Reinstalled Win7 and got FPS issues on all my games.

[SteamyStew]

A while back now (February 2017) I reinstalled Win7 on my computer and ever since I've had issues with games that I never have had issues with before. I started to get FPS drops in games I've never had FPS drops in. I tried everything, cleaning my computer, replacing ALL parts, upgrading to Win10(through the free upgrade from Microsoft) and reinstalling Win10 three times now.
So I'm left wondering one thing. Is it my Windows OS version that's the issue? If I tried a new Win10 that I bought from some retailer, would that maybe fix these issues I've had since February? Can an upgraded version of Windows be damaged/corrupted? If my Win7 was corrupted somehow, will then my Win10 upgrade of that Win7 also be corrupted?

 

[Shektron]

Did you update the drivers of the video card after re-installing? Make sure you do that first.

 

[SteamyStew]

Did you update the drivers of the video card after re-installing? Make sure you do that first.

Yes I have updated the Video Drivers. Currently I'm running Nvidia Graphic Drivers 385.41

 

[Shektron]

Did you update the drivers of the video card after re-installing? Make sure you do that first.

Yes I have updated the Video Drivers. Currently I'm running Nvidia Graphic Drivers 385.41

Install MSI Afterburner, and check GPU usage while playing a game. Report that here.

 

[SteamyStew]

Did you update the drivers of the video card after re-installing? Make sure you do that first.

Yes I have updated the Video Drivers. Currently I'm running Nvidia Graphic Drivers 385.41

Install MSI Afterburner, and check GPU usage while playing a game. Report that here.

I played until FPS drops occured. How do I post the graph? I've never used MSI Afterburner before.

 

[Shektron]

I played until FPS drops occured. How do I post the graph? I've never used MSI Afterburner before.

Oh no you can just report it in words, what the GPU usage was around. No need for graphs.

 

[SteamyStew]

Ohh ok.. Uhm if i'm reading this right.. the usage was at minimum: 0 and maximum: 47

 

[Shektron]

Ohh ok.. Uhm if i'm reading this right.. the usage was at minimum: 0 and maximum: 47

That's some heavy CPU bottlenecking right there. Gaming should utilize your graphics card fully, and when it doesn't do so, it means your CPU is limiting your graphics card. Can you list your system specs please.

 

[SteamyStew]

Specs -
PSU: Corsair CX750M, 750W
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k Skylake 4.0GHz
CPU Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H90
Motherboard: Asus Prime Z270-A Socket-1151
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz 16GB
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 11GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5"HDD
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5"SSD
OS: Win 10 Pro

 

[Shektron]

Specs -
PSU: Corsair CX750M, 750W
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k Skylake 4.0GHz
CPU Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H90
Motherboard: Asus Prime Z270-A Socket-1151
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz 16GB
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 11GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5"HDD
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5"SSD
OS: Win 10 Pro

What resolution and settings are you running at, and what game? There's definitely a hardware problem her, your FPS should not be that low. Did you overclock the CPU? If not, do it.

 

[SteamyStew]

Specs -
PSU: Corsair CX750M, 750W
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k Skylake 4.0GHz
CPU Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H90
Motherboard: Asus Prime Z270-A Socket-1151
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000MHz 16GB
GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 11GB
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5"HDD
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5"SSD
OS: Win 10 Pro

What resolution and settings are you running at, and what game? There's definitely a hardware problem her, your FPS should not be that low. Did you overclock the CPU? If not, do it.

I'm going at 1920x1080, I can run games on low, medium or high but they'll all lag, and the game I played with MSI Afterburner on was Armello, a simple turn based game, not graphically challenging at all. I don't know how to overclock my CPU and even if I did, isn't overclocking "frowned upon"?

I also thought it was hardware issue but.. I've had these issues since my old computer, the only thing my old computer and my current computer have in common was my copy of Windows as the OS.

 

[Shektron]

I'm going at 1920x1080, I can run games on low, medium or high but they'll all lag, and the game I played with MSI Afterburner on was Armello, a simple turn based game, not graphically challenging at all. I don't know how to overclock my CPU and even if I did, isn't overclocking "frowned upon"?

I also thought it was hardware issue but.. I've had these issues since my old computer, the only thing my old computer and my current computer have in common was my copy of Windows as the OS.

Overclocking isn't frowned upon by anyone who knows what it is. You just need to take baby steps, test every time, and know the limits of your hardware.

Frankly, I'm out of ideas here except that the game itself is poorly optimized, or it actually is the OS's fault(doubt it though). Just try updating all the drivers and even the BIOS of your motherboard, you can find them in the Support or Driver section of your motherboard manufacturer's page:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-Z270-A/HelpDesk_Download/

Also, the Windows you have is 64-bit, I hope?

 

[SteamyStew]

I'm going at 1920x1080, I can run games on low, medium or high but they'll all lag, and the game I played with MSI Afterburner on was Armello, a simple turn based game, not graphically challenging at all. I don't know how to overclock my CPU and even if I did, isn't overclocking "frowned upon"?

I also thought it was hardware issue but.. I've had these issues since my old computer, the only thing my old computer and my current computer have in common was my copy of Windows as the OS.

Overclocking isn't frowned upon by anyone who knows what it is. You just need to take baby steps, test every time, and know the limits of your hardware.

Frankly, I'm out of ideas here except that the game itself is poorly optimized, or it actually is the OS's fault(doubt it though). Just try updating all the drivers and even the BIOS of your motherboard, you can find them in the Support or Driver section of your motherboard manufacturer's page:

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/PRIME-Z270-A/HelpDesk_Download/

Also, the Windows you have is 64-bit, I hope?

Yes the Windows I have is 64-bit

 

[SteamyStew]

I've installed the latest drivers from the ASUS website earlier today as today was my last try at a reinstall (again) before I lose my mind.

But then what else could it be? My pc got these issues after I reinstalled my old Win7. And when I upgraded it to Win10, it's the same Windows key I used for Win7. the only thing I can think of now is that it's Windows. And then if that doesn't fix it... I'll go crazy. Im gonna have to get a completly new computer just cause one little thing is messing up everything else and no one can really help me cause this is an extremely uncommon problem. I've tried so many stress tests it's starting to get hilarious, I've switched hardware like a lunatic and messed around with settings I didn't know existed. The only things I have left is to try a "new" Windows 10, or get a new computer.

 

[mbarnes86]

Hi

I suggest you monitor the cpu temperature to see if it is overheating and then the cpu will slow down .
Check if the cpu fan is controlled by the bios or windows ?
If cpu fan is running slowly under load then the cpu slows down

Regards
Mike Barnes

 

[Shektron]

Did you try running another game? Does it happen in all games?

 

[SteamyStew]

Hi

I suggest you monitor the cpu temperature to see if it is overheating and then the cpu will slow down .
Check if the cpu fan is controlled by the bios or windows ?
If cpu fan is running slowly under load then the cpu slows down

Regards
Mike Barnes

Hello Mike, thanks for your suggetstion.
I have tried to monitor it through the program HWMonitor and ASUS AISuite3, and it never goes critical, I have never seen my CPU Temp go above 65degrees.
I control the CPU Temp through the program ASUS AISuite3.
If I didn't use this temp control program, how would I go about checking to see if my BIOS or another Windows app controls my CPU temp?

 

[SteamyStew]

Did you try running another game? Does it happen in all games?

Almost. It's almost reversed of what you'd expect. If I run High-end games like The Witcher 3, MGS V or GTA V, I get little to no FPS drops. There are moments I get FPS drops, but it's not as extreme as in "low-end" games. In The Witcher 3 I hardly ever get any FPS drops. In MGS V I get FPS drops everytime I hit a checkpoint, never any other time. In GTA V I can either play smooth as butter or lag every 5 minutes.

In Armello for instance, I lag everytime there is a turn-change and whenever a checkpoint comes(when combat starts or someone discovers something). I also get lag in The Escapists 2 everytime there is a checkpoint or at random. I also played Bayonetta and Hollowknight, and I lagged constantly in those games.
I think the only game I have never had FPS drops in while playing is Sonic Adventure 2.

 

[Shektron]

Did you try running another game? Does it happen in all games?

Almost. It's almost reversed of what you'd expect. If I run High-end games like The Witcher 3, MGS V or GTA V, I get little to no FPS drops. There are moments I get FPS drops, but it's not as extreme as in "low-end" games. In The Witcher 3 I hardly ever get any FPS drops. In MGS V I get FPS drops everytime I hit a checkpoint, never any other time. In GTA V I can either play smooth as butter or lag every 5 minutes.

In Armello for instance, I lag everytime there is a turn-change and whenever a checkpoint comes(when combat starts or someone discovers something). I also get lag in The Escapists 2 everytime there is a checkpoint or at random. I also played Bayonetta and Hollowknight, and I lagged constantly in those games.
I think the only game I have never had FPS drops in while playing is Sonic Adventure 2.

It looks like your FPS always drops around places where something has to be read from/written to the disk. Which storage media do you use for the games? It might be that that media is dying.

 

[SteamyStew]

Did you try running another game? Does it happen in all games?

Almost. It's almost reversed of what you'd expect. If I run High-end games like The Witcher 3, MGS V or GTA V, I get little to no FPS drops. There are moments I get FPS drops, but it's not as extreme as in "low-end" games. In The Witcher 3 I hardly ever get any FPS drops. In MGS V I get FPS drops everytime I hit a checkpoint, never any other time. In GTA V I can either play smooth as butter or lag every 5 minutes.

In Armello for instance, I lag everytime there is a turn-change and whenever a checkpoint comes(when combat starts or someone discovers something). I also get lag in The Escapists 2 everytime there is a checkpoint or at random. I also played Bayonetta and Hollowknight, and I lagged constantly in those games.
I think the only game I have never had FPS drops in while playing is Sonic Adventure 2.

It looks like your FPS always drops around places where something has to be read from/written to the disk. Which storage media do you use for the games? It might be that that media is dying.

I have checked DISK Usage but maybe?.. My main drive is a 500GB SSD and my secondary is a 1TB HDD(They're both 5 months old)
I have tried games on both disks and they both still have FPS drops. My old computer had a 500GB HDD main drive and a 1TB HDD secondary and they worked perfectly until I reinstalled Windows 7.

 

[Shektron]

Run SMART disk check(you can check how to do that on Google), and also run a memtest86 to test the memory. Also, run AIDA64 stress test to see if your CPU is thermal throttling, though temps aren't suggesting so.

 

[SteamyStew]

Run SMART disk check(you can check how to do that on Google), and also run a memtest86 to test the memory. Also, run AIDA64 stress test to see if your CPU is thermal throttling, though temps aren't suggesting so.

I have tried those programs before and they come up with no problems. Everything hardware wise(as far as stress tests can see) is fine.

 

[Shektron]

Run SMART disk check(you can check how to do that on Google), and also run a memtest86 to test the memory. Also, run AIDA64 stress test to see if your CPU is thermal throttling, though temps aren't suggesting so.

I have tried those programs before and they come up with no problems. Everything hardware wise(as far as stress tests can see) is fine.

Did you re-install Windows 10 using the USB method? If not, do that - before doing so, link your MSA account to the license, just in case you have lost the product key. You can later activate it by just logging into your MSA account. Use the USB Media Creator from Microsoft's website to create a bootable USB, then install using that.

If you've already done that, guess it'd be a good idea to perhaps try different storage media, both for the installation USB, and for the hard drive in the computer.