Question Mid end Gaming PC slow-ish performance

[Gandee]

Hello I have a
Ryzen 9 3900X
2x8 HyperX 2400mhz DDR4
2080 Super
B450 Tomohawk
Corsair AX1200W PSU

My problem is my PC should be running higher than it should be. For example Valorant Low settings 1080p is 300fps max avg 200 or Warzone 2 low settings 100-90 fps and ultra 70fps.
I know my RAM is slow however could it really bottleneck my system that bad? My old rig which was an i5 9600k 1070 16gb 3000mhz is only slightly lower in performance in Valorant.

Benchmark scores:
FurMark SCORE:10691 points (178 FPS, 60000 ms) Max GPU temp 83c
Cinebench R23: Multi score 17393pts Single score 1269 MP ratio 13.70 x
Unigen Heaven Benchmark 1080P extreme: 3610


Temps are normal
On Nvidia Control panel its set to High performance.
FPS isn't capped either
V-sync off

What should I do next?
Is there anything I can do to narrow it down?

 

[geofelt]

Ryzen architecture, unlike Intel, depends on fast ram for performance.
As a test, run the CPU-Z bench on your 3900X
You should see a single thread score around 569:

CPU-Z Benchmark for AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (1T) - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Best CPU performance - 64-bit - June 2025

valid.x86.fr

There are two avenues for improvement.
I would first look at faster ram.
But don't get all excited about big improvements:

Don't waste money chasing RAM speed for gaming on AMD or Intel

Revisiting the question that every gamer considers when building a new gaming system: does RAM speed matter?

www.pcgamer.com

The other is a more expensive cpu upgrade.

 

[Gandee]

Ryzen architecture, unlike Intel, depends on fast ram for performance.
As a test, run the CPU-Z bench on your 3900X
You should see a single thread score around 569:

CPU-Z Benchmark for AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (1T) - CPU-Z VALIDATOR

Best CPU performance - 64-bit - June 2025

valid.x86.fr

There are two avenues for improvement.
I would first look at faster ram.
But don't get all excited about big improvements:

Don't waste money chasing RAM speed for gaming on AMD or Intel

Revisiting the question that every gamer considers when building a new gaming system: does RAM speed matter?

www.pcgamer.com

The other is a more expensive cpu upgrade.

Hello I got 516.8 Single Thread and 7990.8 Multi Thread

I will try 3200mhz 32gb kit and see what happens. In regards to upgrading the cpu, surely the Ryzen 9 3900x is okay for now and its just the ram that needs upgrading

 

[geofelt]

Hello I got 516.8 Single Thread and 7990.8 Multi Thread

I will try 3200mhz 32gb kit and see what happens. In regards to upgrading the cpu, surely the Ryzen 9 3900x is okay for now and its just the ram that needs upgrading

The cpu-z benchmarks come from many users running it.
Likely most used faster ram and that accounts for the difference.
I think you will find that 3600 speed is the sweet spot and that 3600 speed with decent latency does not cost much more.

 

[Gandee]

The cpu-z benchmarks come from many users running it.
Likely most used faster ram and that accounts for the difference.
I think you will find that 3600 speed is the sweet spot and that 3600 speed with decent latency does not cost much more.

I did try GSKILL RIPJAWS V 3600mhz and that didn't post. DRAM error on MOBO so I had to use my old one, the 2400mhz

 

[Nighthawk117]

Hello I have a
Ryzen 9 3900X
2x8 HyperX 2400mhz DDR4
2080 Super
B450 Tomohawk
Corsair AX1200W PSU

My problem is my PC should be running higher than it should be. For example Valorant Low settings 1080p is 300fps max avg 200 or Warzone 2 low settings 100-90 fps and ultra 70fps.
I know my RAM is slow however could it really bottleneck my system that bad? My old rig which was an i5 9600k 1070 16gb 3000mhz is only slightly lower in performance in Valorant.

Benchmark scores:
FurMark SCORE:10691 points (178 FPS, 60000 ms) Max GPU temp 83c
Cinebench R23: Multi score 17393pts Single score 1269 MP ratio 13.70 x
Unigen Heaven Benchmark 1080P extreme: 3610


Temps are normal
On Nvidia Control panel its set to High performance.
FPS isn't capped either
V-sync off

What should I do next?
Is there anything I can do to narrow it down?

I've found Ryzen more sensitive to RAM speed, I would upgrade to 3200Mhz and get 32GB while your at it. It would be rude not to with DDR4 prices as they are now. I would suggest 3600Mhz but I've had more issues with stability on anything less than the latest 500 series boards.

What slots do you have your RAM installed in?

 

[Nighthawk117]

I did try GSKILL RIPJAWS V 3600mhz and that didn't post. DRAM error on MOBO so I had to use my old one, the 2400mhz

I would put the GSKILL back in and set it to 3200Mhz in the bios, while Zen 2 (3000) can typically do 3600Mhz with two sticks of RAM (not 4), I have not found it stable unless your on the latest chipset.

Are you sure you have dual channel memory, performance can collapse in gaming on Ryzen if dual channel is not enabled. You would typically want to populate slots A2 and B2 first (2 and 4). Not doing that can affect performance.

 

[Gandee]

I've found Ryzen more sensitive to RAM speed, I would upgrade to 3200Mhz and get 32GB while your at it. It would be rude not to with DDR4 prices as they are now. I would suggest 3600Mhz but I've had more issues with stability on anything less than the latest 500 series boards.

What slots do you have your RAM installed in?

Currently Slot 2 and 4 running Dual Channel

 

[Gandee]

I would put the GSKILL back in and set it to 3200Mhz in the bios, while Zen 2 (3000) can typically do 3600Mhz with two sticks of RAM (not 4), I have not found it stable unless your on the latest chipset.

Are you sure you have dual channel memory, performance can collapse in gaming on Ryzen if dual channel is not enabled. You would typically want to populate slots A2 and B2 first (2 and 4). Not doing that can affect performance.

I cant get into bios when I put the GSKILl in as it wont post at all. I turned a-xmp off before I installed it too and that didn't work. Ive tried one stick and every slot and combination.

 

[punkncat]

A few comments here.

I didn't see you list your monitor resolution and framerate?

Any time you run benchmarks you want as little as possible running in the background to actually keep the machine running. Typically speaking as time goes on and your PC gets more and more programs/handles (etc.) going on in the background, your benchmark scores will slowly decrease.

Aside from that, every bit of hardware is different even within the same model(s).

 

[Nighthawk117]

Currently Slot 2 and 4 running Dual Channel

Ok sounds good.

I cant get into bios when I put the GSKILl in as it wont post at all. I turned a-xmp off before I installed it too and that didn't work. Ive tried one stick and every slot and combination.

Fair enough. When you moved to the 3900X, did you do a clean install of Windows?

 

[Nighthawk117]

Have you used MSI Afterburner while your playing these games to see what load is on the GPU. You may find your Warzone frame rate is down to the GPU not CPU.

 

[Gandee]

A few comments here.

I didn't see you list your monitor resolution and framerate?

Any time you run benchmarks you want as little as possible running in the background to actually keep the machine running. Typically speaking as time goes on and your PC gets more and more programs/handles (etc.) going on in the background, your benchmark scores will slowly decrease.

Aside from that, every bit of hardware is different even within the same model(s).

Sorry its 144hz 1920x1080


All background apps were closed. The benchmarks look good I think its just the actual game performance 🙁

 

[Gandee]

Ok sounds good.


Fair enough. When you moved to the 3900X, did you do a clean install of Windows?

No but I was considering it. Im currently on windows 11 but when I do a clean install is that just resetting my pc or actually reinstalling the whole OS?

 

[Gandee]

Have you used MSI Afterburner while your playing these games to see what load is on the GPU. You may find your Warzone frame rate is down to the GPU not CPU.

I have not I will try that however what do I look for when I use MSI and play. I know my GPU temps are okay so in terms of all the other statistics Im not really too sure what Im looking at sorry

 

[punkncat]

Sorry its 144hz 1920x1080

Just my .02 on it....

If your monitor is 144 then every frame ABOVE that is basically just 'waste' (as it were). You aren't seeing it, the monitor can't show it to you due to its own physical limitations. The key here would be to make sure you aren't getting big dips which can be perceived as you play. This could be done by way of various sync methods, but G Sync would be ideal with your graphics card if the monitor is compatible. You could set a frame limit, as well as adjust settings to help stay as steady and high/close as possible to the monitors limitation.

The other aspect I relate to above is that you generally cannot measure your systems performance to that of such as online reviewers or really even holding benchmark numbers as "bible" because ultimately you have no idea what settings were changed, tweaked, what is installed and the simple facts about 'silicone lottery' and the variance between same-same parts.

Enjoy your rig and think less about how Jimmies system with the same parts might be marginally better (or worse). Assuming you have all the correct drivers, system stability, temps are in order.....

 

[Eximo]

While the monitor can't re-draw the screen as fast as the incoming data, that doesn't mean it doesn't draw what is in the buffer. High FPS gaming is typically done with V-Sync and Frame-Sync off for the absolute minimum latency. At really high FPS, the screen tearing matters a lot less and seeing a third or fourth of a frame has a potential to give the player information they otherwise wouldn't have.

Personally can't stand it myself, so I always use G-Sync or V-Sync, I like consistent frames rather than as much as possible.

 

[Nighthawk117]

While the monitor can't re-draw the screen as fast as the incoming data, that doesn't mean it doesn't draw what is in the buffer. High FPS gaming is typically done with V-Sync and Frame-Sync off for the absolute minimum latency. At really high FPS, the screen tearing matters a lot less and seeing a third or fourth of a frame has a potential to give the player information they otherwise wouldn't have.

Personally can't stand it myself, so I always use G-Sync or V-Sync, I like consistent frames rather than as much as possible.

Completely agree.

 

[Gandee]

While the monitor can't re-draw the screen as fast as the incoming data, that doesn't mean it doesn't draw what is in the buffer. High FPS gaming is typically done with V-Sync and Frame-Sync off for the absolute minimum latency. At really high FPS, the screen tearing matters a lot less and seeing a third or fourth of a frame has a potential to give the player information they otherwise wouldn't have.

Personally can't stand it myself, so I always use G-Sync or V-Sync, I like consistent frames rather than as much as possible.

Vsync only solves the Valorant issue with my frames higher than 144. I cant run warzone at 144fps so the problem still stands. I think I'll upgrade my ram and see if it solves it. Ive always played uncapped high fps because of the lower latency and less stuttering. But this isn't really about vsync on or off each has it pros and cons I dont even notice screen tear so id rather have the minimal input delay.

 

[Nighthawk117]

I would still check with MSI Afterburner to be sure it's the CPU with the issue.