GPU, CPU And PSU Upgrade And Bottleneck Questions And Other Queries

[8tyone]

Hi Techpowerup'ians,
Asking this for a friend, his system specs. at the moment:

AMD R5 Ryzen 5600X + Deepcool AK400
Asrock B550 Pro4
MSI Mech RX 6600
2x 16GB 3600MHz C18 RAM
TeamGroup MP33 Pro 1TB SSD + 4x 7200rpm 4TB HDD's
CM Force 500 Cabinet
Acer Nitro QG271 Monitor
Silverstone 650 Watts PSU Antec Atom 650w
Cyberpower 2200VA UPS

My friend is a single player only guy, he buys new COD games to play only the campaign. I mean he is very single player. Anyway, for the last 3 months he has been asking my help for upgrading his PC (which he got only last year, September I think), he just could not wait anymore. I told him to wait for atleast AMD's 7800/7700 series comes out but no, he almost bought an RTX 4060Ti 8GB graphics card but I was able to stop him. And so I have the following questions, please do help, thank you:

1) Since he is a single player only gamer, so I was of the opinion that any graphics card he buys should have VRAM of 12GB or more, am I correct in thinking like this?
2) We were leaning towards 6700xt/6750xt class of graphics cards but opted out because of it being only 30-32% faster (vs RX 6600), and he would have been forced to buy a new PSU because his current one seems really bad.
3) For GPU I am really leaning towards an RX 6800 class of graphics cards (almost 2x fast as RX 6600), it has 16GBs of VRAM so that's another plus point. The no-XT version costs 51900 INR and the XT version is 53899 INR, a difference of 1999 INR. Get the XT or non-XT version?
4) ...but there's the RTX 4070 (non-Ti) with just 12GB VRAM but costing 58399 INR. He plays Last Of Us which takes up/allocates 11G VRAM at Ultra at just 1080p, 12GB vram doesnt look good here. 6800xt vs 4070 (non-Ti), please help us decide? We do not like DLSS, FSR, RTX (not a priority, no hate) and Frame Regen.
5) He wants to keep price at a minimum for all the upgrade parts. He has a 1080p display, would that cause a bottleneck? Would the Ryzen 5600x be enough (@1080p)? Games like, "The Last Of Us" can use 16 threads! Ryzen 5800X3D is really costly here but at half the price there is the Ryzen 5700x (which has 16 threads), get the 5700x instead?
6) As for CPU (5700x) cooling, would changing the default fan of the Deepcool AK400 with Silverstone Air Blazer 120rw (93.97CFM), lower CPU temperature by about 5C? Or not needed at all, he is not going to OC.
7) I have calculated PSU wattage at extreme.outervision.com and it said a good PSU with 766W. To be safe I am leaning more towards an 850W PSU unit. The PSU budget is less than 8000 INR. Please help me choose one from, amazon.in, flipkart.com or pcpricetracker.in

I know this is a lot, thanks for reading all the questions. Please do reply...

 

[Deleted member 229121]

5800X3D is the best choice, but at double the cost there is nothing wrong with going 5700X

As for 6800XT/4070 - depends on what model PSU that is.
650W would be OK if it's a high quality unit and not fine if it's meh - the 4070 will not be an issue though either way (850W would certainly cover things if he wants room to expand).

Also he might want to consider a new monitor as well, 1080p/75hz isn't going to be taking advantage of either card.
1080p 240hz or 1440p 144/165hz would be good.

 

[Frick]

Silverstone makes decent power supplies.

And honestly for 1080p 75Hz the biggest difference with a new GPU (which is the component worth upgrading) will be lower noise as the card will not have to keep working as hard to keep up the frames.

Why does he want to upgrade? That looks like a decent 1080p system to me.

And just because a game uses 12GB of VRAM it doesn't mean it requires 12GB VRAM.

CPU upgrade will do nothing.

If he is super intent on upgrading, yeah sure a 6800 or 6800xt, whichever is cheapest.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

Generally yes, but it's cutting things close (6800XT spikes over 300W).
Not every model from a given brand is equal, if it were me I'd want to make sure first.

Agree on CPU, 5600X to 5700X won't do much w the setup (for games), though the X3D would (big improvements in 1% lows)

 

[8tyone]

As for 6800XT/4070 - depends on what model PSU that is.
650W would be OK if it's a high quality unit and not fine if it's meh - the 4070 will not be an issue though either way (850W would certainly cover things if he wants room to expand).

Also he might want to consider a new monitor as well, 1080p/75hz isn't going to be taking advantage of either card.
1080p 240hz or 1440p 144/165hz would be good.

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Wouldnt 1440p resolution put him in the same problem as now he is facing (cannot run at ultra sans the RTX). He really needs Ultra settings.

Silverstone makes decent power supplies.

And honestly for 1080p 75Hz the biggest difference with a new GPU (which is the component worth upgrading) will be lower noise as the card will not have to keep working as hard to keep up the frames

If he is super intent on upgrading, yeah sure a 6800 or 6800xt, whichever is cheapest.

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Yes he is super intent on upgrading. He say he cannot play RDR2, TLoU + some other games at ultra.

I am saying this again he plays only single player games.

 

[tabascosauz]

Hi Techpowerup'ians,
Asking this for a friend, his system specs. at the moment:

AMD R5 Ryzen 5600X + Deepcool AK400
Asrock B550 Pro4
MSI Mech RX 6600
2x 16GB 3600MHz C18 RAM
TeamGroup MP33 Pro 1TB SSD + 4x 7200rpm 4TB HDD's
CM Force 500 Cabinet
Acer Nitro QG271 Monitor
Silverstone 650 Watts PSU Antec Atom 650w
Cyberpower 2200VA UPS

My friend is a single player only guy, he buys new COD games to play only the campaign. I mean he is very single player. Anyway, for the last 3 months he has been asking my help for upgrading his PC (which he got only last year, September I think), he just could not wait anymore. I told him to wait for atleast AMD's 7800/7700 series comes out but no, he almost bought an RTX 4060Ti 8GB graphics card but I was able to stop him. And so I have the following questions, please do help, thank you:

1) Since he is a single player only gamer, so I was of the opinion that any graphics card he buys should have VRAM of 12GB or more, am I correct in thinking like this?
2) We were leaning towards 6700xt/6750xt class of graphics cards but opted out because of it being only 30-32% faster (vs RX 6600), and he would have been forced to buy a new PSU because his current one seems really bad.
3) For GPU I am really leaning towards an RX 6800 class of graphics cards (almost 2x fast as RX 6600), it has 16GBs of VRAM so that's another plus point. The no-XT version costs 51900 INR and the XT version is 53899 INR, a difference of 1999 INR. Get the XT or non-XT version?
4) ...but there's the RTX 4070 (non-Ti) with just 12GB VRAM but costing 58399 INR. He plays Last Of Us which takes up/allocates 11G VRAM at Ultra at just 1080p, 12GB vram doesnt look good here. 6800xt vs 4070 (non-Ti), please help us decide? We do not like DLSS, FSR, RTX (not a priority, no hate) and Frame Regen.
5) He wants to keep price at a minimum for all the upgrade parts. He has a 1080p display, would that cause a bottleneck? Would the Ryzen 5600x be enough (@1080p)? Games like, "The Last Of Us" can use 16 threads! Ryzen 5800X3D is really costly here but at half the price there is the Ryzen 5700x (which has 16 threads), get the 5700x instead?
6) As for CPU (5700x) cooling, would changing the default fan of the Deepcool AK400 with Silverstone Air Blazer 120rw (93.97CFM), lower CPU temperature by about 5C? Or not needed at all, he is not going to OC.
7) I have calculated PSU wattage at extreme.outervision.com and it said a good PSU with 766W. To be safe I am leaning more towards an 850W PSU unit. The PSU budget is less than 8000 INR. Please help me choose one from, amazon.in, flipkart.com or pcpricetracker.in

I know this is a lot, thanks for reading all the questions. Please do reply...

The INR price for 6800XT is not great in 2023. The INR price for 6800 is pretty bad. You will not OC the 6800 to reach the 6800XT - it is cut down so much that it could very well be considered a different die. 6800 has excellent efficiency and same memory subsystem but that's about it. Aside from cases where 8GB is actually a huge gamebreaking problem (not as common as you might think) where its 16GB VRAM can save it, 6800 is through and through still in the same class as the 3070 Ti.

As has been mentioned everywhere a billion times, VRAM allocation =! VRAM usage. By that logic you can run a 7900XT in MW2 and start shitting your pants when you see 19.8GB VRAM allocation. When you actually run out of VRAM, the effect is not subtle or unnoticeable - it's not just a loss of a little bit of performance here or there.

I would go for the 6800XT unless you are strictly limited to a very compact SFF environment that needs a dual fan or FE 4070, which doesn't seem like the case. The 4070 price looks about normal, which is to say not great, but at least not as misplaced as the 6800 pricing.

5700X does not require any extra cooling considerations. It is one of the coolest running and most efficient products in the entire stack.

If you are going to upgrade, 5800X3D is the ticket. No point wasting your money on a 5700X thinking it'll make a difference over the 5600X. For the 5800X3D, in games alone the AK400 will still be fine, but you might want to step up to something like the AK620 or PA120, it's not in the same league as the 5700X.

 

[Hyderz]

Does he have a budget?

 

[Frick]

Agree on CPU, 5600X to 5700X won't do much w the setup (for games), though the X3D would (big improvements in 1% lows)

Even for <75FPS and a midrange GPU?

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Wouldnt 1440p resolution put him in the same problem as now he is facing (cannot run at ultra sans the RTX). He really needs Ultra settings.

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Yes he is super intent on upgrading. He say he cannot play RDR2, TLoU + some other games at ultra.

I am saying this again he plays only single player games.

The games don't get better, sadly.

Anyway, yeah that PSU is probably not exactly stellar. And at this point an actual budget is probably a good thing to have. I'd definitely look into getting a PSU if he's getting a 6800. The 4060ti is ... not great, but definitely faster than what he has now, and it actually might be a decent idea depeding on price and whether or not he's considering getting a higher resolution monitor, and how long he intends to keep the computer and for how long he "needs" to play everything at ultra. If the used market is sane a 3060ti might be a good idea.

 

[8tyone]

The INR price for 6800XT is not great in 2023. The INR price for 6800 is pretty bad. You will not OC the 6800 to reach the 6800XT - it is cut down so much that it could very well be considered a different die. 6800 has excellent efficiency and same memory subsystem but that's about it. Aside from cases where 8GB is actually a huge gamebreaking problem (not as common as you might think) where its 16GB VRAM can save it, 6800 is through and through still in the same class as the 3070 Ti.

Thank you.

As has been mentioned everywhere a billion times, VRAM allocation =! VRAM usage. By that logic you can run a 7900XT in MW2 and start shitting your pants when you see 19.8GB VRAM allocation. When you actually run out of VRAM, the effect is not subtle or unnoticeable - it's not just a loss of a little bit of performance here or there.

Yes Sir, I have come across vram usage and allocation, but theres always a fight when this topic comes up and I am not sure anymore.

When you actually run out of VRAM, the effect is not subtle or unnoticeable - it's not just a loss of a little bit of performance here or there.

What do you mean by this? The game just crashes?

The INR price for 6800XT is not great in 2023. The INR price for 6800 is pretty bad. You will not OC the 6800 to reach the 6800XT - it is cut down so much that it could very well be considered a different die. 6800 has excellent efficiency and same memory subsystem but that's about it. Aside from cases where 8GB is actually a huge gamebreaking problem (not as common as you might think) where its 16GB VRAM can save it, 6800 is through and through still in the same class as the 3070 Ti.

As has been mentioned everywhere a billion times, VRAM allocation =! VRAM usage. By that logic you can run a 7900XT in MW2 and start shitting your pants when you see 19.8GB VRAM allocation. When you actually run out of VRAM, the effect is not subtle or unnoticeable - it's not just a loss of a little bit of performance here or there.

I would go for the 6800XT unless you are strictly limited to a very compact SFF environment that needs a dual fan or FE 4070, which doesn't seem like the case. The 4070 price looks about normal, which is to say not great, but at least not as misplaced as the 6800 pricing.

5700X does not require any extra cooling considerations. It is one of the coolest running and most efficient products in the entire stack.

If you are going to upgrade, 5800X3D is the ticket. No point wasting your money on a 5700X thinking it'll make a difference over the 5600X. For the 5800X3D, in games alone the AK400 will still be fine, but you might want to step up to something like the AK620 or PA120, it's not in the same league as the 5700X.

If you are forced to choose and your currency is INR, which one would you choose, 6800xt or 4070, if single player games are your only priority.

Does he have a budget?

The max budget should be 79,299 INR (including CPU, PSU upgrade). This can be extended if and only if RTX 4070 is recommended or needed. Lower the price the better without going into RX 6750/4060Ti class of performance.

 

[tabascosauz]

Thank you.

Yes Sir, I have come across vram usage and allocation, but theres always a fight when this topic comes up and I am not sure anymore.

What do you mean by this? The game just crashes?

If you are forced to choose and your currency is INR, which one would you choose, 6800xt or 4070, if single player games are your only priority.

The max budget should be 79,299 INR (including CPU, PSU upgrade). This can be extended if and only if RTX 4070 is recommended or needed. Lower the price the better without going into RX 6750/4060Ti class of performance.

I'm not asking anyone to start a fight about VRAM. I'm telling you to be sure of what you (ie. your friend) need. Anyone can watch a million Youtube videos about how the world is coming to an end for 6/8/12GB GPUs, but all that matters is the games you actually play and how you use the GPU.

I get the singleplayer sentiment. If he literally plays COD singleplayer, then 4070 is out of the equation because Geforce cards suck in MW2 and will probably continue to suck. Even for a wider range of games, I'd still go for the 6800XT, unless he just happens to be a huge RTX aficionado. The 4070 just doesn't sell itself very well if efficiency and RTX are not at the top of your list of priorities.

Just get a decent PSU to err on the safe side.

 

[Frick]

The max budget should be 79,299 INR (including CPU, PSU upgrade). This can be extended if and only if RTX 4070 is recommended or needed. Lower the price the better without going into RX 6750/4060Ti class of performance.

Then get the 6800XT and whatever PSU can be had for the rest. A link to the shop he's buying from would be helpful.

 

[QuietBob]

Antec Atom B (yellow/lime label) and Atom V (teal label) are among the worst rated PSUs. If your friend happens to have one of these, replacing it should be a top priority.

I would also advise getting a 16GB card if he's into single player games and demands ultra quality. With all settings maxed out memory utilization will be high regardless of resolution. There is also no denying that future games will have higher VRAM requirements when Unreal Engine 5 gets widely adopted.

If RT isn't a must, the 6800XT is neck and neck with the RTX4070 at 1080p. But it shows some of the highest power spikes, necessitating a bigger power supply.

CPU-wise, only the 5800X3D makes sense on AM4 when upgrading from a 5600X.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Wouldnt 1440p resolution put him in the same problem as now he is facing (cannot run at ultra sans the RTX). He really needs Ultra settings.

Sorry just updated, his PSU is actually Antec Atom 650w.
Yes he is super intent on upgrading. He say he cannot play RDR2, TLoU + some other games at ultra.

I am saying this again he plays only single player games.

As others have stated here, that PSU should get replaced with the GPU upgrade if going 6800XT. Thank you for updating this.

1440P with a 6800XT will do quite well, but if no matter the game it must be all Ultra settings go for a 1080/240Hz panel.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-radeon-rx-6800-xt/24.html

Even for <75FPS and a midrange GPU?

In that specific scenario no, not as much.
Thinking down the road when hopefully that display can get replaced; it's kind of a waste to limit a 6800XT to 75hz

 

[Udyr]

This setup doesn't require an upgrade with a 1080p 75hz monitor. That would be a waste of money. Get a decent monitor first and build around it when more money is available.

You friend doesn't "need" ultra settings; your friend WANTS his eye candy, but if the itch is too much to handle, the suggestions provided above are great.

 

[dgianstefani]

5800X3D
4070
New PSU.
Nothing at 1080p will be VRAM bottlenecked, doubtful even at 1440p.

 

[Luke357]

To be honest I would just stick with the same setup he currently has if nothing is running poorly. A 5600X with RX 6600 @ 1080p is a very balanced and reasonably performant 1080p machine. That Antec PSU should be fine with a RX 6800 if he just really wants to upgrade. Again though, I would leave it as is unless a game is running poorly.

 

[8tyone]

I'm not asking anyone to start a fight about VRAM. I'm telling you to be sure of what you (ie. your friend) need.

I meant no disprespect at all. I am just not sure, I have researched a bit but I am dumb.

...I get the singleplayer sentiment. If he literally plays COD singleplayer...

Not just COD but other games too, but single player.

I get the singleplayer sentiment. If he literally plays COD singleplayer, then 4070 is out of the equation because Geforce cards suck in MW2 and will probably continue to suck. Even for a wider range of games, I'd still go for the 6800XT, unless he just happens to be a huge RTX aficionado. The 4070 just doesn't sell itself very well if efficiency and RTX are not at the top of your list of priorities.

Just get a decent PSU to err on the safe side.

Yes he is not an RTX afficianado, I mean he cannot afford to be. That graph what does it mean? Could you help me choose a PSU from pcpricetracker.in please?

A link to the shop he's buying from would be helpful.

I did link in the shop he is buying in my original post. amazon.in, flipkart.com and pcpricetracker.in

Antec Atom B (yellow/lime label) and Atom V (teal label) are among the worst rated PSUs. If your friend happens to have one of these, replacing it should be a top priority.

I would also advise getting a 16GB card if he's into single player games and demands ultra quality. With all settings maxed out memory utilization will be high regardless of resolution. There is also no denying that future games will have higher VRAM requirements when Unreal Engine 5 gets widely adopted.

If RT isn't a must, the 6800XT is neck and neck with the RTX4070 at 1080p. But it shows some of the highest power spikes, necessitating a bigger power supply.

CPU-wise, only the 5800X3D makes sense on AM4 when upgrading from a 5600X.

Yes he has the Antec Atom yellow label.
About the spikes, help me choose a PSU from pcpricetracker.in, please.

This setup doesn't require an upgrade with a 1080p 75hz monitor. That would be a waste of money. Get a decent monitor first and build around it when more money is available.

You friend doesn't "need" ultra settings; your friend WANTS his eye candy, but if the itch is too much to handle, the suggestions provided above are great.

He is not able to play RDR2, TLoU +other games I do not remember at ultra and he just couldn't wait anymore and has asked my help.

...Again though, I would leave it as is unless a game is running poorly.

Yes I told him the same but theres some truth to his problem too. RDR2 a game from 2019, he is not able to play at ultra. And yes I have told him to lower settings a bit or use FSR but no, he has stopped playing altogether.

 

[Udyr]

He is not able to play RDR2, TLoU +other games I do not remember at ultra and he just couldn't wait anymore and has asked my help.

R5 3600 with 1070ti here: I can play RDR2 and many other games on med or high settings at 1080p/70+ fps without hiccups.

I'm not here to tell anyone what to do with their money, but at 1080p/75hz, it's a big waste of GPU power. Ultra settings is mostly for screenshots. Most people can't tell the difference between high or ultra during active gameplay unless they stop moving and start looking for details.

 

[8tyone]

What about these power supplies, are they any good?
*ANTEC HCG-850 WATTS 80 PLUS BRONZE
*DeepCool PM850D 80 PLUS Gold
*EVGA 850 BQ 850WATT 80 PLUS BRONZE
*Gigabyte P850GM SMPS - 850 Watt 80 Plus Gold
*Gigabyte AORUS P850GM 80+ Gold
These are within the < 8000 INR allocated budget but can be increase to say 8600 INR or more if absolutely necessary.

 

[Udyr]

A link to the shop he's buying from would be helpful.

@8tyone this

 

[8tyone]

I am not here to tell anyone what to do with their money, but at 1080p/75hz, it's a big waste of GPU power.

What if he gets a good 1080p 144hz display? Would that be worth it?
1440p is well outside his budget and he is not sold on the idea too.

Ultra settings is mostly for screenshots. Most people can't tell the difference between high or ultra during active gameplay unless they stop moving and start looking for details.

Yes spoke to him about this, I think he really wants to get some graphics cards. But at the same time not as costly as 4070ti, 4090 too.

@8tyone this

I did in my original post. amazon.in, flipkart.com or shops listed in pcpricetracker.in.

 

[QuietBob]

What about these power supplies, are they any good?
*ANTEC HCG-850 WATTS 80 PLUS BRONZE
*DeepCool PM850D 80 PLUS Gold
*EVGA 850 BQ 850WATT 80 PLUS BRONZE
*Gigabyte P850GM SMPS - 850 Watt 80 Plus Gold
*Gigabyte AORUS P850GM 80+ Gold
These are within the < 8000 INR allocated budget but can be increase to say 8600 INR or more if absolutely necessary.

None of these are worth recommending over the ADATA XPG Core Reactor 850 W. Here's a link to a review on TPU.
This will provide the necessary headroom for the 6800XT, should your friend decide to go with one. It will also offer ample power for any future upgrades.

 

[8tyone]

None of these are worth recommending over the ADATA XPG Core Reactor 850 W. Here's a link to a review on TPU.
This will provide the necessary headroom for the 6800XT, should your friend decide to go with one. It will also offer ample power for any future upgrades.

Ok, seems like a good deal. But can this handle the spikes 6800xt creates that Mr tabascosauz pointed out in his post here?
Also, If you are forced to choose a monitor for your 6800xt, would you choose an 1080p 144hz monitor or 1440p 60hz nonitor for single player only gaming? Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 229121]

Don't get a 60hz 2k panel. If a 144hz/165hz 1440p panel is out of price range go with a higher refresh @ 1080p.

 

[claes]

Or just don’t upgrade the monitor at all until you can afford a fast 1440p monitor and a GPU to support it