Is my system Bottle-necked?

[mrdannok]

Hi, recently i have been experiencing problems, Video Lag, whilst playing games. I was wondering if it's due to my PSU not powerful enough for my system. Here are my specs:

System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 3/12/2013, 14:53:41
Machine name: DANIEL-PC
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model: GA-880GM-UD2H
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.7GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 8190MB RAM
PSU: 520 Watts
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GTX 460
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0E22&SUBSYS_34FA1458&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4051 MB
Dedicated Memory: 723 MB
Shared Memory: 3327 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: S220HQL
Monitor Id: ACR0281
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (60.000Hz)
Output Type: DVI

Here are my specs, but the twist is that, both my CPU & GPU are overclocked: here are pictures of the overclocked specs:

CPU:http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/545/photo1jx.jpg/

GPU (with Afterburner):http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/22/photouon.jpg/

I was wondering if my little 520W PSU can support both overclocked pieces

 

[saint19]

Hi and welcome to Tom's forum.

1) What GPU driver are you running?
2) What happen if you set all your components to stock?

 

[mrdannok]

@Saint19

1) GPU Driver is Nvidia 314.07
2) I stocked my GPU and CPU, played a little AC Revelation on the highest setting, had about 30-60 FPS depending on where I was looking. And also played Skyrim on custom setting (the one i used) And i saw a little drop in FPS but no significant change.
*Edit*: I just played Diablo III with the same setting as before (For OC'ed parts) and I had incredible Loading lag whilst fighting, which i didn't have when OC'ed

 

[saint19]

So, in other words are you having the same problems at stock settings that you have at overclock settings?

 

[thdarkshadow]

from my experience when the psu gets overloaded it just shuts the pc off. but you are really close to what neweggs psu calculator says for your build. could you explain a little more of what you mean by lag? like does once every few seconds the screen jumps or you have delayed reaction or just low fps

 

[mrdannok]

@Saint19

Yes, I am experiencing the same Lag but a little bit more often. But in some games it helped a lot, some older titles.

@thdarkshadow

I have low FPS spikes here and there, it really annoying gonig from 60 fps to 55 or 30, you see the tearing.

 

[saint19]

Can you test with another PSU? A more powerful PSU?.

 

[mrdannok]

@Saint19

I can and will, let me just return to you on that matter later today, thanks for the tip.

Oh also, i have been experiencing a crackling noise depending on the frequency of the sound, can my Motherboard cause this? because It's been happening to me for nearly 3 years and I've used a Steelserie Siberia V2 and now i have Razer Banshee and with both of those i have crackling noise. I tried on my bro's PC and it didnt do it so i was wondering if its my Motherboard's fault.

 

[saint19]

Lets find out the video lag problems and after move on to the noise ok? Could be related in some point...

 

[steddora]

Diablo III is cursed for hard disk owners.. Unless you're pumping an SSD. Using it as a test isn't a good idea as even my rig with an i7-2600k@4.4Ghz and 16Gb of ram will have that stuttering mess if it's installed on a mechanical drive. Even on my venerable Raptor X 150Gb drive, it stutters and that drive is fast for a mechanical. So don't take anything Diablo 3 gives you to heart. It's a poorly coded mess and you'll never see good performance out of it on older drives.

I believe the Razer Banshee is an external sound unit. Meaning it has nothing to do with your actual sound card. So this "noise" may actually be something in the USB. Maybe an update of the USB drivers are in order.

Overall I'm going to say that there "may" be an underlying problem; but for the most part it sounds like you just need a nice cleaning/defragmenting of a hard drive and some applications you're not using completely removed from the picture.

Here are a couple questions I have to ask you.

1 : How much space do you have on your windows installation hard disk?

2 : How many applications/programs do you have running in the back ground during play?

3 : When is the last time you ran windows disk defragmenter?

4 : Have you installed any software lately during the time frame where you first experienced these issues?

Now, you could try a new power supply; but in my experience, if you're having a power supply issue that doesn't just completely power off the system when it's overloaded; it starts by making disappearing hardware. Like all of the sudden a hard disk isn't found through windows explorer. It could be a sound card just not functioning. Your issues don't seem to point toward these directions but alas, anything is possible. But try eliminating the less expensive routes first and go from there.

 

[mrdannok]

@ Steddora

I had the same Audio prob with my Steelseries thats why i believed my USB bus were the cause.
To answer your questions:
1: 118Gigs of free space at this moment
2: Only Ventrilo whilst im playing a game, always.
3: Just analysed, 0% fragmented after 1years +
4: The Lag was always there, every game i played (where i was supposed to be able to play 60 FPS no prob) had lag. I thought by OC'ing my parts it would help, it didnt for the most part, althought a PassMark test proved that it helped.

 

[steddora]

Ok, well first off, the GTX460 isn't a "power house" in any respect. You're not going to see real high framerates in many of the newer games out there. Diablo III could probably run max settings at 1080p and hold good framerates but much more graphically intense games won't. The hard disk lag is going to be a killer on any machine as a mechanical hard disk is just a bottleneck in itself. Depending on how well maintained the drive is can really boost the performance. Windows 7 "supposedly" defragments the drive during off use time. But beside the point, the more loaded a drive is, the slower it becomes; even if the drive is in perfect fragmentation specs. Though, even the freshest mechanical drives can't compete with modern SSD drives in any respect. Like I said, even I see occasional loading lag in Diablo III if I run from my older Raptor X drive which I do if I play that game.

Overclocking, as I've said before, isn't going to bring about insane gains that just obliterate the competition. It can give a nice little boost and even on some hardware it can be pretty great. But in your case with the X4 and the GTX460, the gains won't be as predominant as I saw with my 2600k and 7950. As reaching the percentage of overclock that I have would take quite the cooling hardware.

Best options for eliminating the "lag" that you're seeing is probably going to be dropping a new GPU and a nice SSD for gaming. However, if I was in your shoes; I'd probably just save some cash and build a more gaming focused rig completely. As the performance of some of the newer motherboards, processors, and especially video cards is quite awesome. Let me give you an example...

http://www.hwcompare.com/11450/geforce-gtx-460-vs-radeon-hd-7950/

That's a "simple" comparison of the 460 vs a stock Radeon 7950. The difference is quite a jump. The reason I use the 7950 as an example as it's pretty much the standard for enthusiast gamers today and the performance can play just about any game at 1080p@60fps with max settings. Where as your older card won't be as powerful in any respect. Try turning down graphics options like texture detail and AA settings and see if it doesn't give you a boost.

Like I said before though, loading lag comes from hard disks. I found an older thread showing an old SSD against a velociraptor drive from western digital. The velociraptor is one of the fastest single mechanical drives out there. And that SSD has about half the performance of the one I'm using; the Vertex 4. So just imagine the read time difference of your drive and a newer SSD.

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=318683

Other than that; the most you can do is keep the disk defragmented, make sure you keep up to date with windows update, and keep your drivers up to date.

The noise through the headsets does bother me however and I suggest trying different USB ports. That can be a sign of an underlying issue, like the voltage regulators on the motherboard going out. If that happens, you'll have a completely dead system when they do go. So keep an eye on that and if changing the ports from say; the front USB to something in the back and it fixes it; you may just have a bad USB connection!

I hope this helps out a bit, but don't be discouraged. Your system should play plenty of games and even most of todays games as well. It just might not manage max or even high settings on all of them.

 

[mrdannok]

@Steddora

I approve what you say, my systems is not a power house, but for a 2 years old machine i find it quite powerful. I know its not superb but it does the job quite well. As you mentioned i will save up some cash to build a new rig, i intended to change my PSU to a 1k watts just to be prepared for the future, i know going bit by bit isnt optimal, but since its only the PSU its not a big deal. Secondly, how can you compare your System against mine for a argument. I mean you GPU cost 3 times what mine costs. And your CPU costs 1.5 times my CPU. You cant compare your system against mine. I know you wanted to make a point about my OC'ing not beeing as effective as i thought it would, but still. And finally.... you did not really answer my question in the first place. What i simply asked is if my system used too much Watts for my PSU, if it did, i wouldve simply change it and moved on. Lastly, my problem, as i stated, probably comes from my motherboard itself, but the problem is bearable for the time being for it happens less frequently.

 

[steddora]

The reason I compare, is the fact that the system I run is about equal to the "recommended specs" for most of the modern games. And the GPU, yes it costs more; but the performance is different. The point I was trying to get at; I know where you're sitting. One of my best friends has a system that's not up to the latest and greatest; but it does manage. Running a GTX460 isn't going to take you to 60FPS on max settings in games like Battlefield 3 or Metro2033. You're going to have to drop the quality settings to manage such new games.

As for the processor, the X4 you have isn't the best in overclocking potential. That is what I mean when I compare them. Where I gained about 27% performance out of my chip, the chip you have will usually get a 10% or so gain on average. There have been some really good X4's out there I've heard; but the usual outcome isn't great. Don't think I'm trying to use my system as an argument as I'm not. I'm using it as an example. The pure reasoning behind my system was for overclocking. That's why I have the K-Series chip, one of the better overclocking motherboards, an 850w PSU, and so on.

As for buying a 1000w PSU, I doubt you'll ever need that much power as something around the lines of 600-700w is usually fine even with low to mid range SLi/Crossfire setups. Just make sure you buy quality PSU's. There's a million and a half cheap ones out there that won't push the rated wattage in the first place while there are some really excellent models out there that would. And like I said before, if you're not suffering from complete shut downs or missing hardware in device manager; more than likely you're not suffering a bad PSU. 99% likely that is, there is a chance but it's doubtful you know? Either way, a lot of your problems you're seeing probably aren't a result of anything but too high of graphics settings that even the overclocking won't fix. I know, I've been there, I was running a pair of GTX550's for quite some time. Many games didn't scale well with those and I even had to run a few of the games I played on low to keep the smoothness of 60FPS during graphics intense situations.