I upgraded from an RX 6600 to an RX 7800 XT, but the performance increase has been much smaller than expected. In The Finals at 1440p, I get roughly 100 FPS on Low settings and nearly the same result on Epic settings. Changing the resolution or graphics quality does not seem to make much difference, and I have noticed similar underperformance in Warzone and Bodycam.
I used DDU to remove the previous graphics drivers and performed a clean installation. I also changed my memory from 24GB of DDR4-2400 using 8GB + 16GB sticks to 16GB of DDR4-3400 using a matched 2x8GB kit, but the issue remains.
My system has an RX 7800 XT, Ryzen 7 5700X, Gigabyte B550M DS3H R2 motherboard, and Cooler Master MWE Bronze 750W power supply. What should I check or change?
4 Answers
Warzone can also be limited by the CPU, while Bodycam should generally place more load on the GPU. If the GPU is not reaching close to full utilization in Bodycam, something else is holding it back. Monitor GPU usage, VRAM usage, system RAM usage, CPU usage by individual core, and whether Windows is using the page file. Those readings should help identify whether the problem is the CPU, insufficient RAM, or a software/configuration issue.
The fact that Low and Epic settings produce almost identical FPS strongly suggests the GPU is not the limiting component. The Finals is quite CPU-dependent, especially at higher frame rates, and the RX 6600 may already have been fast enough for the settings you were using. Check GPU usage, CPU usage, per-core CPU usage, temperatures, and clock speeds while playing. A demanding single-player game may show a much larger improvement from the 7800 XT.
Your memory change may actually have made things worse. Going from 24GB to 16GB can cause paging or stuttering if the game and background applications use more than 16GB, even though the new kit is faster. Try reinstalling the 16GB stick alongside the 16GB kit if the motherboard supports it, giving you 32GB total in flex mode, or use a matched 32GB kit. Also make sure the memory’s rated speed is enabled in the BIOS.
A clean driver installation was a good first step, but a fresh Windows installation is another troubleshooting option if the hardware readings look normal. Before doing that, confirm that the monitor is connected to the 7800 XT, the correct performance power profile is selected, Resizable BAR and XMP/DOCP are enabled, and the card is reaching its expected clock speeds. The 750W power supply should be sufficient for this setup if it is functioning properly and the PCIe power cables are connected correctly.
I checked while testing and saw roughly 80–90% usage on both the CPU and GPU, but I will also check memory usage and individual CPU cores rather than relying only on the overall percentages.