Question PC runs games terribly even after upgrades

[conorjdavies]

Hello, long story somewhat short, I got my first gaming PC back in 2017 and have had nothing but issues ever since. Every game is basically unplayable due to constant stuttering and fps drops. I didn't know what was causing these problems so I started to replace parts of the PC over time until I figured out what was causing the issue. I started by replacing the CPU with an i7 7700k. That didn't help anything, then I changed the motherboard to the Maximus IX Hero, nothing, then I upgraded the RAM to the Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz, again, it did not help. I decided to upgrade the CPU cooler to the Corsair Hydro 100i, nope. I upgraded the SSD to the Samsung 970 Evo and also changed the PSU three different times. I even upgraded my monitor in the hopes that it was something to do with that. I might be forgetting other upgrades, but lastly, I upgraded my GPU from the GTX 1080 to the RTX 2080TI in the hopes that that was the cause, although I had a higher frame rate, I still had the exact same terrible unplayable performance, so I ended up selling that GPU to a friend and it worked fine for them.

Now, I would not call myself a PC expert but I know how to build a PC, so it is not like I did something wrong during the building process, I have even taken the PC to a repair shop and they couldn't find the cause either. Also, when I say terrible performance, I mean constant big stutters and fps drops every few seconds, for example, Battlefield 5 isn't even playable for me, even though I get around 90fps, that doesn't stop it from feeling terrible due to stutters and drops. Even Minecraft is unplayable, perhaps even worse than Battlefield, and again, this is for every single game and it's driving me nuts trying to fix it.

Sorry that there is not much else to go by, but if anyone would like to help me I am willing to run tests etc. For starters, I ran memtest earlier and found zero errors and just ran UserBenchmark and have the results here.

 

[Ralston18]

How is your computer connected to the internet?

Do other computers using the same connection path have problems?

Have you tried other known working connection cables? Coax, ethernet, etc. Any wall jacks, switches, between your gaming PC and router?

What PSU's did you try: make, model, wattages...?

Windows 10:

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance. First while not gaming and then while gaming. See what apps are being launched at startup - could be some buggy or corrupted app.

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for error codes and warnings.

What about your network router? The router may provide some clues if there is a log function and if the logs are enabled. Who has admin rights to the router? You will need help from that person.

 

[conorjdavies]

How is your computer connected to the internet?

Do other computers using the same connection path have problems?

Have you tried other known working connection cables? Coax, ethernet, etc. Any wall jacks, switches, between your gaming PC and router?

What PSU's did you try: make, model, wattages...?

Windows 10:

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance. First while not gaming and then while gaming. See what apps are being launched at startup - could be some buggy or corrupted app.

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer for error codes and warnings.

What about your network router? The router may provide some clues if there is a log function and if the logs are enabled. Who has admin rights to the router? You will need help from that person.

My computer is connected to the internet with a USB Wi-Fi adapter, I have tested it out with ethernet too but that changed nothing, lag isn't the problem anyway. And there is only one computer in the whole house. Also, I have tested every wall outlet in the house and nothing changed.

The PSU that I am using right now is the Corsair RM850x, keep in mind this is my third PSU, the last two PSU's were from EVGA.

Here is a photo of task manager and resource monitor before gaming.

And this is a photo of task manager while gaming.

Also, I have no apps starting on startup, I have always gone into task manager and stopped that from happening and no errors were found in reliability history.

 

[ConanLock]

Here's a list of a few things you could try to help it get running at the speed a system like that should:
• Make sure the monitor is plugged into the GPU, not motherboard.
• Download MSI Afterburner, and use it to monitor CPU, GPU and RAM usage, along with CPU and GPU temps. Is anything out of the ordinary (such as near max RAM, CPU at low usage, GPU at 100° etc)?
• Download Malwarebytes and run a full system scan, removing everything it finds.
• Uninstall and reinstall your GPU drivers, getting the newest available straight from Nvidia's website.
• Update the BIOS to the newest available, straight from the manufacturer's website.

Also, just to confirm, you aren't using unofficial driver downloaders, speed booster and system optimisers etc. If you are, your best option would probably be to simply reset Windows.

 

[conorjdavies]

Here's a list of a few things you could try to help it get running at the speed a system like that should:
• Make sure the monitor is plugged into the GPU, not motherboard.
• Download MSI Afterburner, and use it to monitor CPU, GPU and RAM usage, along with CPU and GPU temps. Is anything out of the ordinary (such as near max RAM, CPU at low usage, GPU at 100° etc)?
• Download Malwarebytes and run a full system scan, removing everything it finds.
• Uninstall and reinstall your GPU drivers, getting the newest available straight from Nvidia's website.
• Update the BIOS to the newest available, straight from the manufacturer's website.

Also, just to confirm, you aren't using unofficial driver downloaders, speed booster and system optimisers etc. If you are, your best option would probably be to simply reset Windows.

Hi, thanks for responding.

The monitor is plugged into the GPU, I already have Afterburner installed and the last time I used it everything looked good, the temps were fine and everything looked as it should. I actually installed Malwarebytes the other day funny enough, it didn't find any issues either. I upgrade the GPU drivers every time they release, I have had the same performance issues since 2017 so I doubt its an issue with the drivers. And the BIOS is already fully updated.

Also, I have reset Windows many times, the last time I did was last month.

 

[ConanLock]

Very weird. Have you enabled XMP in the BIOS? If not, refer to your manual, it is typically in the overclocking section, and then follow the steps to enable it, allowing your RAM to run at the advertised 3200MHz.
Also, (this does not apply if the RAM is using all slots on your motherboard) have you got the RAM in dual channel mode? To do this, the RAM needs to be in slot 2 and 4, so that when you look into the motherboard it goes empty, RAM, empty, RAM. This effectively doubles the RAM bandwidth, meaning data can technically travel to the CPU and GPU twice as quickly.

 

[conorjdavies]

Very weird. Have you enabled XMP in the BIOS? If not, refer to your manual, it is typically in the overclocking section, and then follow the steps to enable it, allowing your RAM to run at the advertised 3200MHz.
Also, (this does not apply if the RAM is using all slots on your motherboard) have you got the RAM in dual channel mode? To do this, the RAM needs to be in slot 2 and 4, so that when you look into the motherboard it goes empty, RAM, empty, RAM. This effectively doubles the RAM bandwidth, meaning data can technically travel to the CPU and GPU twice as quickly.

I do have XMP enabled and have 4x8gb sticks so I have all the slots filled on the motherboard.

 

[Ralston18]

And do take a close look at those 154 processes shown as running in Task Manager.

In Resource Monitor expand all four parameters: i.e., CPU, Disk, Network, Memory.

Have you run "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the command prompt?

 

[conorjdavies]

And do take a close look at those 154 processes shown as running in Task Manager.

In Resource Monitor expand all four parameters: i.e., CPU, Disk, Network, Memory.

Have you run "sfc /scannow" (without quotes) via the command prompt?

I took a look at the 154 processes but didn't see anything unusual, I also ran the "sfc /scannow" command, it did find some corrupted files but it didn't help with the issue sadly. I should also mention that I have this performance issue even after reinstalling windows, which leads me to believe that it is not some dodgy program causing the problems.

 

[Ralston18]

Two possible paths I think:

1) Strip back the system to the basics. Get the system running smoothly and with some steady level of performance. Pay close attention to what is running and all configuration settings. Then begin adding in hardware - one component at a time while improving performance - or at least preserving performance. Then start doing the same with software. If performance falters then the last "change" be that change hardware, software, or configuration would be the culprit.

2) Reinstall Windows - last resort if nothing else works. Reinstalling Windows would be rendered moot if there is some inherent configuration issue or faulty component.

 

[conorjdavies]

Two possible paths I think:

1) Strip back the system to the basics. Get the system running smoothly and with some steady level of performance. Pay close attention to what is running and all configuration settings. Then begin adding in hardware - one component at a time while improving performance - or at least preserving performance. Then start doing the same with software. If performance falters then the last "change" be that change hardware, software, or configuration would be the culprit.

2) Reinstall Windows - last resort if nothing else works. Reinstalling Windows would be rendered moot if there is some inherent configuration issue or faulty component.

I've already done this many times before sadly, the most recent being last month. Games still run the exact same with a fresh install. I reinstalled Windows and the first thing I did was tested a few games, all of them ran terrible as usual.

 

[Ralston18]

All I can think of for now is for you to just post the current hardware and software configuration and include all peripherals: monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc..

And do list all the games that you play.

Perhaps someone else will recognized some problem and comment accordingly.