AMD FX 8350 and FPS Drops with GeForce GTX 1080.

[verentus]

SPECS:

Windows: 10.

SSD: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB with Windows.
HDD: Seagate Desktop 7200.14 1TB SATA3.

Motherboard: Asrock 970 Extreme4.

CPU: AMD FX Series FX-8350 4.0Ghz 8X Black Edition.

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080. But the problem already exists with another graphic card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 Vapor-X GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5.

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 8GB 2x4GB CL9.

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 412S CPU Cooler.

Power supply: Corsair GS800 V2 800W Gaming Series.

PROBLEMS:

Since a couple of years ago I'm having problems with fps in most of the games: unexpected fps drops. In these fps drops, the CPU usually hits 90-100% usage on the majority of the cores, and the GPU usage is ussually low during these fps drops. This problem occurs in the majority of the games: Watch Dogs, Battlefield1, Total War Rome II, Ancestors Legacy, The Witcher 3, etc.

In Watch Dogs, the game is running at 50-60fps, and oftenly, I have fps drops to 10-20fps, even 5fps. When this happen, one core of the eight, hits 100% CPU usage. In the big fps drops (5fps), the GPU usage down to 0% and some cores hits 5% usage, and only one core with 100% CPU usage. The CPU and GPU temperature don't achieve the 60ºC.

In Total War Rome II, none of the core hits 100% CPU usage, but all core hits elevated usage (80-95%) in the fps drops.

In The Witcher 3, I don't have a stable rate of fps. Ocassionally, I have fps drops to 0fps with 100% CPU usage in all core. Other fps drops to 15-20fps are accompanied with high CPU usage.

All drivers are updated.

Could be the problem the motherboard or its temperature; or the problem would be a bottleneck problem? I had the same problem with another graphic card (Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 Vapor-X GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5).

I don't know how to resolve it. Any help will be appreciated as I've tried just about everything.

 

[PdxPetmonster]

Sounds like a bottleneck issue, probably that the CPU just can't get data to the video card fast enough. The 7970 on the other hand, shouldn't be a bottleneck as that's a fairly old video card. Can you list your temps while gaming? It could be throttling on top of the CPU/Graphics bottleneck.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Could be an issue with motherboard VRMs throttling. If you google that model + 8350 you can see lots of people having issues. Asrock themselves recommends using a CPU cooler that blows downwards onto the board when using a 125 W CPU, in order to improve cooling of the VRMs.

 

[ko888]

When ASRock states for 125W TDP processors:

* For cooling the CPU and its surrounding components, please install a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design.

This is not a recommendation. It is a requirement.

 

[verentus]

Thank you very much for your answers .

When ASRock states for 125W TDP processors:

* For cooling the CPU and its surrounding components, please install a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design.

This is not a recommendation. It is a requirement.

I see that my cooler doesn't blow downwards. So do you recommend me to buy a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design, or should I change the CPU (or the motherboarding) to a better or modern one?

 

[TJ Hooker]

I wouldn't recommend buying a new CPU or motherboard, unless you do a complete upgrade to a modern platform with new CPU, motherboard, and RAM (DDR4). If you're open to that, something like an 8th gen intel i5 or a ryzen 2600 and 16 GB of DDR4 (perferrably ~3000 MHz) would be great options for that GPU.

If you don't want to do that, buying a down blowing cooler is an option. You could also try getting a spot cooling fan like this https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Spot-Cool-SpotCool-System/dp/B000I5KSNQ
and/or VRM heatsinks like these https://www.amazon.com/Enzotech-MOS-C10-Forged-Copper-Heatsinks/dp/B004CL89D8

You can also try undervolting/underclocking your CPU a bit to reduce power draw, or even disabling a couple cores (I don't think there would be a big difference in performance between 6 and 8 cores in most games).

 

[ko888]

Thank you very much for your answers .

When ASRock states for 125W TDP processors:

* For cooling the CPU and its surrounding components, please install a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design.

This is not a recommendation. It is a requirement.

I see that my cooler doesn't blow downwards. So do you recommend me to buy a CPU cooler with a top-down blowing design, or should I change the CPU (or the motherboarding) to a better or modern one?

If your budget can handle an upgrade to a modern system then don't spend any more money on your existing system unless you're still planning to reuse it.

If you can't afford to upgrade to a modern system at this time then buy a decent top-down blowing CPU cooler like the Noctua NH-C14S.

 

[verentus]

Okay, thank you to both of you . I must study if I can afford an upgrade of the system. Meanwhile I have some questions:

About the new cooler. If I buy a new cooler with top-down blowing, the other cooler that I have must be removed of the computer? I have Zalman Z11 (260 (W) x 498 (H) x 525 (D) mm), and I don't know if two cooler would fit inside.

And about the upgrade: how much would cost approximately? And do I need to change CPU, motherboard and RAM at the same time?

 

[ko888]

Okay, thank you to both of you . I must study if I can afford an upgrade of the system. Meanwhile I have some questions:

About the new cooler. If I buy a new cooler with top-down blowing, the other cooler that I have must be removed of the computer? I have Zalman Z11 (260 (W) x 498 (H) x 525 (D) mm), and I don't know if two cooler would fit inside.

And about the upgrade: how much would cost approximately? And do I need to change CPU, motherboard and RAM at the same time?

Yes you would need to remove your existing cooler and replace it with the new one. You don't need to change your CPU unless you're planning on using a different AM3+ CPU. You don't need to change the RAM unless you're replacing the RAM or adding more RAM.

The cost of a new top-down blowing CPU cooler will depend upon the specific model that you are planning on purchasing and what country and vendor you are purchasing from.

If you live in the UK here is an example of such a cooler that will have no problem fitting into your Zalman Z11:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00Y7993MG

 

[verentus]

I'm from Spain, and I found that cooler for a similar price in euros: https://www.pccomponentes.com/noctua-nh-c14s. I think is the same cooler.

I would like to change the CPU to a modern one. But I think I will wait a little more of time. Can I hange the CPU without changing the motherboard and RAM right? Haha.

So, I think I will buy the Noctua Cooler tomorrow.

Edit: I mean, if I can change only the CPU to a modern one, mantaining the same cooler and the problem is over; I prefer that.

 

[maxalge]

I'm from Spain, and I found that cooler for a similar price in euros: https://www.pccomponentes.com/noctua-nh-c14s. I think is the same cooler.

I would like to change the CPU to a modern one. But I think I will wait a little more of time. Can I hange the CPU without changing the motherboard and RAM right? Haha.

So, I think I will buy the Noctua Cooler tomorrow.

Edit: I mean, if I can change only the CPU to a modern one, mantaining the same cooler and the problem is over; I prefer that.

not possible you already have the best cpu for that dead end platform

your fps problems will continue until you upgrade to a modern platform, the 8350 is far too weak for a gtx 1080

you basically have a rocket mounted to a mule cart