help with APU graphics

[Lord Sephington]

Hi, im kinda new to APU's and their graphics power.

 

I am running an AMD A6 6400K on an asus a88xm-a motherboard with 12gb ddr3 1600mhz ram. I am currently getting 768mb in regards to video memory to play games.

 

I am wondering is there any way to be able to boost the memory allocated the the GPU side of things to increase it to over 1gb? Just I have noticed that when i play games like skyrim or BF4 i am getting alot of screen tearing and stutter when playing even on low graphics settings and i want to see if i can improve things until i can upgrade to a better cpu and dedicated gpu.

 

any help is appreciated  

[PlayStation 2]

Screen tearing isn't caused by VRAM, it's caused by not using any sort of frame pacing like V-Sync.

[incarnate]

Also, the a6 doesn't have a good igpu, and you'll be getting stutter from the weak cpu side of things. More vram won't fix this.

 

If there is an option to increase it, it will be in the bios, but again, the vram isn't the problem

[Imakuni]

10 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

Hi, im kinda new to APU's and their graphics power.

 

I am running an AMD A6 6400K on an asus a88xm-a motherboard with 12gb ddr3 1600mhz ram. I am currently getting 768mb in regards to video memory to play games.

 

I am wondering is there any way to be able to boost the memory allocated the the GPU side of things to increase it to over 1gb? Just I have noticed that when i play games like skyrim or BF4 i am getting alot of screen tearing and stutter when playing even on low graphics settings and i want to see if i can improve things until i can upgrade to a better cpu and dedicated gpu.

 

any help is appreciated  

Depends on the motherboard. Browse your BIOS for anything with IGX or UMA; you should find an option to control how much RAM is allocated to the iGPU.

 

As for improving performance, there are a couple things you can do:

1. If you are using 3x4gb, either ditch one of those 4gb sticks or add another one, so that you can have dual channel. If using 8+4, however, your only bet is to ditch the 4gb stick and get another 8gb one.
2. Overclock your RAM. 1600mhz is super slow if using the iGPU. 1866mhz should be easily achievable; try to squeeze 2133, or maybe even 2400mhz if you get REALLY lucky with your sticks.
3. OCing the iGPU is also a thing that can help you ever so slightly.

[JefferyD90]

33 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

Hi, im kinda new to APU's and their graphics power.

 

I am running an AMD A6 6400K on an asus a88xm-a motherboard with 12gb ddr3 1600mhz ram. I am currently getting 768mb in regards to video memory to play games.

 

I am wondering is there any way to be able to boost the memory allocated the the GPU side of things to increase it to over 1gb? Just I have noticed that when i play games like skyrim or BF4 i am getting alot of screen tearing and stutter when playing even on low graphics settings and i want to see if i can improve things until i can upgrade to a better cpu and dedicated gpu.

 

any help is appreciated  

Well first off the setting to change the video memory allocated to the GPU is located in the UEFI.

 

Additionally GPU tearing can be eliminated by enabling V-Sync OR increasing your graphics quality settings so your frame rate is below your monitors resolution.  Additionally, you can use your driver to frame limit your system.

 

While I do agree that you should get better RAM for your system, I wouldn't overclock and expect it to FIX your problems.  First fix your problems then use your RAM speed to simply increase performance.

20 minutes ago, Imakuni said:

 

1. Overclock your RAM. 1600mhz is super slow if using the iGPU. 1866mhz should be easily achievable; try to squeeze 2133, or maybe even 2400mhz if you get REALLY lucky with your sticks.

Man, 2133mhz is a solid 40% overclock, if you're getting 1600mhz sticks of RAM they're typically really cheap and wont overclock very well.  I think 1866 should be the goal (BTW AMD's APUs wont handle more than 2133mhz so there is no reason to overclock to 2400mhz)

 

EDIT: I'm going to HIGHLY suggest the first thing you should do is make sure that ALL of your drivers are up to date AND that you install ALL of your drivers, don't just pick and choose.  The second thing I'll suggest you do is limit your frames to the same refresh rate of your monitor.  After that, then you can start worrying about overclocking.

[Lord Sephington]

14 minutes ago, Imakuni said:

Depends on the motherboard. Browse your BIOS for anything with IGX or UMA; you should find an option to control how much RAM is allocated to the iGPU.

 

As for improving performance, there are a couple things you can do:

1. If you are using 3x4gb, either ditch one of those 4gb sticks or add another one, so that you can have dual channel. If using 8+4, however, your only bet is to ditch the 4gb stick and get another 8gb one.
2. Overclock your RAM. 1600mhz is super slow if using the iGPU. 1866mhz should be easily achievable; try to squeeze 2133, or maybe even 2400mhz if you get REALLY lucky with your sticks.
3. OCing the iGPU is also a thing that can help you ever so slightly.

I have 3 sticks of 4gb ram at the moment, im going to get another stick to increase it to 16gb total.

 

Anything to do with overclocking is sketchy for me as my PSU is kind of crappy, i overclocked the cpu to 4.5ghz but the voltage wasnt stable so i went back to stock config with everything. Im not 100% sure how to increase ram speeds as its something ive never tried before as ive always been scared incase i end up doing damage to components.

 

i am eventually going to upgrade to a non APU processor and have a dedicated GPU in the future but for now i guess im kinda stuck, but thanks for the suggestions  

[JefferyD90]

4 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

I have 3 sticks of 4gb ram at the moment, im going to get another stick to increase it to 16gb total.

 

Anything to do with overclocking is sketchy for me as my PSU is kind of crappy, i overclocked the cpu to 4.5ghz but the voltage wasnt stable so i went back to stock config with everything. Im not 100% sure how to increase ram speeds as its something ive never tried before as ive always been scared incase i end up doing damage to components.

 

i am eventually going to upgrade to a non APU processor and have a dedicated GPU in the future but for now i guess im kinda stuck, but thanks for the suggestions  

Once you get your drivers updated and you do some of the other things, I'll be more than happy to help you overclock your system the best possible.

[Silentghost14]

Do to design APU's use your system memory for graphics processing as a result APU's depend heavily on the system RAM spec. APU preform better with faster speed RAM. So your best to get the fastest memory your system supports when buying a APU. I am not trying to say you should go out and buy new RAM. You would be more cost effective and happier buying a dedicated GPU. 

 

[LabRat]

bios setting allocates a little over 2gigs. you'll, have to look for it.

if you have to game off the apu run your game res at 1024x768.

[Imakuni]

6 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

my PSU is kind of crappy

Which model is it?

 

6 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

Im not 100% sure how to increase ram speeds as its something ive never tried before as ive always been scared incase i end up doing damage to components.

Google about 5 different RAM OCing guides and learn it! Every experienced user had it's "ive never tried it before" moment; you gotta start somewhere.

[Silentghost14]

41 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

Hi, im kinda new to APU's and their graphics power.

 

I am running an AMD A6 6400K on an asus a88xm-a motherboard with 12gb ddr3 1600mhz ram. I am currently getting 768mb in regards to video memory to play games.

 

I am wondering is there any way to be able to boost the memory allocated the the GPU side of things to increase it to over 1gb? Just I have noticed that when i play games like skyrim or BF4 i am getting alot of screen tearing and stutter when playing even on low graphics settings and i want to see if i can improve things until i can upgrade to a better cpu and dedicated gpu.

 

any help is appreciated  

Both Skyrim and BF4 are CPU Intensive games. So aside from overclocking any attempt to boost the APU integrated GPU performance would likely result in worse performance. Its not your GPU that is the problem its the CPU.

[Lord Sephington]

My psu is a CiT black 500watt it came with the case i bought as i had no budget left when i bought the system at the time.

 

My memory is running at 1.5v currently and cpu is fluctuating between 1.2v to 1.404v according to CPU-Z

[Imakuni]

2 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

My psu is a CiT black 500watt it came with the case i bought as i had no budget left when i bought the system at the time.

 

My memory is running at 1.5v currently and cpu is fluctuating between 1.2v to 1.404v according to CPU-Z

Well... I guess you know what to do, then. Buy a new PSU before you invest into anything else.

[Silentghost14]

3 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

My psu is a CiT black 500watt it came with the case i bought as i had no budget left when i bought the system at the time.

 

My memory is running at 1.5v currently and cpu is fluctuating between 1.2v to 1.404v according to CPU-Z

I personally have overclocked my memory but having experience doing it I would advise against it. The time required to mess around with configurations and testing to make sure its stable is not worth worth the performance gains you will get. I just did it to learn something new.

[Silentghost14]

Are you using the APU graphics to play games or the HD 4870?

[Lord Sephington]

1 minute ago, Silentghost14 said:

Are you using the APU graphics to play games or the HD 4870?

Im using the apu graphics as i dont have a dedicated gpu until i upgrade. I have gotten my memory to run at 1833mhz and im going to see if my system runs stable over the next few hours.

 

My motherboard had D.O.C.P. setting to boost ram timing i could have went higher but im not going to do it until i have a better psu as voltages are erratic sometimes.

[Silentghost14]

3 minutes ago, Silentghost14 said:

Are you using the APU graphics to play games or the HD 4870?

Sorry miss read your system spec you listed the HD 4870D as if it was its own dedicated GPU got confused a second. The HD 4870D is whats integrated on the APU.

[Lord Sephington]

2 minutes ago, Silentghost14 said:

Sorry miss read your system spec you listed the HD 4870D as if it was its own dedicated GPU got confused a second. The HD 4870D is whats integrated on the APU.

i used to run with an XFX R7750 up until a week ago when the card died on me (lottery of buying 2nd hand parts) so now im back to the integrated 8470D

 

im thinking of upgrading to the FX 480 when it is released, and upgrading to something like 860K for cpu and a better more reliable PSU.

 

Im not going to be playing the latest games on my system just things like BF4 and halo online

[Imakuni]

3 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

FX 480

*RX.

 

3 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

im thinking of upgrading to the FX 480 when it is released, and upgrading to something like 860K for cpu and a better more reliable PSU.

Remember, PSU first, GPU later.

[Silentghost14]

3 minutes ago, jaybob85 said:

Im using the apu graphics as i dont have a dedicated gpu until i upgrade. I have gotten my memory to run at 1833mhz and im going to see if my system runs stable over the next few hours.

 

My motherboard had D.O.C.P. setting to boost ram timing i could have went higher but im not going to do it until i have a better psu as voltages are erratic sometimes.

I would advise against buying a PSU simply to overclock your ram your only going to get a performance gain in the single digits of percentages. Unless your planning on overclocking your APU which would be much more beneficial. You do not need more RAM unless you have like 20 web browser open in the background while you game. If anything one of your 3 sticks of ram because its not paired is running at half speed. You might be better off with just running 2 stick paired. 

[Lord Sephington]

4 minutes ago, Silentghost14 said:

I would advise against buying a PSU simply to overclock your ram your only going to get a performance gain in the single digits of percentages. Unless your planning on overclocking your APU which would be much more beneficial. You do not need more RAM unless you have like 20 web browser open in the background while you game. If anything one of your 3 sticks of ram because its not paired is running at half speed. You might be better off with just running 2 stick paired. 

Im going to upgrade the PSU as i have found the voltages to be erratic and even low level OC'ing of the cpu makes it crap out and trigger my motherboards anti-surge protection, when i upgrade im going to get new cpu gpu and psu together so i dont have to wait weeks in between.

 

when i game i usually only have 1 webpage open on discord to talk to people while gaming, but i will see what difference taking out the 3rd stick of ram will make until i get  another stick soon.

[Silentghost14]

6 minutes ago, Imakuni said:

*RX.

 

Remember, PSU first, GPU later.

The issue though is your going to be stuck in the same boat. Your system if going to be bottlenecked at the CPU again even with the upgrades you described and games that are CPU intensive like Skyrim and BF4 wont run very good.

[Lord Sephington]

1 minute ago, Silentghost14 said:

The issue though is your going to be stuck in the same boat. Your system if going to be bottlenecked at the CPU again even with the upgrades you described and games that are CPU intensive like Skyrim and BF4 wont run very good.

I would go for an intel based system but something like that is well out of my price range hence why i am using AMD for components as prices in UK are extortionate and i want to get things new as the XFX gpu i mentioned earlier crapped out on me after 2 weeks and i dont want to run into something like that again unless i can help it.

[Silentghost14]

1 minute ago, jaybob85 said:

I would go for an intel based system but something like that is well out of my price range hence why i am using AMD for components as prices in UK are extortionate and i want to get things new as the XFX gpu i mentioned earlier crapped out on me after 2 weeks and i dont want to run into something like that again unless i can help it.

Do you still have it! You know that XFX GPU's are covered by a lifetime warranty right?

[Imakuni]

2 minutes ago, Silentghost14 said:

The issue though is your going to be stuck in the same boat. Your system if going to be bottlenecked at the CPU again even with the upgrades you described and games that are CPU intensive like Skyrim and BF4 wont run very good.

Whatever the GPU he decides to get, he can always just render at 4k with 8xMSAA and make the GPU the weaker part.

 

Trust me when I say that he should get a new PGU. I've ran an A6-3500 (which is much worse than his APU) with a Gtx 970 for more than a year, while I waited to upgrade to Skylake. And it was 100% worth it, even with the dreaded "bottleneck".