Help with new graphics card

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Kirius

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Jul 26, 2017
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So I am currently looking into buying a new graphics card, I am willing to spend up to $700-$800, and if you have a suggestion that's above or below that, please let me know anyways!

Here are my current specs:

Windows 7 - 64-Bit Operating System
Processor: AMD FX(tm) - 6300 Six-Core Processor 3.50 GHz
RAM: 8GB (going to be 16GB here soon)
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon R9 200 Series

Please let me know if I need to add anything else, and I appreciate the help! :)
 
Solution
Barty1884
Ok, without you monitoring anything I can only make an educated assumption.
When the action ramps up in Black Desert, your CPU is likely maxing out at 100% usage - resulting in the substantial frame drops.

The PSU is a quality offering, so you can definitely reuse that. What do you currently use for storage? SSD, HDD? What case do you have?

The R9 270X is a solid medium settings, 1080p, 30+ FPS card.... but it's not going to achieve your 60FPS aim very often (or consistently).

I'd suggest an upgrade of the CPU/Mobo/RAM/GPU.
The components I linked above would easily be a 60+ FPS on High/Ultra settings for 99% of titles at 1080p.....
Probably even a little overkill for your needs really. A 6GB 1060 should also achieve...
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Which "200 Series" R9 card do you have? What are you looking to achieve from your upgrade? What resolution do you game at?

What are the balance of your spec? PSU etc.

Your $700-$800 budget may be better spent on a newer platform; depending on your needs/uses. The FX6300 isn't the best chip for gaming etc, and the better 200 series cards (280, 280X, 290, 380 etc) are all still very strong performers at 1080p.
 
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K

Kirius

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@Barty1884; I am a PC gamer and am looking to achieve graphical bliss at a smooth 60+fps while playing these graphically intense games.

My resolution is 1920x1080

My psu has 750 watts, and I am currently unsure on how to figure how what series my graphics card is
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Ok - while in theory that would lead you to believe a new GPU is required..... there's a few steps you should take first.

1. What games do you play (or want to play)?
2. What kind of FPS are you seeing now? Do you suffer drops etc?
3. Are you monitoring CPU/RAM/GPU usage in game? I would expect your CPU is actually more of an issue than your GPU is.

What make/model of PSU specifically? "750 watts" doesn't tell us much unfortunately.

Many programs should be able to detect your GPU accurately - especially AMD's own software (name escapes me right now?).
HWMonitor, GPU-Z, CPU-Z, MSI Afterburner etc should all be able to tell you what card you have specifically.



Chances are pretty good, yes. But without knowing the rest of your components accurately, it's tough to say if that;s *all* you need to achieve your aim, or whether you'll need more.

For example, even if your GPU isn't too viable for 60FPS gaming, your budget should allow you to pick up some quality components..... provided your PSU, Storage and Case are still viable.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($434.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $810.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-07-26 15:46 EDT-0400
 
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K

Kirius

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1. The game that i play the most, and is one of the only games that gives me fps problems, is Black Desert Online
2. I set it at medium graphics for most of the time, and i get 30-50 fps, until i get into wheres there is tons of people around me and a lot of fighting, then it goes down to 10-20.
3. No I am not monitoring anything.

I happen to have the box right here for my power supply still.. its a EVGA Supernova 750 G2 (750Watt Gold Power Supply) is what it says on the box.

I just downloaded GPU - Z.. it tells me its a ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 4 GB
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Ok, without you monitoring anything I can only make an educated assumption.
When the action ramps up in Black Desert, your CPU is likely maxing out at 100% usage - resulting in the substantial frame drops.

The PSU is a quality offering, so you can definitely reuse that. What do you currently use for storage? SSD, HDD? What case do you have?

The R9 270X is a solid medium settings, 1080p, 30+ FPS card.... but it's not going to achieve your 60FPS aim very often (or consistently).

I'd suggest an upgrade of the CPU/Mobo/RAM/GPU.
The components I linked above would easily be a 60+ FPS on High/Ultra settings for 99% of titles at 1080p.....
Probably even a little overkill for your needs really. A 6GB 1060 should also achieve what you want, for $650 ish

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB D5 6G Video Card ($279.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $655.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-07-26 15:55 EDT-0400
 
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Solution
K

Kirius

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I just bought more RAM a couple days ago, just waiting for it to come in to install it, I will have 16gb

For storage i use an SSD, i have one SSD specifically for OS, one HDD for random games, and another SSD for games that i play most often and that need it the most.

Since you listed a motherboard, ill tell you mine and see what you think: ASUS Motherboard M5A99X EVO R2.0
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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You can migrate your SSDs and HDDs (and your OS) over to a new system; which is great. Leaves you either more money for your "main" components (CPU/GPU), or more money in your pocket. Either way, it works.

What case you have?


There's nothing worthwhile upgrading to on that platform - and the RAM you ordered will be DDR3. Increasing from 8 to 16GB isn't likely to solve anything, unless the problems are memory related. Without monitoring, it's impossible to day definitively...... but I'd be very, very surprised if it's not the CPU that's causing the problems here (based on what you've described).

There's no sense in upgrading to a platform still using DDR3., While there will be performance gains (going Intel + DDR3), you'd be jumping onto another "dead" platform.

Step up to Ryzen (or KabyLake if you want to go Intel, but it's substantially more expensive) and DDR4.
 
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K

Kirius

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Ok, so I should get that Ryzen CPU first and see what happens? Forgive me if I ask something stupid, as I am not that proficient in hardware, but how come the Ryzen CPU is better than mine, even though it has less GHz? Again, probably a stupid question... but I might as well ask.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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You'd need the CPU + Motherboard + RAM.
The Ryzen CPU is not compatible with your current motherboard, nor DDR3 memory.

You could buy the CPU+Mobo+RAM and use your current GPU. I'd expect performance to be better, with less frame drops and a higher average, but you're not going to see 60+FPS on a 270X in most titles.

As for why it's better, this could be a really long answer, or a quick summary..... and I'll opt for quick.
The GHz wars are over (for the most part), higher clock speed does not = higher performance as a general rule.
The Ryzen5 CPU is substantially newer than the FX6300. The 6300 was released in 2012, and the underlaying architecture is older than that.

Newer architecture, substantially more cache, DDR4 and faster speed support among many others that directly make it "better" and more appropriate, and other features that come along with it.

Incidentally, the "boost" clock speeds of the FX6300 and R5 1600 are very similar (4.1 vs 4.0).



You ordered that to pair with the FX6300???? That simply won't work, it's not compatible.
Luckily though, it would pair very nicely with the R5 1600 and B350 board I linked earlier.
 
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androbourne

androbourne

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Just an FYI all that hardware compatibility aside. Your FX CPU will bottleneck the performance of the GPU. No reason to buy a $600+ card if you cant use it to its fully extent.

You need a better CPU as well and to make that happen, you might as well just get a new cpu, mobo, ram and gpu at that point. Because nothing in the FX series will handle the performance of a $600+ card.
 
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K

Kirius

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Jul 26, 2017
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Well crap, this is what i get for ordering RAM without being sufficiently educated in the matter... I was trying to upgrade my computer without upgrading my motherboard, because i hear it is a very delicate process, is there a CPU you recommend without me updating motherboard that would be worthwhile, or am I better off hiring someone to do it for me or something.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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It's not overly complicated. The manuals that come with the motherboard etc will walk you through everything, and there are countless Youtube videos.

There is no CPU within the FX series that I would recommend to you given the circumstances and aims you've explained.
 
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