New build low FPS, CPU and GPU Usage

[Hertz01]

Hello, I've been a long time reader of Tom's Hardware, I've found it a great resource to refer to for new builds and especially problem shooting. Well I have my own problem at the moment that I cannot solve. Usually I can always figure it out but this one has me really stumped.

I've just finished assembling my latest gaming rig, I invested quite a bit in it, I'm hoping to get a couple of years out of the majority of the components before another upgrade.

I started to play Far Cry 3 last night and I'm getting horrible FPS on any resolutions, looking at my CPU and GPU usage, it's all rather low.

First my build includes the following;

CPU: Intel i7 870 Overclocked to 3.6Ghz
Motherboard: MSI P55-GD85
Power supply: XFX 750 Watt
GPU: XFX HD7970 Ghz edition x 2 in crossfire Core 1500Mhz, clock 1050Mhz
Ram: Kingston 8 gig
Gaming Hardrive: WD velociraptor
Monitor: Qnix 2560 x 1440

The motherboard, in crossfire mode has the PCI-E lanes in a x16 and x8 configuration.

Power setting in control panel have been setup to run at maximum performance.

I've been doing all types of tests to try and figure out what the problem is, here are my Furmark results.

Crossfire Enabled
2560 x 1440 x4 AA = 31 FPS
1920 x 1080 x 4 AA = 46 FPS
2560 x 1440 x 0 AA = 72 FPS
1920 x 1080 x 0 AA = 113 FPS

Crossfire Disabled
2560 x 1440 x4 AA = 15 FPS
1920 x 1080 x 4 AA = 23 FPS
2560 x 1440 x 0 AA = 35 FPS
1920 x 1080 x 0 AA = 56 FPS

Now those test results are not being reflected in gameplay, even so I still wuld of expected better results.

If I run FRAPs, GPU-Z and Windows Task manager CPU monitor playing Farcry 3, these are the results

Crossfire Enabled
2560 x 1440 x 2 AA optimal setting
20 FPS
CPU Usage 20% - 30%
GPU usage 35% - 45%

1920 x 1080 x 2AA optimal setting
40 FPS
CPU Usage 25%
GPU Usage 25% - 35%

Crossfire Disabled
2560 x 1440 x 2 AA optimal setting
35 FPS
CPU Usage 20% - 25%
GPU usage 100%

1920 x 1080 x 2AA optimal setting
50 FPS
CPU Usage 35%
GPU Usage 100%


Why are these figures so low? It seems crossfire could be the problem, or is the CPU bottle-necking the system, but the CPU usage is always so low? I thought a 4 cored i7 over 3.0 Ghz would of been enough for any game.

Do you think this is likely to be a persistent problem with all future games? Will there be specific fixes for crossfire for Far Cry 3?

So what am I missing here?

 

[camohanna]

Uhm, i think it might be the x8 PCI-E slot? Not too sure further than that sorry 😛

 

[Hertz01]

No I don't think it could be that, I did a fair bit of reading about upgrading my motherboard, I already had the i7 870, but the gigabyte motherboard I had previously used, only had a x16 x4 crossfire PCI-E. So I purposely upgraded to a motherboard so I could have x16 x8.

There is even an intensive review on here that tests x16 x16 and x16 x8, the difference between the two is so minimal it's hardly worth mentioning. x16 x4 PCI-E however is where it's not worth doing crossfire because of the slow speeds.

 

[velosteraptor]

Have you tried running any other games with this setup? Far cry 3 is a pretty new game, not even released in the us for a few more days. Their quite possibly are inherent problems with it; either the way it was coded or in relation to crossfire scaling. That would be my guess from looking at your test results.

But i would definately try some other games and run some benchmark problems to make sure its not a problem across the board

 

[BobCharlie]

I would keep an eye out for updated video card driver with optimization to that game. I know Nvidia does that and often times there's a 5-20% increase in FPS after the update.

 

[Hertz01]

Velosteraptor, I think you may be onto something, i have the latest AMD driver 12.10, but after some digging around I did find a beta 12.11 driver that supposedly, fixes some issues with Far Cry 3. I've loaded up Metro 2033 so I'll do some comparisons between the two with the new driver.

BobCharlie, you've just verified what Velosteraptor was thinking, I've got the 12.11 driver, Far Cry 3 and Metro 2033 all installed, now the next round of tests begins....

 

[StrangeInstance]

Try BF3. If that doesn't do some work on you, what the f*

 

[Hertz01]

I don't actually own a copy of BF3 StrangeInstance, I play for the campaigns, and from what I read BF3 wasn't that great and was pretty short. When it shows up on a Steam sale I might nab it though. Metro 2033 is pretty graphically demanding, I think it'll do the trick.

Well good news, the beta 12.11 driver fixed the problem. I can how run 2560 x 1440 on ultra with 4xAA at 55 - 60 FPS. Only when I upped it to 8xAA did it drop to below 30 FPS, I think that's probably just to do with the limitations of the gear I have. Still, end result is what I was after, thank you all for your help, and putting me onto the right direction. I'll be sure to contribute to the forum as a result, and not be some leach!

 

[Outlander_04]

Im not sure why you would build with a 3 generation old processor and motherboard


but

did you install the motherboard drivers from the included disk?

 

[Hertz01]

Yes I did install the MSI motherboard drivers.

Main reason I built with older tech, was for a couple of reasons, primarily to keep costs down. Another reason, I owned a i5 650 before this recent build, and I had a pretty expensive Noctua cooler to match it, the i7 870 was a cheap second hand purchase to upgrade to a quad core processor, with this, I could continue to use my Noctua cooler.

I upgraded from a 650 watt power supply to a 750 watt, to handle my crossfire setup, $160 there. Purchased a Qnix off eBay to take advantage of the crossfire so I could play at 2560 x 1440 resolutions, a further $340. My Ghz edition 7970 were $515 each, a new motherboard, which was difficult to find the specifications I wanted, pretty limited for options due to it's age, sent me back a further $200. Additional cooling fans another $60. So it adds up pretty fast, and anyway, I think I've proved you can get good FPS at high resolutions with an older CPU and motherboard. Do you think with a Sandy Bridge CPU I would see further big jumps in benchmarks and game play?

(All prices in AUD)

The only problem I have now is my GPUs run at about 85 degrees, so will now look at a water cooling setup. Should I water cool the CPU as well? My Noctua air cooler is doing a pretty good job still.....

 

[StrangeInstance]

I did the same thing to me 7950 yesterday, and I OC today and I run ALL ULTRA 60-70fps now

 

[Hertz01]

Its a beautiful game with the higher resolution, unfortunately I've had to reduce my resolution to 1080p for the time being, because if I play at 1440p, my PC freezes after 15 minutes of game-play. Not sure what this could be, I'm thinking either GPU or CPU heat problem, driver problem or one of the GPU is a bit dicky. Mmm it's never ending for PC gamers isn't!