Is my CPU bottlenecking my GPU?

[Shadowblade2652]

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my computer to the following specs:
CPU: AMD A8-5600k clocked at 3.8GHz (OC)
RAM: 4GB G.Skill 1600MHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 660TI SE (EVGA) 2GB GDDR5
OS: Windows 8.1

I have a problem running certain games. I can max out games like Borderlands 2 and still get respectable framerates, as well as Battlefield 3. I cannot, however run BF4 smoothly on low-medium settings because the game is very very stuttery. I will have 40FPS one moment and next I'll have around 5 - 10. It's very annoying and I have no clue how to fix it. Is the CPU the reason for the bottleneck, or does it have to do with RAM (I will get 2GB more soon so I'll have 6GB total)?

(Also as a side note, I run the games at 1600x900. I don't run them at 1080p.)

 

[swifty_morgan]

adaptive vsync?

 

[13thmonkey]

your cpu could be causing your stuttering problems, it's weak compared to a true CPU (not an APU). 4GB of ram will be tight on BF4 so getting more will help, try and get to 8GB.

daft question, but you are using the 650ti and not the built in igpu?

 

[Shadowblade2652]

yes I am using the gpu (and it's a 660TI, not a 650). I disabled the iGPU in the bios and the video cables are all plugged directly into the card instead of the mobo.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

adaptive vsync?

What do you mean by that?

 

[swifty_morgan]

nvidia control panel..........manage 3d settings............ i think it's on the bottom.

 

[EdgeT]

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my computer to the following specs:
CPU: AMD A8-5600k clocked at 3.8GHz (OC)
RAM: 4GB G.Skill 1600MHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 660TI SE (EVGA) 2GB GDDR5
OS: Windows 8.1

I have a problem running certain games. I can max out games like Borderlands 2 and still get respectable framerates, as well as Battlefield 3. I cannot, however run BF4 smoothly on low-medium settings because the game is very very stuttery. I will have 40FPS one moment and next I'll have around 5 - 10. It's very annoying and I have no clue how to fix it. Is the CPU the reason for the bottleneck, or does it have to do with RAM (I will get 2GB more soon so I'll have 6GB total)?

(Also as a side note, I run the games at 1600x900. I don't run them at 1080p.)

The BF4 system specs state a dual core as a minimum, so it should work perfectly with a 3.8Ghz quad core at low-medium. Besides, your CPU still has a respectable 4MB cache it should be enough.

Have you updated your GPU drivers? Both nVidia and ATI have new drivers optimized for BF4.

Edit: Also, you should really get 8 GBs of RAM, make sure they're in dual channel mode (in pairs, ex: 2x4GB), very important especially on AMD CPUs.

 

[maxalge]

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my computer to the following specs:
CPU: AMD A8-5600k clocked at 3.8GHz (OC)
RAM: 4GB G.Skill 1600MHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 660TI SE (EVGA) 2GB GDDR5
OS: Windows 8.1

I have a problem running certain games. I can max out games like Borderlands 2 and still get respectable framerates, as well as Battlefield 3. I cannot, however run BF4 smoothly on low-medium settings because the game is very very stuttery. I will have 40FPS one moment and next I'll have around 5 - 10. It's very annoying and I have no clue how to fix it. Is the CPU the reason for the bottleneck, or does it have to do with RAM (I will get 2GB more soon so I'll have 6GB total)?

(Also as a side note, I run the games at 1600x900. I don't run them at 1080p.)

4gb is the bare minimum to play bf4, 8gb is what you want.

don't buy a 2gb stick, to run in proper dual channel you need another 4gb stick that is equal to what you currently have.

 

[swifty_morgan]

BF4 maxed out at 1080p uses less than 4gigs.

your cpu could be the culprit. lower the resolution to 1280x1024 and let us know what happens.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my computer to the following specs:
CPU: AMD A8-5600k clocked at 3.8GHz (OC)
RAM: 4GB G.Skill 1600MHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 660TI SE (EVGA) 2GB GDDR5
OS: Windows 8.1

I have a problem running certain games. I can max out games like Borderlands 2 and still get respectable framerates, as well as Battlefield 3. I cannot, however run BF4 smoothly on low-medium settings because the game is very very stuttery. I will have 40FPS one moment and next I'll have around 5 - 10. It's very annoying and I have no clue how to fix it. Is the CPU the reason for the bottleneck, or does it have to do with RAM (I will get 2GB more soon so I'll have 6GB total)?

(Also as a side note, I run the games at 1600x900. I don't run them at 1080p.)

4gb is the bare minimum to play bf4, 8gb is what you want.

don't buy a 2gb stick, to run in proper dual channel you need another 4gb stick that is equal to what you currently have.

The problem is I currently have 2 2GB sticks. I only have 2 DIMM slots and I can't afford to buy 8GB, so I settled on 4GB more of this RAM + 1 of the 2GB sticks for 6GB, until later, when I can buy a second 4GB

 

[swifty_morgan]

did you lower the resolution and play as suggested above??

 

[Shadowblade2652]

did you lower the resolution and play as suggested above??

Will try that now
helped a bit. Didn't add any major performance boosts.

 

[maxalge]

BF4 maxed out at 1080p uses less than 4gigs.

your cpu could be the culprit. lower the resolution to 1280x1024 and let us know what happens.

Totally incorrect, there are literally hundreds of posts here that show bf4 stutters and suffers horribly with 4gb of ram.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

BF4 maxed out at 1080p uses less than 4gigs.

your cpu could be the culprit. lower the resolution to 1280x1024 and let us know what happens.

Totally incorrect, there are literally hundreds of posts here that show bf4 stutters and suffers horribly with 4gb of ram.

Is it okay if I mix 2GB + 4GB in the same dual channel slots? they are the same brand and speed.

And,
Is 6GB enough for BF4? Or is that too little as well.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

The problem was that I was running the game in DX10 as opposed to DX11. I also changed it to 720p and that reduced stuttering as well. Now the game is playable, even with 4GB of ram

 

[13thmonkey]

Hi all,
I recently upgraded my computer to the following specs:
CPU: AMD A8-5600k clocked at 3.8GHz (OC)
RAM: 4GB G.Skill 1600MHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 660TI SE (EVGA) 2GB GDDR5
OS: Windows 8.1

I have a problem running certain games. I can max out games like Borderlands 2 and still get respectable framerates, as well as Battlefield 3. I cannot, however run BF4 smoothly on low-medium settings because the game is very very stuttery. I will have 40FPS one moment and next I'll have around 5 - 10. It's very annoying and I have no clue how to fix it. Is the CPU the reason for the bottleneck, or does it have to do with RAM (I will get 2GB more soon so I'll have 6GB total)?

(Also as a side note, I run the games at 1600x900. I don't run them at 1080p.)

The BF4 system specs state a dual core as a minimum, so it should work perfectly with a 3.8Ghz quad core at low-medium. Besides, your CPU still has a respectable 4MB cache it should be enough.

Have you updated your GPU drivers? Both nVidia and ATI have new drivers optimized for BF4.

Edit: Also, you should really get 8 GBs of RAM, make sure they're in dual channel mode (in pairs, ex: 2x4GB), very important especially on AMD CPUs.

my quad Q9550 (probably stronger than the APU) stuttered on high density maps 64 TDM noshar for instance. upgraded to a 3570k and it all went buttery smooth. So all quad cores are not equal, and APU's are notoriously weak.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Is an i3 3220 better than my current APU? I have an ivy bridge motherboard but I'm not sure that the i3 is the best possible upgrade at the moment. It's the same price as my current one, so I'm wondering if it will be a bottleneck

 

[swifty_morgan]

The problem was that I was running the game in DX10 as opposed to DX11. I also changed it to 720p and that reduced stuttering as well. Now the game is playable, even with 4GB of ram

you're cpu bound.

 

[13thmonkey]

Is an i3 3220 better than my current APU? I have an ivy bridge motherboard but I'm not sure that the i3 is the best possible upgrade at the moment. It's the same price as my current one, so I'm wondering if it will be a bottleneck

if you have an ivybridge mobo then a i5 3470k is possibly your best bet if you can afford it.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Is an i3 3220 better than my current APU? I have an ivy bridge motherboard but I'm not sure that the i3 is the best possible upgrade at the moment. It's the same price as my current one, so I'm wondering if it will be a bottleneck

if you have an ivybridge mobo then a i5 3470k is possibly your best bet if you can afford it.

yes, but in order to pay off the money for an i5 I would have to sell more than my CPU and mobo 😉 an i3 will run me about the same price as my current CPU, but is it better? Or is it not worth spending that money?

 

[swifty_morgan]

keep saving. dual cores ain't worth it.......... don't care how good some people think they are.

an i5 would be the route with new board....$300.

or an amd 6300/8320/8350.................$2-300............

run what you have right now at the lower res.

wouldn't stop at $300 though. would plan on a card upgrade too.

 

[13thmonkey]

I think he's got an ivb board so the cpu upgrade could be cheapish, but a decent upgrade would be an i5, an i3 wouldn't do much for you, it'd probably as-good-as the APU maybe a bit better but not enough to make a difference.

 

[Shadowblade2652]

I think he's got an ivb board so the cpu upgrade could be cheapish, but a decent upgrade would be an i5, an i3 wouldn't do much for you, it'd probably as-good-as the APU maybe a bit better but not enough to make a difference.

If it doesn't make a difference then should I do it? If I do it now it will open up more upgradeability in the future, as well as more RAM slots because the ivyb motherboard has 4 DIMM slots as opposed to my 2

 

[13thmonkey]

I would wait until you can do it with an i5, don't waste the money on an i3, you'll be just throwing that money away,

 

[Shadowblade2652]

I would wait until you can do it with an i5, don't waste the money on an i3, you'll be just throwing that money away,

but not really because I'll get money back from selling my current setup (the AMD processor + the mobo)