Is a Ryzen 5 1600 slow for my new PC setup?
Is a Ryzen 5 1600 slow for my new PC setup?
Hello everyone! My main computer was bought back in September 2017 with a Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, a Gigabyte 1060 G1 Gaming GPU, 6GB of RAM on Corsair Vengeance DDR4 running at 2666Mhz, an Asus Prime B350 Plus motherboard, and MoBo. I recently upgraded my RAM to two sticks of 8GB each from Corsair RGB Pro at 3200Mhz with the exact timings as before (16-18-18-36). It runs smoothly without problems now. The jump from 2666 to 3200 Mhz didn't make gaming feel any faster or better. Then I decided to overclock my GPU because the warranty had expired... +150Mhz on the CPU, +500Mhz for the memory speed, plus a bit more voltage and power supply capacity. Same thing here: no performance gains at all. Here is the million dollar question: Does my CPU bottleneck the improvements from my upgrades? If so, should I overclock it anyway, and what are good OC settings for this specific CPU model?
No. And you can drop the voltage put on the GPU. It's too much and not needed. You can probably only add about 10mv if you really need to match power limits. What is the number that shows performance? What do you see on your monitor? How does a benchmark tell you anything most people wouldn't or couldn't see when they look at @ 15% more performance from the RAM. It might give a few extra frames under a stress test, but mostly it gives more frames to the lowest ones instead of the highest. The lowest ones being where the program is so intense that the CPU cannot make as many frames before running out of time. Adding infinite fabric performance boosts the CPU strength, so the low frame rate isn't as low. This makes games smoother for you, but people don't care about that, they...
No. And you don't need to add too much voltage to the GPU, usually just a tiny bit like 10mv is enough if it's needed to keep power limits safe. What exactly are you measuring? What does the monitor actually show? A benchmark isn't always clear. Most people can't see a big boost in performance from the RAM. Maybe a few frames per second under a hard stress test, but mostly it helps with the lowest frame counts, not the highest ones. That's where the intensity of the program creates so much data that the CPU can't make as many frames before the system slows down. The extra fabric power helps boost the CPU strength, so low FPS stays higher instead of dropping too low. This makes games feel smoother, but people aren't really looking for that; they just look at the FPS numbers on the screen. The CPU is what sets the FPS limits, and the GPU adds more frames to display them. If you're pushing a 60Hz or even an 144Hz monitor and your GPU can do 200fps, it won't matter if the processor pushes that up to 500fps because the screen will still show only 60fps or 144fps depending on what's actually possible. What could change is how detailed things look while keeping the same number of frames per second on the screen. Playing at ultra instead of very high settings with 100fps makes a difference.
Which games are you playing and what screen resolution do you use? Usually, gaming gets stuck because of the CPU when you have a really powerful GPU and want super high frames per second (FPS). That 1060 chip isn't that fast by itself, neither is a first-generation Zen processor. But it's worth thinking about this: some games only need very high FPS to work well. Other games don't put heavy demands on the CPU or GPU when trying to get many FPS at higher resolutions where detailed graphics are supposed to be enjoyed.