AMD build with very unstable FPS

[nbeadle]

Hey guys,

Ive got:

r9 380 with 8gb VRAM

fx 8350 8 cores at 3.5 ghz

16gb RAM

Anyone have any ideas why my FPS can go from over 100+ in GTAV down to potato speeds of 10-15 fps? They relapse back to 100 and then go down all in 2 minute periods that are about 3 minutes between eachother. (I experience this weird stuff in all games)

It would be awesome to have some help because ive got a new PC and I just want it to work how i thought it would (going for sympathy here)

Thanks!

 

[damric]

Most likely just the old FX-8350 choking on the game engine (bottlenecking), especially in a game like GTAV. It could also be a hardware problem like throttling but it's hard to say with such little information such as motherboard model, psu model, case and cooling.

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

Does this happen on the lowest settings on the monitors native res?

 

[bignastyid]

It could be a number of problems. What motherboard do you have? If it has weak and or uncooled vrms it could be throttling the cpu. Try monitoring the cpu temps and frequency.

 

[nbeadle]

Okay, so a little more information.

Motherboard: http://goo.gl/80ycQq

Can confirm this happens at really low settings, and really high settings alike.

My CPU sits at around 40C idle and during gameplay around 50C

 

[bignastyid]

Whats the cpu frequency and usage when the fps drop?

 

[nbeadle]

Even more information: After installing afterburner and going for a more aggressive fan profile it seems my fps has stabilized a little. (How many RPM's on my gpu is safe?)

When i bought components, I wasnt under the impression the FX 8350 was a bad choice....was it?

 

[immortalpenguin9]

I wouldn't say its a bad choice but not a great choice. The am3+ line is dead so upgrading is out of the picture. Also yes it may have 8 cores but each core is much weaker compared to the intel equivalent.

 

[nbeadle]

Whats the cpu frequency and usage when the fps drop?

freq: 100%
usage: ~65%

 

[damric]

The LE is a very poor motherboard for the FX 8 cores. VRMs could be overloaded.

 

[immortalpenguin9]

Id say overclock that thing to 4.0 and see what happens(once we figure this out). Also install HWmonitor and post a screenshot of all you temps. Then we can start narrowing down some more

 

[immortalpenguin9]

I'm onboard with damric, just looked at the link to the board he has and saw it was a 970 and the LE to top it off. I haven't had personal experience with 970s because I always ended up with 990s but ive heard of major throttling problems.

 

[bignastyid]

Whats the cpu frequency and usage when the fps drop?

freq: 100%
usage: ~65%

The frequency should be measured in GHz or MHz not %.

 

[immortalpenguin9]

With a 8350 at stock clocks and a 380 at stock clocks I am almost positive now it's the vrms overheating and throttling you especially with that mono. If you get the hw monitor temps I'll put money on that's the problem.

 

[nbeadle]

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/388/20336207631_eda03d5f0b_b.jpg

thats my HW monitor screen

Is there anything I can do to fix the vrms overheating?

 

[immortalpenguin9]

In the bios you can turn off the second set of cores making it a strong 4 core for now...try that and you should take a lot off the vrms and see if it still throttles. Also you have a pretty high internal temp With the hard drives being that warm. What case is all of this in?

 

[bignastyid]

http://farm1.staticflickr.com/388/20336207631_eda03d5f0b_b.jpg

thats my HW monitor screen

Is there anything I can do to fix the vrms overheating?

While hw monitor was running did you play the game and did the FPS drop?

 

[nbeadle]

In the bios you can turn off the second set of cores making it a strong 4 core for now...try that and you should take a lot off the vrms and see if it still throttles. Also you have a pretty high internal temp With the hard drives being that warm. What case is all of this in?

Case is a thermaltake urban s21 http://www.overclockersclub.com/vimages/thermaltake_urban_s21/26.jpg

im sure that looks a bit packed. Ive got 120mm asetek liquid cooling on the cpu though, and thats taking up the back case fan.

you know to tell you the truth i dont even have any case fans....

 

[nbeadle]

[/quotemsg]

While hw monitor was running did you play the game and did the FPS drop?[/quotemsg]

Yeah, I played the game, the fps dropped, took a quick screen

 

[immortalpenguin9]

Thought something seemed up. Get some air moving in that case and the temps should drop. The vrms just have a heatsink and with no air moving over it, it's just going to heatsoak everything inside

 

[nbeadle]

update:

as of right now-- ive cranked up the gpu fans to 78 % on the usual ~40C and for the most part experience really clean FPS going into the 80s in GTA V

as of right now-- I took the side window off my case to let more air circulation around. note that the metal shell around it is still there, just the plastic window is out.

if you guys are right about the VRM thing-- im going to try what immortalpenguin said turning my cpu into a quad core....

should I do this?

 

[immortalpenguin9]

To test my theory of the vrms try disabling the other 4 cores. If it runs fine it is most def. the vrms overheating. Also it seems that the vrms were not being read by hw monitor. Some mobos have that problem with it

 

[nbeadle]

Also-- ive got an extra case fan from an old case-- standard size, coolermaster. im going to try putting this in the front of my case where there is no fan installed. hopefully this helps!

 

[nbeadle]

At this point I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that contributed here, you're all awesome and friendly and very knowledgeable

Im testing fps now at 6 cores, then next at 4.

Im going to install that case fan before the week is over, and ill pick a solution once i get in game and test this out!

 

[nbeadle]

SOLUTION:

tl;dr to this thread: heat.

You guys confirmed what you suspected, as I booted up with 6 cores only, the case side open, and a fan blowing in, experiencing no spikes at all.

I'm going to improve that setup now that I can focus on heat management.

IF YOURE HAVING A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH THE 380 OR THESE FX SERIES CPU'S: Try doing what you can with your heat. Run afterburner, crank up some fans, open your case, consider more aftermarket cooling solutions: its not time to give up.