Wanting to Upgrade, but I have a AM3 socket motherboard and am on a budget!

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Hey everyone, I'm back. It's been awhile, and things have certainly changed since that time about a year ago... but I need some help once again. Here is my current system, which almost seems to be a low end gaming PC rather than a mid range PC lately. Especially if I expect to play all games at native resolution (1440x900 at 75Hz refresh rate). Here are my specs:

Asus Essentio Series CG1330 Computer
Windows 7 64 bit
8GB of RAM
AMD Radeon 7850HD with 1GB of video memory
AMD Phenom II X6 1035T with 2.6GHz of speed (AM3 Socket type motherboard)

After playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist, it's become increasingly clear that my gaming PC is starting to lag behind for some modern games (luckily, plenty of games run fine, even Crysis 3, but there isn't good performance all the time). I am starting to get a bit upset, because I don't have the income to afford something crazy, so I am suffering here at subpar framerates for some games. Heck, it was like this already for a few games, even 2D games like "Binding of Isaac" or "A Wizard's Lizard" lag heavily if there is enough stuff on screen!

For Splinter Cell Blacklist in particular, the framerates are 30 through 50 on average. Which is acceptable, but like with Battlefield 3/4, the framerate can drop to below 30 to 20 frames. No matter what I do, turning down the settings barely helps the performance, except lowering the resolution. Which I don't want to do, games look terrible and immersion breaking at resolutions lower than the native resolution.

I don't quite get it though. Some games look great but run super good, like The Witcher 2, Dishonored, Bioshock: Infinite, and other games I love. Wolfenstein: The New Order also runs well, but that one has a tendency of dropping frames heavily in big open areas (mostly that first rainy area). So why is this a big deal? Even games like FarCry 3 run good for me! The thing is, that was like 2012 or 2013, as far as I know. Games are spiraling out of control in terms of graphics capability as 2014 rolls along into 2015.

Now, I need an upgrade. But I've run into a serious problem. I want a super cheap AM3 processor that is much better, at $60.00. I am not willing to buy a new motherboard, as it is too expensive. I am also not confident in installing motherboards, but I am for processors. I would be forced to pay someone to install a motherboard for me, which would make things more expensive. So buying just a processor is what I want. But DAMN they are all far too expensive at over $100.00! I can't tell what I can get that is good for gaming but cheap. Something that is better than the current pathetic processor. I knew I should of been careful buying this PC at Best Buy a couple of years ago and heeding my sister's warning about the CPU... it was a terrible mistake. At least I upgraded it from that 5750HD to a 6850HD, then a 7850HD graphics card. So at least the graphics card is good!

At this point, I am confused. I Googled as much as I could and can't find answers. There HAS to be a better AM3 socket processor that is relatively cheap out there, somewhere!
 
Solution
WhiteSnake91
You're not going to find a cpu for 60 bucks, I know how it is being broke, trust me on that man....but you're going to have to save up longer for a Phenom x4 965 since it's clocked higher, or a Phenom x6 1100t but those are going for 200 bucks. Can't you do anything for side money? Even flipping burgers would get 60 bucks a day on minimum wage here >_>

your CPU is clocked way too low and per core is too weak for modern stuff. You might not know enough about tech to understand that, but even saving up for a used i5 sandy bridge and cheap 1155 motherboard would be a night and day difference compared to your current cpu. Used i5s go for about 130-140 bucks.


Wanting a cpu that'll max out upcoming modern games for 60 dollars is kind of...
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That is a good option for a new processor, but I bet it is still too expensive. I will, however, consider it!

I thought lowering the resolution helps... but apparently, it doesn't seem to do that either. I'll be enjoying some Battlefield 4, and although the performance is not bad (anything above 30 frames is supposedly fine), I tried to lower the internal resolution. That didn't help either at the laggy bits! Same with Splinter Cell Blacklist. I am curious as to why that game doesn't have any options to lower effects or CPU intensive visuals. I have everything turned off or at low except for texture quality which is at High, and AF at 16x. The game manages to still look pretty nice, but it still lags pretty badly at some parts. Mostly the first Blacklist mission seems to be the most laggy. It was too unbearable so I had to stop. It wasn't choppy at least, and was smooth but still sluggish.

I am really scared here. If games continue to get more advanced, then I won't be able to run them at good enough framerates. I preordered Metro 2033 and Last Light Redux, so now I am even more worried about those... the original games run pretty great for me, though, especially Last Light. But I don't know how the Redux versions will fair.

Just, thanks for your response, Intero. It isn't good enough as an answer though. 🙁
 
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phenom iis can still be pricey. maybe an x4 980? I'm not trying to knock on your gpu either here, but that 1gb 7850 might not be cutting it. also that af and aa eat up vram. maybe medium settings with aa and af off might speed it up.


edit. My son plays cod bo I &II and bf3 with a Phenom II x3 720be @ 3.3 GHz with an hd 6850 @ 1378x766 on medium to high with 30+ fps. I think a faster quad core would benifit you more than a hexa core phenom ii.
 
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I need AF turned up to max, my graphics card advertised that it has higher AF rendering capability than most and should be perfectly fine for that. I also need AA turned on because I cannot stand jagged edges and it completely breaks any immersion. However, if FXAA is an option I will choose that instead. Also, I know what VRAM lag looks like, none of my games run choppy, which is a sign of low VRAM amounts. The lag is mostly "smooth lag" in games that run just average rather than optimal for me, but it's still sluggish.

By the way, SplinterCell Blacklist only ran poorly because of a stupid hidden video option buried in the config files. Something called occulsion_off, whatever that is, which was set at 2 at all times. Now SplinterCell Blacklist runs fantastic at 50-75 frames per second on rather good settings. Most of my games run pretty good, so I think my fears are unwarranted. If anything, as games continue to utilize multiple cores, I will be able to take advantage of them better even with a slower processor than usual. Well, that's what I hope for, at least. As for gaming.. I am beginning to suspect that many games have secret config file video options that force the game to run worse than usual but don't even make it look better, like SplinterCell Blacklist, making me inclined to believe there is a conspiracy going on just to force people to buy "better" hardware. If I don't have to upgrade a console, then there is no need to upgrade my PC either. I was very lucky to be able to afford my PC with trust fund money, and the rest of the upgrades was bought with money I saved up myself. I really cannot afford a new processor, and even if I could, I bet you that same $100.00 that the people I am living with would be very angry at me since I am supposed to pay them that kind of money.

I don't know why I came here to begin with... I think it's because I was having trouble finding AM3 socket processors. Not AM3+, just AM3. So far, it seems like there is a nice and fast $100.00 processor on NewEgg, but it is going to take awhile for me to afford it or convince those I am living with that I can handle installing it if I learn enough from tutorial videos.
 
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well, like I said I wasn't trying to hate on your video card. it was just a suggestion. personally, I wouldn't buy any video card under 2 gb when playing at a res close to 1080p. that's me though.

can you overclock that x6? you could get a really nice cpu cooler with your budget, possibly even a water cooling unit.

it's going hard finding new am3 chips. I am willing to bet a 400 MHz bump on what you have will make a significant difference. when I was using that 720be the bump from the stock 2.8 GHz to 3.3 GHz made a big difference in gaming.

an example it's the game They bleed pixels. before the OC it would slow down occasionally, like an old snes or genesis game that had a lot going on. after the OC it was smooth, same with bioshock infinite and borderlands 2.

maybe if you can find a used phenom ii x4 above 3.4 GHz on eBay or overclock you will get the performance you are looking for.

 
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There is no CPU you can buy on a $60 budget to upgrade your PC, unfortunately. And as said, a 1GB videocard is not optimal for 1080p resolution.

If I were you, I would just save up enough cash to buy a whole new computer. AM3 is a dead socket at this time.
 
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Please keep in mind that I play with a 1440x900 resolution LCD monitor of sorts. I do not want to play at insane resolutions, it's not neccesary to me. But according to what I know, even 1440x900 is dead for some stupid despite it being the perfect monitor for my setup.
 
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Overclocking seems like a good option. But the last time I did it, stability problems arose quite easily even at 3.1GHz...
 
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With an AM3 Mb (note it's not an AM3+------correct?) there not a lot that can be done about the CPU (yours ISN"T "bad", it's jut not in the "l&g" market arena). Memory, on the other hand, can be improved-------------and it CAN help with lag. If possible, try to double your memory (to 16 GB of DDR3---------provided your MB is configured for DDR3)----but at the least, upgrade to 16GB of memory. I'm running the same GPU on an AMD (FM1) (non-APU) chip (Athlon IIx 640).
The other question to be asked is: What is the memory on your GPU? That too can be a BID bottleneck on framerates. You should have a MINIMUM of 1gb (with 2gb preferred) for gaming with that GPU.
 
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I have 1GB of VRAM on my 7850HD graphics card! 1024MB, to be approximate. I am sure that's good enough for modern gaming. As for RAM, why do I need 16GB? Isn't 8GB enough? It barely ever goes above 50% or 60% RAM usage for most games. I have no idea how that would improve performance in games that are clearly slowing down from the CPU.
 
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I hope you are having some luck with your issue. I do agree that 16gb is overkill in your situation. 4Gb to 8Gb IS a noticeable improvement, but you already have 8Gb. The 7850 is no slouch either and based on what you described you are experiencing a cpu bottleneck. I still stand by my suggestions of either overclocking or getting a phenom ii x4 at 3.4 Ghz or higher. Up until recently I was using a phenom ii x3 720be. At the stock 2.8Ghz it was ok for gaming at 1080p (I have an HD 7870 2gb card). Older games like Crysis, Borderlands and WoW (my main game at that time) ran good but stuff like Borderlands 2, Bioshock Infinite, BF3/4 multiplayer were sluggish, even when lowering the res and turning down eye candy. With only a multiplier bump I was at 3.3Ghz and gaming improved for everything. Every game I had was playable with 30+ fps on high to ultra. I had it up to 3.8Ghz and gaming was only little under the performance I have now (fx-6300 stock)

Point being is yeah cores are important but for gaming I think a higher clock speed it better as long as you have like 3 to 4 cores. Side note, my Athlon II x3 455 (phenom ii x4 b55 unlocked) at 3.8Ghz ran games good too, about equal to the phenom II 720 at 3.3Ghz.
 
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You're not going to find a cpu for 60 bucks, I know how it is being broke, trust me on that man....but you're going to have to save up longer for a Phenom x4 965 since it's clocked higher, or a Phenom x6 1100t but those are going for 200 bucks. Can't you do anything for side money? Even flipping burgers would get 60 bucks a day on minimum wage here >_>

your CPU is clocked way too low and per core is too weak for modern stuff. You might not know enough about tech to understand that, but even saving up for a used i5 sandy bridge and cheap 1155 motherboard would be a night and day difference compared to your current cpu. Used i5s go for about 130-140 bucks.


Wanting a cpu that'll max out upcoming modern games for 60 dollars is kind of ludicrous. The 7850 is also not a high end gpu but it would be fine on your low resolution of 1440x900


your setup was pretty low end years ago already >_>. Most serious PC gamers have moved onto 1080p long ago.

edit: also just watch some ten min long newegg PC assembly build videos, it's not hard at all. I used to not know anything about how to put together a computer but I got the jist of it all within a day or so. You just need to educate yourself about computers, because you've got the whole wrong idea if you're expecting a better CPU for THAT cheap, and wondering why your 7850 won't max out upcoming stuff.
 
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Solution


I never said I wanted to max any game out. That's the whole problem with the advice I am getting lately.

I didn't want to mention it (because I know it will cause a flame war), but I don't have a job and don't want one. So I am relying heavily on what I earn as a freelance artist (hoping to get big on YouTube too), which is actually pretty decent. But the $150.00 or so I earn per month from it will never be enough because the people I live with and who take care of me expect me to pay them at least that much per month. So I pretty much have no money left after what I pay them. I usually just buy more games on Steam with what I have left over. I was lucky enough as it is to get my PC at Best Buy with trust fund money.

Is my hardware even that low end? It can run a lot of games pretty good now, so I don't see why it is low end rather than mid range. The problem lies in very few modern games. Most of them run great and look fantastic. I can run Bioshock: Infinite good, I can run Dishonored good, I can run Wolfenstein: The New Order good. There is a lot more games I can run pretty good on good settings, like FarCry 3. I also forgot to mention that SplinterCell: Blacklist runs AMAZINGLY WELL after figuring out that a stupid hidden setting was making the game run so terrible. I can run that game just fine on good settings as well, 40-75 frames per second, and about 50 frames on average. That IS a modern game with modern capabilities, right? The problem lies in multiplayer games, as it seems, but so far I feel like my fears are for no reason. It doesn't make any sense anyway, because by this logic the PS3 shouldn't be able to run GTA5 but it does despite it being outdated hardware. So I sure I am fine, because otherwise I was promised a new computer or help getting one if I do more chores and hang out with those I live with more.
 
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Multiplayer is much more demanding than single player, people can play BF4 single player on an old low clocked dual core but that doesn't mean the multiplayer will run well. That's interesting about Splinter Cell Blacklist....I never got the thing working even on my high end pc, it kept crashing and uplay would never let me play co op with my friend, after the run-around from support I just gave up on the game. I'm not going to flame you for that man, live your life how you want. The games would play better if your cpu was just clocked higher. 2.6ghz is low for modern standards. That's barely the minimum requirements for alot of games I've seen. You could possibly win an auction on a used Phenom II 965 or 955 but I wouldn't hold my breath on it.


.....I've been thinking about this since earlier, you're not trying to use/overclock an older power hungry Phenom x6 and hd7850 gpu on the old stock prebuilt power supply are you? That would cause alot of problems itself. If you never upgraded the power supply, getting a new good one and slightly overclocking your cpu might help you enough, I doubt you would be able to overclock much at all though due to it being a prebuilt pc to begin with, and them locking down the bios as many companies do.
 
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Well, I did in fact upgrade my PSU to a nice 600 watt PSU 2 years ago when I was upgrading to the 7850HD graphics card from a 6850HD. It wasn't so bad installing it myself. I am too worried about overclocking because I am worried I will destroy my PC. The last time I tried using overclocking software for my processor sent my PC into a BSOD. I am well aware of the kickass tutorial video on YouTube with someone overclocking the same exact processor (although it was the 1055T).

At this point, I can't stop being afraid that my PC isn't good enough anymore. If what you say is true, then I can't even overclock my processor, so I am screwed.
 
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I didn't think about the bios being locked ... I think I just read Asus and my mind was seeing a regular DIY part, lol. Anyways, your personal life is your business, I'm not here to judge ... I hope you do get a new pc, if not I still stand by suggestion of getting a faster Phenom II x4 like 980 or 965 ,,, something around 3.4Ghz or higher stock.
 
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Software OCing rarely works out very well. I tried it back when NVidia was still making chipsets using Forceware or Nforce (something like that) and it never worked for me either, I had an emachines back then.

Do you have many things running in the background? All those little apps can steal ram and cpu power so I would try to exit out of as much of that stuff as possible too (the stuff in the lower right hand corner).
 
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I don't have experience with overclocking an AMD cpu, I just setup my i5 to turbo boost to 4.2ghz, on internet browsing it sits at 1.6ghz, I like to try and keep my electric bill as low as I can and having my cpu at full speed when not needed just seems wasteful to me. If the bios is locked you could still use the AMD overdrive software although the Overclocking Purist like to talk down on it, it does give a little more voltage than is needed from what I've read. Manually tweaking it would be better. You should be able to at least get it to 3.2-3.3ghz because that's what the 1090t and 1100t were clocked at using the stock cooler. Any higher than that and I'd recommend the Hyper 212 Plus cpu cooler or Hyper 212 Evo, on a budget, the cooler master tx3 is really good too.( about 19 bucks)


Ahh that's good you put in a new power supply, yea the only real culprit is the lower clocked cpu. AMD really isn't as bad as the elitist online like to portray, my bro plays any game he wants (often at 60 but always 30+ fps) with an a10 5800k with gtx 660ti, and his cpu is essentially the 75 dollar Athlon x4 750k, that's a totally different socket than yours though, his is FM2 and yours is AM3. But his cpu goes to 4.2ghz from the default 3.8 . AMD can play games fine, the clock speed just needs to be higher.

Edit: If that doesn't work, here's a listing for a Phenom 965 but shipping would take about 2ish weeks. From Korea.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-3-4-GHz-Quad-Core-HDZ965FBK4DGM-Processor-w-Grease-/271540711356?pt=CPUs&hash=item3f39166fbc

83 bucks isn't bad for one. Although you should try to overclock your current cpu just a little to at least 3.2 or 3.3ghz using AMD overdrive to save money.
 
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I am not too confident with installing a processor. Those I am living with have pretty much forbidden me from tinkering with my PC, they claim that the upgrade still might not work or destroy my PC despite the processors you reccomend being the EXACT SOCKET TYPE and the exact same processor type (except faster and better).

I found one on EBay for $83.00, the 965 Phenom II processor with a fantastic 3.4GHz and 4 cores. I can easily afford that right now, or at least very soon, but as I said I need all the money I earn to pay those I am living with so I am not a burden. They will get very upset if I don't. So I pretty much can't afford it... I seriously wish I didn't have to deal with all this frustration. I know that processors are super easy to install, and all you need is to dab some thermal paste onto a processor and press it into the base, then screw the CPU fan back on until the heatsink touches the top of the processor then disperses the thermal paste better. But those I am living with WILL insist I go to Geek Squad to have it installed for me even if they accept me buying a new processor. That's $100.00 down the drain right there...
 
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I used AMD Overdrive, it made my system BSOD at only 3.1GHz.
 
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I have never used AMD Overdrive do I can't really comment on it but I have used NVidia's nForce which I imagine is almost the same. I had the same issue as you trying to overclock my old Athlon II x2 220 from 2.8GHz to just 3GHz. AMD overclocking, while not overly hard, can be involved if your multiplier isn't unlocked ... It involves adjusting the fsb multiplier, usually in incriments of 5 like from 200 to 205, 210, 215 and so forth (multiply the 2xx number by your cpu multiplier,some like 15.5 or 16 ..., to get the effective GHz) till you can't boot then up the voltage a bit and fine tune, I'm sure there are other steps I forgot too but that's the extreme basics of overclocking multiplier locked AMD chips.

Maybe you could invest in am inexpensive overclockable motherboard, I know you say your room mates might object but if you are serious about working on your own pc you need to start somewhere, there are lots of good videos on youtube. the most important thing is to discharge static electricity, the easiest way to touch the chassis (inside part of case, something metal) while the psu is still plugged in. or you could get one of those antistatic bracelets, I have never used one so I don't know if they work good or not.
 
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Wow, this thread got pretty big while I wasn't looking. I'm not sure if any of these is an answer to my problem. I just want to say that thanks to an additional source of income, making it so that I don't have to pay "rent" as often, I can go ahead and buy a new processor. I just need permission to get it and install it.

However, I might end up doing nothing as usual. In the end, I feel like I shouldn't have to spend so much money just to enjoy nice visuals with good performance, when I can do that on console for years and years. It seems like games are advancing too quickly for PCs, and it upsets me as a budget PC gamer. Eventually, my PC won't be able to run anything, but there's nothing I can do because even if I have the money I'll still end up not upgrading. I shouldn't have to endanger my PC when installing new hardware. My PC is precious to me because it's my my only way to be productive and make a living. I'm not even sure what would happen if my PC died from hitting its lifespan limit... would I even be able to get a nice PC afterwards?

It looks like I'm screwed. My PC won't be able to run The Evil Within, but at least I'm getting Alien: Isolation instead with its far more reasonable system requirements. But if games continue this trend with ludicrous system requirements, I won't be able to do anything as a PC gamer and can't get any new games.

This is just one big frustrating mess for me, being unable to do anything against this crazy tide of PC gaming hardware trends.
 
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I always wondered what you ended up picking, this topic particularly hit close to home for me...many people look down on me too for not being materialistic like so many other in society are. It's very liberating to finally realize material possessions don't equal happiness. People don't realize it doesn't matter what you do, you could have all the money in the world, and everybody is still gonna die one day, and you can't take any of this material stuff with you......But anyway....Yeah, The Evil Within recommended specs honestly pissed me off. Is it just an unoptimized crap port or a sign of things to come? I think it would still run fine though, the ps3 with 256mb ram/vram total can play it. I haven't looked up the ps3 specs in a long time but I know the ram/vram is very low on it. Evil Within would probably run perfectly fine on lowered settings.

If I had to spend a huge amount one day to upgrade my pc I might go console too. I already feel guilty I spent so much, in hindsight I probably would of got the fx6300 6 core cpu and a 7850 level gpu or an APU setup. Coming from a horrible single core laptop hp g61 sempron 1.99ghz barely able to play Minecraft, even being able to play stuff on 720p low settings with my integrated hd4000 graphics was good enough for me.
 
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I refuse to go to consoles for gaming only. I love PC gaming too much to give it up, and I like having nice visuals (as long as I can have medium settings with FXAA). I upgraded my graphics card multiple times for various games. First, it was for Battlefield 3 and afterwards for FarCry 3. Apparently I made the stupid mistake of not upgrading my processor which is the true weakest link. FarCry 3 looks and runs very well for me on good settings. So why do games that look relatively THE SAME as Tomb Raider/FarCry 3, which runs great for me on good settings, require such ridiculous setups?! This is what bothers me. According to what I've seen, game graphics have hit a brickwall since 2011 when I first got my PC (later in that year).

I understand that this is the nature of PC gaming, but consoles don't need to be upgraded manually with new parts every 2 years, do they?! It's not like my PC is 15 years old! So it's GOOD ENOUGH as it is!
 
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