Help me upgrade ShyShy's PC

[iomegajaz]

Current build: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/jhYnTH

We bought AC:Unity recently, only to find that it won't run on the current build. Never mind that it meets the game's published requirements... Boo!

Anyway, in the above build, what is the weakest link? This is for light casual gaming. We NEVER buy new AAA games (as evidenced by the recent purchase of a 2014 title) but for the games we do buy, we would like to play them at high settings.

Happy to hear all comments and feedback. Thanks, y'all.

[mike-db]

The only thing that screams to me is the CPU. It can't be your 750 Ti, mine handles much more demanding games than Assassins Creed Unity with ease.

Seeing as I assume you wont want to pay for an i5 this might do you:

http://www.newegg.com/global/au/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117448

[iomegajaz]

Are you sure that's any better than the G3258? http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentiu...-Pentium-G3258

Maybe I should double the RAM..?

[Aminifu]

I suggest overclocking the g3258 to at least 4GHz and getting a 256 GB SSD (connected to a SATA III port) for the OS and your games. Keep the Western Digital drive for bulk storage of music, video, and document files and apps that don't need to run at high speed. 8GB of RAM should be enough, but adding RAM is a low cost way of gaining a little more performance.

Your WD hard drive and stock speed CPU probably have the lowest Windows Experience Index (WEI) scores relative to your RAM and GPU. The WEI is not the best measure of performance, but it does indicate the relative strengths and weaknesses of those 4 components.

[iomegajaz]

Thanks.

What I'm concluding is that the CPU is the weakest link in what is a fairly weak chain, and that the first and easiest port of call may be to overclock it—something I've never done before, so that could be fun.

FWIW, I totally misread the GPU Boss page comparing the [game's minimum] GTX 680 to the GTX 750 Ti [that I have]. The "real world" benchmarks tell the story.

Mike, I've been advised that the CPU Boss comparison page that I linked to only really considers per-core or single-core performance, and since the G3258 has only two cores compared to, say, the 4 cores of the i5-2400, it's not a valuable comparison.

I'm learning that this particular game is one resource-hungry mofo. It should be noted that AC:Unity is not the only game that I want to be playable, so designing the build specifically to suit this one game could be misguided. That said, if modern games are more and more similar in their system requirements, using a resource hog as a benchmark might not be a bad idea.

Please feel free to add any other suggestions.

[iomegajaz]

Maybe my shitty HDD is to blame..? It's not actually the WD HDD that I included in the above-linked build; rather, it's a hybrid that I bought from Kogan (I couldn't find it in the partpicker lists), with the following words seemingly randomly thrown into its name:

Seagate 1TB 3.5" Desktop Solid State Hybrid Drives 8G NAND Flast + 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

edit: I think it's this one: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product/...ve-st1000dx001

Could the 8GB of SSD hybridness be having a negative impact?

[fc*uk]

In anything that I have read, any size of SSD, hybrid or not, does not have a negative impact on system performance.

i would focus on the CPU as the biggest limitation...

[iomegajaz]

After much frustration, I finally managed to update the game to the latest patch (1.5.0) and the problems seem to have disappeared. Even on the highest graphics settings, no freeze-lag from the few minutes of running around that I did.

Still need to have ShyShy Jr give it a proper going-over, actually doing missions and being chased etc., but I'm hopeful that the game update has gone a long way to fixing the problem.

My take-away is that when I do want to upgrade the hardware, my first port of call will be the CPU.

[Psythik]

I'd suggest overclocking your CPU first as well. Thankfully yours can easily reach 4GHz.

But if you feel the need to upgrade, you should go with the i5-4690. It's compatible with your motherboard's socket and powerful to last for many years to come.

As for the graphics card, an RX 480 or GTX 1070 would be a massive upgrade from that 750ti. At least 3-4x the performance if not more. Both should be widely available for a decent price by the time you decide to upgrade.

Lastly, it couldn't hurt to get an SSD as well. I had no idea what I was missing out on until I bought one. Using a PC without an SSD feels like working on an Apple ][ now.

[iomegajaz]

I've overclocked it to a seemingly stable 4.2 GHz.

Folks have suggested the i5-4690, which I guess is in the same ballpark as the 4790. Being cheap, I was thinking that I could maybe get away with an i5-2400 instead (about 80 AUD on ebay), saving myself ~$200 and still being… okay… until it comes time to upgrade the motherboard (etc).

Those same folks have also suggested the GTX 1070 as the next big upgrade after an i5. Great minds.

[Aminifu]

I've overclocked it to a seemingly stable 4.2 GHz.

...

Since you are new to overclocking, I suggest you download and install the 32bit or 64bit version of HWiNFO that matches your OS. It is a free app that monitors and shows in real time the current, min, max, and average voltage, speed, temperature, and other parameters associated with your various hardware components.

Also download and run some free benchmark and/or stress test apps (or just play the game) with HWiNFO running, to make sure your components (mainly the overclocked CPU) are stable and stay within max operating limits (mainly the CPU's temperature). Max limits for each component are available on the internet. If the CPU is getting too hot, you will need to get a more powerful cooler for it or reduce the overclock.

[iomegajaz]

Having done no upgrades since starting this thread, for various reasons, I'm now interested in spending a small amount on this.

Is a used i5-4690 for 150 AUD a good/bad idea? Is there a better bang to be had for equivalent bucks?

[iomegajaz]

No takers?

[Psythik]

I couldn't even tell you anymore. Haven't been keeping up with the latest tech, unfortunately.

[iomegajaz]

Updated build (once the parts arrive): https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/w4gW2V

Changes: i5-4690, Geforce GTX 1650 Phoenix 4GB OC, 2x8GB RAM (the board's maximum).

How many years behind the curve am I now? Probably more than in 2016.