year since I bought this cpu and it's been like this since day one. I just want to know why it does this. I'm really tired from dealing with this. Thank you.

Specs:
x4 950 cpu
Asus gtx 1050 2gb
G.Skill 8GB 2133Mhz 1x8 Ram
Asus a320m-k prime
500GB Seagate 5900rpm

It's a bad build but it shouldn't be THIS bad. Also there are benchmark videos on youtube that shows that this thing can do more.

 

[Barty1884]

The lack of dual channel memory, coupled with the (relatively) low memory clock speeds will be holding you back.

As you know, not a great CPU to begin with, but you really need to give it the optimal RAM setup to get the most out of it.

 

[eyywassup]

The lack of dual channel memory, coupled with the (relatively) low memory clock speeds will be holding you back.

As you know, not a great CPU to begin with, but you really need to give it the optimal RAM setup to get the most out of it.

Thanks for the reply, another question: if I make the rams dual channel, would it fix the cpu bottleneck to some degree, I know it'll always be a bottleneck but can it at least decrease it. I'm not that familiar with PC stuff so excuse my ignorance

 

[Barty1884]

"Fix", no. But dual channel (2x memory modules) will help alleviate to some degree, yes.

You'd see somewhere around a ~10% uplift in FPS performance from doing so (generally speaking), and should be a more consistent experience. Reducing some of the frame drop impact.

It's not going to "fix" everything, as it's ultimately a budget CPU based on an underlying architecture that's quite old at this point, but dual channel (and faster, if you can stretch to it) will help some.

However, saying that.... it might be worth weighing up the cost vs something like a Ryzen3 1200, or 2200G.
You can typically find a 1200 for around $60 / 60EUR etc.... and, while it would also benefit from dual channel & faster memory, you'd probably benefit more from a hindered Ryzen chip vs doing all you can to help the Athlon...

 

[eyywassup]

"Fix", no. But dual channel (2x memory modules) will help alleviate to some degree, yes.

You'd see somewhere around a ~10% uplift in FPS performance from doing so (generally speaking), and should be a more consistent experience. Reducing some of the frame drop impact.

It's not going to "fix" everything, as it's ultimately a budget CPU based on an underlying architecture that's quite old at this point, but dual channel (and faster, if you can stretch to it) will help some.

However, saying that.... it might be worth weighing up the cost vs something like a Ryzen3 1200, or 2200G.
You can typically find a 1200 for around $60 / 60EUR etc.... and, while it would also benefit from dual channel & faster memory, you'd probably benefit more from a hindered Ryzen chip vs doing all you can to help the Athlon...

I actually want to upgrade but wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the cpu socket on my motherboard and I'm a broke student so I didn't want to throw money away, but now that you said it, I might actually go for a Ryzen 3 or 5. Thanks again!

 

[Third-Eye]

I actually want to upgrade but wasn't sure if there was something wrong with the cpu socket on my motherboard and I'm a broke student so I didn't want to throw money away, but now that you said it, I might actually go for a Ryzen 3 or 5. Thanks again!

If you just want to increase your fps to a consistant 60 with the same graphics settings, you could go for a cheaper Athlon 200ge/300ge (when released) build and upgrade the CPU to a Ryzen 5 3600 when you have the money and sell the Athlon. An Athlon 200ge is around 50-60% faster than the Athlon x4 950 in pretty much every game and should get you 60-80fps or possibly higher on low settings. You could also look into buying a used GTX 1060 6GB or GTX 970.

 

[eyywassup]

If you just want to increase your fps to a consistant 60 with the same graphics settings, you could go for a cheaper Athlon 200ge/300ge (when released) build and upgrade the CPU to a Ryzen 5 3600 when you have the money and sell the Athlon. An Athlon 200ge is around 50-60% faster than the Athlon x4 950 in pretty much every game and should get you 60-80fps or possibly higher on low settings. You could also look into buying a used GTX 1060 6GB or GTX 970.

Thanks for the reply! Used market is not that big in my country but I think I'm good with my 1050 right now. Athlon 200ge did cross my mind too but like you mentioned, I can afford to wait for the 300ge. Thanks for your help.