Question Upgrading my gaming pc

gryphondabb

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Oct 14, 2019
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I have a budget around 400 but willing to go a little over.

I mainly play call of duty modern warfare and my discord is always crashing in the background when I’m in game and the game stutters a lot. I have an i5 7400 and an AMD rx 480 with 24 GB of 3000 ram.

Should I upgrade CPU or GPU? And what components should I upgrade to so my discord doesn’t crash and the game doesn’t freeze while I’m playing?
 

rgd1101

Don't
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I have a budget around 400 but willing to go a little over.

I mainly play call of duty modern warfare and my discord is always crashing in the background when I’m in game and the game stutters a lot. I have an i5 7400 and an AMD rx 480 with 24 GB of 3000 ram.

Should I upgrade CPU or GPU? And what components should I upgrade to so my discord doesn’t crash and the game doesn’t freeze while I’m playing?
400 peso is not enough for upgrade
 
Whats your RAM stick configuration?

  1. 4GB+4GB+16GB
  2. 8GB+8GB+8GB
  3. 8GB+16GB
  4. 4GB+4GB+8GB+8GB
  5. 2GB+2GB+16GB+4GB
  6. Some other ?
Not having dual channel memory enable will give you lower FPS in game and also affect the overall performance of the PC.

Not always more is better, sometimes is better to keep the memory at only 16GB, making sure they are working in dual channel.

Besides removing one stick of RAM, you need to make sure to populate the right slots. Then download CPU-Z (zip. 64 bits) and chek in the memory tab if you see "channels": dual (https://diaryofdennis.files.wordpre...oryisrunningindualchannelmode.jpg?w=388&h=376). If you don't then you may need to change the right option on BIOS or try with another stick, sometimes they are not compatible and can't run dual channel with some mixed ones.
 
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1. make sure that ram comes in "matching pairs"
24 should be 8+8 + 4+4 or it will as said rollback to single channel mode, that makes half of the possible speed go down the drain.
And this games want 10GB of ram for itself, so it definitely hurts to be single channel.

2. open the task manager in background. if cpu is as you suspect a problem, then it should stay at 100% most of the time. If possible do the temperature monitoring with speedfan or equivalent.
Minimal CPU:
Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300
so yours should be at least 30% better. Try disabling shadows and tell us if its better.


I am quite confident that your problem is with single channel ram, OR with thermals.
This build should be able to do 1080p with medium graphics ~50 FPS.
if ram is fine, then grab one of this
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/q6JBN5sC6v9Pgh3uHH5FPF-650-80.png
top ~30 products (anything above or arctic silver 5), any that you can get cheap and repaste+ dustclean your build.
 

gryphondabb

Prominent
Oct 14, 2019
18
1
515
Whats your RAM stick configuration?

  1. 4GB+4GB+16GB
  2. 8GB+8GB+8GB
  3. 8GB+16GB
  4. 4GB+4GB+8GB+8GB
  5. 2GB+2GB+16GB+4GB
  6. Some other ?
Not having dual channel memory enable will give you lower FPS in game and also affect the overall performance of the PC.

Not always more is better, sometimes is better to keep the memory at only 16GB, making sure they are working in dual channel.

Besides removing one stick of RAM, you need to make sure to populate the right slots. Then download CPU-Z (zip. 64 bits) and chek in the memory tab if you see "channels": dual (https://diaryofdennis.files.wordpre...oryisrunningindualchannelmode.jpg?w=388&h=376). If you don't then you may need to change the right option on BIOS or try with another stick, sometimes they are not compatible and can't run dual channel with some mixed ones.
I have 2 8 GB and 2 sticks of 4. I have it so my 2 8’s aren’t next to each other in the first and 3rd slots. And my 4’s are in the 2nd and 4th. Is this correct?
 
I don’t think it’s the RAM because I made sure I have the correct slots. I’m pretty sure it’s my CPU is too weak
The slots have nothing to do with it (apart from the dual channel thing, and you covered that) - different RAM stick sizes usually mean different RAM chips and probably differing settings from one to the other, often causing instability.
Once you've restored stability, you can start looking at other potential problems : CPU throttling, corrupted Windows install, bad driver install etc.
 
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I have 2 8 GB and 2 sticks of 4. I have it so my 2 8’s aren’t next to each other in the first and 3rd slots. And my 4’s are in the 2nd and 4th. Is this correct?

Good that you have 2 x 8GB sticks, just like others said, remove those 2x4GB sticks, use cpu-z to check the 2x8GB ones are in dual channel and then go try the game again with discord and all that.

As for changing the system, I will probably go this way since it will give you an important boost on CPU performance (as long as you have 2 identical 8GB sticks of DDR4 3000)

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $412.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-20 11:06 EST-0500


You can avoid the 3200 sticks I added, but only as long as you are 100% you got 2 identical 8GB sticks DDR4 3000. Also there are some less expensive coolers, like Gammaxx 400 and GTE that you can change for to save some money with.

That mobo should come with a BIOS already compatible with Ryzen 3xxx cpus out of the box, but remember is important that you flash the newer BIOS available (atleast the AGESA 1003 ABBA one) as soon as you are sure everything is working OK.
 

gryphondabb

Prominent
Oct 14, 2019
18
1
515
Good that you have 2 x 8GB sticks, just like others said, remove those 2x4GB sticks, use cpu-z to check the 2x8GB ones are in dual channel and then go try the game again with discord and all that.

As for changing the system, I will probably go this way since it will give you an important boost on CPU performance (as long as you have 2 identical 8GB sticks of DDR4 3000)

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports DUO CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $412.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-20 11:06 EST-0500


You can avoid the 3200 sticks I added, but only as long as you are 100% you got 2 identical 8GB sticks DDR4 3000. Also there are some less expensive coolers, like Gammaxx 400 and GTE that you can change for to save some money with.

That mobo should come with a BIOS already compatible with Ryzen 3xxx cpus out of the box, but remember is important that you flash the newer BIOS available (atleast the AGESA 1003 ABBA one) as soon as you are sure everything is working OK.
Thanks man your a huge help!
 
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