Poor GPU performanced linked to older CPU?

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lordkaladar

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Apr 12, 2013
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So I have an older PC that my son plays games on. It's a Core 2 Duo, 8 gigs (DDR2) and had a GTS 250 in it.

He started playing Fortnite and it was virtually unplayable, which wasn't a surprise. I ordered a GT 1030 as an upgrade to see if it would make the game playable. It does, but the game still has various stutters, temporary lock-ups, and despite the auto-detect graphics button in the game, it will not play well at all at those settings.

I know the game isn't incredibly CPU or even GPU intensive, but I'm of the opinion at this point that because the CPU and Memory are much older and slower, it's holding everything back.

My question is such: return the 1030 for a 1050 and try that, or get a decent cpu/mobo/ram setup try the 1030 with that?

I've been on PC Part Picker and Logical Increments and have spec'd out the following parts:
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX6000 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($50.98 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Seagate - FireCuda 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Case: Cooler Master - Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $396.84 (the mobo is currently out of stock)
 
Solution
quilciri
It does, but the impact is tiny compared to going form 2 to 4 cores, or from a GTS 250 to a 1050. I have fornite running well on a PC with almost the same specs as I'm suggesting. Mine is a core 2 quad Q9650 with 8GB memory and an HD7850 , which is a bit weaker than the 1050, but I have it overclocked to rough equivalence.

On my system, Fortnite runs at 1080p, most settings on medium, a few on high, at a average of 60 fps, 1% low at 35 fps.
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I would suggest that you will likely want to do both. Return the 1030 AND upgrade to a 1050. The current build is WAY too old to run well with any modern GPU card, although it will do better than with an older GPU, but you will be likely to see the issues you currently have AND you might find that the graphics hardware is not well supported on older motherboards.

With the build you have outlined above, I would expect that a GT 1030 will not offer the kind of performance you are looking for. You might want to also possibly look at 900 series graphics cards if you can find them. A GTX 950 would still be miles above a GT 1030. Or you could use the 1030 as a placeholder for now, but it seems like a waste of money if you going to invest in the rest of the build.

I also see no mention of the power supply you are currently using. That could be a factor as well. In fact, it is likely the BIGGEST factor, as without a capable power supply nothing can perform as intended. Running does not equate to running correctly or at optimal performance.
 
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It has a 500w or 550w PSU in it. The new 1030 is a lower profile card that doesn't use an additional power connection.
I left it out of the build sheet because I was planning on using the one already in it, which is only around two years old and it can shave $30-50+ (enough that I could justify investing in the 1050 instead)
 
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What is you motherboard model? If it supports later core 2 processors, you have a cheap option as well - you could put in something around a core 2 quad q9550 which would greatly help with fortnite (and other modern games). You can get them for $35 or less on ebay.

Core
2 Q9550

Either way, I agree you should return the GT 1030 and pick up a 1050. The 1030 is not much more powerful than the 250 you already have.

Cheers!
 
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I'm almost certain it has a Gigabyte GA-P43-ES3G mobo. Not certain on the revision. It does support quads. Looking for the supported CPU list on the Gigabyte site right now...

Edit* -- found it. It supports the 9550 and all the way up to a QX9770
 
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Looks like all revisions support the Q9550 (the most recent is rev 1.4, but the CPU is supported from 1.0) - http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Gigabyte/GA-P43-ES3G(rev._1.0).html

I suggested the Q9550 because the price starts jumping after that for not much more performance. Q9560's are around $60, and the 9770's are just ridiculous.

If you're so inclined, an overclock wouldn't hurt either, but even at stock speed, the Q9550 works well with a 1050.
 
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I'm curious if DDR 2, even at 8gb, has any effect on the game's performance.
 
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It does, but the impact is tiny compared to going form 2 to 4 cores, or from a GTS 250 to a 1050. I have fornite running well on a PC with almost the same specs as I'm suggesting. Mine is a core 2 quad Q9650 with 8GB memory and an HD7850 , which is a bit weaker than the 1050, but I have it overclocked to rough equivalence.

On my system, Fortnite runs at 1080p, most settings on medium, a few on high, at a average of 60 fps, 1% low at 35 fps.
 
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Solution


Very cool! Already set up the return order on the 1030. Luckily, I can wait to ship it until the 1050 arrives -- used an eBay 20% off coupon to get a 1050. Saved $30!
Going to score the quad as well. Even if I spec out a newer box later, the quad update will make that PC usable even longer for non-gaming with the ol' 250 back in it.

Thanks!
 
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It won't bottleneck a 1050. It's performance-equivalent to an overclocked GTX 480 (or the overclocked HD7850 I'm using), which was the flagship Nvidia card at the time of the Q9xxx series. It's a really good pairing and will hold for at least the next couple years.

Besides, with DDR4, SSD, and GPU prices, I wouldn't recommend building an entirely new system now, anyway.
 
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Those prices are unlikely to decline anytime this year, or next. So I guess you won't be recommending any builds for the foreseeable future. Memory, graphics cards and power supplies are ALL unlikely to see substantial decreases, in fact, they are likely to trend upwards again, until new fabs come online which is not going to be for at least another 12 months most likely. Probably longer than that.
 
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Moderators are people too. We are still entitled to occasional snark. Mostly I was just yanking your chain, but the fact remains that there is usually very little reason to build a used system either because even used parts are exorbitant right now. Just look at the cost of a used AM3+ or LGA 1150 motherboard. Plus, unless somebody, like this OP, is on a very old platform, the performance difference is negligible in most cases so unless something is actually broken, it's almost pointless if you want to see a performance increase on a system that ISN'T broken.
 
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Yes, prices came up on older parts as a reaction, a few months ago I would recommend builds around something like the 3770K but now it's up around $175. I've just moved down the list to what the price tsunami hasn't hit yet.

What I'm generally recommending is PC parts that are relatively cheapo and will last at least 2 years, hopefully enough for us to ride this out, For instance, a i5 3470 ($50) and HD 7950 ($70) would be something I'd suggest right now if it's a significant upgrade for the person. Thankfully DDR3 is still fairly cheap, you can find a decent 16GB 1600 kit for $80.
 
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If you want to stay on the money saving side and is happy with the 1030 level of performance, then you are probably better off with some like the Ryzen 3 2200G to Ryzen 5 2400G. See:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_3_2200G_Vega_8/12.html

And the 2200G can be had for $100 see:
http://www.microcenter.com/product/503183/Ryzen_3_2200G_Quad_Core_AM4_Boxed_Processor_with_Wraith_Stealth_Cooler

So this way you do not even have to spend money on a video card/GPU. You can refund that 1030.

And in comparison to an older intel i7 3770k:
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-vs-AMD-Ryzen-3-2200G/1317vsm441832
 
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That benchmark is very poor to make a real world comparison between processors. The 2200/2400g are nice, but have significant issues in games.

Primarily, the 2200g performance tanks when running games because it can't handle running the CPU and GPU cores at full bore simultaneously very well. Secondly, having more than 4 threads is becoming significant to game performance (why I was reluctant to stop recommending the 3770k in favor of the 3470). Third, the 3770k has much more overclocking headroom than the 2200g. At a moderate overclock of 4.3Ghz, it is fast enough for any video card. This is why the CPU has shot up in price recently.

On another note, the HD 7950 is one of my recommended GPU's right now because it's 1050 ti performance for $70 if your PSU can handle it (~190w peak power draw)
 
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Got it installed after having to replace the stock cooler (the clear/white pin parts broke. Quite old.)

You were right. Beyond the graphical setting, the pure and simple load times of the game, lobby and moving across the map is vastly improved.

Opening Chrome doesn't feel like a punishment anymore either, FWIW.
 
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