[SOLVED] Will Upgrading CPU reduce stuttering issues after GPU upgrade?

[Morgan_5212]

New to posting so I have followed the guide set out:

Approximate Purchase Date: This month

Budget Range: £250-300

System Usage from Most to Least important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: ( Not 100% Sure CPU/mobo/RAM) Corsair 750I is my power supply

Do you need to buy OS: No Unless I change motherboard?

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Not bothered as long as reliable

Location: Newcastle Country - United Kingdom

Parts Preferences: I’d prefer to just change CPU but if required would change to AMD and move to DDR4

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor res: 1920x1080

Additional Comments:

And Most Importantly, Why Are You upgrading: I’m more asking what I should upgrade in order to eliminate stuttering in games.

recently upgraded my gpu to the 1660 super and it’s great however I’ve noticed in forza horizon 4 I get the game capped 50fps at max settings however when entering a new area I get some brief stuttering.

I have limited PC knowledge but I believe this is a CPU bottle neck as I noticed the CPU load is 100% while playing, GPU is around 60% and RAM 80%. I understand I probably need more ram however would this fix the stuttering?

I’m looking into upgrading my CPU to a more powerful DDR3 compatible one, but would this keep me gaming in AAA’s for the next say 2 years? Or do I need to make the switch to DDR4 in order to remove stuttering and keep up with requirements of newer titles.

My current build is

ASRock z77 Pro3 Motherboard
i5-3570
MSI 1660 Super
Corsair 750I PSU
8GB DDR3

Any help much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Mrgr74]

Hi @Morgan_5212

Would strongly advise against putting any $$ into your DDR3 era system unless otherwise necessary.

That being said, you'd notice a boost if you went to 16GB, but would advise you to go with a 16GB kit and not just add another 8GB as there is always the chance for "issues" when mixing RAM.

Here's a listing of the CPU's that your mobo supports.

Your 1660 S is a great GPU.

Your PSU got good marks, so it should be fine.

Amazon should deliver to your area. I'm in the US so not sure what local parts stores you have.

Are your games on an HDD or SSD?

Whats the speed of your RAM?

Have you played around with https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ ? Even if you aren't sure what goes with what, it'll guide you to whats compatible and give you a general idea of prices. Make a system and post the link here. We'll be able to look it over and suggest replacements or give 2 thumbs up.

 

[R_K]

You already have i5-3570 ... I think upgrading to current gen would be the better choice with ddr4.
Go with something like Ryzen 3600 cpu and Asus B550 motherboard and Corsair ddr4 8gb x2 16gb.

 

[Mrgr74]

Budget Range: £250-300

A wee bit over @ £331 --> https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/rYR8WD
A wee bit over @ £306 --> https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/vPJkkd

There is a little wiggle room depending on the CPU &/or motherboard you go with. The mobo I used in the above links is the MSI Tomahawk Max, which is an excellent B450 mobo. Possibly even one of the best.

 

[Morgan_5212]

Hi @Morgan_5212

Would strongly advise against putting any $$ into your DDR3 era system unless otherwise necessary.

That being said, you'd notice a boost if you went to 16GB, but would advise you to go with a 16GB kit and not just add another 8GB as there is always the chance for "issues" when mixing RAM.

Here's a listing of the CPU's that your mobo supports.

Your 1660 S is a great GPU.

Your PSU got good marks, so it should be fine.

Amazon should deliver to your area. I'm in the US so not sure what local parts stores you have.

Are your games on an HDD or SSD?

Whats the speed of your RAM?

Have you played around with https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ ? Even if you aren't sure what goes with what, it'll guide you to whats compatible and give you a general idea of prices. Make a system and post the link here. We'll be able to look it over and suggest replacements or give 2 thumbs up.

Thanks for the reply! My ram is 666Mhz which to my knowledge is pretty slow and my games are on a mix of SSD and HDD, I need some more storage space 100%.

 

[Morgan_5212]

A wee bit over @ £331 --> https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/rYR8WD
A wee bit over @ £306 --> https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/vPJkkd

There is a little wiggle room depending on the CPU &/or motherboard you go with. The mobo I used in the above links is the MSI Tomahawk Max, which is an excellent B450 mobo. Possibly even one of the best.

Wow thanks for showing me this! I like the look of going with the Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. If I do pull the trigger and go for the mobo ram and cpu, do you think this will be worth the investment and will keep me comfortably gaming for the next 2/3 years? It certainly looks like great value for that cpu considering I was looking at DDR3 ones for £200+ alone!

 

[Morgan_5212]

You already have i5-3570 ... I think upgrading to current gen would be the better choice with ddr4.
Go with something like Ryzen 3600 cpu and Asus B550 motherboard and Corsair ddr4 8gb x2 16gb.

Thank you for the reply! I am thinking it’s time to bite the bullet and move to DDR4. If I make the switch to AMD is there anything to watch out for? Or should I be able to swap the components and fire the machine up again as normal?

 

[Mrgr74]

Wow thanks for showing me this! I like the look of going with the Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. If I do pull the trigger and go for the mobo ram and cpu, do you think this will be worth the investment and will keep me comfortably gaming for the next 2/3 years? It certainly looks like great value for that cpu considering I was looking at DDR3 ones for £200+ alone!

Absolutely. You'll be upgrading your 1660S before the 3600 as the 3600 is a beast of a CPU. I have a 2700x and got it when they very 1st came out, so 2 years ago and it's frankly been great. (and still is) My PC is used for about 10% productivity & 90% gaming. The 3600 is even better and at 1/2 the cost (When it came out) DDR4 is quite a bit superior over DDR3 and Ryzens really shine when you pair them with fast RAM and so would advise that you go with a min of DDR4-3200, but if you can afford faster RAM, then by all means do so as it'll give you a little wiggle room later on.

Regardless if you go with an Intel or AMD (Ryzen) based system, run a few benchmarks 1st with your current hardware and then when you install the new hardware, run another benchmark and compare them side by side. (Not that the performance alone won't be evidence enough! lol)

Exciting times are ahead of you & please keep us updated with what you end up going with!

 

[Mrgr74]

Thank you for the reply! I am thinking it’s time to bite the bullet and move to DDR4. If I make the switch to AMD is there anything to watch out for? Or should I be able to swap the components and fire the machine up again as normal?

You'd be able to port over your PSU, 1660S, Case, Keyboard, Mouse, SSD & HDD. Your current mobo, CPU & RAM isn't compatible with a Ryzen system. (If you go that route) As for your current hardware, save it as a backup or make a PC for the family, a sibling or GF/BF to use. You could try selling it, but unless you're hurting for $$ or £ 's in your case, you'd probably not get much for it. Wouldn't hurt to try though as there is always someone out there with inferior tech that thinks what we want to sell is so much better that what they have & so....

Enjoy!

 

[Morgan_5212]

Absolutely. You'll be upgrading your 1660S before the 3600 as the 3600 is a beast of a CPU. I have a 2700x and got it when they very 1st came out, so 2 years ago and it's frankly been great. (and still is) My PC is used for about 10% productivity & 90% gaming. The 3600 is even better and at 1/2 the cost (When it came out) DDR4 is quite a bit superior over DDR3 and Ryzens really shine when you pair them with fast RAM and so would advise that you go with a min of DDR4-3200, but if you can afford faster RAM, then by all means do so as it'll give you a little wiggle room later on.

Regardless if you go with an Intel or AMD (Ryzen) based system, run a few benchmarks 1st with your current hardware and then when you install the new hardware, run another benchmark and compare them side by side. (Not that the performance alone won't be evidence enough! lol)

Exciting times are ahead of you & please keep us updated with what you end up going with!

Thanks again for all the help! I’ll certainly keep you posted of what upgrades I make when I get round to it!

 

[Morgan_5212]

You'd be able to port over your PSU, 1660S, Case, Keyboard, Mouse, SSD & HDD. Your current mobo, CPU & RAM isn't compatible with a Ryzen system. (If you go that route) As for your current hardware, save it as a backup or make a PC for the family, a sibling or GF/BF to use. You could try selling it, but unless you're hurting for $$ or £ 's in your case, you'd probably not get much for it. Wouldn't hurt to try though as there is always someone out there with inferior tech that thinks what we want to sell is so much better that what they have & so....

Enjoy!

Thanks, I’ve only ever swapped out a couple components so wasn’t sure if there was anything to watch out for. Really appreciate all the advice I wish I had of turned to the forum sooner!

 

[geofelt]

A I7-3770K would be the strongest processor your motherboard supports.
They sell for $120 or so used on ebay in the us.
With a Z77 based motherboard you could overclock it some.
If you are comfortable in buying and selling used, I would give it a go.
If it turns out to not be sufficient, you would get most of your money back reselling it.

Nothing wrong with DDR3, it performs about as well as DDR4.

A latest gen processor is going to also need a new motherboard as well.

Your budget should buy you a i3-10100 processor that is about twice as capable as your 3570 and a B460 based motherboard and a 2 x 8gb ddr4 ram kit.

 

[Morgan_5212]

Absolutely. You'll be upgrading your 1660S before the 3600 as the 3600 is a beast of a CPU. I have a 2700x and got it when they very 1st came out, so 2 years ago and it's frankly been great. (and still is) My PC is used for about 10% productivity & 90% gaming. The 3600 is even better and at 1/2 the cost (When it came out) DDR4 is quite a bit superior over DDR3 and Ryzens really shine when you pair them with fast RAM and so would advise that you go with a min of DDR4-3200, but if you can afford faster RAM, then by all means do so as it'll give you a little wiggle room later on.

Regardless if you go with an Intel or AMD (Ryzen) based system, run a few benchmarks 1st with your current hardware and then when you install the new hardware, run another benchmark and compare them side by side. (Not that the performance alone won't be evidence enough! lol)

Exciting times are ahead of you & please keep us updated with what you end up going with!

well I have eventually got all the parts to go ahead and upgrade! I managed to get a 3600x for the same price as a 3600 which were out of stock at the time, a B450 Tomohawk max and the 16GB of Corsair ram you recommended. I also stretched the budget and got a Corsair 4000d case and a new PSU I couldn’t help myself! Very much looking forward to putting it together. Just thought I’d come on and say thanks for the help and advice it didn’t go to waste 😁

 

[johnsoner13]

well I have eventually got all the parts to go ahead and upgrade! I managed to get a 3600x for the same price as a 3600 which were out of stock at the time, a B450 Tomohawk max and the 16GB of Corsair ram you recommended. I also stretched the budget and got a Corsair 4000d case and a new PSU I couldn’t help myself! Very much looking forward to putting it together. Just thought I’d come on and say thanks for the help and advice it didn’t go to waste 😁

Be prepared for the possibility of having to reinstall a fresh copy of windows, especially with a jump in hardware like that

 

[Morgan_5212]

Be prepared for the possibility of having to reinstall a fresh copy of windows, especially with a jump in hardware like that

Yes I did a bit of searching about on this and I’ve made a USB boot media, I believe I build the system and go into bios and boot from the USB to install a fresh copy? And can I wipe my drives I’m going to reuse during this process?

 

[johnsoner13]

Yes I did a bit of searching about on this and I’ve made a USB boot media, I believe I build the system and go into bios and boot from the USB to install a fresh copy? And can I wipe my drives I’m going to reuse during this process?

Yep