FX-8350 has trouble handling some games. Any help?

[MatHay]

Hey, so I have a gaming rig with an FX-8350 @ 4GHz with a Sapphire R9 280 GPU 3GB. Some of my games having some dipping with the framerate, including some games from a while ago.
- Saints Row 3
- Assassin's Creed 1 and Brotherhood
- Cities Skylines

Could this just be a thing with this CPU/GPU combination, only one of those, or the fact that I am always on high-ultra settings?

 

[Frag Maniac]

The FX model CPUs always perform worse than Intels in games that are low threaded and/or have lots of calculations for common CPU related functions like AI, effects, etc.

In AC 1, you can try lowering the "Crowd Density" setting.

Don't know much about Saint's Row 3, but if it has a PhysX feature, turn it off. The only way PhysX works with an AMD GPU is on the CPU.

I also don't play city builder games, but if Skylines has a population density adjustment, try lowering it.

Also, in general, just run an FPS meter in the background, like the free version of Fraps, and take note of where frame rates drop most and what is happening onscreen at the time.

If for instance you get consistent drops when big explosions happen, you'll want to lower physics and other effects related features.

Other than that, if you haven't done so, you could slap an affordable aftermarket cooler on the CPU and OC it a bit.

You may not experience this on a lot of games with your FX chip, but older games or those using older or outdated engine tech often run on one or two threads, which is where the FX CPUs start showing their weakness.

 

[MatHay]

Thanks for the quick response. I use the Steam FPS counter and (often) Bandicam. Most of the time it seems to just drop and then go back up without any kind of reason.
About overclocking. I have a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (which has been brilliant), how far would you say I am safe to overclock to? I'm new to the idea.

 

[Frag Maniac]

If these are games you're running in Steam, have you tried disabling the Steam overlay? You can also try playing in offline mode.

Also, try disabling any startups you have one at a time to see if it improves performance.

There's no way to tell how high an OC you can safely do on your CPU, because each chip varies a little on efficiency.

I wouldn't push it past 4.5GHz on that CPU cooler though. Some advise water cooling on anything over 4.3GHz, though that is probably a bit overcautious.

Just make sure you follow a good guide and do it carefully and slowly, and check it well for stability as you go.