Low or Ultra = SAME PERFORMANCE???

[devon285]

*Please READ CAREFULLY to better understand the issue with my components. I know it's a long f****** wall of text but you guys are my only hope.

First off, my specs:
*Sapphire R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 OC
*AMD Athlon II X4 750k @ 3.4GHz
*4GB 1866Mhz DDR3 RAM
*MSI A55M-E33 motherboard
*PSU: FSP 460W Bulk

My PC has really bad performance on every single game. The best and most confusing example is BAD COMPANY 2. When I run it on high details, and @1680x1050 resolution, indoors I get 90fps, but when I look at the center of the map where the all details are (many buildings, team mates etc) the fps drops to 33 which is f****** unplayable.
So I dropped the details to LOW, disabled AA, hbao and AF, lowered the resolution, my game drops to 29FPS at the same "busy" spot (LOWER THAN ON HIGH SETTINGS).
Can anyone explain this?

Next example is BF4 or BF3. At wide open areas game drops to 30fps (rarely goes below 30fps mark), but is capable of catching 60+ fps indoors etc. When enabling MANTLE in BF4, my game runs at 80 FPS and NEVER drops below 60, but then I get those famous stuttering issues every few seconds (giant CPU spikes). And again, low or ultra settings, same fps drop is there.

Skyrim is the same. When standing near the Whiterun (looking away from it) game runs buttery smooth (60fps), but when I turn my characters head toward Whiterun, the game almost breaks (giant fps drop and then reverts to unplayable 30ish) in the matter of seconds.
After looking away from Whiterun, I get 60fps again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So what the hell is going on? I've tried so many different drivers, even upgraded to windows 8.1 (from win7), updated BIOS, overclocked GPU, CPU and still nothing.
CPU usage (while in game) goes up to 80% (BFBC2), 99% (BF4)...
I've unparked my cpu cores, changed power plan to performance.
Gpu usage (while in game) goes all over the place. From 0 to 99 and jumps back and forward. GPU temps not going above 70°c. I've used MSI afterburner to monitor this.

Is my MOBO faulty? (My PC case leds are not working even though theyre connected to mobo, and when I built my PC right after I got the parts, the thing wouldn't even turn on until next day).
Is my GPU faulty? eg not using its 2gigs of vram?
Is my CPU faulty?
Is my PSU too weak or somehow faulty?
Please I'm losing my mind over here, I'm absolutely clueless, what should I do FFS!!!!!!!!"

 

[Quaddro]

Is my MOBO faulty? (My PC case leds are not working even though theyre connected to mobo, and when I built my PC right after I got the parts, the thing wouldn't even turn on until next day).
Is my GPU faulty? eg not using its 2gigs of vram?
Is my CPU faulty?
Is my PSU too weak or somehow faulty?
Please I'm losing my mind over here, I'm absolutely clueless, what should I do FFS!!!!!!!!"

1. no
2. no
3. no
4. well, maybe..Bad causing PSU bad fps symptom.. but how old is your PSU and what is exact model?

my game drops to 29FPS at the same "busy" spot

CPU usage (while in game) goes up to 80% (BFBC2), 99% (BF4)...

CPU bottleneck symptom..

Overclock your processor, 4-4.5Ghz..and don't forget to give a good heatsink..

well..
Check your gpu bus interface with GPUZ..is it show you 16x..?
if it's not, then reseat your gpu..

 

[devon285]

Is my MOBO faulty? (My PC case leds are not working even though theyre connected to mobo, and when I built my PC right after I got the parts, the thing wouldn't even turn on until next day).
Is my GPU faulty? eg not using its 2gigs of vram?
Is my CPU faulty?
Is my PSU too weak or somehow faulty?
Please I'm losing my mind over here, I'm absolutely clueless, what should I do FFS!!!!!!!!"

1. no
2. no
3. no
4. well, maybe..Bad causing PSU bad fps symptom.. but how old is your PSU and what is exact model?

my game drops to 29FPS at the same "busy" spot

CPU usage (while in game) goes up to 80% (BFBC2), 99% (BF4)...

CPU bottleneck symptom..

Overclock your processor, 4-4.5Ghz..and don't forget to give a good heatsink..

well..
Check your gpu bus interface with GPUZ..is it show you 16x..?
if it's not, then reseat your gpu..

Bus Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16 @ x16 1.1 (GPUz)
My exact PSU (I've ordered my PC by parts back in july, so everythings new): http://www.fsp-europe.com/professional/fsp460_60hcn.php

I'm pretty sure my CPU's not bottlenecking my system. MAX cpu usage in BFBC2 is 95% (mostly at 80%) but the fps drop is still there? It's not maxing the cpu.

If you manage to somehow help me I'll give you AMD coupons for 3 free games (lasts till aug. 30th)

 

[Quaddro]

I'm pretty sure my CPU's not bottlenecking my system. MAX cpu usage in BFBC2 is 95% (mostly at 80%) but the fps drop is still there? It's not maxing the cpu.

If you manage to somehow help me I'll give you AMD coupons for 3 free games (lasts till aug. 30th)

driver update, check, same result..
clean install OS, check, same result..
all related software, check, same result..
then it's weird..

just try to overclock your processor..for example 4Ghz.
Do you fell any fps gain..?

Because the rest of your system is strong enough to handle the game that you listed, even at the high(est) setting.
and at the fps drop at busy spot, meaning cpu struggling to feed data to graphic card..


but okay, let's see other possibilities..
Do you fell graphic performance drop in certain game only..?
Try to run 3Dmark, unigine or other graphic benchmark, and compare the result to other 260x series..if your result is far to low against the others, then yes, there are something wrong in your system..

 

[LucoTF]

Is my MOBO faulty? (My PC case leds are not working even though theyre connected to mobo, and when I built my PC right after I got the parts, the thing wouldn't even turn on until next day).
Is my GPU faulty? eg not using its 2gigs of vram?
Is my CPU faulty?
Is my PSU too weak or somehow faulty?
Please I'm losing my mind over here, I'm absolutely clueless, what should I do FFS!!!!!!!!"

1. no
2. no
3. no
4. well, maybe..Bad causing PSU bad fps symptom.. but how old is your PSU and what is exact model?

my game drops to 29FPS at the same "busy" spot

CPU usage (while in game) goes up to 80% (BFBC2), 99% (BF4)...

CPU bottleneck symptom..

Overclock your processor, 4-4.5Ghz..and don't forget to give a good heatsink..

well..
Check your gpu bus interface with GPUZ..is it show you 16x..?
if it's not, then reseat your gpu..

Bus Interface: PCI-E 3.0 x 16 @ x16 1.1 (GPUz)
My exact PSU (I've ordered my PC by parts back in july, so everythings new): http://www.fsp-europe.com/professional/fsp460_60hcn.php

I'm pretty sure my CPU's not bottlenecking my system. MAX cpu usage in BFBC2 is 95% (mostly at 80%) but the fps drop is still there? It's not maxing the cpu.

If you manage to somehow help me I'll give you AMD coupons for 3 free games (lasts till aug. 30th)

You don't need to hit 100% on CPU for CPU to be the bottleneck. I've seen CPUs hover around 70% and still be the bottleneck.

 

[LucoTF]

I used to own an FM2 processor and they are a good enough budget CPU but you really should have it overclocked to 4.5ghz or more if you can, it's a bit of a waste running them at stock when they OC so well (30% improvement over stock)

 

[devon285]

I'm pretty sure my CPU's not bottlenecking my system. MAX cpu usage in BFBC2 is 95% (mostly at 80%) but the fps drop is still there? It's not maxing the cpu.

If you manage to somehow help me I'll give you AMD coupons for 3 free games (lasts till aug. 30th)

driver update, check, same result..
clean install OS, check, same result..
all related software, check, same result..
then it's weird..

just try to overclock your processor..for example 4Ghz.
Do you fell any fps gain..?

Because the rest of your system is strong enough to handle the game that you listed, even at the high(est) setting.
and at the fps drop at busy spot, meaning cpu struggling to feed data to graphic card..


but okay, let's see other possibilities..
Do you fell graphic performance drop in certain game only..?
Try to run 3Dmark, unigine or other graphic benchmark, and compare the result to other 260x series..if your result is far to low against the others, then yes, there are something wrong in your system..

It was my garbage cpu after all!!!!!! I OC'd that betch to 4.0Ghz (with stock cooler) jus to try it out, and I got huge improvement in BC2 and Skyrim. Although BC2 does tend to drop to 40fps and below when huge explosions occur 🙁
If the GPU usage is not maxed, does it mean that it's just not running at it max potential because the CPU is bottlenecking my game?

Unigine Heaven 4.0:
FPS: 18.5
Score: 466
Min FPS: 6.2
Max FPS: 40.7

Render: Direct3D11
Mode: 1680x1050 8xAA fullscreen
Preset: Custom
Quality: Ultra
Tessellation: Extreme

(Unigine score is relatively the same compared to others)

CPU model:
AMD Athlon(tm) X4 750K Quad Core Processor (3393MHz) x2 *** why does it say X2?

 

[devon285]

I used to own an FM2 processor and they are a good enough budget CPU but you really should have it overclocked to 4.5ghz or more if you can, it's a bit of a waste running them at stock when they OC so well (30% improvement over stock)

Can you recommend me a noob friendly overclocking guide for my processor? Or any guide that I can follow with my processor? I don't know anything about CPU voltages, but I do know that I need to change that if I want to squeeze performance from my cpu.

 

[Quaddro]

Okay, then it was your Processor then..

Just squeeze all of your processor performance, and like i said before, don't forget to get a better cooling..something like coolermaster 212 evo or enermax ets t40 is enough..but, bigger is better..
4.5 Ghz is common with 750k
well, this is a good tutorial for you... => http://www.ocinside.de/html/workshop/amd_fm2_overclock.html

1.55v is the maximum recommended voltage for the CPU on 740/50k. and try to overvolt it below that number..


x2..?
Can you post your CPUZ screenshot here..?
maybe you disable 2 cpu cores in your bios..

 

[LucoTF]

I used to own an FM2 processor and they are a good enough budget CPU but you really should have it overclocked to 4.5ghz or more if you can, it's a bit of a waste running them at stock when they OC so well (30% improvement over stock)

Can you recommend me a noob friendly overclocking guide for my processor? Or any guide that I can follow with my processor? I don't know anything about CPU voltages, but I do know that I need to change that if I want to squeeze performance from my cpu.

Use AMD overdrive to get a feel for it and go to BIOS to make it permanent once you've found a stable OC.

Just increase the multiplier in increments until it crashes, at which point you will need to raise voltage until it's stable. You have a fairly low end board so I don't know if you will be able to raise voltage much.

 

[devon285]

Okay, then it was your Processor then..

Just squeeze all of your processor performance, and like i said before, don't forget to get a better cooling..something like coolermaster 212 evo or enermax ets t40 is enough..but, bigger is better..
4.5 Ghz is common with 750k
well, this is a good tutorial for you... => http://www.ocinside.de/html/workshop/amd_fm2_overclock.html

1.55v is the maximum recommended voltage for the CPU on 740/50k. and try to overvolt it below that number..


x2..?
Can you post your CPUZ screenshot here..?
maybe you disable 2 cpu cores in your bios..

CPUz screenshot:
<a target="_blank" href="http://imageshack.com/f/exphjrsNj"><img src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/537/phjrsN.jpg" border="0"></a>


I know it's stupid but the fan is blowing straight to processors heat sink, I think it actually helps LOL
anyways, as you can se I have a mAtx mobo, and very little room for a custom CPU cooler, would this one fit my build?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186082

<a target="_blank" href="http://imageshack.com/f/iqACDF2qj"><img src="http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/150x100q90/674/ACDF2q.jpg" border="0"></a>

EDIT: HOW DO I POST PHOTOS???
EDIT2: I OC'd my processor to 4.0Ghz, it did give me an improvement, but im still very disappointed.
I maxed BC2's settings, and when looking at the middle of the map, it again drops to 40 or even below fps.
I lowered the settings, got only 10FPS increase at the same busy spot with many buildings. (i restarted the game after changing settings for full effect)
Is something wrong with my CPU or can it possibly be that it's really really really bad like that??
UPDATE: I just ran the "unpark CPU app" and it only shows TWO cores instead of four?

 

[Quaddro]

EDIT: HOW DO I POST PHOTOS???

use [img] your picture link address [/image]
i can't see your image..

EDIT2: I OC'd my processor to 4.0Ghz, it did give me an improvement, but im still very disappointed.
I maxed BC2's settings, and when looking at the middle of the map, it again drops to 40 or even below fps.
I lowered the settings, got only 10FPS increase at the same busy spot with many buildings. (i restarted the game after changing settings for full effect)

then you need more power..
overclock it more, or...yeah..upgrade your cpu..kinda limited with FM2 platform..so...it's almost looks like to upgrade your cpu+mobo..

Is something wrong with my CPU or can it possibly be that it's really really really bad like that??
UPDATE: I just ran the "unpark CPU app" and it only shows TWO cores instead of four?

windows 8 already has unpark core capabilities..
unpark CPU is designed for win 7. not windows 8/8.1..
So i suggest you to disable it..


How To Disable CPU Core Parking

1. Copy the following registry key entry between the brackets [ 0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583 ].
2. Select your start button.
3. In the search box, type ‘regedit’ and press enter.
4. Once your registry editor is open, select ‘Edit’ and ‘Find…’.
5. Paste the above registry key in the box and select ‘Find’.
6. Once it has located it, look for the keys on the right hand side labeled MinValue and MaxValue.
7. Double click on each value and make sure they are both set to ’0′.
8. Select ‘Edit’ and ‘Find Next…’.
9. Continue to replace MinValue and MaxValue for each entry until you have replaced them all.
10. Close the registry editor and shut down your computer.
11. Power the computer back up.
12. Core Parking should now be disabled.

try that, and see if you have some more improvement..

 

[Quaddro]

I know it's stupid but the fan is blowing straight to processors heat sink, I think it actually helps LOL
anyways, as you can se I have a mAtx mobo, and very little room for a custom CPU cooler, would this one fit my build?

well..that's will give you roughly same cooling performance like stock cooling..
don't get that..
but well yeah, traditional tower heatsink is to big and may block your memory socket..
then this one is suit with your need..
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rls12v24pkr1

 

[devon285]

I know it's stupid but the fan is blowing straight to processors heat sink, I think it actually helps LOL
anyways, as you can se I have a mAtx mobo, and very little room for a custom CPU cooler, would this one fit my build?

well..that's will give you roughly same cooling performance like stock cooling..
don't get that..
but well yeah, traditional tower heatsink is to big and may block your memory socket..
then this one is suit with your need..
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rls12v24pkr1

CPUz:

Is this safe lol?

Honestly if my CPU's that bad, I won't even bother getting a custom cooler, im just gonna save up for a better cpu, and with that, i have to get a new mobo 🙁
But I still don't understand fps drop in bad company 2 cause my CPU should handle that game perfectly.
Guess that's it then?

 

[Quaddro]

But I still don't understand fps drop in bad company 2 cause my CPU should handle that game perfectly.
Guess that's it then?

Just disable/uninstall your "unpark core"..
it's designed for win 7..not win 8.
try that, and see if you have some more improvement..
something like that may cause conflict in your system..

and, bro..your case is really mess..😀
Do some cable management.. 😉
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2144766/the-beginners-guide-to-proper-pc-cable-management.html

 

[devon285]

But I still don't understand fps drop in bad company 2 cause my CPU should handle that game perfectly.
Guess that's it then?

Just disable/uninstall your "unpark core"..
it's designed for win 7..not win 8.
try that, and see if you have some more improvement..
something like that may cause conflict in your system..

and, bro..your case is really mess..😀
Do some cable management.. 😉
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2144766/the-beginners-guide-to-proper-pc-cable-management.html

I already uninstalled the program, idk what could be the problem, the cpu is probably just really weak lol
I can't do the cable management cause those messy cables are holding my 12mm case fan thats blowing into my cpu LOL!!!!!!! gotta keep dem temps low, afterall cpu's oc'd and im not getting a custom cooler
Thanks so much for your help, im gonna PM you those AMD coupons for free games