Need some advice!

Andyy · 26 Sep 2016 at 17:25

Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you could help a guy in need out haha! I've recently started upgrading my PC after my GPU died on me a few months back and I decided it's time for an upgrade etc. Now my problem is as follows; I bought a GTX 960 4GB to replace my old 560 but knowing me I didn't take in note of the CPU/other components and if they could run/handle (if thats the right word) the new 960 as I noticed decreased performance in games which used to run rather well on my old card, I've been told that it's my CPU bottlenecking the GPU and so fourth or it's my Display not being adequate. If any of you could point me in the right direction on what is the top item I need to upgrade first and maybe give me some advice on what hardware to buy - I am on a decent budget (£200-300 ish) I hope that'd be enough aha and it'd would 'future proof' for a few years or so.

So yea I hope you can understand what I've said and I hope I didn't post in the wrong section :/ first time posting on here!

My full specs are:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1

CPU: AMD FX-6200 - Six Core Processor

RAM: 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3

Motherboard: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. SABERTOOTH 990FX

GPU: 4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (MSI)

Memory: 931GB Seagate ST1000DM003-9YN162 ATA Device (SATA)

Display: 22W_LCD_TV (1920x1080@30Hz)

Thanks for reading!

Andyy · 26 Sep 2016 at 18:29

stulid said:
Have you done a fresh reinstall of the OS+Drivers using the latest available?

Yea did a complete reinstall before installing the new GPU

Andyy · 26 Sep 2016 at 18:36

Stazbumpa said:
Sticking my nose in;

What hard drive(s) are you using?
How long since you last did a fresh install of Windows?

Your CPU is the same age as mine (although mine is Intel), you have the same RAM and your gfx was better than mine (670 but upgrade 3 weeks ago) and I ran BF4 on ultra in 1080p @70+ fps.
So with that in mind I would probably look at a SSD (500Gb would be good for OS + some games), a fresh install of Windows on that and probably a decent 1080p gaming monitor instead of using a TV.

That'll get you started and you'll have a nice 1080p gaming experience, certainly better than any console currently on the market. A bigger upgrade can come later after you save a bit more cash.

Addendum: If you're air cooling your CPU, when was the last time you gave your case and the CPU cooler a good clean?

I'm using just your normal internal hard drive, no SSDs etc. I've done a fresh re-install a few weeks back and gave the case a good clean aswell as I only started using it all again after beening away at work.

Andyy · 26 Sep 2016 at 19:22

Stazbumpa said:
Ok, well I would recommend a SSD for OS and games and looking at a decent gaming monitor then. If performance hasn't been great lately then how about checking your CPU temps under load?

I've done some quick checks online and the FX-6200 is a bit slower than my Ivybridge CPU, perhaps looking at a second hand Ivybridge or Haswell CPU+mobo bundle can boost your power without breaking your budget too much.

I stand to be corrected on any of the above.

I've been meaning to get a monitor for ages now so that's on my list to get, I've been told that the current cpu/motherboard setup isn't up to scratch for a new card like the new 960, now I'm not sure if this is true but I guess it is due to the fact that they're rather outdated with todays.

Is second hand a good place to go? Especially for a CPU/Mobo? I've been looking up bundles etc but I've got no clue which is good as there's so many Intel's haha.

Andyy · 26 Sep 2016 at 21:04

stulid said:
I get that your cpu is holding it back, but It has to be atleast as good as what you had before..not worse.

Well I find that performance in games are not as good/are limited, maybe that's just me being an idiot.

Andyy · 27 Sep 2016 at 16:08

Oh when I'm here I might aswell ask, do any of you recommend any decent Monitors?

Andyy · 28 Sep 2016 at 13:48

WantoN said:
Before you start spending money let's troubleshoot the issue.

Please elaborate on worse performance? Stutters etc?

What games / programs are you using to measure performance?

What power supply do you have?

Have you changed any settings (in game or OS) since installing?

Got the latest Nvidia drivers?

It might be worth taking a look at a known benchmark so we can assess performance. Try unigine valley (https://unigine.com/products/benchmarks/valley/) let us know your score.

Next, get HW Monitor (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html) run your game / benchmark and let us know the temps and usage for your cpu and you.

1) It just feels slow and sluggish if you get where I'm coming from - As in it doesn't feel like I'm getting the full potential out of the new card itself (maybe that's just me)
2) I've been playing GTA V and Mount & Blade: Warband (Yes rather old game) even it seems sluggish etc. I've been using the an FPS counter which came with shadowplay now that states I'm getting 60FPS but it don't feel no where near that imo, maybe that's due to my monitor?
3) I've got a Corsair TX650
4) I haven't changed anything no.
5) All drivers are updated, even checked today.

I ran both programs you linked above and here are the results, I haven't the foggiest what any of them mean so I hope you can get something from them haha.

The Benchmark - https://i.gyazo.com/2dce16ac99c3f45e7d9cfd03ba054e8a.png

The HWMonitor Report - http://pastebin.com/33ZjRQY1

Sorry in advance if I've done something wrong never did these kinda tests before.

Andyy · 28 Sep 2016 at 14:34

Quartz said:
What are your CPU performance figures? I'm wondering if the games have detected the new GPU and updated the settings beyond the capability of the CPU. All you need to do is run Task Manager or Resource Monitor or CPU-Z on a second monitor. If you've not got a second monitor, run Resource Monitor or CPU-Z and set it to log, then review the log afterwards.

I ran CPU-Z for abit and here are the results - http://pastebin.com/JfeVqCp0

That was with Mount and Blade: Warband running.

Andyy · 28 Sep 2016 at 15:52

WantoN said:
Run uningine benchmark a couple of times, then Alt-tab out immediately to HW monitor and take a screenshot, post the image.

https://i.gyazo.com/95ba0a852572b2f3e98abfcca0e800d7.png

Like that?

Andyy · 29 Sep 2016 at 12:31

WantoN said:
Well if that's straight after or during benching, it hardly looks like a throttling issue.

What was your score?

So the CPU isn't the issue? My score was 1319 and FPS was 31.5 through out the test but I guess that would be down to the 30hz TV?

Andyy · 30 Sep 2016 at 17:22

Hi guys! V-Sync is disabled in both the benchmark and the Nvidia Control Panel.

The results during the benchmark are;

GPU - 1430Mhz
Memory - 3505Mhz
Temp - Goes from 51 to 62C (max)

I'm not sure where to go from here

Andyy · 2 Oct 2016 at 14:39

Any ideas what the next step is? As in, what would I need to get upgraded to get the most out of the card... I'll be getting a new monitor this week just needa know what else or is there anything else etc.