Advice on upgrading Mini-ITX for gaming performance - Blu-ray Forum

oddbox83 · 08-06-2019, 04:03 PM

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of opinion on upgrading my Mini-ITX self-build for gaming performance.

It's about 3-4 years old but is a bit slow for casual Steam gaming. I recall giving it decent stuff back then so doesn't appear totally outdated today with processor and RAM still seeming comparable to current standards. I've tried overclocking the RAM which did help but left an unstable system that won't always boot so I've had to clock back to defaults.

I think what's important in the specs:
AMD A8-6500 APU 3.5Ghz
8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 RAM - Was set at 1866, overclocking seems to have made the actual clock speed random in UEFI which has puzzled me. I hope I haven't damaged it.
Asrock FM2A88x ITX board with spare PCIE slot

So, without wanting to go to the expense of a new system, which is going to give me a cost effective yet obvious performance boost in gaming, as the frame rate can get ludicrously low at the moment. Updating the RAM, allocating more to the APU and a higher native clock speed, or getting a dedicated GPU that is compatible with the board. I can't just add more RAM, there are no spare sockets so would have to be a total swap.

I'm thinking the former, but given PC hardware moves so quickly and I'm 3-4 years out of date since this was built I'm a bit lost as to what I should be looking for that is compatible with this system.

Also, I'm not totally familiar with how APUs work when the onboard graphics aren't used, is the full processor and RAM capacity given over to actual system then rather than shared?

Thanks in advance.

oddbox83 · 08-06-2019, 04:21 PM

Update - My processor is FM2, so seems I'm limited to PCIE 2.0
https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A88X-ITX+/

It's looking more like a waste of time, isn't it?

Nick The Slick · 08-08-2019, 04:43 PM

You can still drop a PCIe 3.0 card in there no problem. If it's pcie 2.0x16 you'll definitely be fine as low and midrange gpus can't saturate the bandwidth anyways. With that cpu I'd recommend dropping in an rx 560 or 570. Those will give you substantially better performance than your apu graphics. Don't get anything faster though as you will quickly become cpu limited, especially if your gaming at 1080p or lower. Before sure to check the size of the card against your case for any clearance issues though.

oddbox83 · 08-08-2019, 06:36 PM

Those all look so big. Even if I could fit them in I'd worry about air flow, it runs hot with everything packed in there as it is.

I'd never do MiniITX again, it's so limiting when it comes to upgrade time!

When I've checked it's closer to 5 years old, the components definitely will be at least. So I might put that towards a new build instead, cannibalising this one for the drives. Especially after a few more days of random black screen of death on power on.

It's a 500W PSU I have, this looks like it might still be usable in a newer gaming build that's power efficient? Though I'd worry at almost 5 years of use I should be getting a new one anyway as the actual power output has probably dropped off a bit.

oddbox83 · 08-09-2019, 06:39 PM

Got a GeForce 710 2GB card 2nd hand on impulse as it's small and the price was right. That'll do as a stop gap until I want a whole new system.

It not exactly amazing but I can run the game I'm playing in full 1080 now, and disabling the onboard graphics has the APU running 10-15C lower. The RAM was still giving me trouble, but it's clocked down to auto now it's not needed for shared APU memory.

08-06-2019, 04:03 PM	#1
oddbox83 Blu-ray Champion Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	Advice on upgrading Mini-ITX for gaming performance Hi, I'm looking for a bit of opinion on upgrading my Mini-ITX self-build for gaming performance. It's about 3-4 years old but is a bit slow for casual Steam gaming. I recall giving it decent stuff back then so doesn't appear totally outdated today with processor and RAM still seeming comparable to current standards. I've tried overclocking the RAM which did help but left an unstable system that won't always boot so I've had to clock back to defaults. I think what's important in the specs: AMD A8-6500 APU 3.5Ghz 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 RAM - Was set at 1866, overclocking seems to have made the actual clock speed random in UEFI which has puzzled me. I hope I haven't damaged it. Asrock FM2A88x ITX board with spare PCIE slot So, without wanting to go to the expense of a new system, which is going to give me a cost effective yet obvious performance boost in gaming, as the frame rate can get ludicrously low at the moment. Updating the RAM, allocating more to the APU and a higher native clock speed, or getting a dedicated GPU that is compatible with the board. I can't just add more RAM, there are no spare sockets so would have to be a total swap. I'm thinking the former, but given PC hardware moves so quickly and I'm 3-4 years out of date since this was built I'm a bit lost as to what I should be looking for that is compatible with this system. Also, I'm not totally familiar with how APUs work when the onboard graphics aren't used, is the full processor and RAM capacity given over to actual system then rather than shared? Thanks in advance. Last edited by oddbox83; 08-06-2019 at 04:08 PM.

08-08-2019, 06:36 PM	#4
oddbox83 Blu-ray Champion Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	Those all look so big. Even if I could fit them in I'd worry about air flow, it runs hot with everything packed in there as it is. I'd never do MiniITX again, it's so limiting when it comes to upgrade time! When I've checked it's closer to 5 years old, the components definitely will be at least. So I might put that towards a new build instead, cannibalising this one for the drives. Especially after a few more days of random black screen of death on power on. It's a 500W PSU I have, this looks like it might still be usable in a newer gaming build that's power efficient? Though I'd worry at almost 5 years of use I should be getting a new one anyway as the actual power output has probably dropped off a bit. Last edited by oddbox83; 08-08-2019 at 06:40 PM.

08-06-2019, 04:21 PM	#2
oddbox83 Blu-ray Champion Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	Update - My processor is FM2, so seems I'm limited to PCIE 2.0 https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/FM2A88X-ITX+/ It's looking more like a waste of time, isn't it?

08-08-2019, 04:43 PM	#3
Nick The Slick Expert Member Top contributor Member since:Dec 2011 Location:Kentucky Home Theater Gallery:27 Blu-ray collection:111 Trading Score:2	You can still drop a PCIe 3.0 card in there no problem. If it's pcie 2.0x16 you'll definitely be fine as low and midrange gpus can't saturate the bandwidth anyways. With that cpu I'd recommend dropping in an rx 560 or 570. Those will give you substantially better performance than your apu graphics. Don't get anything faster though as you will quickly become cpu limited, especially if your gaming at 1080p or lower. Before sure to check the size of the card against your case for any clearance issues though.

08-09-2019, 06:39 PM	#5
oddbox83 Blu-ray Champion Member since:Sep 2013 Location:UK	Got a GeForce 710 2GB card 2nd hand on impulse as it's small and the price was right. That'll do as a stop gap until I want a whole new system. It not exactly amazing but I can run the game I'm playing in full 1080 now, and disabling the onboard graphics has the APU running 10-15C lower. The RAM was still giving me trouble, but it's clocked down to auto now it's not needed for shared APU memory.

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