Need CPU Upgrade suggestions from a AMD A8 5600k

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Jason H.

Jason H.

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Oct 20, 2013
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Okay so I have a AMD A8 5600k... is there any worthwhile CPU upgrade on the FM2 port from the A8 other than the A10?

Ive been told the upgrade path is terrible, Im just wondering if I can get some better performance in fortnite if I spent 100$ on a new CPU or if I should just save for a new mobo with a newer CPU architecture.

Any advice would be appreciated :)

* SYSTEM SPECS *

CPU- AMD A8 5600k
GPU- GTX 750 1gb
RAM- 6gb DDR3 (currently have another identical 4gb chip coming in so it will be 8gb ddr3 1333)
MOBO- BIOSTAR A55ML2
PSU- Logysis 480w
WIN- Winodws 10 Home
 
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Well I just bought some things for it being a new 4gb ram chip , a new cooler, and a new harddrive, but those things can get swapped into a new system as well, except the ram being ddr3. The HDD I got is a 500gb Seagate Barracuda with 6gb/s speed (my mobo only does 3gb/s I believe) so when I get a new mobo at least Ill get a little HDD upgrade to 6gb/s lol.

But whats your biggest problem with this build, other than the absolute crap PSU and mediocre A8?

I been wanting to get a new system I was saving up, but some very important things came up and I lost my job so I figured since I have to wait, I mine as well drop 100$ to at least give me some better performance, being the ram and cooler, until I can get a new build.

The 4gb DDR3 1333mhz Team Elite ram chip was only 26$ and the cooler was only 16$ ... and The HDD was only 29$ (only got the HDD because Im running out of space on my current) So I figured why not, probly give me some better performance while saving up again.

But what is the top CPU for this port I could upgrade to in theory? Just so I know, and maybe others find this thread as well and find it useful. Maybe FX series?
 
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Can you at least tell me why it wouldnt make a differance?

I mean the only reason Im getting the ram is because Im freezing a bit in Fortnite because memory usage in game is at 95-99% ... and it only uses 3.5gb of ram so the 2 extra gigs will most likely solve my random freezing.

I just got the cooler for better temps and it can be transferred to a new build, so I already have a cooler for my new build lol.

Also my 2nd 2gb chip isnt the same brand as my 4gb so i think some mismatching is going on as I see a couple different numbers in the timings in the BIOS, both are CL 9 but all the #'s dont match.
 
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The problem with the FM2(+) CPUs is that once you have a certain one, any other theoretically better CPU (on the same platform) is really marginal. That is to say, you won't see a great deal of difference. For most the point of upgrading is to see/feel the benefit of spending money to improve the experience; and if there isn't much difference it seems like a waste of money.

Given the situation you describe I would look at other factors like adjusting settings to get the most out of the hardware you have, and in the meantime save up for a new system.
 
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I can vouch for this. I have a amd a10 7860k and its quite terrible. I would advise upgrading to a newer architecture. As for me im upgrading to a ryzen 5 1600. The next cheapest thing i was planning to upgrade from the amd a10 was a tray(used) i5 4460
 
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Okay yea Ill just save up again.

However should having 8gb 1333 ram 2x4 matching chips give better performance in games of 6gb different brand chips?
 
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Is this a new rig? Ive been stuck with the a10 for a while now and its really clunky (maybe on my end) i think ram scales well with it but apu's arent that good from older generations. Itll be left out for most games
 
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Well I noticed when playing fortnite my ram usage was over 95% and Im getting stuttering and the game, with the graphics I have setup, only uses like 3.5-3.8gb of memory, my CPU only hits about 60-70% and my GPU only at about 80% cuz I have all graphics LOW. So i feel the extra 2 gigs will eliminate the freezing/stuttering in game as my GPU and CPU have no problem keeping up, just the ram.

Also on System Requirements Lab my CPU passes for both the minimum and recommended CPU sections so I definately believe the lack of, and mismatched ram is my issue. Although both chips are CL 9, I noticed a couple numbers are different in the settings in the BIOS, like 1 has a option that is 110ns and the other has 160ns... Guessing NS is nano seconds, idk which option this was though. However my GPU failed only for being 1gb, and not 2gb. But passed the other 2 requirements. But that dont really matter as Im using all low graphics n only 80% GPU utilization because of it.

So until I can afford a new ryzen build, I will have to make due with what I have and hopefully this extra matched ram will get me where I need to be until then.

And no this is not a new build, its about 3 years old just looking to make fortnite not freeze thats all Im really worried about, and I was just wondering if there was a worth while cpu upgrade but since not, Ill just hope the ram helps my freezing for now and work on getting a new ryzen build with a 1050ti or 1060 like I already planned on doing until things took a turn for the worst lol.

The cooler I got was just to keep temps a bit lower as when I stress test without OC, the thermal margin in AMD Overdrive reaches 15c and the clocks go all the way down to 1.3mhz .... but IDK why this happens when the thermal margin is still 15c above the throttle point. Also the cooler can be transferred to a new build as well so.
 
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AMD A8 5600k - Supported memory is 1866MHz.

Using too slow a speed, 1333MHz, can give poor performance and stuttering. Mixing together modules sold as single modules is not recommended. It can cause the PC to be unable to boot or the modules to be unable to operate at rated specifications. Memory manufacturers don't offer any warranty on compatibility of such combinations.
 
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yea thats why I have a identical chip on the way in the mail, has a different heat spreader but same part numbers, same sizes, same manufacturer. Hopefully it will help the stuttering, and Im not using the intergrated graphics of the APU Im just using the CPU side of it, im using a GTX 750 1gb for my GPU, and the memory frequency on that is 2000 something I believe so IDK if that also plays a roll with slower ram.
 
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VRAM is mostly responsible for textures in game. Since you have the game on low settings it should mitigate the 1GB of VRAM. Typically, if I understand it correctly, VRAM isn't an issue until you actually run out. Textures not being loaded is usually an indicator (purple meshes from my experience).

Have you used something like MSI Afterburner to monitor system behaviour while gaming? Using the graphs can help identify what happens when these freezes happen.

Depending on your display resolution and refresh rate, you may want to consider lowering the game resolution (but still the same aspect ratio) to see if that boosts fps.
 
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I have used MSI Afterburner in game, when it freezes is when my System ram hits over 90-100% ... My gpu doesnt go above 80% and the CPU never goes above 80%.

In fact the game runs smooth 60fps unless system ram usage is over 90%.

The freezing happens wether in 720p 30fps, or 1080p 60fps which led me to believe its definately not the GPU.

The CPU passes the minimum AND recommended specs for the game as well... I know its a crap CPU, but I just dont believe its the problem as it passes the recommended using System Requirements Lab.
 
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At least that's more evidence for it being a RAM issue. Wouldn't want to spend money only to find it isn't the cause of the problem.

I can't remember the frequency the RAM runs on my old PC, but I would double check what frequencies are supported. Some higher frequencies are technically overclocked (usually means using XMP profiles).
 
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Well my CPU, as Calvin said, is rated for 1866MHz and he says 1333mhz is to slow for the CPU, again I just dont think its a CPU issue but just lack of available RAM issue. Also Im not using the built in graphics of the APU Im using a dedicated card.

My MOBO supports up to DDR3 2000mhz here is a list of the "known supported memory" on their website http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=619#memorysupport

However Im not looking to upgrade speed as Im going to be getting a newer PC in the next few months anyways, I just wanted to get the extra RAM because I seen it for cheap, 30 day returns, so if it dont work or improve performance Ill just be out a few bucks for shipping as he will pay the return shipping if I return.. so really Im just risking 2.50$ on this mission lol.

Since there are no worthwhile CPU upgrades, Im just focused on the lack of ram at this point as that seems to me to be the biggest issue.
 
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here is a photo of my MSI Afterburner showing during Fortnite in game if it helps anything
r8w75w.jpg
 
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Hm interesting. Hey below is my experience with the new cooler and HDD I got today regarding all this freezing in fortnite.... Im actually surprised what happened performance wise in game......

So my new cooler and HDD came in today. All hooked up and working great. The cooler brought the temp in BIOS (which I believe was wrong) from 50c down to 38c. However with AMD I heard overdrive was the best, so I stress tested and before it used to go down to 16c thermal margin n downclock to 1.9mhz, but now it doesnt go below 30c thermal margin n stays at my custom clock of 3.9mhz with 1.4v (I really want to see if I can push it further to see if temps were making my clocks unstable before when I went over 3.9)

I moved Fortnite and a bunch of stuff to the new HDD. Started up Fortnite with MSI Afterburner and obviously, still has all the same numbers in MSi AB, HOWEVER I noticed there was very MINIMAL freezing. In fact, it seems like the freezing has turned into fps drops which is WAY more manageable than random freezing/stuttering.

Here and there I will get a little freeze when 1st dropping into a highly textured area, but not NEARLY as bad as before I put the new hardware in. Normally when it should freeze, it just drops about 10 fps then back to steady 60.

SOOOO... Of course this makes me ask more questions...

1. Could I be getting a slight performance increase since the game is running on a new drive without windows running on the same drive?

2. If yes to #1, would that help pinpoint whether its a GPU or RAM issue? (I know I need more than 1gb of Vram but, Im just asking)

3. Is the system using the new HDD's "less busy" pagefile over my main drives? Or do they share 1 pagefile? If yes, could that be giving a slight performance boost?

4. Basically, could anything I did be giving me a slight performance boost, or could it just be a fluke?
 
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'Temperatures' for those old AMD CPUs really should use AMD Overdrive to monitor because other monitors report the wrong figures. As you found out with it, the higher the thermal margin is on load the more headroom to overheating. It doesn't sound like you were overheating before, but now have better cooling which the thermal margin reflects.

Internet connections is another factor for online games. Don't have experience of that and the problems which it entails.

1. I use a OS drive (boot drive) along with a storage drive and a game drive. I can't really say I've noticed anything regarding performance. A drive really matters when loading; it isn't thought to boost gaming performance. That said, I do note occasional slowdown as the game drive isn't always used.

3. As I understand it there's only one page file for a system. It can be moved around. For data swapping I'd imagine having the page file on a faster drive would help. Would need confirmation from others though as I'm speculating.

4. New drive may point that your files on the old drive were heavily fragmented.
 
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Thanks for the info bro!

So heres what I did last nite to the CPU. Also I didnt realize there was a Feature update from windows 10 for 1803 build or w.e its called. but that could have helped but I think what I did to the CPU helped a lot!

I turned off my OC in the BIOS. I booted in windows and opened AMD OD. I went to the "turbo core option" and set it to its max turbo of "3.9mhz". At the bottom was a option called Boost level. It has 2 options, boost level 0, boost level 1. I changed it it the next boost level and it unlocked the TURBO's multiplier allowing me to raise the BOOST clock to 4.1mhz with a 1.45v ..... and I stress tested.

The results was amazing. The clocks did not downclock for each core. There was some downclocking on SINGULAR cores but 2-3 cores at all times would remain at 4.1mhz at 1.45v. The reason this is amazing is because 1, I could not raise the voltage of the CPU over 1.4375v outside of turbo mode without it instantly dropping the clock from whatever I set it to, down to 3.1-3.2mhz the instant I hit apply.

Now with using the turbo boosts options, It says im at 4.1mhz, at 1.45v, I havent gotten 1 restart. Gaming performance is GREATLY increased so much I was able to raise graphics and remain higher fps.I stress tested for 2 hours without any issues, before it would BSOD or fail within 20 minutes.

So heres where Im at, and here are my questions.

1. Why does boosting the turbo core to 4.1mhz at 1.45v allow my CPU to go over 1.437v without Immediately downlocking to 3.1-3.2mhz?

2. Why can I not overlock NOT USING turbo core technology through AMD Overdrive?

3. Is this even considered an overclock? I hit the Turbo Core button in AMD Overdrive, changed the boost mode, and made it higher which automatically changed the voltage up to 1.45, but I cannot get to 1.45 when using the BIOS multipliers, nor turning off turbo boost and setting the voltage manually in AMD OD without the clocks lowering themselves to 3.2mhz for no reason.

+++++ I ALSO DID SOMETHING ELSE TO THE GPU ++++++

I overclocked the GPU by about 130mhz on the core clock and 100mhz on the memory clock.

I went into Nvidia control panel and I changed "maximum pre rendered frames" from Auto , to 1.

I enabled Threaded Optimization (I disabled it previously because fortnite was having the freezing issues while it was enabled/disabled but now its back on)

----------------------------------------------------------------

DOING ALL THIS! Pretty much took away ALL the freezing, and the RAM has not even gotten here yet! Just not sure which process I did that helped the most, probably the Turbo Boosting clocking of the CPU, but idk the freezing was almost gone just by putting it on the new HDD before the Turbo Core thing I did.

Lets not forget though I did put it on a fresh HDD so that is helping too, but all of this together, at least for my setup, seems to have completely fixed the freezing. Ill do some more testing tonight, and wait for the RAM as well before I solidify this fix.
 
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Hey yall, got the new ram stick today.

I installed it and it works flawlessly :)

MSI Afterburner still says Im using 6gb of page file though. I thought that would go down with adding more ram?

Anyways I have 0 freezing now and I was able to turn the graphics up a little bit with doing everything I did to fix it :)

Last question for now: Why didnt the pagefile use go down when adding more ram?
 
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Maybe try turning off paging file options?( I cant elaborate this as im away from my computer for now a quick google search will suffice) usually page files have to do with a HDD other than ram. If you can elaborate or give A screenshot it would help. (Correct me if im wrong)
 
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