Question Games that used to run fine are now all running poorly ?

[Wadsworth]

For a few months now, my PC has been acting up and having trouble running games it used to run just fine. I've already done multiple malware scans and found nothing, all drivers are up to date, power options are at prefer maximum performance. I've been banging my head against a wall, searching up threads from other people on the internet who had the same problem for about four months now, but still haven't found any solutions.

Specs are:

Intel Core i7 12700
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
32 GB of RAM

To put into perspective, I'm just barely getting a stable framerate in River City Girls, a 2D beat em up.

 

[boju]

Forgot to mention temps. Check cpu temp when doing something that makes it work. Monitor with Core Temp and watch speed as well.

What are you using to cool the cpu?

What psu do you have? Model and age.

Have you had any crashes/lockups, restarts or shutoffs?

Which Windows are you running? And what's your storage situation and how full is the OS drive?

Have you tried reinstalling Windows?

 

[Wadsworth]

At worst my cores never really go above 60 Celsius (my Tj Max is 100).

I've just got a couple of fans for the CPU.

I don't know what my psu model is, or how to check. I bought the computer premade from Dell about a year ago.

No random shutoffs, but the computer will freeze up every so often.

Windows 11.

I have attempted a system reset if that counts.

 

[boju]

Upload some pictures (using imgur or some other image hosting service) of cpuz memory tab and task manager memory tab. I just want to check all 32GB ram is available and not a good chunk in reserve.

Freezing could be memory related. Reseating them / swapping them around can sometimes help if you do have memory issues. Can also test them with memtest86 to determine if a memory stick has become defective.

Scroll down for instructions on using Memtest86.

How to Test RAM With Passmark MemTest86​

How to Test RAM: Making Sure Bad Memory Isn't Crashing Your PC

If you've got a nasty case of BSODs that won't go away, you should check if your RAM isn't faulty.

www.tomshardware.com

--

Also there are ways test your drive's health.

How to Check SSD Health in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Find out how many writes your SSD has left.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[Wadsworth]

https://imgur.com/a/ntiSfoF

View: https://imgur.com/a/ntiSfoF

 

[boju]

Thanks. There's no indication there's anything wrong with ram or storage.

Try a full reinstall of Windows. Use media creation tool downloaded from Microsoft. Search Windows 11 Media Creation Tool and you'll get on the right track. Have USB stick handy and once Media Creation Tool is done setting up your USB stick you can proceed reinstalling on boot. Backup anything of worth before hand.

 

[punkncat]

Before blowing the system out, how full are your storage drives?
In particular it looks like you have one internal drive and then both the others are external?

What drive is the game located on?

 

[SkyNetRising]

I don't know what my psu model is, or how to check.

You open up your pc and read model name from info label printed on PSU.

What cpu cooler are you using?
Can you run userbenchmark test and show link to results page?

Also screenshot from CPU-Z - memory and spd sections.

 

[Wadsworth]

The drive that's the most full still has about 360 gb free, and every game, regardless of which drive it's on, runs poorly.

I'm not seeing any psu model labels inside my pc.

Dell XPS 8950 Performance Results - UserBenchmark

 

[boju]

Can see your cpu is severely overheating in userbench, just look at the turbo speed.

Either UB is wrong or you're not checking temps vs speed properly.

Check cpu cooler hasn't come lose or something.

*Actually, your pics is showing same thing. Thought it might've been power saving. Ub would bring cpu out of power saving so being stuck on such low frequency suggests it's being throttled.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'm not seeing any psu model labels inside my pc.

Can you show a photo of your system with side panel removed?
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

CPU is overheating.
Either cpu cooler improperly installed or it has failed.
AIO coolers can fail by pump dying /cpu block getting clogged.
Replace the cooler.

 

[Wadsworth]

https://imgur.com/a/vP30xAE

View: https://imgur.com/a/vP30xAE


All three fans are secure and running fine, so I don't know what could be causing overheating.

 

[SkyNetRising]

All three fans are secure and running fine, so I don't know what could be causing overheating.

Intel Core i7 12700 with stock Intel cooler. LOL
Obviously it's overheating.
Get a decent heatpipe/tower cooler.
Bequiet Dark Rock 4, Cryorig H5, Deepcool AK500 or similar.

 

[Wadsworth]

So I've been busy the past few weeks, but finally got the time to get/ install a new cooler (NH D12L). My performance has not improved.

 

[Eximo]

Could be the motherboard itself overheating and throttling back the CPU. Or a power issue with the power supply.

Decent parts, have you considered ditching the motherboard and case, getting a new Motherboard, Power Supply and Case?

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $274.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-06 16:31 EST-0500

 

[Wadsworth]

I haven't been particularly crazy about spending so much on upgrading after only around a year of use, especially after I already spent about 90$ on a solution that didn't work. Are there programs for checking the temp of the actual motherboard itself, or do I just have to hope that the motherboard is the issue?

 

[Eximo]

Hardware Monitor or HWInfo64 can generally get you some motherboard temperatures, but they aren't generally labeled very well. Something of an industry wide problem I hope they get around to fixing some day.

VRMs can generally tolerate 100C, with ratings usually much higher than that. But you don't want to see such temperatures and it is a sign of issues.

Just a prudent move since you are getting away from a proprietary motherboard, PSU, and chassis and the underwhelming stock coolers that Dell typically ships. Dell is also known to have pretty extreme power limits so their coolers are more effective, so you may actually gain some performance that way.

 

[Wadsworth]

I do have HWInfo, if you have an idea on what section to check. Like I said, regardless of Dell's issues, I'd still like a guarantee that it's something with the hardware before I make another purchase.

 

[Eximo]

You would want to look at the section under your motherboard:

Temp sensors questions

Looking at what I have with my Maximus X Code, here's an HWInfo screenshot: So why is T_Sensor1 still under the ASUS EC but you can still use it as a monitor temperature in the BIOS? I thought T_Sensor1 is a non-EC sensor? Also, from what I can tell: T1 = Motherboard Temp T2 = CPU...

www.hwinfo.com

In this example PCH is the chipset. T1 and T2, Temp4, Temp5 could be anything and it is unclear what 'Motherboard' monitors, but you would want them all to look something like this.

Dell is not likely to have as many sensors, but I could be surprised.


Can't definitively know if there is a hardware issue until your components have been tested in another system.

 

[Wadsworth]

Yeah, HWInfo isn't giving me a section for my motherboard under sensors. It is telling me that core throttling hasn't kicked in, so at the very least the Noctua is doing its job. Before I start looking at parts, are there any software issues you can think of I may have missed?

 

[Eximo]

Other than some BIOS setting keeping the CPU from boosting, can't really think of anything. OEM motherboards don't usually give you that level of control though, so not sure why it would.

Look for anything related to Tau or PL1, PL2, boost frequencies, turbo boost, etc.