Question New Z790 Build not performing well

Lowtrawler

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Jan 19, 2007
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I'm having issues with my new build which is reusing some older components. The new components are:

Asus Z790M Prime mATX D4 motherboard
Intel i7 13700KF
Corsair H100i Elite AIO Cooler
Crucial P5 Plus 2Tb Gen4 M2.NVME

Existing Components
2 x 16Gb Corsair PC3200 DDR4 RAM
Samsung 950 Pro 512Mb M2.NVME
EVGA 850W P2 Platinum Power Supply
RTX 3070 Graphics Card
W10 Pro - all updates installed
Corsair Case

The motherboard is on the latest BIOS, uses XMP and other settings are at default. All drivers updated to the latest from Asus.

My issues are as follows:

  1. Whilst I am getting full sequential 1m and 128k read and write speeds for the Crucial P5 Plus, under Crystal Disk Mark, the speeds fall to around 30MB/s for the 4k random reads and writes. This is well below what I can see the drive has been tested at elsewhere. The drive is in a heat sink. Similar issues with the 950 Pro.
  2. The CPU is not overclocked but throttles under Cinebench so that it starts out with a rating of just under 30,000 but after 10 minutes, I am left with a 25,000 rating. That's way below what I was expecting. The CPU is running over 90 degrees under testing.
  3. The Graphics Card is benchmarking at less than half the speed of typical GPU's under User Benchmark. This seems to equate to it's real life performance as even in CIV6, I am getting stutter.

I had originally performed the build with an ASRock Z790M motherboard but couldn't get the LAN to work so replaced with the Asus. I was getting similar issues with the ASRock board.

I have not performed a fresh install of windows as my existing installation was recognised on first boot - all I did was clone the operating system drive from the 950 Pro to the Crucial P5 Plus and then wipe the 950 Pro.

Before I go for a fresh install, which may or may not fix the problems, is there anything I should try?
 
I'm having issues with my new build which is reusing some older components. The new components are:

Asus Z790M Prime mATX D4 motherboard
Intel i7 13700KF
Corsair H100i Elite AIO Cooler
Crucial P5 Plus 2Tb Gen4 M2.NVME

Existing Components
2 x 16Gb Corsair PC3200 DDR4 RAM
Samsung 950 Pro 512Mb M2.NVME
EVGA 850W P2 Platinum Power Supply
RTX 3070 Graphics Card
W10 Pro - all updates installed
Corsair Case

The motherboard is on the latest BIOS, uses XMP and other settings are at default. All drivers updated to the latest from Asus.

My issues are as follows:

  1. Whilst I am getting full sequential 1m and 128k read and write speeds for the Crucial P5 Plus, under Crystal Disk Mark, the speeds fall to around 30MB/s for the 4k random reads and writes. This is well below what I can see the drive has been tested at elsewhere. The drive is in a heat sink. Similar issues with the 950 Pro.
  2. The CPU is not overclocked but throttles under Cinebench so that it starts out with a rating of just under 30,000 but after 10 minutes, I am left with a 25,000 rating. That's way below what I was expecting. The CPU is running over 90 degrees under testing.
  3. The Graphics Card is benchmarking at less than half the speed of typical GPU's under User Benchmark. This seems to equate to it's real life performance as even in CIV6, I am getting stutter.
I had originally performed the build with an ASRock Z790M motherboard but couldn't get the LAN to work so replaced with the Asus. I was getting similar issues with the ASRock board.

I have not performed a fresh install of windows as my existing installation was recognised on first boot - all I did was clone the operating system drive from the 950 Pro to the Crucial P5 Plus and then wipe the 950 Pro.

Before I go for a fresh install, which may or may not fix the problems, is there anything I should try?

Hey there,

Well, the first thing I'd say is go right ahead and re-install windows. Using the OS from a different setup can lead to all sorts of instability. Mainly due to old drivers, registry entries and any system glitches that may have existed before, but not been noticeable.

Without doing that, diagnosing the real issue might not be possible. Did you clear CMOS after doing the bios update?

Also, the H100i is a bit on the light side for that CPU at boost. Its causing the CPU to throttle. At 250w, the H100i is close. But fans will be spinning up full blast at load. A good 280 AIO or top end air would be better for keeping temps in check.
 

Lowtrawler

Distinguished
Jan 19, 2007
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18,515
Hey there,

Well, the first thing I'd say is go right ahead and re-install windows. Using the OS from a different setup can lead to all sorts of instability. Mainly due to old drivers, registry entries and any system glitches that may have existed before, but not been noticeable.

Without doing that, diagnosing the real issue might not be possible. Did you clear CMOS after doing the bios update?
Thanks. Yes, cleared CMOS. I'm assuming because the issues existed from both motherboards it's likely a Windows problem. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet.
 
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Thanks. Yes, cleared CMOS. I'm assuming because the issues existed from both motherboards it's likely a Windows problem. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet.

Yeah, as much as it's a pain.

Normally that process turns out 1 of 3 ways.

  1. Doesn't work at all.
  2. Works with some really buggy stuff going on.
  3. Works without issue.
You never really know until you do it.
 
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Lowtrawler

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Well, I bit the bullet - at least half way. I ran an upgrade install to W11. Amazingly, it seemed to carry across all my required software and appears to have resolved my issues.

Crystal Disk Mark is now providing the readings I would have expected.
Cinebench provides a score around 30,000
The GPU is benchmarking as it should

Everything is running smoother. Unless I find something broken, that will do for me. Will try to avoid having to do a full manual reinstall as that generally has taken me around 3 days.

Zerk2012, I know what you mean about userbenchmark and real GPU tests but it is a quick and easy test to perform. My main game is CIV6 and it has improved dramatically. I have a micro-ATX build and so the H100i is as good a cooling solution as I can install without going fully custom. My previous testing was with zero overclock and so the cooler should have coped. I have a couple of Noctua case fans directly cooling the CPU area, acting as air intakes. Although I'm now happy, the CPU still throttles under Cinebench as the temperatures still touch 100. Clearly, the 13700KF needs more cooling for full performance than I am able to provide. I have no doubt I could tinker with the OC settings to fine-tune performance but I'm going to leave it as is.

Thanks for all the help.
 

Zerk2012

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Well, I bit the bullet - at least half way. I ran an upgrade install to W11. Amazingly, it seemed to carry across all my required software and appears to have resolved my issues.

Crystal Disk Mark is now providing the readings I would have expected.
Cinebench provides a score around 30,000
The GPU is benchmarking as it should

Everything is running smoother. Unless I find something broken, that will do for me. Will try to avoid having to do a full manual reinstall as that generally has taken me around 3 days.

Zerk2012, I know what you mean about userbenchmark and real GPU tests but it is a quick and easy test to perform. My main game is CIV6 and it has improved dramatically. I have a micro-ATX build and so the H100i is as good a cooling solution as I can install without going fully custom. My previous testing was with zero overclock and so the cooler should have coped. I have a couple of Noctua case fans directly cooling the CPU area, acting as air intakes. Although I'm now happy, the CPU still throttles under Cinebench as the temperatures still touch 100. Clearly, the 13700KF needs more cooling for full performance than I am able to provide. I have no doubt I could tinker with the OC settings to fine-tune performance but I'm going to leave it as is.

Thanks for all the help.
Just like I said for 12th and 13th gen processors W11 handles the P&E cores better.

Was not talking about overclocking the processor but you can set a power limit to say 200 watts that keeps the short burst power from going to I think the like 230 watts of the processor.

Usertrashmark is comparing your card to all cards benched if you have 20% of those cards overclocked then that puts you 20% less showing on your score.
 
Well, I bit the bullet - at least half way. I ran an upgrade install to W11. Amazingly, it seemed to carry across all my required software and appears to have resolved my issues.

Crystal Disk Mark is now providing the readings I would have expected.
Cinebench provides a score around 30,000
The GPU is benchmarking as it should

Everything is running smoother. Unless I find something broken, that will do for me. Will try to avoid having to do a full manual reinstall as that generally has taken me around 3 days.

Zerk2012, I know what you mean about userbenchmark and real GPU tests but it is a quick and easy test to perform. My main game is CIV6 and it has improved dramatically. I have a micro-ATX build and so the H100i is as good a cooling solution as I can install without going fully custom. My previous testing was with zero overclock and so the cooler should have coped. I have a couple of Noctua case fans directly cooling the CPU area, acting as air intakes. Although I'm now happy, the CPU still throttles under Cinebench as the temperatures still touch 100. Clearly, the 13700KF needs more cooling for full performance than I am able to provide. I have no doubt I could tinker with the OC settings to fine-tune performance but I'm going to leave it as is.

Thanks for all the help.

Excellent! That's a result! Glad to offer advice.

Happy gaming :)
 
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