[SOLVED] Is my motherboard bottlenecking my GPU?

60frames

Great
Jun 4, 2019
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I have a GIGABYTE B350M GAMING 3 motherboard and an RX 460 4GB. My GPU is without a 6 pin connector. So my GPU draws power directly from PCIe connector. I get extreme GPU usage drops when my card pulls more than 54W. Are the motherboard VRMs bottlenecking my GPU?
The GPU usage drop does not occur in all games. Some games manage to get more power from the board.
 
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Solution
Motherboard is not the problem here. You CPU and GPU are low end, so I would not expect much performance to begin with. A GPU upgrade would be very beneficial. Faster ram also should help your overall gaming experience, as Ryzen needs faster ram. Check the QVL list, for what your motherboard model supports. 1st gen ryzen boards were pretty picky about ram. Newer bios revisions did help alleviate such things, though. GPU is what I would target first, though. With your PSU, a GTX 1650 would work. The RX 570 also is an option, but might cut it a bit close, on power limits.

60frames

Great
Jun 4, 2019
144
5
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what games do you play?
what FPS do you see?
ram speed and running speed?
did you overclock?
No I did not overclock anything. My RAM runs at 2400MHz in dual channel. I play games like Wolfenstein the old blood at maxed out settings except 8x AA . It plays above 30(30-35) in most parts but during combat or open areas the fps drops with the GPU usage. I also play Wolfenstein 2 at mein leben preset. But the GPU usage drops in some parts with fps. Since my motherboard is not high end I think it is not able to deliver 75W through PCIe consistently. Is it true?
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Ryzen with 2400 ram? That is not helping your performance. Ryzen likes fast ram. DDR4 3000 would be a suitable choice, given that it is a 1st gen platform. Have you monitored CPU and GPU usage, while gaming? MSI afterburner has an OSD option, so you can see said usage, while gaming.
 

60frames

Great
Jun 4, 2019
144
5
95
Ryzen with 2400 ram? That is not helping your performance. Ryzen likes fast ram. DDR4 3000 would be a suitable choice, given that it is a 1st gen platform. Have you monitored CPU and GPU usage, while gaming? MSI afterburner has an OSD option, so you can see said usage, while gaming.
Will 3200Mhz OC help? Or should I get a new RAM kit which natively supports 3200MHz?
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
Motherboard is not the problem here. You CPU and GPU are low end, so I would not expect much performance to begin with. A GPU upgrade would be very beneficial. Faster ram also should help your overall gaming experience, as Ryzen needs faster ram. Check the QVL list, for what your motherboard model supports. 1st gen ryzen boards were pretty picky about ram. Newer bios revisions did help alleviate such things, though. GPU is what I would target first, though. With your PSU, a GTX 1650 would work. The RX 570 also is an option, but might cut it a bit close, on power limits.
 
Solution