Good GPU (AMD Radeon R9 290x Lightning Edition) bad FPS/ Lag spikes

[BIAATiser]

I just got myself an AMD Radeon R9 290x Lightning Edition and it feels like it's underperforming. i've looked up a lot of FPS tests and benchmarks and mine doesn't even seem to get close to it. I had a Geforce GTX 750 Ti before i got a new one. And it seems like my fps in games is about the same, maybe even worse because of the lag spikes i got with installing the new card. I dont know what i can do about or what causes these problems. ;(

My PC:

- GPU: AMD Radeon R9 290x Lightning Edition
- Motherboard: ASUS A88XM-A
- CPU: AMD A8-7600
- Memory: 8 GB DDR3 (2x4)
- SSD: Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
- HDD: None
- PSU: Dont know exactly what it is but its a 600w PSU from Cooler Master

Thing that may be interesting:

- The 600W power supply i have acctually can't power my grapihcs card but i used a PCI-E Express splitter that converts 1 6-pins into 2x (6+2)-pins ( https://miningwholesale.eu/product/6-pin-female-to-2-x-8-pin-62-male-pci-express-splitter-cable/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkpfWBRDZARIsAAfeXaqFp2a2abfDn4cAJ_yN4QdXFk8xTMfJ3mEmYK1vOO_EJM0I6ZogHP4aAs52EALw_wcB )

- The PCI-E Express doesnt really seem to be good at all, my normal 6-pins cable goes in all the way into my GPU but the 2 (6+2)-pins don't. I dont know a lot about how powering the GPU works but maybe that causes the lag problems i have?

- I've installed the new drivers for the card and i've deleted the old ones. (NVIDIA drivers)


The gaming experience that i have with the 290x right know is even worse than playing with my 750 TI. And im pretty sure thats not how it should be...

 

[RobCrezz]

Honestly, your system is totally unbalanced.

Your CPU is a low end piece of ... to put it bluntly, and you have a pretty decent graphics card.

Your CPU will be totally be holding back what the graphics card can do, it simply doesnt have the processing power to keep the 290x fed with data.

I wouldnt be surprised if the PSU is probably not suitable either, as Cooler master made some questionable units, and the 290x needs quite a bit of power.

 

[BIAATiser]

So basicly i should buy a new PSU and CPU.. I still have a couple more questions about that though:


- Do you have any suggestions of what CPU i should buy?
- How much W does my PSU need to output to properly run the 290x?
- If i buy a new GPU do i also need to buy a new cooler or is it easy to replace?
- It has nothing to do with my motherboard or chipset or something?


I really hope this will fix my problem and thanks for helping me out too!

 

[bignastyid]

So basicly i should buy a new PSU and CPU.. I still have a couple more questions about that though:


- Do you have any suggestions of what CPU i should buy?
- How much W does my PSU need to output to properly run the 290x?
- If i buy a new GPU do i also need to buy a new cooler or is it easy to replace?
- It has nothing to do with my motherboard or chipset or something?


I really hope this will fix my problem and thanks for helping me out too!

A good CPU is going to require a new motherboard, and if you go with a current Generation cpu and motherbaord you'll need new ram(DDR4) aswell.

For a PSU I'd get a good quality 620-650w PSU to power a 290x.

 

[ikaz]

The first thing you should invest in is a good PSU MSI recommends a 750watt PSU though I think that may be a bit of overkill however that card can use almost 400Watt a full load

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Lightning/22.html

So I would invest in a good quality 650-700 PSU to be safe, I would suggest looking into the seasonic line of PSU's

 

[King_V]

- The 600W power supply i have acctually can't power my grapihcs card but i used a PCI-E Express splitter that converts 1 6-pins into 2x (6+2)-pins ( https://miningwholesale.eu/product/6-pin-female-to-2-x-8-pin-62-male-pci-express-splitter-cable/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkpfWBRDZARIsAAfeXaqFp2a2abfDn4cAJ_yN4QdXFk8xTMfJ3mEmYK1vOO_EJM0I6ZogHP4aAs52EALw_wcB )

Is this safe? It doesn't sound even remotely safe. That's basically a splitter allowing something that wants to pull 300 watts (2x 8-pin connectors) from a connector that was originally made to supply only 75 watts (1x 6-pin connector)

I'll freely admit that there may be something about the use of this splitter that I don't understand, but this seems (to me) like an electrical fire waiting to happen.

 

[BIAATiser]

Why do i require i new motherboard for a new CPU? can't i just put a new CPU in my motherboard?

And King_V thanks for trying to help me out. honestly i don't think its safe and i'm using it as a short-term solution. I've read on the internet that your PSU can become overheated and that u should really keep an eye on the temps. I really need to buy a new PSU soon because i dont want to hurt my pc's health.

 

[bignastyid]

- The 600W power supply i have acctually can't power my grapihcs card but i used a PCI-E Express splitter that converts 1 6-pins into 2x (6+2)-pins ( https://miningwholesale.eu/product/6-pin-female-to-2-x-8-pin-62-male-pci-express-splitter-cable/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkpfWBRDZARIsAAfeXaqFp2a2abfDn4cAJ_yN4QdXFk8xTMfJ3mEmYK1vOO_EJM0I6ZogHP4aAs52EALw_wcB )

Is this safe? It doesn't sound even remotely safe. That's basically a splitter allowing something that wants to pull 300 watts (2x 8-pin connectors) from a connector that was originally made to supply only 75 watts (1x 6-pin connector)

I'll freely admit that there may be something about the use of this splitter that I don't understand, but this seems (to me) like an electrical fire waiting to happen.

I'd say taking a connection rated for 75w then using an adapter that could force it to delver upto 300w(150w x2) is a bad idea and a good way to start a fire.

 

[bignastyid]

Why do i require i new motherboard for a new CPU? can't i just put a new CPU in my motherboard?

And King_V thanks for trying to help me out. honestly i don't think its safe and i'm using it as a short-term solution. I've read on the internet that your PSU can become overheated and that u should really keep an eye on the temps. I really need to buy a new PSU soon because i dont want to hurt my pc's health.

The CPUs your current motherboard supports are all rather poor. If you want a true upgade you'll also need a motherboard that supports better cpus.

 

[BIAATiser]

Oh i get it, so i should basically upgrade my motherboard and CPU at the same time. Does any of you guys know a good bundle that go well together. It has to be a good upgrade where i can live with for like 4 years or so. i dont want te replace parts every year..

And also ofcourse i dont want to make fire so is it a good idea to switch back to my 750 Ti for now until i got my new PSU?
Thanks again!


Oh and btw, this is kind of a off-topic question but 1 of the 3 fans of my GPU is not spinning.. is that because it only runs at 50C or is it a problem that needs to be fixed?


It also seems like my FPS doesn't go down if i go from LOW to EPIC settings on Fortnite is this an extra confirmation that my GPU is good but my CPU can't handle it?

 

[bignastyid]

Budget for the upgrade? Location?
Yes going back to the 750Ti would be a good idea.

 

[BIAATiser]

I dont really have a budget but i kinda wanna keep it cheap and gucci if you know what i mean. I dont really want the best of the best but like i said i wanna look out for the future with this upgrade. I live in the Netherlands if that what u mean by location..

 

[bignastyid]

Part selection on PCpartpicker is kinda slim for the Netherlands,. Look for an 8th Gen i3 or a Ryzen 3 on the sites you trust, either will require a new motherboard and new ram(DDR4). For the PSU look for something like this
https://nl.pcpartpicker.com/product/WrNypg/seasonic-focus-plus-gold-650w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-650fx

 

[BIAATiser]

What do you think about this upgrade? i have looked on the internet which parts go well together and which parts are affordable:

- AMD Ryzen 5 1600X:

https://m.alternate.nl/AMD/Ryzen-5-1600X-3-6-GHz-(4-0-GHz-Turbo-Boost)-socket-AM4-processor/html/product/1340584

- MSI B350 Motherboard:

https://azerty.nl/product/msi/2640520/b350m-pro-vdh-moederbord-m-atx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIu7_o3sul2gIV7BXTCh2_8AI3EAkYASABEgLV4PD_BwE

- Corsair VS650 PSU:

https://www.bol.com/nl/p/corsair-vs650-650w-atx-psu/9200000030476885/?Referrer=ADVNLGOO002013-G-49170245475-S-373892490182-9200000030476885&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4LSIiMyl2gIVhLDtCh3AwASlEAQYASABEgI_qvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[RobCrezz]

Yeah thats good, but youll need DDR4 ram, and I would get a better PSU than that, VS is their budget line.

 

[BIAATiser]

Do i need to upgrade the RAM with the rest or can it wait a bit? I kinda wanna get the main things fixed and upgrade it further on. For now i just want my FPS to be stable actually xD

And isn’t 650W enough for a new power supply? I only have to make sure it has the right connections tho, i didn’t do that yet.

 

[King_V]

The new RAM will be necessary, as your existing system is DDR3, and all the modern platforms use DDR4 - they are not interchangeable/compatible.

As for the power supply, it's not a concern about the amount of power listed - but that the VS series are just not particularly good quality.

 

[DSzymborski]

As King says, it's not the wattage that's the problem, it's the quality. A PSU is the most important part of a PC and with a very power-hungry GPU in an overclocked 290x, I'd really want a quality unit in there. Something like a SeaSonic Focus 650W.

 

[ikaz]

So first thing to do as other suggested upgraded to a good PSU once you do that it *could* help with the FPS it could be your PSU is not supplying enough power. Also when you do decide or have the money to upgrade your system you can move over your PSU.

 

[DSzymborski]

So first thing to do as other suggested upgraded to a good PSU once you do that it *could* help with the FPS it could be your PSU is not supplying enough power. Also when you do decide or have the money to upgrade your system you can move over your PSU.

Honestly, my goal here is to get him just to use a PSU that won't risk destroying his equipment. Only then can one address the fps issues, which are quite likely simply his very old platform/CPU combination.

 

[BIAATiser]

Okay good, i just put my 750 ti back in and it is a much more enjoyable experience, and i will make sure to buy a good new PSU to power my system. Will that also fix the fact one of my fans is not spinning from my new 290x? Maybe it doesnt work because it doesnt have enough power. It starts spinning for 1 second at startup and then it just stops..

And what does an old “platform” actually mean? An old motherboard?

 

[ikaz]

Basically think of platform as the combination of CPU/Motherboard and sometimes memory basically most basic parts to get the PC running that aren't considered interchangeable .