[SOLVED] Question about perfomance with this build

[maet4]

Hello, I am close to buy a combo upgrade that includes a 9400f (I own an A10 7850K) and at the moment I have a rx460 2gb. Theres no gameplay video that shows me the benchmarks of the settings I am going to use, since I play competitive games, where you want FPS stability more than video quality, as you already know.

1) With my current CPU I have horrendous FPS stability, a thing that I noticed is that I don't gain a noticeable amount of FPS when switching resolutions and settings, in some cases I don't gain FPS at all. Will I see a big impact on perfomance with the CPU change? Will that stability issue be fixed?

2) Being more specific, how well do you think this combo will run games like Fortnite in low settings and a resolution of 1440x900 or lower (I don't plan playing on 1080, at least on online games) will I be able to achieve 75 constant fps? If you don't mind I would also like to know about games in general (Witcher 3, Skyrim, Dark Souls 3, PoE, etc).

Thanks in advance

 

[Frag Maniac]

That's because you don't currently actually HAVE a CPU, it's an APU. It's also less than half the performance of the 9400f, so yes, you'll see quite a boost on CPU.

That said, while an RX 460 2GB may be adequate for games like Fortnite, it falls below the minimum requirement for Dark Souls 3.

 

[maet4]

That's because you don't currently actually HAVE a CPU, it's an APU. It's also less than half the performance of the 9400f, so yes, you'll see quite a boost on CPU.

That said, while an RX 460 2GB may be adequate for games like Fortnite, it falls below the minimum requirement for Dark Souls 3.

Hey, thanks for the reply! I was told that Ryzen 2600 or 3600 is a better option but I am quite skeptical since I have always used AMD and I have constantly read that Intel is superior in gaming, specifically. What do you think? In my country, 9400f (197 usd) is really cheap compared to the 2600/3600. (225usd/267usd)

 

[Frag Maniac]

Ryzen is just the new model of AMD CPU that came after their disastrous Bulldozer named chip. It's quite a step up from Bulldozer and uses the new "Zen" architecture. The Ryzen 3600 uses the new improved Zen 2 architecture, and is said to be one of the most bang for buck chips going.

Intel has more raw gaming power, but Ryzen beats it on overall bang for buck (in most countries) when you factor in multi tasking and streaming if you're into that. The 9400f if more cost effective for you would be fine. The 9400F is easily more than capable of handling the level of GPU you have, or even one just good enough to play Dark Souls 3 on max settings as well. Keep in mind if you upgrade the GPU, pay attention to it's power consumption and if your PSU can handle it. https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards-20

The 9400F scores almost as high on Passmark as the Ryzen 2600 (12,139 vs 13,503). The Ryzen 3600 scores 20,045, so you'd have to considerably step up your GPU for it to even make sense. The 8400 was the go to chip for a bang for buck CPU specifically for gaming, and the 9400 carries on that trend. The only difference is the F means the built-in graphics on the CPU are disabled, but that's of no consequence for those with a capable GPU.

9400F https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-9400F+@+2.90GHz&id=3397

R5 2600 https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+2600&id=3243

R% 3600 https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+3600&id=3481

 

[maet4]

Ryzen is just the new model of AMD CPU that came after their disastrous Bulldozer named chip. It's quite a step up from Bulldozer and uses the new "Zen" architecture. The Ryzen 3600 uses the new improved Zen 2 architecture, and is said to be one of the most bang for buck chips going.

Intel has more raw gaming power, but Ryzen beats it on overall bang for buck (in most countries) when you factor in multi tasking and streaming if you're into that. The 9400f if more cost effective for you would be fine. The 9400F is easily more than capable of handling the level of GPU you have, or even one just good enough to play Dark Souls 3 on max settings as well. Keep in mind if you upgrade the GPU, pay attention to it's power consumption and if your PSU can handle it. https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/power-requirements-for-graphics-cards-20

The 9400F scores almost as high on Passmark as the Ryzen 2600 (12,139 vs 13,503). The Ryzen 3600 scores 20,045, so you'd have to considerably step up your GPU for it to even make sense. The 8400 was the go to chip for a bang for buck CPU specifically for gaming, and the 9400 carries on that trend. The only difference is the F means the built-in graphics on the CPU are disabled, but that's of no consequence for those with a capable GPU.

9400F https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-9400F+@+2.90GHz&id=3397

R5 2600 https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+2600&id=3243

R% 3600 https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+3600&id=3481

Thanks, very specific. Regarding the PSU, I own a OCZ 600W SXS, I dont recall when did I buy it (in fact it was a present, at that time I had a gt 240, so imagine). I've been told and I checked that I can run very good GPUs with it. My fear is that being that old, it could burn out any moment, allthough I don't notice any strange noise or overheat and I usually clean it with an air compressor. Do you know anything about PSU lifespans?

 

[Frag Maniac]

That PSU came out in 2008, so is 11 years old. It really depends how hard and often it's been used, but if you've been keeping the dust blown out of it and not running it on lots of demanding games for hours on end it's probably OK still. Those original SXS models were pretty good quality. After those OCZ started farming out construction of them to lesser OEMs that didn't build as well, the mass marketing syndrome.

Over years of use a PSU will eventually lose about 10% of it's power due to the capacitors becoming less robust, but 540 effective watts is still plenty enough for your build. Some things to look for on old PSUs are leaking capacitors, and noisy fan bearings. The capacitors have silver colored "slit foil" aluminum tops, which should look clean and dry. You'll also often notice increased voltage fluctuation on the +12v rails over time. You can check voltage with free apps like HWiNFO64.

Fans can be relubed or replaced if you're savvy at that kind of thing, and there are many vids on YouTube showing how to do it.

It could very well last you another 5 years if you've taken good care of it and not worked it really hard though. It's not the best PSU for upgrades though, as it only has 3 SATA cables. So if you add drives, best to get high capacity ones. That said, once a PSU shows signs of problems be it visually, or via sound or voltage, it's best to replace it. A bad or failing PSU can destroy components that are struggling to get the power they need from it.

 

[maet4]

That PSU came out in 2008, so is 11 years old. It really depends how hard and often it's been used, but if you've been keeping the dust blown out of it and not running it on lots of demanding games for hours on end it's probably OK still. Those original SXS models were pretty good quality. After those OCZ started farming out construction of them to lesser OEMs that didn't build as well, the mass marketing syndrome.

Over years of use a PSU will eventually lose about 10% of it's power due to the capacitors becoming less robust, but 540 effective watts is still plenty enough for your build. Some things to look for on old PSUs are leaking capacitors, and noisy fan bearings. The capacitors have silver colored "slit foil" aluminum tops, which should look clean and dry. You'll also often notice increased voltage fluctuation on the +12v rails over time. You can check voltage with free apps like HWiNFO64.

Fans can be relubed or replaced if you're savvy at that kind of thing, and there are many vids on YouTube showing how to do it.

It could very well last you another 5 years if you've taken good care of it and not worked it really hard though. It's not the best PSU for upgrades though, as it only has 3 SATA cables. So if you add drives, best to get high capacity ones. That said, once a PSU shows signs of problems be it visually, or via sound or voltage, it's best to replace it. A bad or failing PSU can destroy components that are struggling to get the power they need from it.

I've used it a lot, sometimes days without turning it off. Lets say that a PSU burns out, can it burn other parts too? With this new build I am also changing the case, I don't know if such an old PSU is built for the new cases (PSU being on the bottom of them). My case has this slot on top of the motherboard.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah, like I said if a PSU starts going bad, it can be hard on other parts, or even take them out.

As far as top or bottom mount, most PSUs can be mounted either way, so no worries there.