PC Upgrade Component Query for better FPS in games

Munster D 187

Hi Lads, this is my set up: AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+
ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0, AM3+, ATX Motherboard
Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 13Series, 3GB GDDR5, AMD
8GB G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 RAM
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W PSU

I'm running Windows 7 on this pc hooked up to a 46'' Samsung LED TV.
Anytime i play a game on medium to high settings, i generally only get around
40 - 55 fps. I play games like Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield, Thief, Metro last light, and Crysis 3. I know these are graphically intensive games but should i be getting better fps with my pc components? If i wanted to get better fps should i upgrade one of these components if so which ones?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

SterlingArcher

The graphics card.

Have seen r9 280x and gtx 770 going on adverts for 220 !!!! A steal.

Munster D 187

SterlingArcher wrote: »

The graphics card.

Any recommendations?

SterlingArcher

Just noticed, I thought you had a 7850 in your rig. A 7950 is still a decent card. Hmm.

Your parts are all pretty good.

DERPY DERPFACE

The 7950 basically is the 280x. The CPU could be a bottleneck.

kevovek

Are your CPU and GPU overclocked?
Your fps sound fine for the game's your playing especially Metro last light and crysis 3 and thief and Battlefield 4 (I assume that's the one your playing) have mantle dont they?

SterlingArcher

A CPU and mobo swap out might do the trick.

An Xeon and mobo run you 280. Selling your CPU and mobo will recoup you some money off that.

This would be a nice upgrade altogether. Lower your power usage too. The games you are playing are demanding. metro for sure is very demanding. Crysis and newer games will utilise the xeons cores.

Munster D 187

kevovek wrote: »

Are your CPU and GPU overclocked?
Your fps sound fine for the game's your playing especially Metro last light and crysis 3 and thief and Battlefield 4 (I assume that's the one your playing) have mantle dont they?

No man, my cpu and gpu are not overclocked. I never thought of that. Is that easy to do?

Munster D 187

SterlingArcher wrote: »

A CPU and mobo swap out might do the trick.

An Xeon and mobo run you 280. Selling your CPU and mobo will recoup you some money off that.

This would be a nice upgrade altogether. Lower your power usage too. The games you are playing are demanding. metro for sure is very demanding. Crysis and newer games will utilise the xeons cores.

Could you recommend a better mobo and apart from the Xeon processor, is there another type of processor I should go with ( FX6800 or i5 )?

SterlingArcher

You should be aiming for an 8 core. That's why I said the Xeon it is an I7, costs 205.

but for an I5 you can get cheapest about 150 I5 4440/4670 -180 euro.



As for mobo you are best awaiting stock of the new "97" range. Decent H97 board will run you 80 ish. Will be selling in the next few weeks.


Overclocking is another route to go. Squeeze more out of your 6300 which is a decent processor. You will need a proper cooler for this. Run you about 30 euro. Then read up on overclocking. Youtube is your friend.

Gumbi

Your CPU is likely limiting you. 55FPS isn't bad and would be hardly noticeable on a 60hz screen (depending on the frame times). You could get an Intel CPU (they are far superior than AMD chips for gaming right now) but that would be expensive as it would involve getting anew motherboard as well as a new CPU.

I would look into overclocking your CPU for now, that would get some extra juice out of your system for sure. Your CPU turbos to 4.1ghz (not sure if it turbos all cores to that or not), but slapping on a 25 euro cooler like this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0068OI7T8/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1400791554&sr=8-1&keywords=212+plus&condition=new would allow you to easily attain a 4.5ghz overclock.

It's also worth overclocking that 7950 too. What model 7950 is it? Download MSI Afterburner and then get back on here once you've done that.

Munster D 187

Cheers lads for all your help, i actually have that Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. so for the time being i'll check out how to overclock the cpu.

Munster D 187

Gumbi wrote: »

Your CPU is likely limiting you. 55FPS isn't bad and would be hardly noticeable on a 60hz screen (depending on the frame times). You could get an Intel CPU (they are far superior than AMD chips for gaming right now) but that would be expensive as it would involve getting anew motherboard as well as a new CPU.

I would look into overclocking your CPU for now, that would get some extra juice out of your system for sure. Your CPU turbos to 4.1ghz (not sure if it turbos all cores to that or not), but slapping on a 25 euro cooler like this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0068OI7T8/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1400791554&sr=8-1&keywords=212+plus&condition=new would allow you to easily attain a 4.5ghz overclock.

It's also worth overclocking that 7950 too. What model 7950 is it? Download MSI Afterburner and then get back on here once you've done that.

Actually Gumbi, would you be able to advise me on how to overclock the cpu on my mobo?

Gumbi

Get your Cooler Master mounted first. Did you get some thermal paste with it? When you remove your cooler, make sure your chip is clean and then apply a pea sized amount of paste in the middle of the chip. I've not as much experience overclocking AMD chips but I'm sure a quick guide online would sort that out for me.

Once you've got the cooler mounted I can help you out.

You will have to stress test your CPU to determine stability for an overclock. Download Prime 95 and run a blend test. Download CoreTemp to monitor CPU speeds and temperatures. Get some stats, so that you can compare them to the cooling capability when you mount your Cooler Master cooler.

Munster D 187

Gumbi wrote: »

Get your Cooler Master mounted first. Did you get some thermal paste with it? When you remove your cooler, make sure your chip is clean and then apply a pea sized amount of paste in the middle of the chip. I've not as much experience overclocking AMD chips but I'm sure a quick guide online would sort that out for me.

Once you've got the cooler mounted I can help you out.

You will have to stress test your CPU to determine stability for an overclock. Download Prime 95 and run a blend test. Download CoreTemp to monitor CPU speeds and temperatures. Get some stats, so that you can compare them to the cooling capability when you mount your Cooler Master cooler.

I have the cooler already mounted, i have downloaded prime 95 and coretemp. What next Gumbi?

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

I have the cooler already mounted, i have downloaded prime 95 and coretemp. What next Gumbi?

Run a quick test for 15~ mins and have coretemp open to monitor your temps. Actually download Hardware monitor too, it shows other sensors apart from the cpu temps too, I know some Asrock boards get hot on their VRM components, it's worth keeping an eye on those numbers.

So download Hardware Monitor and use that as opposed to core temp. Open Prime95 and run a quick test. Blend test is already selected so just click yes/ok/next w/e. Monitor your CPU temps (and motherboard temps - all this is on Hardware Monitor) and record your highest temps after 15 mins. This will give us an idea how well your cooler is performing.

I'll help out with the overclocking part tomorrow, but until then you should read a guide on overclocking your CPU (I'm sure there are plenty out there, look for one specifically catered to your chip for best results). Essentially, it involves increasing the clock speed in the BIOS (say 100mhz at a time), running a stability test, if it's stable, go up another 100mhz, run a stability test again. If not, up the voltage in the BIOS. More voltage equals more heat, and you shouldn't put too much voltage into your chip otherwise you will shorten it's lifespan.

All this info should be available in an OCing guide anyways, good luck!

Munster D 187

Thanks so much for your help, Gumbi. I have alot of reading to do. Have a gud nite. Talk to you later so man.

Redfox25

I have that CPU oc,d to 4.5 and its made a massive difference.
utube is your friend and patience too.

there are a good few guides out there too, will dig out links to the one I used in the morning.
good luck with it

Munster D 187

Redfox25 wrote: »

I have that CPU oc,d to 4.5 and its made a massive difference.
utube is your friend and patience too.

there are a good few guides out there too, will dig out links to the one I used in the morning.
good luck with it

Cheers man, i'd really appreciate it.

Munster D 187

One question Gumbi about the Stress test. Should i not open any other applications e.g. google chrome, xbmc while testing or does it not matter ?

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

One question Gumbi about the Stress test. Should i not open any other applications e.g. google chrome, xbmc while testing or does it not matter ?

Doesn't matter much. But the programme will eat up your CPU usage, so browsing while running it will be laggy, so best leave the pc alone to run the stress test. But if Chrome was open and merely idle while rinning it it wouldn't make much difference

Redfox25

Have a read of these,

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5103-a-guide-to-overclocking-the-amd-fx-series-and-some-info-on-ocing-in-generall/
http://www.overclock.net/t/1341479/fx-6300-overclocking-help-guide


With just the turbo mode on in bios, it will go to 4.1 on its own.
Thats a healthy increase without you fiddling with anything.

Im still looking for other guides for you.

Munster D 187

Redfox25 wrote: »

Have a read of these,

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/5103-a-guide-to-overclocking-the-amd-fx-series-and-some-info-on-ocing-in-generall/
http://www.overclock.net/t/1341479/fx-6300-overclocking-help-guide


With just the turbo mode on in bios, it will go to 4.1 on its own.
Thats a healthy increase without you fiddling with anything.

Im still looking for other guides for you.

Thanks very much Redfox, that'll keep me busy. i appreciate all your help.

kevovek

This thread has made me want to try get my FX6300 up to 4.5 or 4.6 I've had it at 4.4GHz for a long time with a 212 evo would it even be a noticeable performance increase? I have a slightly different setup than Munster D 187 though for the monitor (LG ips 1080P) and Graphics card (7950+7870XT CF) motherboard is asrock 970 pro3 could my MB be preventing me from achieving a higher OC than 4.4GHz by any chance?

Redfox25

kevovek wrote: »

This thread has made me want to try get my FX6300 up to 4.5 or 4.6 I've had it at 4.4GHz for a long time with a 212 evo would it even be a noticeable performance increase? I have a slightly different setup than Munster D 187 though for the monitor (LG ips 1080P) and Graphics card (7950+7870XT CF) motherboard is asrock 970 pro3 could my MB be preventing me from achieving a higher OC than 4.4GHz by any chance?

it might but the difference between 4,4 and 4.6 is minimal.

Munster D 187

Ok Lads, i did a stress test for 15 mins and i've attached my results in a pdf file.
On my bios its says AMD Turbo Core technology which is set to 'Auto'. Is this the turbo mode, Redfox, you were talking about ? If i set this to 'Enabled' will that OC it to 4.1ghz?
I read the links you gave me about Overclocking and the first link said you need a mobo with 990fx chipset which i think my mobo doesn't have. And the RAM should be at least 1600mhz but i have only 1333mhz speed. Would i be best to stick just enabling the turbo core on the bios?

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

Ok Lads, i did a stress test for 15 mins and i've attached my results in a pdf file.
On my bios its says AMD Turbo Core technology which is set to 'Auto'. Is this the turbo mode, Redfox, you were talking about ? If i set this to 'Enabled' will that OC it to 4.1ghz?
I read the links you gave me about Overclocking and the first link said you need a mobo with 990fx chipset which i think my mobo doesn't have. And the RAM should be at least 1600mhz but i have only 1333mhz speed. Would i be best to stick just enabling the turbo core on the bios?

Turbo is set to auto, ie it is automatically on for you. You should see this with CoreTemp which will show the core clock speeds of each core on your chip. Under load they should jump up to 4.1 ghz.

While your RAM might be rated for 1600mhz, it will always be set to 1333mhz in your BIOS. You are free to set that to 1600mhz (there should be an option for an 'XMP profile' I think?) in the BIOS.

Munster D 187

Gumbi wrote: »

Turbo is set to auto, ie it is automatically on for you. You should see this with CoreTemp which will show the core clock speeds of each core on your chip. Under load they should jump up to 4.1 ghz.

While your RAM might be rated for 1600mhz, it will always be set to 1333mhz in your BIOS. You are free to set that to 1600mhz (there should be an option for an 'XMP profile' I think?) in the BIOS.

Gumbi, should i leave the turbo set to Auto instead of setting it to Enabled?
What do you think of my HW monitor results?

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

Gumbi, should i leave the turbo set to Auto instead of setting it to Enabled?

Doesn't matter. The only difference (I believe) is that Auto is conditional based on the thermal allowances (that is, if the chip isn't too hot, it will be turboed). So for all intents and purposes, leaving it set to auto is as good as leaving it set to enabled (and you can confirm this by running prime and readin the core clock speeds in CoreTemp).

You can get onto overclocking soon if you like. I'm not sure if it's as easy as tweaking a multiplier and then stress testing or if you have to tweak other numbers in the BIOS too. As I said it's been a whiel since I messed with an AMD chip.

Munster D 187

Gumbi wrote: »

Doesn't matter. The only difference (I believe) is that Auto is conditional based on the thermal allowances (that is, if the chip isn't too hot, it will be turboed). So for all intents and purposes, leaving it set to auto is as good as leaving it set to enabled (and you can confirm this by running prime and readin the core clock speeds in CoreTemp).

You can get onto overclocking soon if you like. I'm not sure if it's as easy as tweaking a multiplier and then stress testing or if you have to tweak other numbers in the BIOS too. As I said it's been a whiel since I messed with an AMD chip.

I'd like to start overclocking today, whats the best thing to start with? Increasing the clock speed in the BIOS? I also have ASRock extreme Tuner on my desktop, could i use that for overclocking instead of the Bios?

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

I'd like to start overclocking today, whats the best thing to start with? Increasing the clock speed in the BIOS? I also have ASRock extreme Tuner on my desktop, could i use that for overclocking instead of the Bios?

It's always best to use the BIOS for overclocking. Much more stable. If the Tuner software crashes your whole system could crash too. Have you read any guides online? Have you looked at how to tune the voltage? Do you set a specific voltage or do you use an offset voltage to achieve the desired voltage?

Do you tweak a multiplier to increase the clock speed?

Redfox25

Try these links,

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/fx-8350-8320-6300-4300_9.html#sect0

and
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/57615-amd-vishera-fx-6300-fx-4300-review-17.html

As given to me as MarcoPolo from here.

I changed my multiplier to 21.5 and voltage to 1.45 .
The tuner will crash your system but if you watch it and keep an eye on the last successful setting it got before it went to the next one that crashed your system, it can be a good clue for you.

Gumbi

Redfox25 wrote: »

Try these links,

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/fx-8350-8320-6300-4300_9.html#sect0

and
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/57615-amd-vishera-fx-6300-fx-4300-review-17.html

As given to me as MarcoPolo from here.

I changed my multiplier to 21.5 and voltage to 1.45 .
The tuner will crash your system but if you watch it and keep an eye on the last successful setting it got before it went to the next one that crashed your system, it can be a good clue for you.

A note on the voltage, be careful of putting it too high. AMD chips are tolerant of high voltages (as long as you keep the chip coolenough ofc, under 62 degrees to be safe, your max temp was 40 ish I think which is good) but you want to be careful of pumping too much voltage through the VRMs on your motherboard. Have a quick look online too and see if you can find a safe max voltage and clock speed for your particulsr motherboard. Personally I would limit myself to 1.4 volts and 4.5ghz for the moment. (And you might be able to attain 4.5ghz with less voltage, which is all the better of course).

yawhat!

Might be worth overclocking the FX 6300 but your CPU is not limiting you in games at all as games are now more GPU dependent especially since the 2500K launch which have held up and even the I5 760. You'll probably get between 2 and 5 FPS better on an Intel CPU.

Battlefield 4

Bioshock

Metro Last Light

Gumbi

yawhat! wrote: »

Might be worth overclocking the FX 6300 but your CPU is not limiting you in games at all as games are now more GPU dependent. You'll probably get between 2 and 5 FPS better on an Intel CPU.

Battlefield 4

Bioshock

Metro Last Light

Any game that is limited to two cores or less has a good chance of being CPU limited on an AMD CPU system due to the poor performance per clock of their chips.

But yes I agree a ncie overclock to the GPU wouldn't go astray either.

EoinHef

Those Club3d cards are good overclockers as well,you should be hitting over 1000mhz on the core fairly handy and the memory should do 1400 or so as well. The boost mode on your card is only 930MHz on the core,which is fairly low for a 7950.

Munster D 187

Cheers lads for all the help, I'm working at moment but the next day I'm off is Tuesday so I'll start trying to overlook the cpu first and hopefully later in the week I'll look at overclocking the gpu. Is it sort of a similar process to overclocking the cpu? To be honest, the whole thing seems a bit daunting. I guess patience is the key.

Gumbi

Munster D 187 wrote: »

Cheers lads for all the help, I'm working at moment but the next day I'm off is Tuesday so I'll start trying to overlook the cpu first and hopefully later in the week I'll look at overclocking the gpu. Is it sort of a similar process to overclocking the cpu? To be honest, the whole thing seems a bit daunting. I guess patience is the key.

Patience is the key. Overclocking the GPU is a lot easier as it can all be done through software on your PC. Also it helps that I'm super duper familiar with overclocking 7950s