Author Topic: enhancing my computer  (Read 3158 times)

Offline bortas1

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enhancing my computer
« on: April 03, 2021, 11:48:28 PM »
 :salute hey gents just wondering is there anything i could add to my computer to help my out. this is what i have.
maingear vive
motherboard maximus hero 8 z170
iprocesser ntell 4 core i5 6600k 5-6 gen
graphics card  nvidia geforce gtx 1070
memory 18gig
any suggestion would be great, i honently dont think i can upgread muck since my rigs is almost 5 years old but would enjoy ant help
 :salute thank you in advance
bortas :salute :cheers:
sorry for any misspelling late for me to be up for this hairbrianded idea

Offline Bizman

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2021, 02:42:51 AM »
There's nothing you could inexpensively do. Upgrading the processor to an i7-7700k would cost a couple of hundreds used but the improvement in performance would only be about 10%. Upgrading the video card to a GTX 1080 or better would improve your frame rates if you use a 144 Hz 1440p monitor or higher but the cost would be several hundreds for second hand cards.

If you have an HDD as your system drive, upgrading it to an SDD will improve boot time and make programs start faster. It won't improve frame rates but it definitely makes the computer feel more responsive. If you already have a SATA SSD installed, swapping it to an M2 type won't show any visible improvement outside benchmarks.

What you can do is to clean your system. Uninstall any programs and Store Apps you never use, get rid of temporary files and disable unnecessary background processes such as auto-updates and auto-starts of less important programs. That's what I'd start with. Creating a new user profile might also help with the cost of having to transfer all your files from the old to the new one, including game settings and browser saved passwords. That would still keep all your programs installed, though. A clean reinstall is the ultimate way to clean your system. That would also mean you'd have to do the maintenance chores to tame Windows and reinstall all your programs even if you chose the refresh option that saves your files and Store Apps.



Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

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Offline bortas1

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2021, 08:33:44 PM »
 :salute thank you, i have heard of am m2 i dont really understand there use. i have seen some that create new builds use then with ssd and hard drive , oh btw i have both hd and a ssd installed. i guess i should have mentioned that ear;ier.
thank you again
bortas :salute :cheers:

Offline The Fugitive

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2021, 09:10:18 PM »
Are you having issues with the game that makes you think you need an upgrade? Maybe you should explain why your thinking that other than just needing blow some cash that is  :)

Offline guncrasher

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #4 on: April 04, 2021, 11:41:20 PM »
18 gigs of ram? is that unusual?

your puter is slight above mine and i have no problems.


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Offline Bizman

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2021, 01:42:17 AM »
@bortas, simplified put m2 is the next generation ssd. It's faster but with human senses you can't really see the difference in everyday use. If you do heavy video editing or 3d rendering where the files can be very large, the faster file transfer speed can make a difference - if you do those on a daily basis, that is. -Another advantage for m.2 is the size. As it sits flush on the motherboard there's no cables hindering airflow.

@guncrasher, now that you mention it, I really can see the oddity. 2x8 and 2x1 GB would make that possible but it seems there's no 1 GB ddr4 sticks available.  :salute
« Last Edit: April 05, 2021, 03:02:45 AM by Bizman »
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline Vulcan

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2021, 04:07:43 PM »
@guncrasher, now that you mention it, I really can see the oddity. 2x8 and 2x1 GB would make that possible but it seems there's no 1 GB ddr4 sticks available.  :salute

Or 2x8 and 2x4, with 6Gb reserved for the onboard video and he's plugged into that?

Offline guncrasher

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2021, 04:46:09 PM »
Or 2x8 and 2x4, with 6Gb reserved for the onboard video and he's plugged into that?

I believe and somebody correct me but all sticks should be the same speed and ram otherwise it doesn't run at max capacity.


semp
you dont want me to ho, dont point your plane at me.

Offline Easyscor

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2021, 09:24:43 PM »
I've always thought ram sticks needed to be the same size, speed and model for best performance?
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Offline Drano

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2021, 11:11:03 PM »
Yeah mixing sticks isn't a good idea. Best to get at least a 16gb kit of two  matched sticks. NOT two single 8gb sticks, that's not the same thing. If you can afford it, go for 32. If your mobo and RAM supports it use the XMP profile for better performance. Upgrading your RAM is one of the cheapest things you can do to get a little bump out of your system. Kind of an understatement theses days as just about every other component is astronomically expensive.

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Offline Bizman

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2021, 09:31:28 AM »
Or 2x8 and 2x4, with 6Gb reserved for the onboard video and he's plugged into that?
The OP says GTX 1070 and he also apologizes for any misspelling.
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline Drano

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2021, 12:12:16 PM »
He could get to AH 1080p on a monitor I'd think just fine with that RIG. It's not so far down the ladder like it was a P4 or something! Getting the memory straightened out will certainly help. VR would probably be right out tho if only because of the video card. I have a 1060 and VR with that just didn't cut it. Even AH would drift to slide show at times. I upgraded at the time to 2060 and that works fine and in VR too. Built a new PC last year and the idea was to go to a 30 series in the fall when the new cards came out. Yeah but we all know what happened there! Still running the 2060 on a 3900x rig. Dang miners!

I see the specs for that mobo allow for 4 sticks of PC3600 memory and has XMP. As I said last post try to find a decent 16 or 32gb two stick kit of 3600 ram and be sure to enable XMP in the bios. Pretty good rule is that 2 sticks are better than 1 and 2 sticks are better than 4. Not a typo. Go with a pair. And put them in the correct slots. It's important. Check your mobo manual. That will be a good start and be FAR cheaper than trying to update the other components, especially the video card, which you need most after that. They're just godawful expensive right now and not worth putting into that rig IMO.

After that there are other free things you can do to wring out more performance. Cut down on the processes running in the background. Google Blackviper's guides for your OS. It'll give you a list of everything that is running on an install of that OS and if it really needs to be running or not. Killing off a lot of the bs processes in windows can free up a lot of clock cycles and memory. This is SOP on every PC I've had for many years. It works and it's free. After that look at the other services and crap that's running at startup from programs you've installed and try killing them too. EVERYTHING doesn't need to be running in the background eating up your CPU, RAM and net bandwidth phoning home every five minutes while you're playing when you need all the excess horsepower you can get. It's like drag on your plane! If you don't know what a service is, Google it and find out. If it's something stupid, disable it or make it manual start.

You can try overclocking, which is also free, but you should know there are dangers involved with that if you don't know what you're doing. Edjumacate yourself before attempting this. In either the CPU or GPU you'll need superior cooling for starters. Extra testing and monitoring software is a must. If you have the stock cooler on your CPU don't even try it. If you think you can give it a shot, CPU overclocking happens in the BIOS. You'll have to change a lot of settings and voltages. Do not change these if you don't know what they are! It can be tricky and not all rigs respond identically to an OC so don't find settings on the net and blindly plug them in. Could be disastrous! This isn't something that is quickly explained. Google is your friend. Put aside a LOT of time for testing. No magic way of doing it.

Overclocking the video card is a lot easier. MSI Afterburner will do it almost automatically. Check it out.

Just a couple of things you can do to wring out what extra performance you can get out of that older PC. It's basically what I've done to stretch from one rig to another not being one that builds a PC every other year.
My last rig before the 3900x was a 2010 build and has been "retired" to the wife's work from home PC. All stock now for longevity.


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Offline Bizman

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2021, 12:31:39 PM »
Good rule of thumb for the RAM, with an update: In a recent Finnish magazine they tested several RAM speeds and combinations. True, they work better in pairs. Busted, they don't work any faster as one or two pairs. The advantage of a single pair is the option to add another pair withouth having to change them all.

The system should run AH as such very well. Mine keeps the FPS at a solid 60 on a 2560*1600 monitor, it's a couple of years older i7-4790 with 16 GB and a GTX 980. I was offered an i5-6600K with mobo and ram for next to nothing but as it wouldn't have brought any real oomph to my system I thought it wasn't worth the hassle of rebuilding and reinstalling. Higher end CPU's have stood the test of time surprisingly well!
Quote from: BaldEagl, applies to myself, too
I've got an older system by today's standards that still runs the game well by my standards.

Kotisivuni

Offline Drano

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2021, 01:40:08 PM »
Oh yeah the i7-2600K machine from 2010 would run AH on a 1080p monitor just fine. Never had one at a higher res until now so can't speak to that.
"Drano"
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FSO flying with the 412th Friday Night Volunteer Group

Offline SIK1

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Re: enhancing my computer
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2021, 01:58:44 PM »
I'm running almost an identical machine. Still just running one HDD.

Asus z170 pro gaming mobo
i5 6600k
gtx 1080
16Gb ram

It runs AH on a 32", 1440p, 144hz monitor just fine for me.

 :salute
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