Is my computer bottlenecking?

ringmany

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Nov 6, 2014
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Hi everyone,

I'm trying to find out more about how my PC works and what the term 'bottlenecking' means. I'm wondering how I can get the best performance out of my PC when gaming.

At the moment my specs are:
CPU: AMD FX-6100
Motherboard: ga-970a-ds3
GPU: MSI GTX 970 GAMING Twin Frozr V 4GB GDDR5
RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws X, DDR3, PC10666, 1333MHz, 1.5v 8GB (I think)
OS: Windows 7 home premium SP 1

At the moment, I feel most of my games run around 40-60fps, although some it's a bit lower. I don't have a huge variety to test on. But I was told to use the programs 'Resource monitor' and 'GPU-Z'. I ran GTA IV with max settings which varied from 30-55 FPS. Here are the results of the Resource monitor and GPU-Z. I don't know what the information means, and I was wondering if somebody could please help me understand what they mean, and if my PC is 'bottlenecking'?

I did want to get an Intel, but that isn't an option at the moment as it's too expensive for me. I would have to buy a new CPU, motherboard and renew my operating system. So I may have to purchase a new AMD CPU if needed.

Resource monitor:
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GPU-Z:
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Thank you.
 
Solution
Great post btw. Easy to follow and not a rats nest like most.

A bottleneck is where one component will slow down the rest. It is like sports. An athletes worst physical attribute (say a bad back) will limit almost all of their movements and make their entire performance suffer. Much in the same way, a bad processor can make a GPU suffer in gaming.

Does your system have a bottleneck? Well, I would say in most respects for gaming, no.

Your video card is superb so there will be no bottleneck there.

Your processor is decent especially if overclocked. However, more CPU oriented games that have poor multi core performance such as StarCraft 2 will suffer from your processors single core performance.

Your ram @ 8gb is solid and no...
It looks like an older cheap PC with a gtx970 on it. The FX6100 won't let you play cpu intensive games too well. And so will bottleneck your PC performance. You can try putting a good cooler o it and OCing the cpu. Or, if your motherboard supports it, try a fx 8 core CPU. Or if you are feeling rich then go Intel i5 or even i7.
 

gilbadon

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Great post btw. Easy to follow and not a rats nest like most.

A bottleneck is where one component will slow down the rest. It is like sports. An athletes worst physical attribute (say a bad back) will limit almost all of their movements and make their entire performance suffer. Much in the same way, a bad processor can make a GPU suffer in gaming.

Does your system have a bottleneck? Well, I would say in most respects for gaming, no.

Your video card is superb so there will be no bottleneck there.

Your processor is decent especially if overclocked. However, more CPU oriented games that have poor multi core performance such as StarCraft 2 will suffer from your processors single core performance.

Your ram @ 8gb is solid and no other aspects have an effect. I would say you have a great computer but may want to upgrade your CPU in the future.
 
Solution

ringmany

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I agree. The PC was built around 2-3 years ago, but the GPU was what I wanted to upgrade first to improve my FPS for when I record videos.

But I'm not wealthy enough to spend £300 on a new CPU, motherboard and OS. I may be able to afford a £130 CPU, maybe the FX-8350. Would it be worth upgrading to that?
 

ringmany

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Thank you. Good analogy btw.

I haven't overclocked anything before. I'm quite new to the concept being a newbie and I don't want to risk damaging it. Especially in case I want to sell it in the future to save towards a newer CPU.
 

ringmany

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My PC has been running pretty slowly in general recently. It could be due to a variety of reasons. I've tried me best to eliminate unwanted programs, disk cleanup, defrag, virus scan. Maybe the hardware is finally taking it's toll. I'm getting an SSD soon, so hopefully that may compensate.
 

ringmany

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Nov 6, 2014
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My PC has been incredibly loud lately. I've got quite a small case and very bad cable management at the moment. I've got to wait until next week for my Fractal Design Define R5. Until then, this is what I am dealing with..

*Disclaimer: Not for the faint hearted
http://i.imgur.com/jBSNF6l.jpg
 

gilbadon

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