Question PC is underperforming

[knifefear]

Hello everyone,

I am kinda new to all the tech stuff, but I did notice my PC is running slower then it was supposed to. All the games I’ve played so far feel choppy and stutter. I used fraps to check the FPS, it’s over 100, but it feels like 30. Older games, like Hitman Absolution for example, all lag in smokey areas or when there are lots of effects. Feel free to suggest and ask anything, I’ll do my best to provide answers. I really want to play games with a peace of mind.

My specs are:
CPU: Intel Core i5-10400F 2.90GHz
RAM: 16GB DDR4
GPU: RTX 3060 12GB
SSD: NVME: M.2: KINGSTON SNV2S500G 500GB
OS: Windows 11 Home 22H2
Motherboard: Prime H510M-K version 2402

If I need to provide anything else, please let me know. Thank you all in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You forgot to mention the make and model of your PSU. Please include that as well as the age of the unit and if it powered anything prior to the RTX3060 listed above.

OS: Windows 11 Home 22H2
We're currently on 23H2, your OS is pending an update.

Open Device Manager and see if anything is flagged with a yellow exclamation mark. Following that, try and see if reinstalling your chipset drivers help alleviate the issue.

 

[knifefear]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You forgot to mention the make and model of your PSU. Please include that as well as the age of the unit and if it powered anything prior to the RTX3060 listed above.

OS: Windows 11 Home 22H2
We're currently on 23H2, your OS is pending an update.

Open Device Manager and see if anything is flagged with a yellow exclamation mark. Following that, try and see if reinstalling your chipset drivers help alleviate the issue.

Thanks for the warm welcome. My PSU: ZUS700 - 700W and 3060 is the only GPU ever used with it. Both are 6 months old. Device Manager is showing no exclamation marks. Chipset drivers were updated using Armoury Crate.

 

[logainofhades]

Did you enable XMP for your ram, in the bios? Have you checked temps at all?

 

[knifefear]

Did you enable XMP for your ram, in the bios? Have you checked temps at all?

Hello mate. I tried with XMP both on and off, does not make a difference. Yes I did. Does not go above 70 when gaming. Idle temps are okay as well. Applied new thermal paste to the CPU a few days ago. Could something be wrong with the BIOS settings? I do not know what’s right or wrong there.

 

[logainofhades]

With that board's weak VRM and no heatsink, I wouldn't be surprised if it is thermal throttling, causing you to lose clock speed.

 

[Ralston18]

Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor to learn more about what your system is doing, not doing, or trying to do.

Use both tools but only one tool at a time.

Make comparisons between times of slow performance vs fast/expected performance.

E.g. non-smokey vs smokey environments while gaming. Or other scenerios with and without lots of effects.

Object being to determine (at any given time) what system resources are being used, what is using any given resource, and to what extent.

You will need to keep the tool window open to watch. And it may require a bit of time and error to discover potential culprits.

Take your time, watch carefully. No need to immediately jump to conclusions and react.

 

[knifefear]

With that board's weak VRM and no heatsink, I wouldn't be surprised if it is thermal throttling, causing you to lose clock speed.

I used Intel’s app to stress test the CPU and check for thermal throttling. There was none.

 

[knifefear]

Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor to learn more about what your system is doing, not doing, or trying to do.

Use both tools but only one tool at a time.

Make comparisons between times of slow performance vs fast/expected performance.

E.g. non-smokey vs smokey environments while gaming. Or other scenerios with and without lots of effects.

Object being to determine (at any given time) what system resources are being used, what is using any given resource, and to what extent.

You will need to keep the tool window open to watch. And it may require a bit of time and error to discover potential culprits.

Take your time, watch carefully. No need to immediately jump to conclusions and react.

I’ll do that first thing tomorrow and let you know the results. Could the voltages be off maybe? Or some bad BIOS CPU settings?

 

[Ralston18]

Those conditions would not be shown per se in either tool.

However, a voltage issue could, for instance, adversely affect the GPU. Or other components such as (as mentioned) the CPU.

 

[knifefear]

Those conditions would not be shown per se in either tool.

However, a voltage issue could, for instance, adversely affect the GPU. Or other components such as (as mentioned) the CPU.

Is there any way to check?

 

[Ralston18]

There are utilities that can be used: e.g., CPU-z, GPU-z, and others that delve into such details.

I will defer to the overclocking community with respect to diagnostic use of those and similar tools.

The matter could simply be that there is some unknown or unexpected app running in the background that is consuming resources that the game could be using.

Stopping or disabling such apps may make improve performance.

 

[knifefear]

There are utilities that can be used: e.g., CPU-z, GPU-z, and others that delve into such details.

I will defer to the overclocking community with respect to diagnostic use of those and similar tools.

The matter could simply be that there is some unknown or unexpected app running in the background that is consuming resources that the game could be using.

Stopping or disabling such apps may make improve performance.

Here is the task manager and services.
https://ibb.co/5hQ61gm

IMG-0317 hosted at ImgBB

Image IMG-0317 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

https://ibb.co/h8NX3Pd

 

[Ralston18]

Note the small downward pointing > in the Memory column header (where it says " __ % Memory")

That means the column can be sorted.

Select the CPU column and click the header to sort. Purpose being to find what is using CPU.

Listing appears to be in ascending order and showing all 0 %'s.

You may find Resource Monitor more helpful via the presented graphical representations.

 

[knifefear]

Note the small downward pointing > in the Memory column header (where it says " __ % Memory")

That means the column can be sorted.

Select the CPU column and click the header to sort. Purpose being to find what is using CPU.

Listing appears to be in ascending order and showing all 0 %'s.

You may find Resource Monitor more helpful via the presented graphical representations.

I’ve kept a close eye. Nothing arouses suspicion.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

used Intel’s app to stress test the CPU and check for thermal throttling

what are you using to keep an eye on VRM temperatures while the stress testing is taking place?

 

[knifefear]

what are you using to keep an eye on VRM temperatures while the stress testing is taking place?

I used Intel Extreme Tuning Utility to check. No thermal throttle anywhere. Not even Motherboard VR.