I've been dealing with some issues on my rig lately. My setup includes a Ryzen 5 3600, a GTX 1660 Super that's getting a bit old (around 6 years), and I'm using an MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX motherboard with 16GB of DDR4 RAM at 2666 MHz. The problem arises when I game; the GTX 1660 Super crashes, giving me a black screen and ramping the fans to full speed, although the PC stays powered on. I've tried cleaning my drivers and reducing core and memory clocks, but the crashes persist. Unfortunately, I can't afford a new GPU right now due to high prices, so I'm contemplating selling my Ryzen 5 3600 and upgrading temporarily to a Ryzen 7 5700G, relying on its integrated graphics for a few months. I have a few questions: Is the 5700G a reasonable temporary fix? What kind of performance hit will I take for long-term gaming when I eventually add a dedicated GPU? Will my 2666 MHz RAM hinder the integrated graphics performance? And are there any compatibility concerns with using the 5700G on my current motherboard (assuming I flash the BIOS)?
2 Answers
If your GPU is starting to show its age, it's possible that old thermal paste might not be helping. Have you checked the temperatures while under load? Sometimes just refreshing the thermal paste can do wonders.
Even with good core temps, degraded thermal pads could definitely cause unexpected crashes. It’s worth looking into that too.
Honestly, you'd probably be better off investing in a low-end GPU rather than switching CPUs for integrated graphics. Your motherboard can handle any AM4 CPU, but if you're spending a couple hundred on a CPU, why not just put that towards a decent GPU? Integrated graphics are typically not great for gaming and might really struggle with modern titles. Before deciding to swap components, I'd recommend finding a clear fix for your current GPU.
I replaced the thermal paste not too long ago, and temps are decent—around 45°C under load. The hotspot hits 62°C, so it seems like cooling is not the issue.