Is upgrading my memory sufficient?
Is upgrading my memory sufficient?
I’m experiencing stuttering issues while playing League of Legends, and my performance has declined recently despite a previous RAM upgrade. Although adding dual channel memory significantly improved things initially, I'm now encountering persistent smoothness problems characterized by camera lag and occasional freezes. My 60Hz monitor is likely contributing to the issue, but it’s more complex than that. While my CPU, which is about two years old, isn’t consistently at 100% usage during gameplay (around 50%), the motherboard and processor limit the RAM's speed to 2133MHz.
I’m considering upgrading from my current 8-8-8-24 1600MHz RAM to 9-11-9-28 2133MHz, but I’m concerned that higher timings might not offer a substantial benefit given what I've read. Alternatively, I could invest in entirely new components, though this would be a significant expense. League of Legends isn’t a demanding game, yet I aim to compete at a high level. What are your thoughts on whether this RAM upgrade is worthwhile?
My system specifications: Motherboard – MSI A68HM-E33; GPU – AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series; CPU – AMD Athlon™ X4 845 Quad Core Processor 3,49 GHZ (3,8 on turbo); RAM – 2x4GB 8-8-8-24 1600hz ddr3; PSU – CUBE 2 MAX 500W; OS – 64-bit Windows 8.1; HDD DRIVE - WD3200AAKS-00YGA0; Monitor – BENQ GW2255
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to increase your memory capacity, as many motherboards support either DDR3 for older models or DDR4, but not a combination of the two.
I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. I inquired about the value of purchasing 2133 MHz DDR3 memory to resolve my issue, or if you felt it wouldn’t be beneficial and that I would need to undertake a significantly expensive upgrade involving a new motherboard and RAM. I clarified that I wasn't intending to combine different types of memory modules.
Confirm that the memory is operating at 1600MHz and utilizing dual-channel configuration. Increasing the speed from 1600MHz to 2133MHz with DDR3 resulted in a minimal impact on performance, perhaps only a slight gain of 1-2 frames per second. Nevertheless, combining RAM purchased independently often introduces potential problems, and the fact that raising the voltage does seem to alleviate the issues suggests this may be the root cause, as elevated voltage can mitigate difficulties when using mismatched memory modules. As a test, if your RAM is running at 1600MHz in dual channel mode, try setting it to 1333MHz and observe the results.
I acquired both of these memory sticks simultaneously, and their product details included the term “dual.”
F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
When I attempted to configure them at 1333 MHz, the stuttering continued. It’s a minor variation perhaps, or possibly an improvement, but it's difficult to determine definitively.
This video documents my testing with 1600 MHz: https://streamable.com/1b5vt
A shorter clip demonstrating the lag at 1333 MHz is available here: https://streamable.com/pb8ax
Frame rates are displayed in the upper right corner.
The issue can arise even when frame rates exceed 60, yet occasionally, during periods of complete freezing, the FPS may plummet to just 1, as illustrated in the final video.
I’m still investigating this problem :/
Although the central processing unit is operating at 50% capacity, it’s contributing to the stuttering along with the outdated DDR3 memory. I plan to replace it with a more recent CPU, the 2200G Ryzen, and possibly some 3000Hz RAM.