[SOLVED] i5-7600k a possible bottleneck for 2k res?

[xtremeclowny]

Hello, I started my system with 8gb ram, i5-7600k and a 1060 gpu.
However, about a year ago I upgraded the GPU to the 1080ti and 16gb of ram.
Yes, I upgraded the psu and am running w10 on a ssd.

I used it to play BFV and R6 siege mostly and everything ran just fine at 2k res.
The only issue I had was with the loading screens taking much longer on R6 siege due to the high res textures.
Other than that I was running everything at 2k res with frame in the high 70's+

Everything changed maybe 8 months ago. That's when I first noticed that R6 siege would freeze even though my frames
were good. My frames would be in the high 90's but my movement was very sluggish. I figured it was just the game.
However, a few months later similar issues started happening in BFV. Random spikes in frames and the such to the point
that I just couldn't play it anymore. Then the division 2 dropped. Everything worked fine for a while but then all of the sudden
everything went bad after an update. Same issue, massive frame drops as soon as I engage in firefights with the npcs.

I spent some time troubleshooting a few months ago and reached the conclusion that it has something to do with my isp
or game/driver updates. I have tried BFV single player and there are no frame drops at all. I tried the Witcher 3, no issues there.
Basically every game I've tried runs just fine on ultra at 2k res as long as it is single player but MP breaks it.
Also, from what I recall games like PUBG and BFV firestorm run just fine. No frame drops at all.
I spent some time server hopping on BFV today. Seems the game is playable on some servers?
I've been trying to stick to the north american servers but the experience varies.
Gameplay is decent in some but bad in other american servers.
Btw, I also tried lowering my resolutions to 1080p but that didn't make a difference at all.

I have been keeping an eyes on temps and everything is fine. No overheating or over-utilization of the cpu, gpu or ram.
The plan for tomorrow is to change the thermal paste since I haven't done it in a while.

So, yeah, I am not sure of what is the cause. Right now I am looking at 3 things:
-Everything runs fine. My booting times are fast, but maybe a fresh install of windows will do the trick?
-I changed ISP, maybe my new ISP is unable to keep up with the demands of 2k gaming? I don't know much about the role played by bandwidth while gaming lol
-CPU might be secretly acting up, which I am hoping to be able to rule out tomorrow after applying new thermal paste.

Any suggestions will be highly appreciated, thanks!!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

If your CPU was the problem, there would be thermal evidence of throttling. Very doubtful, unless you used something incredibly poor quality as paste, that paste could be an issue of any kind after only a year. Three years? Maybe. Five years? Probably time to re-paste. One year? Doubtful.

If you WANT to repaste, then I'd recommend you wait, and get a decent paste like Thermal grizzly Kryonaut or Noctua NT-H2. While it's doubtful this is relevant to your problem, it can't hurt and might even drop CPU temps by a degree or two.


More likely are your other suggestions.

Your ISP could certainly be to blame and it would be a good idea to browse to speedtest.net and run a bandwidth test. Run it to several servers. One as close as possible, one to some other location in your state and another one as far away in the US as you can get without going overseas or outside the borders of the US. So if you're in California, find a server on Speedtest.net that is in New York, and see what that looks like. This won't be a bonafide testament to your connection quality but it might tell you if something is obviously not right.

The servers you are accessing are definitely relevant. I've played games on one server, fine, and the next time hit another server and performance was for sh.......well, you know what I mean. Then changed servers and it's great again. Always a factor, especially if the server is far away or is weak.

Drivers could certainly be a factor as well as your motherboard BIOS version. I'd visit your motherboard product page and update any and all drivers that are relevant. Usually, chipset, network adapters and audio, all of which can make a difference or cause problems even if you don't think they are relevant.

 

[xtremeclowny]

If your CPU was the problem, there would be thermal evidence of throttling. Very doubtful, unless you used something incredibly poor quality as paste, that paste could be an issue of any kind after only a year. Three years? Maybe. Five years? Probably time to re-paste. One year? Doubtful.

If you WANT to repaste, then I'd recommend you wait, and get a decent paste like Thermal grizzly Kryonaut or Noctua NT-H2. While it's doubtful this is relevant to your problem, it can't hurt and might even drop CPU temps by a degree or two.


More likely are your other suggestions.

Your ISP could certainly be to blame and it would be a good idea to browse to speedtest.net and run a bandwidth test. Run it to several servers. One as close as possible, one to some other location in your state and another one as far away in the US as you can get without going overseas or outside the borders of the US. So if you're in California, find a server on Speedtest.net that is in New York, and see what that looks like. This won't be a bonafide testament to your connection quality but it might tell you if something is obviously not right.

The servers you are accessing are definitely relevant. I've played games on one server, fine, and the next time hit another server and performance was for sh.......well, you know what I mean. Then changed servers and it's great again. Always a factor, especially if the server is far away or is weak.

Drivers could certainly be a factor as well as your motherboard BIOS version. I'd visit your motherboard product page and update any and all drivers that are relevant. Usually, chipset, network adapters and audio, all of which can make a difference or cause problems even if you don't think they are relevant.

Okay, I ran the speedtest but I didn't notice any major changes. I am in TX.
Ran a few tests, some to TX, Washington, CA, NY and MN. They all yielded similar results.
Download speeds in between 48-55 Mbps. The only really noticeable change was in the ping.
The ping for the local server was in the 20's while all the others were in the 40-50's range.

As far as the thermal paste goes, I have been using the artix mx2 for years and it has never really given me
any issues. But I will swing by my local store tomorrow see if they have any of the brands you mentioned above. Will also try to update my bios and other drivers to see if it helps and report back in.

Thanks for the help sofar!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Arctic MX2 was good back in the day, and I'd use it if it was all I had on hand, or for a basic system for some mom and pop machine. Arctic Silver 5 or MX4 would be better. Kryonaut, NT-H1 or H2 are pretty much the non-liquid metal standards these days and are exceptional in terms of heat transfer and non hardening so that they last a long time without needing to be changed.

What speed IS your connection supposed to be based on your package? What TYPE of internet connection is it, cable, DSL, satellite, etc.? WHO is your ISP?

Few other things you might want to do as well.

Click on the start menu, click on PC settings, click on Update and security.

Below the "Check for updates" click on "Change active hours" and select a range of hours that is outside of the hours you normally would be gaming, so that windows is not trying to check for or install updates WHILE you are gaming, because not only does that use up system resources such as CPU, memory and storage drives, it also uses network resources and can drive up your ping and reduce the available bandwidth you need.

Also, it is a good idea to turn OFF system restore for all drives. System restore sucks and never works right anyhow, plus it uses a LOT of system resources to create restore points, and it attempts to create restore points pretty much anytime it wants, usually while you're in the middle of doing something else. This can SERIOUSLY suck up resources and create an immediate drag on the system. It's highly recommended that instead you use a third party image backup software like Macrium reflect, or better yet, Acronis true image. Acronis isn't free, but it is in my opinion the very best of the image backup and recovery utilities out there and 50 bucks for a lifetime license isn't much to ask for something that might really save your as..k me how I know.

Finally, turn off the automatic drive optimization/degragmenter. You can run defragmenter or TRIM (For SSDs) manually every now and then. Optimization will seriously disrupt performance if it starts up while you are in the middle of something, and it will, often, if it is set to auto. You can of course set it to a schedule, but if you simply do it youself manually once a week or twice a month, that is all that is necessary.

There is no reason for any of these programs to have the final say as to when they run. You should be in control of them, not the other way around.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I would also do ALL of these things.

If there are any steps listed here that you have not already done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.



First,

make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.


Second,

go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.


IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.


Third,

Make sure your memory is running at the correct advertised speed in the BIOS. This may require that you set the memory to run at the XMP profile settings. Also, make sure you have the memory installed in the correct slots and that they are running in dual channel which you can check by installing CPU-Z and checking the Memory and SPD tabs. For all modern motherboards that are dual channel memory architectures, from the last ten years at least, if you have two sticks installed they should be in the A2 (Called DDR4_1 on some boards) or B2 (Called DDR4_2 on some boards) which are ALWAYS the SECOND and FOURTH slots over from the CPU socket, counting TOWARDS the edge of the motherboard EXCEPT on boards that only have two memory slots total. In that case, if you have two modules it's not rocket science, but if you have only one, then install it in the A1 or DDR4_1 slot.


Fourth,

Make sure the problem is not just a bad cable or the wrong cable IF this is a display issue. If it is NOT related to a lack of display signal, then skip to the next step.

This happens a lot. Try a different cable or a different TYPE of cable. Sometimes there can be issues with the monitor or card not supporting a specific specification such as HDMI 1.4 vs HDMI 2.0, or even an HDMI output stops working but the Displayport or DVI output still works fine on the graphics card. Always worth checking the cable and trying other cables because cables get run over, bent, bent pins or simply were cheap quality to begin with and something as simple as trying a different cable or different monitor might be all that is required to solve your issue.


The last thing we want to look at,

for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.


If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.

Clean install guide using the DDU​

 

[xtremeclowny]

I would also do ALL of these things.

If there are any steps listed here that you have not already done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.



First,

make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.


Second,

go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.


IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.


Third,

Make sure your memory is running at the correct advertised speed in the BIOS. This may require that you set the memory to run at the XMP profile settings. Also, make sure you have the memory installed in the correct slots and that they are running in dual channel which you can check by installing CPU-Z and checking the Memory and SPD tabs. For all modern motherboards that are dual channel memory architectures, from the last ten years at least, if you have two sticks installed they should be in the A2 (Called DDR4_1 on some boards) or B2 (Called DDR4_2 on some boards) which are ALWAYS the SECOND and FOURTH slots over from the CPU socket, counting TOWARDS the edge of the motherboard EXCEPT on boards that only have two memory slots total. In that case, if you have two modules it's not rocket science, but if you have only one, then install it in the A1 or DDR4_1 slot.


Fourth,

Make sure the problem is not just a bad cable or the wrong cable IF this is a display issue. If it is NOT related to a lack of display signal, then skip to the next step.

This happens a lot. Try a different cable or a different TYPE of cable. Sometimes there can be issues with the monitor or card not supporting a specific specification such as HDMI 1.4 vs HDMI 2.0, or even an HDMI output stops working but the Displayport or DVI output still works fine on the graphics card. Always worth checking the cable and trying other cables because cables get run over, bent, bent pins or simply were cheap quality to begin with and something as simple as trying a different cable or different monitor might be all that is required to solve your issue.


The last thing we want to look at,

for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.


If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.

Clean install guide using the DDU​

Okay, I did all of the above.
-Updated MB drivers, net drivers and BIOS.
-Used NT-H1 paste on the cpu
-Performed the clean install of GPU drivers using DDU
-Ruled out the ISP since I am able to play online on PS4 just fine.

Right now, I feel like I am down to two choices:
-Do a fresh install of windows
-Upgrade SSD from 448gb to 1TB.

I had about 50gb free but managed to increase the space to 130gb after deleting some stuff.
It seems Siege and the Division were installed on the SSD. Maybe lack of space has something to
do with my issues, which would be insane since the issue only seems to be present while playing
online.

I haven't had the chance to check on BFV since freeing up SSD space. Will check on that in a bit.
But I will more than likely end up purchasing a larger SSD and doing a fresh OS install.
See how that goes.

 

[Darkbreeze]

You want my advice on THIS part of it? I'd KEEP the OS on one of the SSDs, likely the 448GB one, but still do a clean install on it. I'd GET a larger SSD or even HDD, for game file storage, and move all of your game files TO that new, larger SSD or HDD, BEFORE doing a clean install on the original SSD. And when you DO the clean install, be sure to do it as outlined in my guide using the Custom option during the installation. Also, make sure you've linked your Windows 10 license/entitlement to an MS account in your name, so that if you ever have issues, well, you won't have issues that way. You'll always be able to activate that digital entitlement on whatever machine you install it on, so long as you log into your MS account on that machine. It will, of course, disable the activation on any OTHER machine THAT particular license is attached to if you do that, but you'll never have troubles with transferring license to a new machine because you've changed motherboards etc.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[xtremeclowny]

You want my advice on THIS part of it? I'd KEEP the OS on one of the SSDs, likely the 448GB one, but still do a clean install on it. I'd GET a larger SSD or even HDD, for game file storage, and move all of your game files TO that new, larger SSD or HDD, BEFORE doing a clean install on the original SSD. And when you DO the clean install, be sure to do it as outlined in my guide using the Custom option during the installation. Also, make sure you've linked your Windows 10 license/entitlement to an MS account in your name, so that if you ever have issues, well, you won't have issues that way. You'll always be able to activate that digital entitlement on whatever machine you install it on, so long as you log into your MS account on that machine. It will, of course, disable the activation on any OTHER machine THAT particular license is attached to if you do that, but you'll never have troubles with transferring license to a new machine because you've changed motherboards etc.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

Okay, I managed to free up a lot of space on the SSD containing the OS. Now, I have 319gb free out of 448gb.
Spent about 20 mins on an american server of BFV and everything ran fine. I am thinking the limited space on the SSD was the issue. I will download and try Siege later to see how that goes but for now I think the issue is about solved.

I do want to take a minute to say thanks! Your suggestions and links have been very helpful. The fresh GPU drivers install helped fix coloration issues I was having with the display!

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[Darkbreeze]

For sure. Another thing you can do to free up space if you haven't already, is to run disk cleanup BUT select the "cleanup system files" option, and then check the boxes next to everything in the window that pops up and run it.

Also, if you have disabled system restore, deleting existing restore points, found on the same window as the settings to disable it, can remove MANY GB worth of space as well.