`I think my CPU is bottlenecking my pc, but I dont really know enough to say for sure what needs to be upgraded.

[GeddyFlea]

Budget (including currency): 200-300 CAD, with some flexibility

Country: Canada

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: I do play the occasional AAA titles, but i mostly use it to emulate older systems

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): ASRock H110 pro BTC+ motherboard (i bought the pc online from someone i assume used it for btc mining)

CPU: intel pentium g4560

GPU: GTX 1060 6gb

i have one 500gb ssd i use for windows, and another 500gb hard drive i use for storage, though i plan on upgrading to a 2tb hard drive at some point

RAM: i only have 1 stick of 8gb ram, and it doesn't seem like its very reliable, doesnt seem to have a brand name on it anything

 

So basically, I've been planning on just upgrading the cpu, cause it seems to be close to, or at 100% whenever i alt tab out of games and stuff. But im not sure if maybe upgrading

my ram to like some 16gb corsair would make a difference or not.

Sorry if im asking obvious questions, i really enjoy working on my pc and stuff, but googles the only resource i have, and theres a lot of mixed opinions. I'm temped just to get an AMD motherboard and cpu, but would rather not make such an investment if i dont have to. Lemme know if you need any more info, and thanks in advance.

[adarw]

is the ram ddr3 or ddr4? 

[RONOTHAN##]

Getting a CPU like an i5 6500 or something similar would be a decent upgrade from what you got, assuming you can get it for cheap. Used CPUs right now are at odd, inflated prices, so unless you can find one for a good price, you're probably better off just making that investment into something new. 

 

More RAM is something that you don't need it unless you do. If during your normal workload, you're getting very close to that 8GB mark, you're probably also using the page file a bit, so it's better to upgrade your RAM for better performance. My guess is you probably are getting close, so 16GB would be a decent idea. 

[GeddyFlea]

The ram is DDR4, and from what ive been able to see, i havent seen it quite close to maxed out yet.

the reason i figured it was my cpu is that i barely see my gpu utilization go up very high at all, while ive seen the cpu at, or close to, 100% multiple times.

i was looking at a i5-9400F  on newegg, would that make a difference? i notice its base clock speed is slower than my pentium, but it turbos up to 4.1 ghz,, but im not really sure how intels turbo thing works, id rather have something overcloackable.

[Chris Pratt]

Adding an additional stick of RAM (or probably ditching your current stick and replacing it with a 2x8GB kit) would work wonders. Running single channel is a serious drag on performance. That CPU probably is holding you back as well though. There's virtually a whole world of better options, but you probably can't do much with just $200-300 CAD. Unless you just buy a better tier 4th gen, assuming you can find one, any upgrade is going to likely require a new mobo as well, which then limits you on your CPU choices within that budget. I would try to get up to at least 8th gen, though, so you can at least stay current on Windows. That's probably achievable for a CPU/mobo upgrade (though it doesn't leave anything for RAM, which is just as important if not more). You might also just want to look around for cheap used systems. You need to be a bit careful as they'll often have proprietary parts that may not allow you to use them, but if you can find one with a standard mobo, you can probably strip it for upgrades cheaper than buying the parts individually.

[GeddyFlea]

I'm also not opposed to getting a piece at a time and slowly upgrading, maybe i should just upgrade the ram to 16gbs and then start saving up for a better cpu?

Is the mobo worth keeping around for awhile? When i realised it was a mining board i worried that it might be holding me back somehow.

[TheGlenlivet]

You could run up to a 4 core 8 thread CPU in that system but you would need to find a good deal for it to make sense.

Don't bother looking for a "K" version of a CPU.  Get a 6700 or 7700 non-K if you can find one for a price you can live with.

I agree, 2 sticks of RAM will improve performance.

 

[Chris Pratt]

39 minutes ago, GeddyFlea said:

I'm also not opposed to getting a piece at a time and slowly upgrading, maybe i should just upgrade the ram to 16gbs and then start saving up for a better cpu?

Is the mobo worth keeping around for awhile? When i realised it was a mining board i worried that it might be holding me back somehow.

There's no such thing as a "mining board". The board has nothing to do with mining. That's primarily a concern for GPUs only, though some CPUs have been used for mining purposes as well. That's far more rare, though, simply because it's such a pittance in profit, it's not really worth it.

[GeddyFlea]

19 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

You could run up to a 4 core 8 thread CPU in that system but you would need to find a good deal for it to make sense.

Don't bother looking for a "K" version of a CPU.  Get a 6700 or 7700 non-K if you can find one for a price you can live with.

I agree, 2 sticks of RAM will improve performance.

 

Why should i avoid K series? I've always wanted to learn as much  about overclocking  as i can. It seems  fascinating to me

[TheGlenlivet]

3 minutes ago, GeddyFlea said:

Why should i avoid K series? I've always wanted to learn as much  about overclocking  as i can. It seems  fascinating to me

Because your motherboard with it's H110 chipset can't overclock them.

You need a Z chipset to do that.

It will boot with a 6600K/7700K/6700K but you won't be able to OC them.

[GeddyFlea]

Not sure what others experience been, but i found this on ebay https://www.ebay.ca/itm/124893887298?hash=item1d14417b42:g:GMYAAOSwM1RhOwYW
seemed good to me, but am  missing something? otherwise i might just buy this. Anybody buy used cpus from there before?

 

 

 

 

[GeddyFlea]

2 minutes ago, TheGlenlivet said:

Because your motherboard with it's H110 chipset can't overclock them.

You need a Z chipset to do that.

It will boot with a 6600K/7700K/6700K but you won't be able to OC them.

oh wow big time derp on my part, thanks dude

[TheGlenlivet]

6 minutes ago, GeddyFlea said:

oh wow big time derp on my part, thanks dude

Yeah NP.  

Like I said, if you find a K CPU for cheap, go ahead and get it if you want to upgrade what you have, but usually the nonK will be cheaper. 

I see 6600Ks for under $100 and 6700 NonK for around $100 on ebay.

 

[GeddyFlea]

7 hours ago, TheGlenlivet said:

Yeah NP.  

Like I said, if you find a K CPU for cheap, go ahead and get it if you want to upgrade what you have, but usually the nonK will be cheaper. 

I see 6600Ks for under $100 and 6700 NonK for around $100 on ebay.

 

I saw those too, is it fairly reliable to go thru ebay for a used one?

[TheGlenlivet]

15 hours ago, GeddyFlea said:

I saw those too, is it fairly reliable to go thru ebay for a used one?

It's not bad.  Ebay has a return policy and buyer protection, but I would buy from a well reviewed seller.

Also beware of stuff coming from overseas.  It can take a LONG time to get to you and cost a lot in shipping.