R5 5600 paired with 2133MHz RAM works well for most tasks.
R5 5600 paired with 2133MHz RAM works well for most tasks.
Your setup has a R3 1200 processor and 1x16GB RAM at 2133Mhz. Switching to an R5 5600 would likely not significantly improve performance since your current RAM is already quite high. The main limitation comes from the GPU, which is a strong card but still may struggle with demanding games like ArmA 3 and GMod. The bottleneck isn’t expected to be CPU-related, so you’re safe from that side.
You'll need to check benchmarks. It's possible to operate the chip internal bus faster than RAM, which allows technologies like Infinity Fabric and L3 cache to perform better. This helps maintain performance levels. Usually, they're run together in sync.
It might be achievable via BIOS adjustments. Ryzen Master could potentially assist, though I haven't used it recently. The recommended setting appears to be FCLK, but I'm unsure of the exact location or additional parameters needed. Presently it operates at 1066:1066 to align with RAM speed. With faster RAM such as 3600, aiming for 1800:1800 would be ideal. The 1800 setting is considered optimal for a 3600 MHz processor; you can experiment slightly lower or higher based on your system. This configuration was validated by prominent YouTubers during the Zen2/Zen3 periods, so relevant data exists. Reflecting further, I'm uncertain if this works with first-generation chipsets given how long it's been since they were in use. Overall, I'd recommend opting for a newer CPU—it will provide a noticeable performance boost regardless. Also, running on single-channel RAM won't help; if upgrades aren't feasible, we can revisit this later when conditions improve.
Check the Thaiphoon burner screenshot to assess your RAM. If it looks old, it might be a dual-rank stick—likely around 3200 MHz or less. It could be from a low-end Hynix manufacturer. To ensure better performance, consider purchasing an 8GB stick with a compatible dual-channel RAM module (provide the part number if possible).
I’m going to be completely honest – I grasped very little from both of those answers... Thanks still!
In short, swapping the CPU won’t give you peak performance, but it will still be better than what you have now. The new chip could be at least 50% faster, possibly more. Adjusting a few settings might help a bit, but don’t stress too much—just enjoy it!