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Forgive me if what follows is a stupid question, but these components are really expensive. I don't want to spend that kind of money without having a good idea what the result will be.

I've noticed that, when playing games on my home computer, the controls are sometimes sluggish when I try to move and/or look around, and the problem seems to be worse the more recently the game was released, and the fancier the graphics are. I was wondering therefore if a new graphics card might improve things, or whether a different component might be what's required.

A concrete example: when playing Metro: Exodus (the original, not the enhanced edition), the sluggishness I described is present enough to be irritating. Looking at the system-monitoring overlay I've started using, it tells me:

  • GPU: 100%
  • MEM: 2013 MB
  • CPU: 17%
  • RAM: 6486 MB

The current specs for my device are:

  • Memory: 8.0 GiB
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-9400F CPU @ 2.90GHz × 6
  • Graphics: Nvidia GT1030

The machine has two hard disks: an SSD on which I have Ubuntu, and an HDD on which I have Windows. I use the Windows system for gaming.

Do these data suggest that getting a new graphics card might help? If not, do they suggest another solution?

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    Looks like you have a GT1030, based on the NV138 designation? Is that correct? If so, yes, a better GPU would definitely help.
    – JMY1000 ♦
    Commented Feb 21 at 18:13
  • @JMY1000 I've just ordered a new GPU. If that doesn't do the trick, I'm driving over to your house to sort you out! ;)
    – Tom Hosker
    Commented Feb 21 at 21:21
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    What GPU did you opt for?
    – JMY1000 ♦
    Commented Feb 22 at 7:09
  • I would also recommend installing another 8GB of RAM, although that´s not strictly necessary for Metro: Exodus.
    – idspispopd
    Commented Feb 28 at 12:45

1 Answer 1

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This might be a combination of different issues

  1. Using a HDD for windows along with gaming and as more updates are pushed out will definitely give you that sluggish feeling and more so over time.
  2. Normally 8GB of RAM would be okay and I don't think that is a major concern here, although 16GB is a good sweet spot. (If you do decide to add another memory module make sure it's the same size and speed as the other module.)
  3. The GT-1030 isn't a very powerful GPU in terms of gaming although it should be decent enough for some games, although if you do decide to upgrade the GPU depending what you decide to get you may have to upgrade the PSU (Power Supply Unit)

Also next time you open the system monitor check out your HDD usage, you can also open the task manager and it should show you in that window as well. If the usage is 80-100% then moving your windows OS and games to the SSD may give you a decent performance boost.

Please let me know what works for you.

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