Recommendation for what upgrade(s) I should make for smoother 1080 gaming

[SkyChan006]

Hi folks. On my current system I can play games in 1080 but not to the full potential games offer. For example some settings may have to be set to "Medium" or "high" from very high which obviously detracts from some of the visuals. Other times I may have to lower render distances or even both. Even when I do this some games will still stutter and it's pretty frustrating. I'd like to have a system capable of playing games on the highest settings without me having to worry about lower FPS and other annoyances.I may also look to record / stream at these high end settings so this should also be considered.

My current system is as follows:

Motherboard: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V PRO (Over 3 years old)

Processor: 3.60 gigahertz Intel Core i7-3770K (Over 3 years old)

GPU: MSI AMD R9 290 - (Less then a year old)

Memory: 16gb ram (less then 2 years old)

PSU: EVGA Supernova650G Gold - (Less then a year old)

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (x64)

I also have a water cooler on the processor, the brand escapes me at the moment but it gave significant improvement when I installed that.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. No budget really however if it starts to get into the thousands I suspect I'm better off buying a new pc all together.

 

[drkatz42]

before u do this check vertical sync to be off in all games and in ccc.

Sure will check this is so. In the mean time is something like this suitable? http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs/configurator/overclocked-custom-gaming-hardware-bundle-z97oc15

I know I already have the ram and cooler but am thinking I may put together another machine from old parts

Very suitable and an excellent basis for a new system.

 

[SkyChan006]

well go for a branded motherboard like gigabyte or asus ora big brand, u already have a nice cooler, u dont need another one, and buy any cpu u want but check everything else before u do that. Lets make sure it is a right decision.

Right so Vsync in CCC was set to "Off unless programme specifies". I turned it to always off but the results are pretty much still the same, not breaking 9k on physics.

I'll look to buy a new motherboard and processor. Likely these:

Processor: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-4790k-lga-1150-haswell-quad-core-4ghz-base-44ghz-turbo-1200mhz-gpu-84w-cpu-retail

Motherboard: http://tinyurl.com/ndvts68

No idea about the motherboard to be honest but it's got good reviews.

Or do you thin I'm better off getting the bundle which drkatz42 seems to approve?

 

[Dragos Manea]

ok yes but in games how it is? it is anything better or still same fps with v sync off?

 

[SkyChan006]

ok yes but in games how it is? it is anything better or still same fps with v sync off?

I'm going to play GTA for a good few hours tonight with Vsync off and the graphics / render distance turned back up. I have played 20 minutes and it seems better however I can't help but notice stuff looking quite jagged at times compared to when Vsync is on, not sure how much this will bug me as it feels a bit like I'm detracting from the visuals. Will report back later tonight / tomorrow morning after a longer play though

 

[Dragos Manea]

The problem is your monitor refresh rate, it is small and when u turn v sync on it will lock the fps to monitor refresh rate, for example if your resolution is 1920x1080 with 30hz then your max fps with v sync on will be 30 fps, if u want high fps and no jugged things (screen tearing) u need to buy a high refresh rate monitor which is pretty expensive, if u buy a 144hz monitor and turn v sync on u will have max 144 fps and no screen tearing.

 

[SkyChan006]

ok yes but in games how it is? it is anything better or still same fps with v sync off?

The problem is your monitor refresh rate, it is small and when u turn v sync on it will lock the fps to monitor refresh rate, for example if your resolution is 1920x1080 with 30hz then your max fps with v sync on will be 30 fps, if u want high fps and no jugged things (screen tearing) u need to buy a high refresh rate monitor which is pretty expensive, if u buy a 144hz monitor and turn v sync on u will have max 144 fps and no screen tearing.

Ok so guess that makes my options either buy the higher refresh rate monitor like you just suggested i.e 120hz upwards or option 2 would be to buy the faster processor so Vsync works beter turned on? I assume I wouldn't need both the 144hx monitor AND the new processor / motherboard?

 

[Dragos Manea]

ok yes but in games how it is? it is anything better or still same fps with v sync off?

The problem is your monitor refresh rate, it is small and when u turn v sync on it will lock the fps to monitor refresh rate, for example if your resolution is 1920x1080 with 30hz then your max fps with v sync on will be 30 fps, if u want high fps and no jugged things (screen tearing) u need to buy a high refresh rate monitor which is pretty expensive, if u buy a 144hz monitor and turn v sync on u will have max 144 fps and no screen tearing.

Ok so guess that makes my options either buy the higher refresh rate monitor like you just suggested i.e 120hz upwards or option 2 would be to buy the faster processor so Vsync works beter turned on? I assume I wouldn't need both the 144hx monitor AND the new processor / motherboard?

Refresh rate is not related to the processor, if u turn v sync on u can have the i7 5930k if the refresh rate is 30 hz u will still have 30 fps. Be sure that resolution is set to maximum refresh rate in game. or buy a new 120 hz monitor.

 

[SkyChan006]

[/quotemsg]
Refresh rate is not related to the processor, if u turn v sync on u can have the i7 5930k if the refresh rate is 30 hz u will still have 30 fps. Be sure that resolution is set to maximum refresh rate in game. or buy a new 120 hz monitor.
[/quotemsg]

My current monitor is a 60hz monitor. With Vsync on I had the refresh rate set to max which in GTA is 60hz. This looks really good but I suffer from the game staggering unless I lower the settings. With Vsync off and the settings turned up the game doesn't seem to stagger but I get horrible screen tear. So is the best solution a new monitor or a new motherboard and processor? Sorry if you've answered this already just it doesn't sound clear to me

 

[Dragos Manea]

If u play how you desire (except screen tearing) with v sync off then a new monitor is the solution.

 

[vipperstrike]

ok 4 things to try
1.Just wondering but when you try to update your gpu drivers do you right click to get to catlyst or rptor gaming evolved app(or whatever it's called) and check for updates or do you go to amd's website. Neither does not help for beta drivers unless you go to amd's website and download those beta drivers also you might need to do a clean install of the drivers.
2.If that's not the problem then try installing Iorbit to do a whole system tuneup scan.
3.If that still does not help try clicking start right click on computer click properties and see if it says 16gb where it says installed memory.
4.if all that fails then try going to the intel driver website type your cpu in and look for IntelProcessorDiagnosticTool(64bit) and see what you get it tests to verify the functionality of an Intel microprocessor and the diagnostic checks for brand identification for a legit cpu

 

[Dragos Manea]

ok 4 things to try
1.Just wondering but when you try to update your gpu drivers do you right click to get to catlyst or rptor gaming evolved app(or whatever it's called) and check for updates or do you go to amd's website. Neither does not help for beta drivers unless you go to amd's website and download those beta drivers also you might need to do a clean install of the drivers.
2.If that's not the problem then try installing Iorbit to do a whole system tuneup scan.
3.If that still does not help try clicking start right click on computer click properties and see if it says 16gb where it says installed memory.
4.if all that fails then try going to the intel driver website type your cpu in and look for IntelProcessorDiagnosticTool(64bit) and see what you get it tests to verify the functionality of an Intel microprocessor and the diagnostic checks for brand identification for a legit cpu

Lol he wants 60+ fps with v sync on, but thats impossible because v sync locks the fps to refresh rate and he has a 60 hz monitor that means at max 60 fps but most of the time will be 38-48 fps because of the low refresh rate, nothing is wrong with windows or drivers just low refresh rate (at least that is keeping him to pass 60 fps)

EDIT: i have a r9 290x and an i5 3570 and in battlefield 4 i was wondering why i get 40-50 fps when all benchmarks says it is normal to have over 100 fps, i thought is something wrong with my videocard but i searched on google and found out that is because of the v sync and 60 hz refresh rate monitor, with v sync off i get over 100 fps but i got screen tearing so my next move will be http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-24GM77-24-Inch-LED-Lit/dp/B00P0EOX1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429901485&sr=8-1&keywords=LG+24GM77-B

 

[vipperstrike]

I thought he said he couldn't get 60 fps if he's trying for higher fps then yea the refresh rate is the problem