Question New GPU severely underperforming

[WillJackman]

Hi, I recently upgraded my GPU from an RTX 2060 to an RX 7900XTX (quite the upgrade, I know) and have been massively dissapointed so far.

System Specs:
GPU - RTX 7900 XTX (replacing 2060)
CPU - i7 9700k (stock)
CPU Cooler - Kraken x62
Mobo - Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Pro
RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2333Mhz 40gb (2x16 & 2x4)
PSU - Lian Li SP750 Modular

So the RX 7900XTX is the current flagship for AMD but I have not at all been seeing flagship performance, in fact it has been giving me worse frame rates than my 2060 which should not be happening and has had a few weird issues like stuttering, webcam bitrate tanking when recording and the RGB 'Gigabyte' logo on the card running at low FPS (weird I know but could be power related?). I know an i7 9700k will bottleneck this GPU slightly but it shouldn't ever be performing worse than my 2060.

Some things I've tried already:

• Reseating GPU & Power Connectors.
• DDU for previous Nvidia drivers before installing the card.
• Ran 3DMark TimeSpy and got a normal score.
• Checked thermals while benchmarking & running games, never got above 60 degrees.

Spending $1,000 on a GPU only for my PC to feel worse than with my $250 GPU is bumming me out so any help on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[Lutfij]

RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2333Mhz 40gb (2x16 & 2x4)
Mixing and matching rams can degrade performance although on paper it's dual channel. To also add, the sweet spot to your platform is overclocking the ram to DDR4-3200Mhz, more if you're able to find a cheaper ram kit, that way you're not overpaying for more performance. Tightening the timings will also aid your platform's performance though at stock clocks for the processor is where your performance is being sapped, outside of the need to be on a latter generation of processor.

 

[WillJackman]

RAM - Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2333Mhz 40gb (2x16 & 2x4)
Mixing and matching rams can degrade performance although on paper it's dual channel. To also add, the sweet spot to your platform is overclocking the ram to DDR4-3200Mhz, more if you're able to find a cheaper ram kit, that way you're not overpaying for more performance. Tightening the timings will also aid your platform's performance though at stock clocks for the processor is where your performance is being sapped, outside of the need to be on a latter generation of processor.

Interesting. I could try swapping back in my old 2x4gb sticks (upgraded the ram to 2x16gb at the same time I made the GPU change, had 4x4gb before) and see if it makes any improvement. Any pointers on overclocking the ram?

 

[XxDarkMario20xX]

Interesting. I could try swapping back in my old 2x4gb sticks (upgraded the ram to 2x16gb at the same time I made the GPU change, had 4x4gb before) and see if it makes any improvement. Any pointers on overclocking the ram?

You could leave two 16GB ram in your system making it to 32GB thats well enough and be in dual chanel but would remove the two 4GB sticks and start playing your games. Also never heard of Lian Li SP750 Modular before and with your CPU have you tried Max Turbo Frequency to 4.9ghz because i go to my power edit plan and put it on performance and such!

 

[WillJackman]

You could leave two 16GB ram in your system making it to 32GB thats well enough and be in dual chanel but would remove the two 4GB sticks and start playing your games. Also never heard of Lian Li SP750 Modular before and with your CPU have you tried Max Turbo Frequency to 4.9ghz because i go to my power edit plan and put it on performance and such!

Yeah currently testing different RAM configs. Gonna try original quad channel 4gb and then dual channel 16gb. The PSU is SFX form factor because the case I built in requires it so maybe that's why you've not heard of it. In terms of max turbo frequency I don't fully know what you mean, is that a standard thing or an overclock?

 

[XxDarkMario20xX]

Yeah currently testing different RAM configs. Gonna try original quad channel 4gb and then dual channel 16gb. The PSU is SFX form factor because the case I built in requires it so maybe that's why you've not heard of it. In terms of max turbo frequency I don't fully know what you mean, is that a standard thing or an overclock?

Max Turbo Frequency
4.90 GHz
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 Frequency‡
4.90 GHz
Processor Base Frequency
3.60 GHz

cpu stock is at 3.60 GHz you can boost it upto 4.90ghz. With my CPU 12900k boosted it upto 5ghz from 3.2ghz


https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/how-to-overclock-a-cpu

 

[WillJackman]

Hi, quick update.

I realized I got the RAM channels mixed up and was running one 16gb in dual channel with one 4gb, instead of 16 with 16 and 4 with 4. Took out the 4gb sticks and currently just running 2x16gb in proper dual channel. Also went into BIOS and enabled XMP so my RAM is now clocked at 3200Mhz and it has definitely made a noticeable difference. I still feel like it's not the kind of performance I was expecting from a 7900xtx but definitely better.

I ran a UserBenchmark and the GPU came in at the 11th percentile, performing below potential. Meaning it's in the bottom 11% of benches for that specific GPU. Is this purely because most people overclock or is this indicative of some other issue with the GPU like power delivery or something?

 

[logainofhades]

750w is a bit on the low side, for a 7900xtx build.

 

[kerberos_20]

ran a UserBenchmark and the GPU came in at the 11th percentile, performing below potential. Meaning it's in the bottom 11% of benches for that specific GPU. Is this purely because most people overclock or is this indicative of some other issue with the GPU like power delivery or something?

thats purely overclock thing, you could check bios if resizeable bar is enabled and also check gpu-z if you have x16 lanes or less

I still feel like it's not the kind of performance I was expecting from a 7900xtx but definitely better.

gpu will perform as fast as CPU allows it, you can increase resolution/gamedetails without loosing FPS as long GPU utilisation isnt already maxed

 

[Avro Arrow]

I know the problem. Your CPU is WAYYY too slow for that card, like, it's not even close. What you're seeing is the CPU's maximum speed, not the card's. Your gaming experience is only as fast as the slowest component between your CPU and GPU. You have a 9th-gen i7 which used to be a great gaming CPU but those days are long gone.

What if I told you that even an i9-10900K overclocked to 5GHz will bottleneck an RX 6600? Yeah, I wouldn't believe me either if I were you but I actually saw it demonstrated in one of the craziest tech videos that I've ever seen. If I didn't know that the man doing it is one of the most respected techtubers out there, I would have thought it was fake, but it's not:

Your RX 7900 XTX isn't underperforming, it's drawing as many frames as the CPU is calling for. The problem is that the CPU isn't calling for enough frames.

If I were you, I'd upgrade the platform to match the card. These should work:
CPU: Ryzen 5 7600 - $229
MOBO: Gigabyte B650M DS3H - $155
RAM: TEAM Vulcan 32GB DDR5-5200 CL40 - $115

That platform upgrade will not only allow the RX 7900 XTX to perform to its potential, it will also be easy to upgrade because it's on the new AM5 platform. This is the only solution because remember that the i9-10900K, which is already much faster than an i7-9700K at stock, is overclocked to 5GHz, it still bottlenecks the RX 6600 and your card is many times faster than an RX 6600.

This is a perfect storm for a really bad CPU bottleneck.

 

[WillJackman]

I know the problem. Your CPU is WAYYY too slow for that card, like, it's not even close. What you're seeing is the CPU's maximum speed, not the card's. Your gaming experience is only as fast as the slowest component between your CPU and GPU. You have a 9th-gen i7 which used to be a great gaming CPU but those days are long gone.

What if I told you that even an i9-10900K overclocked to 5GHz will bottleneck an RX 6600? Yeah, I wouldn't believe me either if I were you but I actually saw it demonstrated in one of the craziest tech videos that I've ever seen. If I didn't know that the man doing it is one of the most respected techtubers out there, I would have thought it was fake, but it's not:

Your RX 7900 XTX isn't underperforming, it's drawing as many frames as the CPU is calling for. The problem is that the CPU isn't calling for enough frames.

If I were you, I'd upgrade the platform to match the card. These should work:
CPU: Ryzen 5 7600 - $229
MOBO: Gigabyte B650M DS3H - $155
RAM: TEAM Vulcan 32GB DDR5-5200 CL40 - $115

That platform upgrade will not only allow the RX 7900 XTX to perform to its potential, it will also be easy to upgrade because it's on the new AM5 platform. This is the only solution because remember that the i9-10900K, which is already much faster than an i7-9700K at stock, is overclocked to 5GHz, it still bottlenecks the RX 6600 and your card is many times faster than an RX 6600.

This is a perfect storm for a really bad CPU bottleneck.

Hmm, that kinda sucks but guess it makes sense. Performance jump from XMP on the RAM probably helped the CPU a bit but now it's bottlenecking my GPU. Are there any platforms that would support a strong enough CPU for the 7900xtx that use DDR4? Would save me a couple hundred on getting new RAM.

 

[Kona45primo]

Yeah there is, I would look into the plus & minus of each. My rather uneducated opinion:

Best bang for the buck is probably AMD AM4 with a 5800x3d but it's a dead end platform. Intel would be next, but again dead end for the motherboard unless Intel is going to release another update. But after that is dead. AMD AM5 is still on first gen but it's not DDR4.

Honestly I'd do your research, but do it slowly, should be some amazing deals coming over the next year, apparently the post COVID slowdiwn the PC industry is experiencing is the worst in 30 years. Should be some amazing deals on the way, although now isn't a bad time to buy ... But better is coming.

 

[KyaraM]

Hmm, that kinda sucks but guess it makes sense. Performance jump from XMP on the RAM probably helped the CPU a bit but now it's bottlenecking my GPU. Are there any platforms that would support a strong enough CPU for the 7900xtx that use DDR4? Would save me a couple hundred on getting new RAM.

13th gen would be your best bet for DDR4. A 13700(K) or 13600(K) with a good B760 or Z690 board would work well, or a B660/Z690 board, both work. I really like the MSI Pro series here, I run the Pro Z690-A in my main rig and the Pro B660-A in my secondary one, both perform really well and can handle any Alder Lake chip; with Raptor, I'm not sure about the 13900KS, but that chip is bs anyways and not worth the money. Another really good board is the Pro B660M-A. The boards I mentioned all range between 150 and 250 bucks. There are, of course, other great boards in that price range, these are just the ones I use myself/know most about. The 13700K is a very potent gaming CPU that is no slouch in applications, either. Alternatively, the 12700K, or a 5800X3D if you want to go with AMD would work, too, though the latter is kind of a mixed bag since 3D cache doesn't help everywhere and the lower clocks tank application performance if you don't just want to game and nothing more. However, it is likely that your slow RAM will tank any modern CPU's performance, especially on the AMD side of things. You can get DDR4-3600 32GB for under 100 bucks, though, so that would be an option for that issue. I would also recommend getting a good 850W or 1000W PSU if possible.

In my opinion, upgradability 5 years or so down the road is a pipe dream. Chances are the board cannot handle the CPU, or the higher RAM speed, or you want faster drives, or the newer CPU isn't compatible after all, etc. And with how powerful CPUs are now, and how many cores they have, I don't see a need for an upgrade the next 7 years or so. So I never bought into that particular hype.

 

[WillJackman]

13th gen would be your best bet for DDR4. A 13700(K) or 13600(K) with a good B760 or Z690 board would work well, or a B660/Z690 board, both work. I really like the MSI Pro series here, I run the Pro Z690-A in my main rig and the Pro B660-A in my secondary one, both perform really well and can handle any Alder Lake chip; with Raptor, I'm not sure about the 13900KS, but that chip is bs anyways and not worth the money. Another really good board is the Pro B660M-A. The boards I mentioned all range between 150 and 250 bucks. There are, of course, other great boards in that price range, these are just the ones I use myself/know most about. The 13700K is a very potent gaming CPU that is no slouch in applications, either. Alternatively, the 12700K, or a 5800X3D if you want to go with AMD would work, too, though the latter is kind of a mixed bag since 3D cache doesn't help everywhere and the lower clocks tank application performance if you don't just want to game and nothing more. However, it is likely that your slow RAM will tank any modern CPU's performance, especially on the AMD side of things. You can get DDR4-3600 32GB for under 100 bucks, though, so that would be an option for that issue. I would also recommend getting a good 850W or 1000W PSU if possible.

In my opinion, upgradability 5 years or so down the road is a pipe dream. Chances are the board cannot handle the CPU, or the higher RAM speed, or you want faster drives, or the newer CPU isn't compatible after all, etc. And with how powerful CPUs are now, and how many cores they have, I don't see a need for an upgrade the next 7 years or so. So I never bought into that particular hype.

Yeah been taking a peek at 13700k/5800X3D. My RAM speed issue has been somewhat mitigated since I enabled XMP (now running at 3200MHz) but dunno if that will still significantly bottleneck these new CPUs or not. In terms of upgradability, it would be nice to have but I don't plan on upgrading beyond this for a good while at which point we'll probably be a further socket ahead and I can replace then.

 

[logainofhades]

DDR4 3200 is just fine for 13th gen, or for Zen 3. You really cannot go wrong with either platform. Do you happen to live near a microcenter?

 

[KyaraM]

Yeah been taking a peek at 13700k/5800X3D. My RAM speed issue has been somewhat mitigated since I enabled XMP (now running at 3200MHz) but dunno if that will still significantly bottleneck these new CPUs or not. In terms of upgradability, it would be nice to have but I don't plan on upgrading beyond this for a good while at which point we'll probably be a further socket ahead and I can replace then.

3200MHz is actually really decent speed! That should have, if at all, only a very minor impact of a handful percent. You are good 😀

 

[Maebius]

...I ran a UserBenchmark and the GPU came in at the 11th percentile, performing below potential. Meaning it's in the bottom 11% of benches for that specific GPU. Is this purely because most people overclock or is this indicative of some other issue with the GPU like power delivery or something?

Being in the bottom 11% of tests for that specific GPU looks normal as others might have much newer/better CPUs, that don't bottleneck their system like yours.

Before you jump the gun and upgrade though, you need to ask yourself what do you "need".

Are you content with your system's performance for the games you play?

To put that into perspective, I play mostly RPGs and strategy games in 4K and I'm happy with things being at 60 frames per second (as that's also my monitor's max refresh rate).
That being said, I run an old intel 7700K (@5GHz) with an RTX 3090 (yup, that's right) and for my needs, a full upgrade is by no means necessary. (but considering it, waiting on the 7800X3D)

 

[WillJackman]

DDR4 3200 is just fine for 13th gen, or for Zen 3. You really cannot go wrong with either platform. Do you happen to live near a microcenter?

Oh, good to know. I'm in the UK so we don't have microcenter sadly.

 

[XxDarkMario20xX]

Oh, good to know. I'm in the UK so we don't have microcenter sadly.

Scan.uk is best website for stuff because sometimes depending on the time can be delivered next day or after!