[SOLVED] What to upgrade to stop my frame drop.

[Synergy3232]

Hi I'm looking to upgrade my parts to my Rig and I need any sort of help. Im new to pc building and not to sure what to put my money into. I'm on a budget but its not super tight so any tips and recommendations are more than welcom.


Pc specs:

Motherboard: MSI 760GMA-p34fx

Gpu: gtx 1660 ti gaming 6gb

Cpu: AMD 8320fx 3.5hz 8 cores AM3+

Ram: 16gb

Monitor: 24' 60hz

Ps: I play alot of CoD and was wondering is it CPU heavy because I usually sit at about 50-60 frames but get huge dips to like 20-30 fps every 5 to 10 minutes. Idk if it's the CPU or GPU that's causing this. I tweaked with countless settings including Nvidia settings but cant find the problem. Also does it have anything to do with my monitor? Do i need a 144hz monitor or do I worry about my Rig before buying a new screen. I would love to sit above 60-80 frames with no problems so please any help

 

[cdrkf]

Hi,

so your issue is almost certainly the AMD FX processor - those are really at the end of their life for gaming these days (especially with online multi player stuff that is typically pretty CPU demanding). The GPU you have is fine for modern games so you should be ok to stick with that.

With respect to the monitor I would leave that for now and get your machine sorted out first.

What I would recommend is to get a platform upgrade, i.e. Motherboard, CPU and Ram (you will need new ram as the FX line uses older DDR3 whereas all current machines are on DDR4).

I would suggest looking at an AMD socket AM4 motherboard - there are a lot of options depending on budget. If you can, try and get something from the new 500 series of boards (either B550 or X570) as these have the best support for all the CPU's AMD offers and are slated to get updates to newer models when they come out. If you can't find a board in your price range then the older B450 and X470 boards are also fine, look for a "Max" version of these to make sure it has Ryzen 3000 series support out of the box. The MSI B450 Tomahawk Max is a really popular choice as a price vs performance pick and is capable or running any of the Ryzen 3000 cpu's including the 16 core, 32 thread 3950X should you want a future upgrade.

CPU wise, the best choices for AMD gaming cpu right now are the Ryzen 3 3300X (4 core, 8 threads) and the Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores, 12 threads). You don't typically gain anything going for more than 6 cores in current games, and in fact the Ryzen 3 performs pretty much as well as the 5 in most current titles (although I would say the 6 core options is probably a safer bet if you want to keep the cpu for a while). The higher core count Ryzen cpu's (8, 12 and 16 core version) are more important for work tasks (video editing / encoding, 3D animation, code compilation and so on).

Ram wise, get a 16 gb kit (i.e. 2 x 8gb) of DDR4 3200 mhz ram and you should be fine.


Edit: Upgrade option using X570 (for future upgrade options):
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V3qtjy

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($167.00 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI MPG X570 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $399.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-01 05:08 EDT-0400


Price vs Performance option (less upgrade options / future proof but still good):
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/b4Bp4n

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $297.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-01 05:10 EDT-0400

 

[Synergy3232]

Hi,

so your issue is almost certainly the AMD FX processor - those are really at the end of their life for gaming these days (especially with online multi player stuff that is typically pretty CPU demanding). The GPU you have is fine for modern games so you should be ok to stick with that.

With respect to the monitor I would leave that for now and get your machine sorted out first.

What I would recommend is to get a platform upgrade, i.e. Motherboard, CPU and Ram (you will need new ram as the FX line uses older DDR3 whereas all current machines are on DDR4).

I would suggest looking at an AMD socket AM4 motherboard - there are a lot of options depending on budget. If you can, try and get something from the new 500 series of boards (either B550 or X570) as these have the best support for all the CPU's AMD offers and are slated to get updates to newer models when they come out. If you can't find a board in your price range then the older B450 and X470 boards are also fine, look for a "Max" version of these to make sure it has Ryzen 3000 series support out of the box. The MSI B450 Tomahawk Max is a really popular choice as a price vs performance pick and is capable or running any of the Ryzen 3000 cpu's including the 16 core, 32 thread 3950X should you want a future upgrade.

CPU wise, the best choices for AMD gaming cpu right now are the Ryzen 3 3300X (4 core, 8 threads) and the Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores, 12 threads). You don't typically gain anything going for more than 6 cores in current games, and in fact the Ryzen 3 performs pretty much as well as the 5 in most current titles (although I would say the 6 core options is probably a safer bet if you want to keep the cpu for a while). The higher core count Ryzen cpu's (8, 12 and 16 core version) are more important for work tasks (video editing / encoding, 3D animation, code compilation and so on).

Ram wise, get a 16 gb kit (i.e. 2 x 8gb) of DDR4 3200 mhz ram and you should be fine.

Omg thanks soo much! This is soo informative.

 

[sizzling]

The old FX series are poor for modern gaming but I think you are also suffering by using a 125w cpu on a very low end motherboard. This was common with the FX series and under prolonged loads (like gaming) the motherboard VRM’s would overheat. The motherboard would throttle the cpu to stop it frying the VRM’s. This would often result in frequent performance drops as the cpu is throttled then temporarily returns to normal performance until the VRM’s overheat again.

 

[cdrkf]

The old FX series are poor for modern gaming but I think you are also suffering by using a 125w cpu on a very low end motherboard. This was common with the FX series and under prolonged loads (like gaming) the motherboard VRM’s would overheat. The motherboard would throttle the cpu to stop it frying the VRM’s. This would often result in frequent performance drops as the cpu is throttled then temporarily returns to normal performance until the VRM’s overheat again.

I had this issue with an FX 8320 a few years ago - even on fairly expensive motherboards it could be an issue as games started to use all 8 cores. I think a platform update is a better idea though as decent AM3+ motherboards are very overpriced and that cpu even running optimally will already be holding that 1660ti back.