Require help with my setup

[Danny75]

@Danny75

The leaderboard shows my 1080 as being at the bottom of the list in terms of 1080s.

Hegemon's 1080 got 4652 in that run so not quite bottom.

Don't forget that I got that score at 1050p and not 1080p so chances are it would be even lower if I had a 1080p monitor.

I know. Just saying - it's arguably in the region, and if you OC'd core and memory on the 1080 you might get closer to 5000 or past, meaning not much of a problem anymore.

Rule out something - try GPU-Z and the render test there by clicking the question mark in the Bus Interface box. Does it say x16 3.0 while the test is running?

 

[JohnSauce1]

@Danny75

I ran the benchmark, results are below.

Spoiler: During Benchmark #1

https://prnt.sc/n60npd

Spoiler: During Benchmark #2

#
https://prnt.sc/n60nv0

Before the benchmark, it was running "@ 16x 2.0".

 

[Danny75]

@JohnSauce1

That looks fine. Reason I asked was due to a weird issue with my older GPU where it wouldn't seat correctly at times for some reason, and performance would go down a bit. The clue was that it showed up as running at x8 even though x8 shouldn't have impacted performance quite so much. Reseating it would fix that and it would show as x16 again.

 

[JohnSauce1]

@Danny75

I'm planning on getting an ultrawide 2k resolution monitor very soon so, do you think this will tank my pc too much?

I'm going to get another motherboard so I can overclock my cpu, can I do the same for my GPU to?

 

[Danny75]

@Danny75

I'm planning on getting an ultrawide 2k resolution monitor very soon so, do you think this will tank my pc too much?

Not the CPU as going up in resolution means things get more GPU-limited.

GPU just depends on the game and the settings. There's plenty on 1070s or 1080s at 1440p. Those who chase max quality settings or max fps can of course benefit from faster card.

I'm going to get another motherboard so I can overclock my cpu, can I do the same for my GPU to?

It's a bit of a waste of money unless you get it very cheap. Your CPU silicon quality may determine it only clocks to 4.6 for example. But say it clocks to 4.8 or so. Will you really see that much game improvement over the current 4.2?

If you were buying a new CPU then would recommend an overclocking motherboard. But with older series limited to 4 cores/8 threads, can be just money down the drain which could be used for a proper upgrade later on.

And yes you can overclock the GPU. Which model is it though?

We still don't know what PSU it is. Random thing to try - use two different cables to power the GPU if you're only using one with split connectors.

 

[JohnSauce1]

@Danny75

My CPU's base is 4.0. Freddie (from this conversation) has his at 4.7 according to his signature.

According to GPU-Z, I have: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/asus-rog-strix-gtx-1080-gaming-advanced.b3874

What will connecting two different cables do?

At this point, I'm just looking for any advice on how to improve my machine so that it can be the best that it can be. If I do get a new motherboard, what would you suggest?

 

[Danny75]

@Danny75

My CPU's base is 4.0. Freddie (from this conversation) has his at 4.7 according to his signature.

Yes. Your single core boost is 4.2. All core is 4.0. Not sure if that mobo is or can boost all cores to 4.2 instead of just 1 or 2 though. You could check in BIOS for any "multicore enhancement" feature or similar. But because it's not a Z board it's pot luck as to whether it has such a thing.

According to GPU-Z, I have: https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/asus-rog-strix-gtx-1080-gaming-advanced.b3874

What will connecting two different cables do?

Nice card.

Because we're working blind in terms of which PSU, it could rule out two scenarios:

1. If PSU is multi-rail and GPU is on just one rail, then depending on quality of PSU it may not provide as much power as the Strix could take, and limit performance a bit.

2. Even if PSU is single-rail, or multi-rail and of good quality, using two different cables can sometimes improve performance slightly anyway.

At this point, I'm just looking for any advice on how to improve my machine so that it can be the best that it can be. If I do get a new motherboard, what would you suggest?

Strongly recommend sticking with CPU and mobo for now. See what AMD comes up with (Ryzen 3XXX) around June maybe. Then if worth it, sell mobo and CPU to help finance a new Ryzen 8-core and overclocking board. You may have to sell the 2133MHz RAM and get faster RAM, as well, as Ryzen so far benefits more from it than Intel does.

However, if going with the "my money, wanna overclock now" choice, then the cheapest Z170 or Z270 board out there as not worth spending more on old platform. I've just seen a Strix Z270H for £70.

 

[JohnSauce1]

@Danny75

Sorry for the late reply, I was away for a week & couldn't respond. I've not checked whether or not my PSU has a single rail or is a multi-rail yet, nor have I done the cable thing.


I have managed to fish out the PSU that I have though. See link below.

www.********.co.uk/products/451wto650w/nov-psg502.html

(replace stars with "nova tech" without the space)

 

[Danny75]

@Danny75

Sorry for the late reply, I was away for a week & couldn't respond. I've not checked whether or not my PSU has a single rail or is a multi-rail yet, nor have I done the cable thing.


I have managed to fish out the PSU that I have though. See link below.

www.********.co.uk/products/451wto650w/nov-psg502.html

(replace stars with "nova tech" without the space)

@JohnSauce1

Apparently it's single rail. Because in the Specification tab it only lists one +12v rail. However, it'll be a low quality PSU (which may or may not have anything to do with the performance issues). 450W on +12v instead of 500W and the 2 year warranty say enough about it. Leave it for now but I would replace with something better whenever you upgrade CPU and motherboard. It certainly wouldn't be a PSU that most would recommend for a GTX 1080.

See if you do get a slight performance boost (very slight) with two cables anyway.