[SOLVED] What else should I consider?

[Curtis_4]

Hi Guys,

I have been slowly gathering parts for my PC build. It is all up and running. Just a couple of performance issues here and there. (GPU running hot and memory resource)

MOBO- ASROCK B450 Pro4-F
CPU- Ryzen 5 3600X
RAM- 1x8GB Crucial Sport LT 2400mhz and 1x 4GB
GPU- GTX970 MSI 4GB
PSU- CX450M 450W Bronze
Boot SSD- Kingston A400 120GB
M.2 SSD- Crucial 1TB (recent purchase)

Case- Corsair SPEC Delta (mid tower)
Radiator compatibility:
Front- 360mm / 280mm
Top- 240mm
Rear-120mm
Maximum GPU length- 330mm
Maximum CPU height-160mm
Maximum PSU length-180mm


Games I play- Mainly RTS, Total War Series, DOW.

I have a 1080P 144hz 1ms monitor currently. I want to future proof this system for 1440P (MAYBE 4K) @ 60FPS minimum. I also do some work from home so photoshop compatibility will be important.

I believe the most obvious change is the RAM, as I have recently learned the Ryzen CPUs are better matched to 3200mHz ram. I also want to change the GPU. This GPU has served me well, despite me cleaning the fans and board, it runs too hot and fans are too loud. Runs nearly 70c when I am barely out of the menus.


Any help will be appreciated!

 

[egda23]

RAM is the obvious first thing to upgrade. You want a 2 x 8 GB kit running at 3200 MT/S. Notice that I sait 'kit'; that is two DIMMs sold together in a single package.
After that if you want to change your GPU, you will most likely have to upgrade your PSU first. The needed wattage will depend of the GPU, but a recent generation gaming GPU will certainly need more power than 450W.

 

[geofelt]

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 YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
This makes the graphics card loaf a bit.
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.

You were lucky to get mismatched ram to run on ryzen.
Ram must be matched for proper operation.
Yes, a ram upgrade is in order.
If photoshop is important to you, you may well benefit from 32gb.
https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...-Adobe-Photoshop-139/Hardware-Recommendations

Go to the ram qvl list for your motherboard/processor and pick a kit that is explicitly supported.
Or,check the support app for a kit you are interested in.
Your psu is not likely to support a big graphics card upgrade.
Here is a handy chart to assess what you might need:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Lastly, when upgrading a psu, consider it as a long term investment.
Do not go cheap on a psu.
Look for a unit with at least a 7 to 10 year warranty.

 

[hang-the-9]

Hi Guys,

I have been slowly gathering parts for my PC build. It is all up and running. Just a couple of performance issues here and there. (GPU running hot and memory resource)

MOBO- ASROCK B450 Pro4-F
CPU- Ryzen 5 3600X
RAM- 1x8GB Crucial Sport LT 2400mhz and 1x 4GB
GPU- GTX970 MSI 4GB
PSU- CX450M 450W Bronze
Boot SSD- Kingston A400 120GB
M.2 SSD- Crucial 1TB (recent purchase)

Case- Corsair SPEC Delta (mid tower)
Radiator compatibility:
Front- 360mm / 280mm
Top- 240mm
Rear-120mm
Maximum GPU length- 330mm
Maximum CPU height-160mm
Maximum PSU length-180mm


Games I play- Mainly RTS, Total War Series, DOW.

I have a 1080P 144hz 1ms monitor currently. I want to future proof this system for 1440P (MAYBE 4K) @ 60FPS minimum. I also do some work from home so photoshop compatibility will be important.

I believe the most obvious change is the RAM, as I have recently learned the Ryzen CPUs are better matched to 3200mHz ram. I also want to change the GPU. This GPU has served me well, despite me cleaning the fans and board, it runs too hot and fans are too loud. Runs nearly 70c when I am barely out of the menus.


Any help will be appreciated!

The video card you have is not really enough to maintain 60fps in many games at 1440 and definitely not 4k, unless you don't care about quality. You can actually test that out by using supersamling or scaling in the game engine to render it at a higher resolution then downscaling it to 1080 for your monitor.

The PSU is pretty weak for the parts you have, you are bellow the recommended PSU for a 970, although you are within a safe wattage for it to not crash all the time.

Dual channel RAM is a good idea, get rid of that 4GB stick and replace it with a second 8, same model as existing one if you can. Or better yet go up to a 16 gb kit of faster RAM, Ryzen CPUs work very well with faster RAM for scaling performance.

It's a nice basic system for gaming but does need several upgrades for higher resolution if you want to maintain high FPS and still have decent quality.