Question CPU bottleneck causing issues?

[Ceolodolo]

GPU: GTX 1080ti
CPU: i7 4790k
CPU Fan: hyper 212 rgb black
PSU: 750w
Ram: 16gb ddr3
Mobo: some MSI board I don't recall the name but I doubt that it will matter here

I am having some issues with my computer. I bought red dead redemption 2 yesterday and with my specs I assumed I would be able to at least run the game, but this was not the case. I benchmarked the game on all low settings on 1080p and my game crashed. Also, on older titles like black ops 3 where I used to be able to run on high settings, I now must run on low to avoid 2-3 minute in crashes. The issue is not just that I can not run newer titles, but I have had a huge decline in performance as apparent in the black ops 3 case, going from high to low settings. I took apart my PC, re-applied thermal paste as it has been a few years, put a new CPU fan on, and cleaned all case fans and this did not fix the issue. I did this because I assumed the CPU was the issue, maybe it was overheating. I am not sure what else to try. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[cdrkf]

GPU: GTX 1080ti
CPU: i7 4790k
CPU Fan: hyper 212 rgb black
PSU: 750w
Ram: 16gb ddr3
Mobo: some MSI board I don't recall the name but I doubt that it will matter here

I am having some issues with my computer. I bought red dead redemption 2 yesterday and with my specs I assumed I would be able to at least run the game, but this was not the case. I benchmarked the game on all low settings on 1080p and my game crashed. Also, on older titles like black ops 3 where I used to be able to run on high settings, I now must run on low to avoid 2-3 minute in crashes. The issue is not just that I can not run newer titles, but I have had a huge decline in performance as apparent in the black ops 3 case, going from high to low settings. I took apart my PC, re-applied thermal paste as it has been a few years, put a new CPU fan on, and cleaned all case fans and this did not fix the issue. I did this because I assumed the CPU was the issue, maybe it was overheating. I am not sure what else to try. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

It's worth running HW monitor whilst you run a game - it could be that the graphics card is overheating so pay attention to gpu temps / clocks.

Link to HW monitor:
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Note the free version is fine.

Your machine should easily be able to play Red Dead 2 on decent settings, there is definitely an issue somewhere. If all temps are ok it could be a driver issue, you can use the DDU tool (display drive uninstaller) to fully remove your current nVidia drivers, then download the latest directly from nVIdia and install a fresh copy as that can often fix corrupted driver problems. Link to DDU:
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

 

[Ceolodolo]

It's worth running HW monitor whilst you run a game - it could be that the graphics card is overheating so pay attention to gpu temps / clocks.

Link to HW monitor:
https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Note the free version is fine.

Your machine should easily be able to play Red Dead 2 on decent settings, there is definitely an issue somewhere. If all temps are ok it could be a driver issue, you can use the DDU tool (display drive uninstaller) to fully remove your current nVidia drivers, then download the latest directly from nVIdia and install a fresh copy as that can often fix corrupted driver problems. Link to DDU:
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

Just ran the HW software, CPU and GPU both got to about 60 C before the benchmark crashed, which I think is pretty low. Will try the driver tool now.

 

[Ceolodolo]

Just ran the HW software, CPU and GPU both got to about 60 C before the benchmark crashed, which I think is pretty low. Will try the driver tool now.

Installing new drivers did not fix the issue

 

[geofelt]

What is the make/model of your power supply?
How old is it?
Gaming is when the graphics card will draw additional power.
If your psu is failing, that could cause such symptoms.

 

[Ceolodolo]

What is the make/model of your power supply?
How old is it?
Gaming is when the graphics card will draw additional power.
If your psu is failing, that could cause such symptoms.

I am using an EVGA supernova 750 G2 gold power supply and its from december of 2016

 

[geofelt]

Your parts are good.
What might have changed since all was well?

For a simple functional test,
Run memtest86.
It boots from a usb stick and does not use windows.
You can download the free edition here:
https://www.memtest86.com/download.htm

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Try the cpu-Z stress test. It will exercise the processor.

My guess is that since the failures come with gaming, and for different games, the problem is gpu or psu related.

 

[mdd1963]

Installing new drivers did not fix the issue

If installing to an SSD, one can 'nuke and pave' (quick format, reinstall WIn10) in about 5 minutes these days... ( of course, reinstalling drivers, apps, and games takes a tad longer, but, that will certainly rule out any software /driver glitch.)

 

[Ceolodolo]

Your parts are good.
What might have changed since all was well?

For a simple functional test,
Run memtest86.
It boots from a usb stick and does not use windows.
You can download the free edition here:
https://www.memtest86.com/download.htm

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Try the cpu-Z stress test. It will exercise the processor.

My guess is that since the failures come with gaming, and for different games, the problem is gpu or psu related.

caved and took it to a local PC shop as the diagnosis fee is only $35, so can't run any tests currently