MSI MS-7778 Processor Upgrade

[Nathan Sanders]

Hey guys, I've recently gotten a new graphics card (absolutely loving it) but have been experiencing some bottlenecking issues with it, especially in BF4. The processor I have right now in it is an AMD A10 6700k. I'm looking for a better processor than that, if I could do an FX series I would love to. My wattage limit is about 100, if I need to go higher I'll upgrade my PSU, but I'd really prefer not to. Thanks a bunch!

 

[clutchc]

You are going to be limited to FM2 socket processors I'm afraid. And with it being an HP/Compaq OEM board, I would go by their CPU upgrade recommendation. They don't update their BIOS for new CPUs like the retail boards do. As a result, you would be taking a chance that newer CPUs/APUs would be recognized. As it is, the A10-5800K/6800K would be tops. But not much of an upgrade. Are you using the on-die GPU or a discrete card? And what is the model HP/Compaq the board is in?

 

[Nathan Sanders]

You are going to be limited to FM2 socket processors I'm afraid. And with it being an HP/Compaq OEM board, I would go by their CPU upgrade recommendation. They don't update their BIOS for new CPUs like the retail boards do. As a result, you would be taking a chance that newer CPUs/APUs would be recognized. As it is, the A10-5800K/6800K would be tops. But not much of an upgrade. Are you using the on-die GPU or a discrete card? And what is the model HP/Compaq the board is in?

My computer is an HP Envy 700-147c. Like I said, I'm using a new graphics card (Radeon HD 5850) so discrete card. Do you have any recommendations for a new board that would work with all my components? If I do get a new board, I'd like to get one with two PCIE slots so I can do crossfire. I might need a new case as these cards are big 😀
Thanks for the help

 

[clutchc]

The HD 5850 falls in line with the newer R7-260X. Your processor is in line with the faster Phenom II X4s. I would say that the gfx card could be improved on for better performance. One thing though... that computer is listed as coming with an A10-6700, not a 6700K. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03933886&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en
Can you verify that it is indeed a 6700K? IF so, it can be easily OC'd for improved performance. But I have not heard of a 6700K. Run CPU-Z and it will ID the processor. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

If you feel the need to upgrade the processor, the motherboard, the PSU, case.. you may as well build a new gaming PC.

According to the link above, that PC came with an OEM 300W PSU. How you are managing to run a 151W HD 5850 is beyond me. I'm surprised the system doesn't shut down when the card becomes loaded heavily during gaming. I don't expect the PSU to last much longer if you game much.

 

[Nathan Sanders]

The HD 5850 falls in line with the newer R7-260X. Your processor is in line with the faster Phenom II X4s. I would say that the gfx card could be improved on for better performance. One thing though... that computer is listed as coming with an A10-6700, not a 6700K. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03933886&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en
Can you verify that it is indeed a 6700K? IF so, it can be easily OC'd for improved performance. But I have not heard of a 6700K. Run CPU-Z and it will ID the processor. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

If you feel the need to upgrade the processor, the motherboard, the PSU, case.. you may as well build a new gaming PC.

According to the link above, that PC came with an OEM 300W PSU. How you are managing to run a 151W HD 5850 is beyond me. I'm surprised the system doesn't shut down when the card becomes loaded heavily during gaming. I don't expect the PSU to last much longer if you game much.

Wow, sorry. I forgot to mention I upgraded the PSU to a 500 watt corsair. Wow, I guess it is just a 6700. That's a shame. I don't really want to upgrade the graphics card, as I just bought it. It actually runs fine and less CPU intensive games though. Funny thing is I actually bought a Radeon 260x, but it was defective, wouldn't install new drivers at all. I put it in my parents system (they don't game at all) and let them run with the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter. Works fine.

I'm sorry for saying 6700k by the way, I really don't know why I did say it.

On everything on ultra in BF4 (except aa which is turned off, not enough vram.) it runs around 30-60 fps. I'm just seeing a lot of random lag, like bottleneck lag. When I turn the priority up to real time on the task manager, I actually get less of it, but I notice my processor usage is 90 percent all of that time. Is it damaging at all? Or am I just stupid?

Not related to anything at all but nice graphics card, R9 260x. I'm pretty jealous 😀

 

[clutchc]

OK, the 500W Corsair makes a big difference. How does this lag or stutter compare between single player and online multiplayer? If it is mainly when playing MP, and your CPU is at/near 100%, it would indicate that the CPU can't keep up with the number of players on a busy server. If it goes away pretty much in SP mode, that would confirm it even more.

As long as the processor temp remains in safe territory (71.3C max), it won't hurt to run it at 100%. The best way to watch temps on an APU is with AMD Overdrive. http://www.techspot.com/downloads/4645-amd-overdrive.html
...The new version that displays distance to TjMax or thermal margin rather than CPU temp, since there are so many different ways of measuring temp. Here is a short discussion on it: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2122665/understanding-temperature-amd-cpus-apus.html

But if you are getting 30-60 fps in BF4 on mostly Ultra, you're doing good. The lag or stutter you detect may be poor frame times. That is when one frame takes too long to render and the next frame displayed is several frames later. But the avg frame rate is still shown as good. If you were getting only 30 fps but had extremely good frame times, it would look smooth as silk. But even 60 fps with poor frame times will look jerky.