Looking to upgrade my CPU for a little performance boost

[Dr. House]

Nothing major, just a little upgrade so I can run games like Rust and Tarkov smoother with more stable FPS and no stutters or framedrops. I believe the issue lies in my CPU, but I am not quite sure since I am really a computer noob! :D

These are my specs:

Motherboard: H510M-A PRO
GPU: AMD RX 6600
CPU: Intel i5-10400F

What do you guys think? Should I need to upgrade to a new CPU or does it need to be a new GPU aswell?

[Dr. House]

I heard some CPU's won't work well with any motherboard, so I would like some advice just in case the CPU is causing the issues that if I were to get a new CPU, does it need a new motherboard? And is it really the CPU causing issues or is my GPU outdated? I think the RX 6600 is great.

Rust for example runs like absolute crap but Tarkov on the other hand is okay, some stutters sometimes and graphics on low. I have a 165hz monitor but it doesn't feel like the frame rate is smooth. Sorry for the cluttered typing, I'm a bit tired mind u :p

[Dr. House]

Most games run pretty smoothly, I can't complain, but I would really like to play these two titles and make them more playable (especially Rust!).

[A&A]

the thing is
I really don't know that else you can put on a motherboard that is likely to prevent you from using the full potential of a better one.

[Illusion of Progress]

I know nothing about Tarkov or Rust, but I constantly see those two (the first especially) come up when people mention CPUs and it seems from all the comments I see to be CPU limited. So probably need fast core performance.

Any in-platform upgrade will be limited in that regard in what improvement it provides. You're limited to 10th and 11th generation CPUs and the 11th generation isn't much faster (sometimes it was a regression). The 8th to 11th generation was all pretty mild in core speed improvements; Intel was mostly panicking and increasing core/thread counts in response to Ryzen at that time. The 12th generation was a pretty big uplift, but I wouldn't buy into the LGA 1700 platform at this point unless I was buying a $160 12600KF, and even then I'd probably skip that and spend the extra $30 to $40 for the 5700X3D on AM4. Ideally, you'd be looking at AM5 though.

Whether you want to make a "somewhat early" platform upgrade (10th generation is aging performance but still has a lot of life left in it) for two games if everything else plays smoothly is up to you. If those games are truly CPU heavy and/or unoptimized, even the fastest ones might not avoid stutters entirely.

[Dr. House]

Originally posted by Illusion of Progress:

I know nothing about Tarkov or Rust, but I constantly see those two (the first especially) come up when people mention CPUs and it seems from all the comments I see to be CPU limited. So probably need fast core performance.

Any in-platform upgrade will be limited in that regard in what improvement it provides. You're limited to 10th and 11th generation CPUs and the 11th generation isn't much faster (sometimes it was a regression). The 8th to 11th generation was all pretty mild in core speed improvements; Intel was mostly panicking and increasing core/thread counts in response to Ryzen at that time. the 12th generation was a pretty big uplift, but I wouldn't buy into the LGA 1700 platform at this point unless I was buying a $160 12600KF, and even then I'd probably skip that and spend the extra $30 to $40 for the 5700X3D on AM4. Ideally, you'd be looking at AM5 though.

Whether you want to make a "somewhat early" platform upgrade (10th generation is aging performance but still has a lot of life left in it) for two games is up to you. If those games are truly CPU heavy and/or unoptimized, even the fastest ones might not avoid stutters entirely.

Yeah that's exactly what I thought! It's a pretty hefty sum to pay for a few games and I'm already saving up some money for a big upgrade in the future (maybe in a year or a year and a half), therefore I was kinda contemplating if it made sense to upgrade my CPU in the meantime with a cheapish option before I commit for a big upgrade just to enjoy a year or a year and a half of gaming with some more performance! Putting a spoiler on my old VW Golf so to speak lol

[Illusion of Progress]

Yeah, in a couple/few years you would see much more worthwhile options. AMD will probably have its last AM5 (or first AM^) options out, and Intel will be on its next platform (or next-next platform) by then.

Unless you find a 1x700+ for $50 or something, any money you put into that will be a small uplift and not worth the price. What you have now is "fine" (my opinion, but the only opinion that matters is your own since you're the one using it), and if you really want performance for those two games, you'd be better off doing an early platform upgrade. Much more costly though, but at least you'd see bigger uplifts.

[Wichtelman]

is that pc a pre built system?
the motherboard has no heatsinks and just 2 ram slots...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGzc0lsjLiE

you can check how much fps you would get with a better gpu but smooth gameplay can also depend on ram or your internet connection and so on...

[Guydodge]

a 10700k and a mid range GPU could give you massive gains as long as your
power supply and ram are sufficient.

[Carlsberg]

Full specs from gpuz will get you a much better informed response and maybe help to spend a little more wisely.

[Dr. House]

Originally posted by Wichtelman:

is that pc a pre built system?
the motherboard has no heatsinks and just 2 ram slots...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGzc0lsjLiE

you can check how much fps you would get with a better gpu but smooth gameplay can also depend on ram or your internet connection and so on...

Yes the PC was a pre build, howd u know?

[r.linder]

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

Originally posted by Wichtelman:

is that pc a pre built system?
the motherboard has no heatsinks and just 2 ram slots...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGzc0lsjLiE

you can check how much fps you would get with a better gpu but smooth gameplay can also depend on ram or your internet connection and so on...

Yes the PC was a pre build, howd u know?

H510 is pretty standard for pre-built machines, motherboards and power supplies are usually where OEMs like to cheap out the most on

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

I heard some CPU's won't work well with any motherboard, so I would like some advice just in case the CPU is causing the issues that if I were to get a new CPU, does it need a new motherboard? And is it really the CPU causing issues or is my GPU outdated? I think the RX 6600 is great.

Rust for example runs like absolute crap but Tarkov on the other hand is okay, some stutters sometimes and graphics on low. I have a 165hz monitor but it doesn't feel like the frame rate is smooth. Sorry for the cluttered typing, I'm a bit tired mind u :p

You're definitely not gonna be running an i9-11900K off of that motherboard, only CPUs really feasible are the 10900/F, 11400/F, 11700/F, and 11900/F, anything less isn't enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, but even then, you'd have to get one of those CPUs for the lowest price possible for the purchase to make sense.

Lowest uplift for one of those options I listed is 15% in single core performance and 30+% in multi core performance. 11th gen i7 or i9 would be best bet for performance, i5-11400F is a half decent upgrade, 10900F would give around the same uplift as the 11400F so it's not the best choice despite it offering 4 more cores and 8 more threads, because if the 11400F is cheaper, then the 10900F is almost pointless.

[Dr. House]

Originally posted by r.linder:

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

Yes the PC was a pre build, howd u know?

H510 is pretty standard for pre-built machines, motherboards and power supplies are usually where OEMs like to cheap out the most on

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

I heard some CPU's won't work well with any motherboard, so I would like some advice just in case the CPU is causing the issues that if I were to get a new CPU, does it need a new motherboard? And is it really the CPU causing issues or is my GPU outdated? I think the RX 6600 is great.

Rust for example runs like absolute crap but Tarkov on the other hand is okay, some stutters sometimes and graphics on low. I have a 165hz monitor but it doesn't feel like the frame rate is smooth. Sorry for the cluttered typing, I'm a bit tired mind u :p

You're definitely not gonna be running an i9-11900K off of that motherboard, only CPUs really feasible are the 10900/F, 11400/F, 11700/F, and 11900/F, anything less isn't enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, but even then, you'd have to get one of those CPUs for the lowest price possible for the purchase to make sense.

Lowest uplift for one of those options I listed is 15% in single core performance and 30+% in multi core performance. 11th gen i7 or i9 would be best bet for performance, i5-11400F is a half decent upgrade, 10900F would give around the same uplift as the 11400F so it's not the best choice despite it offering 4 more cores and 8 more threads, because if the 11400F is cheaper, then the 10900F is almost pointless.

Thank you for the answer, the i5-11400f in my country would cost me around 90€, is it worth the money compared to what I get?

[r.linder]

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

Originally posted by r.linder:

H510 is pretty standard for pre-built machines, motherboards and power supplies are usually where OEMs like to cheap out the most on


You're definitely not gonna be running an i9-11900K off of that motherboard, only CPUs really feasible are the 10900/F, 11400/F, 11700/F, and 11900/F, anything less isn't enough of an upgrade to justify the cost, but even then, you'd have to get one of those CPUs for the lowest price possible for the purchase to make sense.

Lowest uplift for one of those options I listed is 15% in single core performance and 30+% in multi core performance. 11th gen i7 or i9 would be best bet for performance, i5-11400F is a half decent upgrade, 10900F would give around the same uplift as the 11400F so it's not the best choice despite it offering 4 more cores and 8 more threads, because if the 11400F is cheaper, then the 10900F is almost pointless.

Thank you for the answer, the i5-11400f in my country would cost me around 90€, is it worth the money compared to what I get?

If that's the cheapest option and there's a big price gap between the rest then it's certainly not bad

Make sure to check the second hand market, might be able to score the i7 or i9

[Dr. House]

Originally posted by r.linder:

Originally posted by The Rizzler™:

Thank you for the answer, the i5-11400f in my country would cost me around 90€, is it worth the money compared to what I get?

If that's the cheapest option and there's a big price gap between the rest then it's certainly not bad

Make sure to check the second hand market, might be able to score the i7 or i9

What should I be paying attention to when buying a 2nd hand cpu? Is there a lot that could go wrong? :p

[_I_]

H510M-A PRO
this board is really going to hold back any stronger cpu
no vrm heatsinks, 7 phases total,
probably 4 to cpu cores ~80w max to cpu cores before it will throttle

keep the stock cooler on it to cool the board to help prevent it from throttling

the i5 10400f may even be too much for the board to properly handle at full load
intel says 65w, but newer cpus can draw over double what they say

the intel h x10 boards are really designed for office tasks and an i3 or pentium g cpu