Can you tell gpu/cpu bound from a requirement?

ExoMale · 25 Apr 2017 at 19:30

I keep talking about upgrading my computer, but at times I want to do it for the sake of it which is why I haven't yet aside from waiting for payday lol, I'm debating the route if need to take first.

I don't know game engines, but as it stands my system plays the division, rb6s, mad max, anno 2205, fallout 4(when it used to launch), NFS15, Titanfall 2, no mans sky which are the games I'm playing the most at the minute all medium-high @ 720p(desktop refuses to display on tv correctly at 1080p so no point playing games that res really) which are all doing quite well, never had below 30fps drop(actually never had fraps running with No Mans), but obviously I do get stutter now and then and right now it seems rainbow servers are messed up with pings going from 50 to over 100 for everyone I've played with even my own and some over 200, so it's not as smooth as it used to be.

My gpu is an OC edition 1gb which I've upped to 1100/1300 so like +50 odd each.

Every game I look at even if I don't own it, I always go to the specs obviously and use game-debate can I run it, but to me it doesn't really tell me if a gpu or cpu is needed to improve things? Is there a away to know from looking at the specs?

I really want the 4460 as I could pay £40-60 on top of my i3 just to have a proper quad, but I would instead happily sell my 750 for a stronger card even if it's not the 970 I'm after.

mickyflinn · 25 Apr 2017 at 19:34

Gpu is the weakness upgrade that and get an ssd.

Plec · 25 Apr 2017 at 20:50

Yep, GPU with only 1gb vram is definitely the weak link - especially when running the latest gfx intensive titles, which you are.

An rx 480 8Gb/4gb would drop in nicely and would compliment the i5-4460 if you got one. As would an rx 460 4gb if funds were tight. Both would give a significant boost - the 480 especially if you ever get to game at 1080p. But at 720p the rx 460 would be very worthy if you see yourself stuck at 720p for a considerable time to come.

Unfortunately it would be the more costly upgrade - even if you offset the meagre sale of your gfx card. You would see very little gains only upgrading the CPU.

ExoMale · 25 Apr 2017 at 22:32

thanks for reply.

i know 1gb isnt great, i do have 4gb total system memory available, but never really had issues with it before and only the division pushed a 2gb card @ 1.7gb use, BF4 never went above 1100, in fact most my cards when i checked before with 1gb pretty much used it all or stayed under, yeah i suppose stutter was a result, but the games perfectly playable and as i say other than no testing No mans, i havent dipped once under 30fps and it usually over 50 on RB6, the division seems to be the more demanding, i dont think thats quite my issue with RB6S, the pings used to be better across all players.

i own whats in my sig, the 4460 isnt a huge upgrade i know, but its 4 core so should benefit better to an extent and no i dont plan to keep to 1360x768(720p) which is what im using, i can use 1080p, just a pain to keep changing when im in desktop all the time, its just something about this tv not liking my computer lol and im not in position to change as such so with that in mind i ruled the rx460 out ever since i got my new case, im back to pc gaming with my good 520w psu , so want to push it more than a 270x did as im not too limited which is why im looking at the 970 as you can buy from £100, i only get paid so much, so anything sooner than later is a result of selling something in general or selling pc bits to fund upgrades oh and i dont want AMD again, dont want the faff of 2 lots of drivers installed again.

i will get another ssd in time, got 4 hdds in my system which is doing a good enough job for the moment.

so to conclude, is my 750 the weak link because of its 1gb buffer or the overall too? i know its a mid-range card, but its the OC edition, so that bit better somewhat.

ExRayTed · 26 Apr 2017 at 02:09

It isn't a mid range card, it's a budget card - although that is only my opinion

The GPU is absolutely the weak link. Your i3 runs at 3.6ghz with hyperthreading meaning it's still a capable gaming chip. You'll see the biggest difference with a new GPU

Plec · 26 Apr 2017 at 09:22

ExoMale said:
im looking at the 970 as you can buy from £100,

You're only 35 posts away from accessing the MM - and they turn up quite a lot (approx £120 but you get to haggle).

I would start getting some opinions in the General Discussion Forum and bump up that post count to 1000.

HazardO · 26 Apr 2017 at 09:27

A GPU upgrade would certainly allow you to play with higher graphics settings but as you're targeting 720p @30fps I'd say your CPU is largely your bottleneck..

ExoMale · 26 Apr 2017 at 22:49

thanks for replies.

im responding to posts more than trying to make new threads, i just didnt know the best place to ask this question.

as for the 720p target @ 30, i think only no mans sky will be targeting that, when i tried it with a 1gb gts 450 it was playable enough on low@1080p with 10-20fps. as this is lower res at higher settings and smoother, id assume im touching 30, its not my aim at all, i like my games staying over 40/50fps which they pretty much all do with maybe the division dipping slightly below, well until i went medium and oc my gpu more, now it doesnt seem so much. if im honest even with my 270x before the difference between medium/high/ultra was not all that noticeable graphic wise in these games.

im only looking at the 970 as ive never been able to have one due to their prices and i know i would actually keep it longer as next to the 980 its was the daddy of graphic cards, mean i could get say a 2gb 660 oc edition which i know is better than my 750 for like £30, but even at that price i dont think its a good enough upgrade to get better performance till i decide the cpu route. i will never have a power house as such as im not looking for one.

screamBoy · 27 Apr 2017 at 00:54

If you were after gaming rig, you immediately would sell half the RAM and the 2 little HDDs. For these 100 bucks you can get 1050ti or 970.
660 is not better than 750, it is the same. If there is difference, it is result of the bigger VRAM quantity onboard.

Plec · 27 Apr 2017 at 07:15

Plec said:
You're only 35 posts away from accessing the MM - and they turn up quite a lot (approx £120 but you get to haggle).

I would start getting some opinions in the General Discussion Forum and bump up that post count to 1000.

ExoMale said:
im responding to posts more than trying to make new threads, i just didnt know the best place to ask this question.

I think my post got lost in translation

I meant posting within ongoing threads in the General Discussion Forum - having an opinion on what's being discussed within any given thread to boost your post count.

A few opinions/debates in a handful of threads (on any subject) would gain you access to the MM Forum very quickly. And you could then pick up a second hand 970 from there..

ExoMale · 27 Apr 2017 at 17:02

Plec said:
I think my post got lost in translation

I meant posting within ongoing threads in the General Discussion Forum - having an opinion on what's being discussed within any given thread to boost your post count.

A few opinions/debates in a handful of threads (on any subject) would gain you access to the MM Forum very quickly. And you could then pick up a second hand 970 from there..

ha yeah, i figured thats what you meant, just initial reading of it made it seem like i got it wrong, well im doing my best even if its not purpose of MM ha, will be interesting to see what is on that section.

screamBoy said:
If you were after gaming rig, you immediately would sell half the RAM and the 2 little HDDs. For these 100 bucks you can get 1050ti or 970.
660 is not better than 750, it is the same. If there is difference, it is result of the bigger VRAM quantity onboard.

i read mix on the 660 and 750, people were saying the 660 was a stronger card, but the 750/ti was best all rounder for power/performance, but the 660 was just an example, one for £30 is gone and would get better anyways.

its not a true gaming rig, im not after glamour in the computer sense, i dont restrict it to just gaming, i havent done anything else yet in regards to the likes of video editing or music related or designing of any kind, but i intend to at some extent on a beginners level of use, my computer is playing the games fine, but if i want to improve then obviously i need a cpu or gpu upgrade, i just can never really tell which one the games are utilizing more as the 1st priority upgrade.

Holst1981 · 28 Apr 2017 at 12:27

It's not always a perfect test but dropping the resolution to reduce load on the gpu will give you an idea of the performance with a faster card.

970 seems like a smart upgrade.
I'm still happy with mine at 1080p

ExoMale · 28 Apr 2017 at 15:06

Oh yeah I've played around with res before, there's nothing exactly wrong with my gaming, just I will eventually get another 1080p monitor and play at, it's only because my pc doesn't agrees with the tv resolution choices so I'm having to use the pc variant of 1360x768'. Hell, som ingame res changes doesn't seem to like 1080, I'm playing quake champion beta right now on high, but if I chose 1080 res it cuts off the edges all round like it's stretched too much, doesn't do anything like this with my xb1, but something about my nvidia settings doesn't not correcting anything.

I'm looking at a 760 and a 960 2gb models though a 670 in a video comparison was a bit better than the 760, also a 770 I'm looking with the possible 280, all seem to be available within £105 where as the 970s are coming up short, mean there's a 4gb msi gaming for 140 and a armor for 120 on gum, but they was posted 3 weeks ago and I.could improve my performance possible today with one of the others as for mad max, RB6S, the division the cards I mentioned first even the 670 Come up in the recommendations with only my cpu being limited to not being an i5.