[SOLVED] Upgrading RAM or CPU?

[CaptainDeadpool]

Hi guys,

I just bought a GTX 1650 Super and im not seeing the performance i hoped for it, im guessing my components may be bottlenecking it. I have a ryzen 5 2400g and 8gb ram 3000mhz (which i think is limited to 2400mhz by my Prime B350MA, if anyone can confirm this great)

So, my question is should i upgrade my ram to 16gb or my CPU (to a Ryzen 2600 or 3600, not sure which is better value), i know cpu will seem like a no-brainer but my gpu has only 4GB Vram and i heard more ram can really help. I use this pc specifically for gaming.

PS: i plan on selling my 2400g so the cost of the upgrade wont be as high in case i go for the cpu, lets say all in all it would cost me 50% more than buying a 8gb ram stick.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Diddly]

Try enabling XMP in your BIOS - that should load the XMP settings from the RAM. should get you to 3000. That will give you a bit of a boost.

try that before upgrading your CPU. If that doesn't help, then get a 3600 if possible - make sure you upgrade the BIOS before putting the new CPU in.
Ryzen 3600 is supported - https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/
DDR 3000MHz is supported - https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/PRIME-B350M-A/specifications/

how well do your CPU/GPU work together? read this
https://pc-builds.com/calculator/Ryzen_5_2400G/GeForce_GTX_1650/0Pl13M8A/8/

 

[CaptainDeadpool]

Try enabling XMP in your BIOS - that should load the XMP settings from the RAM. should get you to 3000. That will give you a bit of a boost.

try that before upgrading your CPU. If that doesn't help, then get a 3600 if possible - make sure you upgrade the BIOS before putting the new CPU in.
Ryzen 3600 is supported - https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/PRIME-B350M-A/HelpDesk_CPU/
DDR 3000MHz is supported - https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/PRIME-B350M-A/specifications/

how well do your CPU/GPU work together? read this
https://pc-builds.com/calculator/Ryzen_5_2400G/GeForce_GTX_1650/0Pl13M8A/8/

Cool thanks, i didnt know that about RAM, just went into the bios and set it to 3000, and o downloaded CPU-Z to check the speed it was working at and it says 1500mhz, and so does my task manager. IS this standard way of reading ram? it halves the speed?

So assuming now its working correctly at 3000mhz, can i just buy another 8gb ram at 3000mhz and they should both work at 3000? or does this put any kind of stress on the motherboard?

 

[CountMike]

Cool thanks, i didnt know that about RAM, just went into the bios and set it to 3000, and o downloaded CPU-Z to check the speed it was working at and it says 1500mhz, and so does my task manager. IS this standard way of reading ram? it halves the speed?

So assuming now its working correctly at 3000mhz, can i just buy another 8gb ram at 3000mhz and they should both work at 3000? or does this put any kind of stress on the motherboard?

Regarding RAM, it's DDR (Double Data Rate) so if you see 1500 it's actually running at 3000Mhz.
You could buy another 8GB stick but it would be best if it's same as old one. Even better to get 2x8GB in pair.

 

[scallumal]

How many ram sticks are you running? If only 1 then that is your problem a 2400g is fine for the 1650 super as it won't utilize the additional cores as much unless u play cpu intensive games
So I would recommend getting a second 8 gig stick of the same ram and same speed as running single channel does bottle neck Ryzen alot

 

[King_V]

What resolution are you playing at?
What refresh rate is your monitor?
What games are you playing, and at what graphics/detail settings - what performance are you getting, and what did you expect to get?

What other people have said about RAM is correct, though - you want dual-channel mode, so a pair of matched sticks. The problem is that, when you don't buy the pair in a matched kit, it's hit or miss as to whether it'll work. Try to get the exact same brand/model/timings as your existing one, that gives you the best possible chance.

Otherwise, buy a 2x8 kit, probably around 300MHz, and sell of the single stick.

 

[geofelt]

Ryzen is sensitive to ram performance.
A single stick will run in slower single thread performance.

A upgrade to 2 x 8gb seems to be a good idea.

BUT....

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.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they should be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%
I might guess 90% success or less.

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

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit and sell the old or keep it as a spare.

And... do not bother with "bottleneck calculators. They are mostly junk science.
The games you play must be a consideration in finding your limiting factor.

 

[CaptainDeadpool]

Ryzen is sensitive to ram performance.
A single stick will run in slower single thread performance.

A upgrade to 2 x 8gb seems to be a good idea.

BUT....

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.

If you do buy more disparate sticks, they should be the same speed, voltage and cas numbers.
Even then your chances of working are less than 100%
I might guess 90% success or less.

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

If you want 16gb, my suggestion is to buy a 2 x 8gb kit and sell the old or keep it as a spare.

And... do not bother with "bottleneck calculators. They are mostly junk science.
The games you play must be a consideration in finding your limiting factor.

Thanks everyone for their support, sadly i didnt get any more notificatuons from this post so i didnt have all this info today when i went and bought a corsair lpx 8gb ram 3000. Its not working.. already read that it has a lot of issues with ryzen and my motherboard. Hopefully will be able to return it tomorrow

EDIT: got em working just had to change some frequency confg in the bios. But lesson learned about ram sticks, ill just consider myself lucky