Something doesn’t feel right with my build

[axel.herbst]

I'm really struggling when it comes to games such as BF1 and Overwatch. My GPU utilization almost never goes over 50%. In BF1, I have around 80 FPS with LOW settings and ULTRA settings. My RAM often goes to over 90% as well. What needs fixing here? Do my components get enough power? Is it really worth investing in an i7 or should I opt for a better PSU or more RAM instead?



I've currently got:

i5 4690K @3.5 GHz (Have tried OC to 4.2GHz)

GTX 1070 Ti

2x4GB Corsair RAM

500 W PSU



Some nods in the right direction would be great! Cheers.

 

[Lutfij]

Make and model of your PSU? How old is your PSU? You also forgot to mention the make and model of your motherboard. Make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your board. You can try uninstalling and reinstalling your GPU drivers and see if that changes your experience, seeing how at low settings, you're getting FPS the same as Ultra settings.

 

[Posty351]

Need more RAM and a better power supply.

 

[mortemas]

According to Tom's, BF1 on a 1070 ti at 1440p runs at around 86 fps. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-ti-8gb,5311-6.html

If that's your resolution, you're not far off. Download GPUz and run it while playing the game. Then check the sensors tab and see what the reason is for "PerfCap" and it will tell you what is limiting the card. I think there is also a CPU sensor in there, so if the CPU is at 100% then it's doing all it can and then it could be the bottleneck. What about RAM settings?

 

[axel.herbst]

Make and model of your PSU? How old is your PSU? You also forgot to mention the make and model of your motherboard. Make sure you're on the latest BIOS update for your board. You can try uninstalling and reinstalling your GPU drivers and see if that changes your experience, seeing how at low settings, you're getting FPS the same as Ultra settings.

It’s a CX500M, 4 years old I believe

 

[geofelt]

A game will be limited by either cpu or gpu.
You have two good parts there.

A GTX1070ti needs a very good quality psu in the 500-550w range.
If your psu is not delivering the requisite power, I would expect to see display artifacts or some other symptom.
Also, an old or cheap psu can deteriorate over time.

Your games are largely single threaded and cpu dependent. I doubt that 4 more threads from a I7 would help.

You said tried oc to 4.2.
Is that what you are running now?
If not, see what happens if you oc a bit.
If you are getting the same fps on low and ultra settings, it indicates a cpu limitation.

More ram never hurts.
But adding ram will give you a decision to make.
If you add 8gb, you may find the addition less than compatible.

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things work.

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 8gb,
If it works, good; you now have extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

 

[axel.herbst]

A game will be limited by either cpu or gpu.
You have two good parts there.

A GTX1070ti needs a very good quality psu in the 500-550w range.
If your psu is not delivering the requisite power, I would expect to see display artifacts or some other symptom.
Also, an old or cheap psu can deteriorate over time.

Your games are largely single threaded and cpu dependent. I doubt that 4 more threads from a I7 would help.

You said tried oc to 4.2.
Is that what you are running now?
If not, see what happens if you oc a bit.
If you are getting the same fps on low and ultra settings, it indicates a cpu limitation.

More ram never hurts.
But adding ram will give you a decision to make.
If you add 8gb, you may find the addition less than compatible.

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things work.

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 8gb,
If it works, good; you now have extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.

I’ve been OCd for about three weeks and haven’t ever felt any difference.

So, firstly I’ll try and increase the RAMs voltage in BIOS later today (I’ll get back to you)

If that doesn’t help, I’ll consider buying more RAM. However I haven’t got a single 8GB stick but rather 2x4GB. Is it then still worth to buy 2x8 or should I invest in two more 4 GB sticks?

Thanks for your help man.

 

[norcalsc]

for BF1, in particular, yes an i7 Would help. it will eat up a i5 with just 4 cores unfortunately, I've been down that road what you really need is more ram to play AAA games at the very least 16 would do the trick. Ram alone will make a big difference without spending a ton of money on a complete overhaul. there is really no CHEAP way around it per se, to get the performance that I think you are expecting, as mentioned above buy ram in kits, try not to combine different types

 

[geofelt]

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they must be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%

What is your plan "B" if the new stick/s do not work?

Sometimes increasing the ram voltage in the bios will make things work.

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit that matches your current specs.
Then, try adding in your old 8gb,
If it works, good; you now have extra ram.
If not, sell the old ram or keep it as a spare.