PC throttling lag spikes

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

Hey, im having problems with my PC im guessing its my CPU by what I have tested, but I am not entirely certain, When I play games they run smooth at about 60fps smooth, but then I suddenly get lag spikes and fps drops they can last up to a minute. My setup is not the best but I think I should be able to run the games I play without lag spikes,ive turned my games down to low settings just to be sure and I still get lag spikes and fps drops. I then installed MSI Afterburner to show my CPU temp and usage and the usage is 60-70 % when it runs smooth but when I get the lag spikes and FPS drops it jumps to 90-100% so its like my CPU cant handle the game but its not overheating because the temp is at 30 and 35 degrees.

I then installed CPUz and did a stress test on my CPU which the performance showed every 30 seconds it would dip like it couldn't handle the stress test.

My PC specs:
Nvidia 1050ti
AMD FX 8350
8GB Ram

Any help would be appreciated thanks

 

[norcalsc]

something in your background processes is chewing up your CPU. take a picture like you did of task manager PROCESSES instead of performance, we should be able to see what program is eating up such a huge percentage of your CPU's capabilities. there's most certainly a problem there may be a virus. download and run malwarebytes if you haven't already

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

Thanks for the reply, the reason my CPU is 100% in that screenshot is because I was stress testing my CPU, and I have scanned my pc with Malwarebytes and no viruses are detected.

 

[norcalsc]

I find it weird that cpu z is using 90% of your cpu. Not sure what to think

 

[shmoochie]

How long has this been happening? And does it happen to multiple games? I mean, it is possible that your CPU just can't keep up with some of the newer games. The multicore processing on it is nice but the single core is usually lacking in AMD's, and it is a 6 year old AMD at that.

You might also try checking you hard drives. I know that a failing hard drive can have similar effects.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

6 months I would say its been happening or ive only started to notice it then. Yes it happens with most games like Rainbow Six Siege and Prey currently. How can I check if my hard drive is failing? would you suggest a CPU upgrade?

 

[shmoochie]

-CrystalDiskMark , if it gives similar numbers, should confirm the drive is very slow...
-GsmartControl will let you look at the errors/health, run a short 2 min test, etc...

Even if it is the hard drive failing then I still suggest a CPU upgrade for gaming. Your CPU will still work if you use it for a workstation, but it barely meets the minimum requirements for the two games you play. It's not gonna last long either way. The only other thing I could think of is that you don't have enough RAM available in-game. You have the minimum requirements, but with so much in use, it may be writing some of the processes to the hard drive.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

When you talk about using, CrystalDiskMark what similar numbers are you talking about?

I have looked at the recommended and minimum system requirements for both of these games and my CPU is at recommended or above, im confused when you say my CPU barely meets system requirements?

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

I used GSmartControl and it says my drive have no errors.

 

[shmoochie]

Oh my bad. I read the recommended thinking it was the minimum. Regardless, I stand by my recommendation that you look into an upgrade eventually.

Okay, after doing some research, I found several people with the same cpu and mobo as you having the same issues. I'm pretty sure that the VRMs on your mobo are overheating and throttling your CPU, which seems to be the case based on your CPU-Z numbers. Test the temps some more while gaming, and if that is the case, then you may need to think about better airflow to that part of the board. They also make heatsinks for vrms.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

Np, I have had my motherboard since I built my PC and it was old when I bought it, that was like 6 years ago. I probably need to upgrade it. Its probably burnt out because ive used it for a long time and thanks for looking into the problem for me I appreciate it, id be clueless otherwise.

One more thing I used GSmartcontrol and did all the test and my it said I have no drive errors, and then used Crystal Disk Mark to look at my HDD speeds and this is what it showed:

Are those speeds normal? and would you suggest an upgrade? thanks

 

[PdxPetmonster]

If those are the speeds of an SSD, they're pretty bad, however, if they're the speeds of a mechanical drive, they're not bad at all. I don't think I saw if you mentioned what type of drive you're using or not, so that info would be great.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

Yeah its a mechanical drive, do you want the exact model?

 

[shmoochie]

Those look fine for an HDD, but I seriously recommend you get an SSD before upgrading anything else. Upgrading to an SSD from a nearly full HDD will be the most noticeable upgrade you can get for the price. It will also help with processes that get pushed to the hard drive if the problem you are having does actually turn out to be a RAM issue. I would keep the HDD as a backup, but get an SSD big enough to hold your operating system and any games you are playing at the time. You won't be sorry.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

What size SSD would you suggest?, I want one but they are quite expensive for the storage you get.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

And also would you suggest upgrading my motherboard?

 

[PdxPetmonster]

You can get a pretty decent 500gb for ~$100 US, and that would probably be a huge upgrade. Problem is, with the CPU you've got, there's no real upgrade path that doesn't include a new CPU, Motherboard, and Memory. At the very least, I'd look into an SSD, as it will provide SOME improvements, and can move to a new build whenever you decide to do that.

 

[MODDEDSTEALTH]

I am looking at getting these two:https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Ryzen-1600-Desktop-CPU/dp/B07B41WS48/ref=pd_aw_fbt_147_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WH20P31QC44EF9YQSDA2&th=1

And:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Prime-B350-PLUS-S-ATA-Motherboard/dp/B06X9LN311/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527871234&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=am4+motherboard&dpPl=1&dpID=51L9VgesDLL&ref=plSrch

Do you think they will work well together, and I will also be looking at getting and SSD and will need to get new RAM for it to fit the board.

 

[PdxPetmonster]

There's no reason those shouldn't work well together. Don't skimp on the ram, get some decent memory, it will make all the difference. Also, make sure you choose your memory based off of the list of supported ram. When I put my original 1700 and x370 board together when ryzen originally released, I bought memory that hadn't been tested (is now officially supported), and it caused a bunch of headaches.

Also, if you can, I'd also suggest you get an M.2 NVMe drive, versus a standard SSD. They're relatively similarly priced, but the performance difference is pretty big.