Question My computer's FPS drops to almost nothing when playing games, what to upgrade to fix it.

[Dwadair1337]

Looking for any info to help, or what to upgrade my amount of RAM or a new graphics card.
I'm playing a 20 year old game World of Warcraft Classic, my game runs smooth enough during most of the time. but whenever I am in a raid where there is a lot going on visually and with lots of people around me my FPS absolutely tanks to an almost unplayable level. Its super choppy and laggy and I need to fix it. first time ive posted on a forum so lets see how it goes. Im going to list my computer specs below with my motherboard / Graphics card / amount of RAM and what not to see if anyone can look at the specs and tell me what i should try upgrading first to solve the problem. My initial thought and what ive looked into doing is upgrading the amount of RAM I have from 16gb DDR to 32 gb DD4 " which is the max my motherboard holds. or upgrade my graphics card. Any info would be awesome. thank you. "Also im usually running 2 monitors at all times with the game on one monitor and whatever else on the other sometimes 2 accounts of the same game on different monitors. Also my graphics settings in game are already at the lowest setting because of this issue, thinking having low settings would have solved the problem but it doesn't change it much.


Graphics card: Radeon RX 570 Series
Motherboard: ASUS Prime A320M-K
Processor AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4-Core Processor 3.59 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Graphics card: Radeon RX 570 Series
Motherboard: ASUS Prime A320M-K
Processor AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4-Core Processor 3.59 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

You should also include where you're located, what your preferred site for purchase is and what your budget for your upgrade is.

Moved thread from Graphics Cards section to Systems section.

 

[Dwadair1337]

CPU:
AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4-Core Processor 3.59GHz

Current BIOS Version:
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. 5409, 1/7/2020


CPU cooler:
"Unknown specific" But just the default one it came with.

Motherboard:
ASUS Prime A320M-K

Ram:
Total Physical Memory: 16,315 MB
Available Physical Memory: 10,356 MB
Virtual Memory: Max Size: 28,603 MB
Virtual Memory: Available: 16,923 MB
Virtual Memory: In Use: 11,680 MB

SSD/HDD:
Drive C:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 222.97 GB (239,409,819,648 bytes)
Free Space 121.50 GB (130,456,707,072 bytes)
Volume Name Windows
Volume Serial Number 64B997C7

Drive D:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 931.50 GB (1,000,186,310,656 bytes)
Free Space 710.38 GB (762,766,352,384 bytes)
Volume Name New Volume
Volume Serial Number 0407C484

Drive E:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 100.00 MB (104,853,504 bytes)
Free Space 68.38 MB (71,700,480 bytes)
Volume Name System Reserved
Volume Serial Number 32BA1D88

Drive F:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 931.41 GB (1,000,097,181,696 bytes)
Free Space 676.67 GB (726,570,209,280 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number A2BB9592

GPU:
Radeon RX 570 Series

PSU:
EVGA 600 GD "got the whole computer in 2020"

Chassis:
Cyberpower et9370-256 c series

OS:
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Monitor:
#1 - MSI G27C4X 27" Curved Gaming Monitor, 1920 x 1080 (FHD), 1ms, 250Hz, FreeSync, HDMI, DisplayPort, Anti-Flicker, Anti-Glare, HDR Ready,Black
#2 - Samsung SH850 Series 24"


I hope that is enough information. Also I am located in Phoenix, AZ USA. Budget of around $200 most likely

 

[Dwadair1337]

Also I forgot to mention I don't think my GPU fans run most of the time . I dont think they have worked usually sometimes i hear them kick in so it may have been a bad GPU the whole time I have had the computer possibly.

 

[RTX 2080]

This seems to be a textbook example of being CPU limited. Let me explain.

Symptoms of being CPU limited:

• Your frame rate drops significantly and becomes choppy when there are many players/NPCs/objects on the screen
• Raising/lowering graphical settings makes little to no difference

That's exactly what is happening to you.

You mentioned upgrading your GPU or RAM. Ironically, I think your GPU and RAM (quantity) are fine; both should be more than sufficient for playing a 20 year old game at 1080p on low settings.

The obvious culprit is your CPU. 4 core CPUs are not enough for gaming these days. In my mind, a 6 core CPU from the last 3-4 years is the minimum to play games without CPU-related stuttering or frame drops. Your old 4 core does not have the grunt to feed your GPU the pre-rendered frames it needs, bottlenecking it. This is why lowing your graphical settings makes no difference, because its your CPU that's limiting you. Lowering graphical settings generally just takes the load off the GPU.

If your budget is $200, I'd recommend going with the best AM4 platform CPU you can buy (compatible with your current motherboard). A Ryzen 5600X will cure most of your problems, but if you can afford it, I'd recommend a 5800X or even a 5800X3D. It'll definitely help with stuttering and low fps, and as a bonus, you should probably be able to turn your graphical settings back up all the way!

Also, while your quantity or RAM is sufficient, keep in mind that AMD CPUs are very sensitive to RAM speed and type, so if your RAM setup isn't composed of 2 sticks of RAM (2x 8 GB) and isn't opperating at a speed of at least 3200 MHz (3600 MHz is preferable) you'll still have low fps and frame drops even with a Ryzen 5600X or better. So make sure your RAM is up to snuff!

 

[JeffreyP55]

Looking for any info to help, or what to upgrade my amount of RAM or a new graphics card.
I'm playing a 20 year old game World of Warcraft Classic, my game runs smooth enough during most of the time. but whenever I am in a raid where there is a lot going on visually and with lots of people around me my FPS absolutely tanks to an almost unplayable level. Its super choppy and laggy and I need to fix it. first time ive posted on a forum so lets see how it goes. Im going to list my computer specs below with my motherboard / Graphics card / amount of RAM and what not to see if anyone can look at the specs and tell me what i should try upgrading first to solve the problem. My initial thought and what ive looked into doing is upgrading the amount of RAM I have from 16gb DDR to 32 gb DD4 " which is the max my motherboard holds. or upgrade my graphics card. Any info would be awesome. thank you. "Also im usually running 2 monitors at all times with the game on one monitor and whatever else on the other sometimes 2 accounts of the same game on different monitors. Also my graphics settings in game are already at the lowest setting because of this issue, thinking having low settings would have solved the problem but it doesn't change it much.


Graphics card: Radeon RX 570 Series
Motherboard: ASUS Prime A320M-K
Processor AMD Ryzen 3 3100 4-Core Processor 3.59 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

2017 rig. Be prepared to buy all new hardware. Welcome to 2025. Check your bank account. It is possible to spend $800.00-$8000.00. You can build upper middle rig for 2k.

 

[RTX 2080]

Also I forgot to mention I don't think my GPU fans run most of the time . I dont think they have worked usually sometimes i hear them kick in so it may have been a bad GPU the whole time I have had the computer possibly.

Your GPU is probably set so that the fans don’t kick in until it hits 50 degrees.

If you are playing at 1080p low and are being CPU limited (see my first post) then your GPU is doing very little work, isn’t getting very hot, and as such, the fans almost never turn on.

Your fans not turning are not a symptom of a broken GPU. They are a symptom of an underutilized GPU.

 

[TerryLaze]

A Ryzen 5600X will cure most of your problems, but if you can afford it, I'd recommend a 5800X or even a 5800X3D.

I very much doubt that a 20 year old game is going to use enough cache to make any difference on the x3d model. OP needs highest clocks they can afford.

 

[geofelt]

Run this simple test:
Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.
I am guessing that the cpu is your first limiter.
Here is a list of the processors that your motherboard will support:
https://www.asus.com/us/motherboard...a320m-k/helpdesk_cpu?model2Name=PRIME-A320M-K
You will probably need to upgrade the bios first.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your R3-3100 and look at the single thread rating.
That is what is most important for games.
Your score should be about 478:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/kyivrr
A decent cpu upgrade might be the R5 5600X. About $100 used on ebay.
R7 and R9 gets you more processing threads, but not much more gaming performance.

You are not likely to be short of ram.
Windows will always say something like 80% used.
That is because windows keeps code in ram in anticipation of quick reuse.
Look at the task manager hard fault rate is you truly suspect insufficient ram

 

[TerryLaze]

It's also an online game so even the ISP could be the issue.

 

[helper800]

I would start with something like this and go from there. Usually I would make a full build recommendation but I got to go! GL.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($236.83 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B850 GAMING WIFI6 ATX AM5 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Inland Performance Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($131.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $623.80
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