HD 7970 low fps

[Brockpoche]

I've been having low fps recently in games that I can usually run at 60 fps. I start the game and it runs fine for an hour or so then it would drop to 20-30 fps.
I don't think it's overheating because it stays around 50-60 degrees and has a load of 99%
If I restart my computer it seems to solve the problem for a while.

my friend tried to help out and had me download these programs and install some drivers.

Superb Game boost
Driver booster 3
Game booster 3
Advanced system care
AppCenter
Smart Defrag
CCleaner

I don't really know what any of these things do but the appcenter installed some updates or something for my motherboard and it seems to have made things worse, now when I start the game it starts to drop fps almost instantly.

Specs:
Win 10
I5-3570k
AMD Radeon Hd 7970 3gb
16gb ram ddr3
Ga-Z77-HD3 motherboard
750w power supply

Is my gpu going bad or is it something else? Any help will be appreciated.

 

[reapzstar]

Would you please tell me the brand of your power supply?
It might be going bad, or have gone already.

 

[Brockpoche]

Would you please tell me the brand of your power supply?
It might be going bad, or have gone already.

Its a Corsair CX 750 I don't know anything else about it. How would I tell if it's going bad? And could that be the cause of low fps?

 

[reapzstar]

Definitely, if it doesn't draw enough power for your card.
I'd run Malwarebytes and other programs cause you might have gotten a malware on your pc by accident.
If that doesn't help, try reinstalling the OS.

 

[Brockpoche]

Do I need to have any of the original disk or anything to reinstall my os? I moved and lost all my paperwork and disk that came with my pc, the only thing I have is a wndows 8 key on the side of my pc.

 

[reapzstar]

You should, yep.
The key can later on be used to activate the OS.

 

[Brockpoche]

Is there anyway to wipe my pc to the way I first got it without having to have all the disk to reinstall anything?

I tried playing a game but my screen went black and my gpu fan revved up and I had to restart my pc to get the screen to come back. Sometimes it goes black even if its not under load. Is this an indication of a gpu problem?

I've also had problems in the past where I'd turn my pc on but nothing would come up on the screen, it just kept saying no signal.

I also used to hear whinning sound from my gpu when I played graphics intense games but it went away after a while.

Also, if I end up having to replace my gpu, what is a good one that is as good as the 7970? I don't have much money, my budget is 200-300 dollars.
I only really want something that is as good as the 7970, I don't really care if it's better.
I was looking at a r9 290 but I'm not sure if it's as good or not. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[reapzstar]

Well, you could probably try to do a BIOS reset, which is done by taking out the lithium battery of the motherboard, then placing it back.
Then when you power up the PC, load the BIOS defaults inside the BIOS, and see if the problem still keeps up.
If it does, then your card is going bad.
An r9 290 is pretty decent, yes.
However, if the problems are occuring cause of your failing PSU(which I mentioned might be the case)it isn't going to help at all.
If the BIOS reset doesn't fix anything, I'd first test the system with a different card to see if the problem is still occuring.
If it doesn't, you are good to go with a new card.

 

[Brockpoche]

Ok thanks, I'm a little nervous about messing with the bios because I really don't know how and I don't want to mess anything up.

I have another question though, when I play games I use msi afterburner because it seems to alow me to play for longer before the fps drops, would that mean it is my card going bad? Because without msi it starts to drop fps alot quicker. I just feel like if it was the psu then msi wouldn't really help but I don't know.

 

[reapzstar]

Afterburner just provides information/hardware monitoring.
It should never make any difference, especially not in this case.
As I said, do the BIOS reset.
Here's a little guide on how you can do that:
http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS

I'd suggest doing the 3rd method, I personally find it the easiest.
Again, if it doesn't solve your problem, try using a different videocard/psu before buying one!

I hope I could help.

 

[Brockpoche]

Ok thanks, it's strange that it doesn't make a difference because I can't really play at all without msi on.

Recently when I boot up my computer and log in my screen would be black for a bit and all I could see was the mouse, is this an indicator of a bad gpu? I do have onboard graphics, should I use that to see if it does the same thing? I don't have access to a different gpu.

I'll try the bios thing to see if that helps.

 

[reapzstar]

Definitely could be, and it most likely is the sign of your GPU going bad.
Do the BIOS reset and see if it changes anything.

 

[Brockpoche]

I will, thanks for the help.

Any idea what kind of voltages I should be seeing when under load? I'm trying to monitor my volts to see if I'm getting enough power but I don't really know what to look for.

Also, I notice when my fps starts to drop my sound starts to go all static and starts lagging and popping, is sound connected to the gpu or something else?

 

[reapzstar]

You could also try updating your drivers, but I have no clue on the sound issue.

 

[Brockpoche]

ok, I was trying to monitor my volts and the max volts I got was around 1.17 volts for my gpu, is this mormal volts under load?

 

[reapzstar]

Yep, that's fine.

 

[Brockpoche]

ok cool, The psu could still be the problem though right? When gaming my cpu rarely goes above 50% usage but my gpu is constantly at 99% and the temps are always low, don't know if any of this means anything.

 

[reapzstar]

No they don't, and as I said I don't think it is your PSU, but it might be.
Definitely check the GPU first if the BIOS update doesn't do anything.