Need advice on improving your budget? Here are some helpful tips!
Need advice on improving your budget? Here are some helpful tips!
Hello everyone, I own a fairly affordable PC. I mainly play games such as Siege and CoD while streaming to Twitch. Recently, I experienced significant frame drops even when not streaming—I'm running Siege at 144hz, so low 30fps drops are really obvious. To figure out the issue, I checked CPU and GPU usage and noticed my CPU is keeping the GPU busy. Since I don’t have much money right now, upgrading to a new platform isn’t an option. What CPU options could I consider for better performance? My current setup is: i5-4690K (clocked at 4ghz, lightly overclocked) – it’s stock cooler and doesn’t handle higher speeds well. I have an AsRock H97M-ITX/AC 8GB DDR3 GTX 1050ti Corsair CX600/750 (wattage not exact). If you have any budget-friendly suggestions for improving this build, that would be great. I’m likely around £150 and working fewer hours due to a work injury. Thanks in advance! Dekki
It seems like you're considering a 4790K or 4770K motherboard. You'll need all the threads unless you're able to fit more into a smaller setup like a 1600AF build, a used B350-450 motherboard, or even an A320 board.
Noctua NH-U12s mentioned, my 8GB is using dual channel HyperX. Checked out 16GB options but tough to find a good price. Everywhere I look, DDR3 prices match DDR4 and it doesn’t seem worth it. Do you know what a 4790K would be like with these parts? Honestly, this CPU was my first overclock attempt, so I’m still getting the hang of it.
My 4790K runs smoothly on allcore 4.6Ghz 1.312v with a single 120mm radiator. (70-72°C stress test, up to 80°C max with Encoding incAVX load handling). I’d assume most thick or well-formed Noctua air coolers would work just as well—better or worse—but none of them would handle it under heavy loads like throttle temps.
I was looking at water cooling my system, like I have plenty of space left in my case (Went from a Micro-ATX case to a mid tower) Although I'm unsure if the hassle of maintenance would be worth the extra performance. I'd probably only run a CPU loop anyway, as my GPU wouldn't gain from watercooling. I don't overclock it or anything like that.