Question AMD system refuses to utilize CPU and GPU correctly

[KaptenKnas]

Specs:
Mobo: ASUS M5A97 Rev 1.0 latest BIOS
CPU: AMD FX-6100 cooled with Coolermaster AIO water cooling (2 120mm fan radiotor)
GPU: XFX R9 280 3GB
RAM: 2x 4GB Kingston HyperX 1600MHz DDR3
PSU: Corsair 500 CX.
OS: Win 7 Pro X64

So my problems started when i installed Windows 10 in the beginning. the GPU would never exceed pcie 2 X8 in any situation and the games would crash after 10min (Temps were good, CPU 30 and GPU 45).

Since the motherboard is so old I decided to install Windows 7 Since it was made for it. Right of the bat the GPU is was running at Pcie 2 x16 without any problems at all, however the games would still crash after about 10 minutes but after some digging in the AMD forum I found that if I underclocked The GPU everything will work fine and indeed it worked.
But my happiness was short lived, after monitoring the system with MSI afterburner OSD and AMDs own OSD I noticed that the CPU and GPU would never go over 50 percent in any game, despite low FPS. Only in synthetic benchmarks like Prime 95 and MSI Kombustor the system would utilize everything to the max with good Temps and no crash.
I've tested the RAM with memtest and everything was OK. But I switched to my GFs RAM which is working just to be sure and still the same results.

I've now reached a point where I don't know what to try anymore. So if you guys have any idea or any tips I'd happily try them.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Calvin7]

A look at the published specifications by XFX for your video card shows you have an inadequate power supply.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Good call! If that psu is the same age as the cpu/mobo it’s even more suspect. The older cx units were iffy.

 

[KaptenKnas]

Good call! If that psu is the same age as the cpu/mobo it’s even more suspect. The older cx units were iffy.

The PSU is 2 years old, and my fiancé have a GTX 960 and a faster FX processor with an even older Corsair 500w PSU.

And as I said, in full load on synthetic benchmarks on both CPU and GPU at the same time doesn't crash the system.
So I doubt the PSU is to blame.

 

[KaptenKnas]

A look at the published specifications by XFX for your video card shows you have an inadequate power supply.

See my previous answer, thank you for the tip tho.

 

[J_E_D_70]

What someones elses rig is doing isnt a good indicator.

Do you have the latest bios and motherboard drivers (from manufacturers site, not windows default)?

 

[KaptenKnas]

What someones elses rig is doing isnt a good indicator.

Do you have the latest bios and motherboard drivers?

Yes, I have the latest BIOS and driver, I've even tried older drivers with no better results.
I compared since it's the same Mobo and she has a even more power hungry CPU and GPU.
I know that it isn't bulletproof in any way, but speculation is all I got at the moment.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Tried putting her gpu in your rig to see what happens?

 

[KaptenKnas]

Tried putting her gpu in your rig to see what happens?

Yup, and it works in her rig. So I have no idea.

 

[KaptenKnas]

Tried putting her gpu in your rig to see what happens?

Read wrong, I'll try it as soon as I can. Just had shoulder surgery so I'm bared from using my right arm.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Yikes - speedy recovery.

 

[KaptenKnas]

Yikes - speedy recovery.

What do you mean?
I tried my GPU in her system prior to my surgery?

 

[KaptenKnas]

UPDATE:

My fiancé surprised me with a MSI GTX 1060 6GB OC (The model with GDDR5X memory) and installed it for me. (I know it'll be bottlenecked, both by the outdated CPU and the fact that the motherboard only support Pcie 3.0.)

I also remember that core parking was an issue in Windows 7 so I enabled all cores in msconfig aswell. That also increased the performance to the point where it can't improve more unfortunately, Bulldozer is flawed.
I think I'll try to revert to Windows 10 and see if it will work better with DX12 and Vulkan.

I'll pull out my FM3+ desktop with my A10-7870K which does support Pcie 3.0 instead, might be worth a shot. Think my old GPU was a bit damaged.

Anyway if anyone thinks of anything else I can do, please do reply.
And I'd like to give my thanks to J_E_D_70 and Calvin7 for their help!