Low benchmark score on my new i7-3770k?

Megawolf

Honorable
Apr 3, 2013
2
0
10,510
A couple of weeks ago, I built a new PC for gaming. I opted for an Intel Core i7 3770K for my CPU, hoping for awesome performance. It seems to run pretty well, but a few benchmark tests seem to indicate that it should be performing better.

I started with the benchmark test that comes with Windows 7, the Windows Experience Index. I know that it's not the best test available, but it should still give an indication of performance. Acording to my research, most 3770K CPUs tend to get a 7.7 without OC. Mine gets a 7.2.

Next, I downloaded the evaluation version of PassMark's PerformanceTest 8 software. My CPU scored 4594. Apparently, the average score for this processor is 10385. That average is 126% higher than my own, so that seems to indicate that my processor is underperforming pretty heavily...

I'm really hoping to avoid an RMA because, aside from horribly failing benchmarks and making me think I'm not getting the performance I paid for, everything else seems to be stable and the games I've been running (Civ V, SimCity, Evochron Mercenary, plus others) seem to be running well at max settings with only momentary dips in FPS if I move the camera too fast.

As far as I know, all my drivers and BIOS are up to date. I'm running Avast, Origin, and Steam, but they shouldn't be affecting my CPU that badly. Does anyone have any suggestions for me to try? In case it helps, here is my build:

Antec 900 (case)
Asus Sabertooth Z77 (motherboard)
Intel Core i7 3770K (CPU, 3.5-3.6 GHz)
EVGA NVidia GTX 670 (GPU, 2048 GDDR5)
4x4GB (16GB) DDR3 1833 G Skill Sniper Series RAM
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM HDD
Noctua NH-D14 (heat sink)
Asus PCE-N15 Wireless Card
Asus 12X BD-ROM drive
120mm fan (x4)
140mm fan (x1)
200mm fan (x1)
Corsair HX750 750w PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my first DIY gaming build, so there's always the possibility that I've overlooked something trivial.

 

feeblepenguin

Honorable
Dec 13, 2012
143
0
10,690
Check to see the temps of your cpu while benchmarking. Maybe Psu as well? If you have a friend with a compatable mobo, you could try a processor swap (though I don't recommend this as they're quite fragile).
 

Megawolf

Honorable
Apr 3, 2013
2
0
10,510
My CPU idle temperature runs between 22-25C and 35-40C under full load according to the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. I wouldn't normally pay that much attention to the WEI, but when PerformanceTest also says that I'm getting less than half of what I should, I can't help but suspect that something isn't right.

I don't know anyone with a compatible motherboard who would also be willing to let me try a CPU swap, but I can try closing the AV and game portals and then re-running the tests. I still think they shouldn't be having anywhere near that kind of impact, though.

I'm wondering if I should try taking a backup and reinstalling Windows to see if it makes a difference. I haven't even touched that 2TB drive, so it should be able to hold everything from my SSD. I may also try resetting my BIOS to factory default settings, though I don't remember changing anything prior to running the benchmarks.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I'm hoping that I can get to the bottom of this soon. :)