[SOLVED] Should I upgrade my CPU or GPU?

[DodoHAIM]

I have a Windows 10 Desktop PC that I use primarily for gaming and have been running into issues where my PC powers itself off instantly when I run more modern, demanding games. I have an Intel Core i7-3770 processor but if I wanted to upgrade this for a more recent one, I would have to get a newer motherboard also (and therefore also RAM that is compatible). I have a 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 graphics card and I want to know whether I should prioritise upgrading my CPU or my GPU.

Let me know if you need more information,

Thanks,
Will.

 

[tennis2]

What power supply do you have?

Is this an OEM (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc) machine? If not, what motherboard do you have?

What country are you shopping in and what's your budget?

 

[geofelt]

Your problem smacks of a power supply problem.
My stock approach to this perennial question:

Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer tends to like many threads.

You need to find out which.
------------------------------------------------------------
To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one or more cores/threads. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.



It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

[DodoHAIM]

Hi, thank you so much for your replies.

• My power supply is a CIT 750UB (ATX, 12V, 750W) [I think that should be enough information, it was difficult to decipher from the casing itself].
• My PC is not an OEM, my motherboard is an ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8H77-V LE (LGA1155).
• I am shopping in the UK and my budget is probaby the best part of £400.

I ran the in-game benchmark for Red Dead Redemption 2 as that is in line with my requirements:

• When I reduced the graphics settings from maximum (Ultra) to minimum (Low), the framerate more than doubled from an average of 20FPS to 42FPS.
• Retaining the low graphics settings, I limited the Maximum CPU to 70% , ran the benchmark and the FPS stayed the same (~42FPS).
• I then used msconfig to remove 2 processors (from 8 to 6), ran the benchmark and the FPS stayed the same (~42FPS).

In this case what do you think is the best course of action?

geofelt, when you say "Your problem smacks of a power supply problem." is that something I should be worried about or have the tests made you think otherwise?

Thanks a lot for your help so far,

Kind Regards,

Will

 

[DodoHAIM]

I think the issue where my PC instantly powers itself off when loading a game might be unrelated to my CPU or GPU.

I have just loaded Train Sim World 2020 (which is one of the games where this issue happens almost every time I load it) and monitored the Task Manager while doing so. There did not appear to be much stress on the CPU, GPU, Disk or RAM but the power usage was "Very high".

I understand it is usual for a demanding game to have higher power usage but could the fact that my PC shuts off (not even a blue screen) suggest that my power supply doesn't have what it takes for my components?

 

[geofelt]

I am glad you reported on running those tests.
As many times as I have suggested them, very few have reported back.

When you reduced settings, you lowered the requirements for the graphics card. Getting better fps is a good indication that a stronger graphics card would do you some good.
At least for that game.

Of perhaps more interest are the cpu tests.
Since your fps remained the same at 70% capability, it says that your cpu is plenty adequate in single thread performance.

Also interesting is that if you can run the same with 6 treads, you game is not able to take effective advantage of more.
You will see activity on all 8 threads, but that is just windows spreading the activity out over available threads.

My conclusion would be that you could, indeed make good use of a graphics card upgrade.
GTX960 is perhaps the equivalent of a GTX1050.
A suitably strong upgrade might be a GTX1660ti

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-GeFor...d=1&keywords=gtx+1660ti&qid=1587226393&sr=8-3

Tom's GPU hierarchy charts will give you a general ranking of graphics cards:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

As to the psu, in theory, a quality 450w psu should do the job.
I only know what I read, and cit comes across as a low quality generic unit.
One problem may be that it is not delivering advertised power causing failures under load.

See if you can borrow a known good psu to test with.
550w-650w shoould be enough.
Alternatively, buy a new psu from a place with a good return policy.
Expect to pay a 15% return charge.
Here is one list of psu quality:

PSU Tier List [OLD]

Credit to @Starelementpokeand @Energycore for helping out with this long-awaited refresh of the old PSU tier list by Aniallation (who previously went several months without logging in), leaving the old list in need of help. This is simply an update of the list that was flawed in creation by the P...

linustechtips.com

I like the seasonic focus units with 7/10 year warranties.

 

[DodoHAIM]

Thank you geofelt, I appreciate the effort you have gone to to help me with my problem.

The GTX1660Ti looks appropriate for my purposes, I shall look into it further.

I must admit, I have always been curious about the quality about my power supply, it never struck me as very high quality, and have thought for a while that could be the cause of some of my headaches!

Thanks again,

Take care 👍

Will.

 

[tennis2]

I would agree that the PSU should probably be retired. It's most likely the source of your shutdown issues.

How much system RAM do you have? (how many sticks, of what GB each)

PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB GAMING OC Video Card (£275.86 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£64.99 @ Box Limited)
Total: £340.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-18 18:57 BST+0100

The RX5600XT is approximately equal to the RTX2060 in performance.

 

[DodoHAIM]

I have 2 x 4GB sticks and 2 x 2 GB sticks of RAM.

Thanks for those suggestions.

Will

 

[geofelt]

You have mismatched ram.
Possibly the ram is a cause of problems.
Run memtest86 which boots from a usb stick and does not use windows.
You should be able to complete a full pass with NO errors.

 

[DodoHAIM]

I was able to complete the memtest86 without any errors, however my RAM is mismatched.

I have two identical 4GB sticks in Slots 1 and 3 that came preinstalled when I bought my PC, and the two 2GB sticks are in Slots 2 and 4 and they are both different models, one is Kingston, like the 4GB pair (though not the same spec I think), and the other is some other (I think lower quality) brand. I added the 2GB sticks sometime after getting my PC.

Here is more specific information about the RAM in my PC: https://pastebin.com/QFcgkyrK

Should I remove the 2GB sticks and replace them with 4GB ones?

 

[geofelt]

No, if memtest86 shows ok, then your ram is OK.
Intel processors are relatively tolerant of mismatched ram.
Keep your 12gb, any problems are elsewhere.

 

[DodoHAIM]

Ok, so I am going to replace my PSU with a better quality one, and get a better GPU to improve game performance. I may also consider replacing the lower quality RAM in the future, as I imagine that might be a sensible course of action.

Thank you both for your help 👍

Will

 

[geofelt]

So long as the ram works, 12gb is sufficient and that would not be high on my list of replacement priorities.

 

[tennis2]

I agree with geo. No reason to suspect the RAM at this point in the game. I'm placing all my bets on the existing PSU still.

For future reference, buy RAM in 2 stick kits. Not singles. When you get them in a package together, they're verified by the manufacturer to work well with each other. At the very least it saves some headache of matching specs so you don't lose performance (having to run some sticks slower to match others)

 

[DodoHAIM]

Ok, I see. Thanks guys, I have learnt a lot. I think I should have all the information I need.

Take care,

Will