Possible incompatibility of graphic cards with my system?

[zombified94]

Hello!

I've recently updated from an Nvidia GTX 550 Ti (OC, 1 GB) graphic card to a GTX 950 (OC, 2GB). I've read numerous reviews that that card is a pretty good budget card for gaming. However, for some reason I was still getting pretty low FPS values, even though I'm playing at a low resolution.
So, I asked for a refund from the shop, and a few days later I bought a GTX 750 Ti (OC, 4GB).
Again, because I've read many reviews and opinions, and received lots of recommendations for that card. However, now that I've began testing it, I've noticed that this one is even worse. Of course, it's worse than the GTX 950, but it hasn't made much difference compared to my GTX 550 Ti.

So before I ask for a refund for this one as well, could anyone tell me if it's possible that something else is wrong with my computer, and the cards would indeed be awesome, but I can't make use of them?

My hardware:
CPU: AMD FX 6300 (6 cores,3.5 GHz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P
PSU:CoolerMaster 600W - RS600-ACABM-WB
RAM: Kingston 2*2 GB (1333 MHz)+ 2*4GB (1600 Mhz) = 12GB running at 1333 MHz
HDD: Western Digital 1 TB 7200 rpm ( I don't remember the exact specifications)
Resolution: 1280*1024 pixels / 75 Hz

The games I've tested:
Dragon Age Inquisition: the GTX 950 could run it pretty well, with 75 FPS (limited with vertical sync) at most parts with high graphic settings, with the same settings the 750 ti had 40-50 fps, and the 550 ti had 20-25. This game did show a huge improvement.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare:
If I cranked up the settings with the GTX 950, it gave me around 50 fps when not being in heavy combat. In combat scenes it was unplayable (and the graphics were still pretty bad), so I decided to leave that one alone.

Metro 2033:
I know my CPU was running at 100% with even medium settings and the GPU was at around 97-98% with the GTX 950. FPS was below 30.

Borderlands 2:
GTX 950 with maxed graphics - steady 60 FPS until the combat started, then dropped to 50-ish, which I don't think is acceptable at an "older" game like that.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Steady 50+ fps with 550ti, and mostly 75 fps with the 950, but when the screen was moving it dropped down to as low as 55-60. The GPU was running at max, and the CPU wasn't.

Crysis 3:
GTX 950: 20-25 fps with very high settings (just tried for the fun). The CPU was not even nearly running at max, and the graphic card wanted to melt.
550 ti: 15-20 fps, so it barely made any difference. Possibly because this game is optimized for AMD cards.



So, after reading my novel, can anyone tell me if these FPS values are normal, and I should just invest twice as much money into a graphic card to normally run those games, or is there some incompatibility in my system that I haven't noticed yet, and thus the weirdly low FPS values?

Thanks!

 

[utroz]

The issue is probably that you are limited by single threaded performance of your cpu in most of those games.. Yes it will say that your cpu is not at 100% load but you need to look at per core load and I bet you will see that 1-2 cores are at 100%. Try overclocking your cpu to 4-4.2Ghz and I bet you will have higher FPS with a the 950 or 750Ti. The 550Ti is really old and slow so even a great cpu or overclocking will not help there.

 

[SteelCity1981]

nothing I see that's incompatible. everything seems to be where you would expect in fps with that setup. I mean you are running a 3 year old budget cpu by 2015 standards on a mid range graphics card.

 

[pete_101]

Given that you doubled the frame rate on Dragon Age Inquisition, I don't think it's the graphics card. The other games are probably more CPU intense games, and as already mentioned, if only 1 or 2 cores are being used then that's where the problem is.

 

[zombified94]

So basically I'm stuck with either overclocking my CPU and keeping the GTX 750, or buying a new CPU?

Truth be told, I'm unfamiliar with overclocking, so I was trying to avoid that as much as possible.

 

[utroz]

So basically I'm stuck with either overclocking my CPU and keeping the GTX 750, or buying a new CPU?

Truth be told, I'm unfamiliar with overclocking, so I was trying to avoid that as much as possible.

Yes that is pretty much your current options..

 

[Andrew Leeseberg]

If you are unfamiliar with overclocking you should avoid it, because you need water cooling to get a decent overclock on AMD chips (they produce a LOT of heat), and a decent water cooler can run you $100. You may as well get a better CPU at that point. Also if you upgrade the CPU take the time to save up for an Intel Chip, im currently running an overclocked Fx 8350 + overclocked Gtx 980, and my frames are worse then yours in some games because for some reason the FX 6300 and the FX 4300 have better single core performance than the Fx 8350.

For example borderlands 2 I get low 40s consistently in combat, and in skyrim I can get sub 30 frames. Both these games rely on one core to do most of the heavy lifting, while two other cores handle minor tasks. Meaning AMD chips are at a huge disadvantage here.

 

[utroz]

If you are unfamiliar with overclocking you should avoid it, because you need water cooling to get a decent overclock on AMD chips (they produce a LOT of heat), and a decent water cooler can run you $100. You may as well get a better CPU at that point. Also if you upgrade the CPU take the time to save up for an Intel Chip, im currently running an overclocked Fx 8350 + overclocked Gtx 980, and my frames are worse then yours in some games because for some reason the FX 6300 and the FX 4300 have better single core performance than the Fx 8350.

For example borderlands 2 I get low 40s consistently in combat, and in skyrim I can get sub 30 frames. Both these games rely on one core to do most of the heavy lifting, while two other cores handle minor tasks. Meaning AMD chips are at a huge disadvantage here.

What version of windows you have will also effect how it uses the AMD CMT architecture. Windows 7 doesn't handle it well, 8.1 has patches that help and windows 10 seems to work the best IMHO.. Also you don't need a water cooler to overclock AMD as long as you monitor the temps and make sure they are not too hot, a good heatsink and lots of airflow through the case and on the VRM's can get you a decent overclock.. Yes watercooling is nice, but I can do better than most with air where I live because of the cold winters (I have had my computer room at -30 F) (hard drives need to be kept warm to work at these temps and LCD's don't work either, watercooling turns into a Vodka cooling system..)

 

[zombified94]

I'm using windows 7, and I'd rather pay double for a CPU than even think about switching to win8/10. They seriously suck in my opinion, but that is irrelevant.

Anyway, thank you people for the fast and thoughtful replies! I suppose I'll just bring the card back to the store and buy a new one when I've learnt enough about overclocking and/or obtained a better CPU.

 

[utroz]

Good luck.. Please remember to use the "Pick as the solution" button on one of the replies to your question to close this thread.. If you don't it will be marked as unresolved..