Improving PC performance

[Wolfy262]

Hi,

 

I was hoping for some advice on what to do with my computer to increase performance (details listed below) through modifying components, or changing settings, or both.

 

Current PC:
CPU: i5 6500 3.2GHz

CPU Fan: Stock Intel

Motherboard: AsRock Z170 Pro4

Memory: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400

GPU: Zotac 1050Ti Mini

SSD: Kingston SV300 120GB
HDD: WD 1TB Blue + WD 2TB Blue

PSU: Corsair CX500

Fans: 3 120mm, 1 front, 2 rear

 

1. Budget: Additional spend no more than £500 (GBP) Location: UK

2. Aim

Primarily I'd like to improve game performance, particularly in games like Siege (this is my main game), to run at 144FPS+ at Very high settings

3. Monitors

I'll only use one monitor, with the intention of getting PC performance to justify 144Hz

4. Peripherals

None needed

5. Why are you upgrading?

Well it's a combination of upgrading and modifying I'd hope, I recently tried overclocking my CPU (using this guide), but temperatures reached too high. I'd like to improve my computer as it's been struggling recently with newer game titles. Also, I was thinking of perhaps adding some RGB strips in the future and was wondering how to ensure compatibility with that.

 

 

[alatron978]

Overclock your gpu and ram as well as upgrading to a 3600 and b450 board from msi will boost your preformance.

[Wolfy262]

Overclocked the GPU, hasn't done much to be honest.

The motherboard and RAM change will do it you reckon?

[goto10]

you have a z170, best cpu you can put there is a 7700k, that is just 4 cores

 

the 1050 is a limiting factor too

 

the first thing i would change is that 1050 that is a weak gpu for the game ypu want to play at higher framerates

 

after changing gpu you can consider if it wasnt enough, the change of cpu to that i7 i mentioned, i personally dont consoder it a good idea, for the cost of the part

 

i think that a newer i5 or a ryzen cpu is a better option, you will need an new motherboard and cpu, possibly ram too

[Wolfy262]

23 minutes ago, goto10 said:

you have a z170, best cpu you can put there is a 7700k, that is just 4 cores

 

the 1050 is a limiting factor too

 

the first thing i would change is that 1050 that is a weak gpu for the game ypu want to play at higher framerates

 

after changing gpu you can consider if it wasnt enough, the change of cpu to that i7 i mentioned, i personally dont consoder it a good idea, for the cost of the part

 

i think that a newer i5 or a ryzen cpu is a better option, you will need an new motherboard and cpu, possibly ram too

I agree that the GPU needs to go, any advice on which one you reckon would be best?

I've also been contemplating switching the core build to AMD, I just wanted to know what options I potentially had before I decided on doing that.

[goto10]

it depends on your budget, a rx580 is the cheapest and strong enough i would consider, start from there

 

gtx or rtx are options too, but depends on your budget

 

about ryzen, a r5 3600 would be a considerable improvement, the problem is motherboard, x470 seems to give less problems, i heardabout some b450 giving problems, of course you can go for x570, depends on your budget

[Wolfy262]

5 hours ago, goto10 said:

it depends on your budget, a rx580 is the cheapest and strong enough i would consider, start from there

 

gtx or rtx are options too, but depends on your budget

 

about ryzen, a r5 3600 would be a considerable improvement, the problem is motherboard, x470 seems to give less problems, i heardabout some b450 giving problems, of course you can go for x570, depends on your budget

Does the motherboard type make too much of a difference you reckon?

[goto10]

i only buy msi, asus and gigabyte, never had regrets going with any of those 3

 

lately asus is my oreferrd brand but i have around many msi motherboards going strong after 5+ years

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	£188.99 @ CCL Computers
Motherboard	MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard	£79.97 @ Box Limited
Power Supply	be quiet! - System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	£47.43 @ Amazon UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£316.39
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-07-14 03:22 BST+0100

and pick this up from CEX for 190 pounds:

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=sgranvi980tigtx6gba&categoryName=pci-express-graphics-cards&superCatName=computing&title=nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-6gb-gddr5

[goto10]

9 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	£188.99 @ CCL Computers
Motherboard	MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard	£79.97 @ Box Limited
Power Supply	be quiet! - System Power 9 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	£47.43 @ Amazon UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£316.39
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-07-14 03:22 BST+0100

and pick this up from CEX for 190 pounds:

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=sgranvi980tigtx6gba&categoryName=pci-express-graphics-cards&superCatName=computing&title=nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-6gb-gddr5

 

i wouldnt buy a 980ti, is power hungry, old and any rx580 costs less and does same or more than that, consider going for a 1070 or something newer, 1660 new for example

[Herman Mcpootis]

5 minutes ago, goto10 said:

 

i wouldnt buy a 980ti, is power hungry, old and any rx580 costs less and does same or more than that, consider going for a 1070 or something newer, 1660 new for example

The 580 performs much worse.

[Chris V]

Hello there

 

So first of all, I personally own a 1070 since 2016 and its still a great card. Im currently running a dual 1440p (144Hz and 75Hz respectively) setup.

I have a very similar system to yours, 2 SSDs, Z170 K by Asus, 2133Mhz 16GB Corsair Vengeance Ram etc..

The CPU is a 6600k, which is slowly showing its age too. I can only bring it to 4.4 Ghz without wasting cash and time on cooling and playing with settings for a whole weekend. Still - even if I got it say 200 Mhz higher - it wouldnt change the fact that it lacks HT and an IPC uplift would be nice to see too.

 

Now to what was said above: The 1070 outperforms an RX 580 and is about on par with the highest segment of its previous generation (maxwell) - without checking: I remember this from back in 2016 when I bought the card. It was the first time I got into computing and bought a card.

 

Now to what I would do in your place: Get a cheap B450 and a Ryzen 3600 and spend the rest on the GPU. If you cant find a majorly great deal on a used card - I would hesitate to spend on used hardware. Wait for the 3rd party versions of the newest AMD cards to be reviewed. Then check benchmarks of which card easily fulfills your 144Hz desire - specifically with the games you play. Then just buy that card if its not unreasonable tbh. Maybe overspend a little to be abit future proof. Like back when I bought my card: a 1060 would've done the job too probably, but today I'm glad I spent the money: youll be happy with a freakin amazing card in your rig and youll enjoy the performance. As time goes by, it'll hold up better as well.

 

But as usual: theres downsides to anything and we could be discussing forever. Any market is different as well, so that makes things even more complicated. Just like right now Im questioning whether I should try to find a used 8700k or sth for music production, or go 3600 with b450, or just fk it and go for x570 and 3900x lol.

 

The benchmarks youll find, will tell you what to buy - depending on the market youre in ofc. In this price segment, the 3600 probably wont bottleneck anything anytime soon. maybe consider 3700x if you buy into the whole "8 core will be the standard of optimization cuz of next gen consoles" thing.

 

Greetings,

chris

 

 

[Wolfy262]

I appreciate both of you guys are trying to help out and have your own opinions on what hardware is best, and I value that and I will take a look at what you both said and research further. 

 

@goto10 @Chris V I also think that I will follow your advice and switch to an AMD centred build. It seems as if those chipsets are far better value for money with much greater potential. The GPUs I will have to look into further. My brother recently got a RX580 and it's doing amazing work, but in the future, I think it will drop quickly in the rankings. 

Thanks so much for your help!

One final question is does the quality of motherboard make that big a difference?

[airdeano]

thread cleaned..

no need in arguing amongst yourselves.. proves nothing to the OP or this thread.

[Herman Mcpootis]

16 minutes ago, Wolfy262 said:

 

One final question is does the quality of motherboard make that big a difference?

Getting a board with better VRMs means it can sustain a higher overclock without throttling, but a decent B450 board will be enough.

[Wolfy262]

2 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

Getting a board with better VRMs means it can sustain a higher overclock without throttling, but a decent B450 board will be enough.

 

Cool. And would you say a good cpu cooler like a noctua is worth it? 

[Herman Mcpootis]

4 hours ago, Wolfy262 said:

 

Cool. And would you say a good cpu cooler like a noctua is worth it? 

With your budget, better off spending it on a better GPU instead.

[Chris V]

13 hours ago, Wolfy262 said:

 

Cool. And would you say a good cpu cooler like a noctua is worth it? 

 

8 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

With your budget, better off spending it on a better GPU instead.

I would add to that, that it greatly matters which CPU ur gonna pick here. With ryzen 3000, youll probably be better off to just use the stock cooler. It might run a bit hotter than with a noctua cooler, but its all within limits that make sense. However, I dont know anything about noise levels (etc.) when it comes to these stock coolers.

 

An 8700k however, that youre looking to make capable of not restricting any GPU thats out on the market - would obviously need a beefy cooler. But that scenario isnt gonna happen in your (id say our, haha) price range.

 

NN to thank us Great that youre one step further now and that we were able to be of help. Have a nice one !

[kane7010]

On 7/13/2019 at 1:41 PM, Wolfy262 said:

Hi,

 

I was hoping for some advice on what to do with my computer to increase performance (details listed below) through modifying components, or changing settings, or both.

 

Current PC:
CPU: i5 6500 3.2GHz

CPU Fan: Stock Intel

Motherboard: AsRock Z170 Pro4

Memory: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400

GPU: Zotac 1050Ti Mini

SSD: Kingston SV300 120GB
HDD: WD 1TB Blue + WD 2TB Blue

PSU: Corsair CX500

Fans: 3 120mm, 1 front, 2 rear

 

1. Budget: Additional spend no more than £500 (GBP) Location: UK

2. Aim

Primarily I'd like to improve game performance, particularly in games like Siege (this is my main game), to run at 144FPS+ at Very high settings

3. Monitors

I'll only use one monitor, with the intention of getting PC performance to justify 144Hz

4. Peripherals

None needed

5. Why are you upgrading?

Well it's a combination of upgrading and modifying I'd hope, I recently tried overclocking my CPU (using this guide), but temperatures reached too high. I'd like to improve my computer as it's been struggling recently with newer game titles. Also, I was thinking of perhaps adding some RGB strips in the future and was wondering how to ensure compatibility with that.

 

 

@Wolfy262 did you run a minecraft server way back? Called Teamcraft or something?