Sudden high CPU usage spike and it decreases my FPS A LOT!

[whydoyouaskbro]

So, recently (about 2 months ago) I was playing GTA 5 with no issues, however suddenly my FPS dropped from around 50 to around 15 (didn't have anything to monitor it) and I though it was because it was rendering something huge or some other reason. I even deleted some files on my HDD to make some room, because it was full and I though it was slow rendering, because it was that full. It helped a little, but not quite. And around 2 weeks ago It started happening very frequently and I don't know why... Almost every game that I play has it. World of Tanks, GTA 5, Ring of Elysium and even when I try recording games like League of Legends with OBS... I thought it may be because it was overheating but in fact, It doesn't even get to 60 degrees celsius. My graphics card get really hot (around 90 degrees celsius) and used at 100% almost all the time, but when I use MSI Afterburner to monitor my things, I can see that it's not because of that.
Here are my specs and pictures:

CPU : AMD FX-6350 (using the stock Wrath Cooler)
GPU : 4096MB ATI Radeon RX 550 Series (ASUStek Computer Inc)
Motherboard : ASRock N68C-GS4 FX (CPUSocket)
RAM : 8 GB
Storage : 931GB Western Digital WDC WD10 EZEX-08WN4A0 SCSI Disk Device (SATA)
465GB Seagate ST500DM0 02-1BD142 SCSI Disk Device (SATA)
Monitor (not that it matters, but still) : DELL P2210 (1680x1050@60Hz)

Image of CPU usage and FPS (the middle chart is for RAM usage,but its not important) : http://
Image of CPU temperatures WHILE playing (corresponds with the image above) : http://

As you can see, the temperatures of the CPU are really low, but It still spikes so hard and really destroys my FPS.

 

[bignastyid]

Whats the cpu frequency when the spikes occur? Given the motherboard was not designed to support a 125w cpu I suspect VRM throttling.
https://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-GS4%20FX/#CPU
*Note the 125w FX 6350 is missing from the boards cpu support list*

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

Whats the cpu frequency when the spikes occur? Given the motherboard was not designed to support a 125w cpu I suspect VRM throttling.
https://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-GS4%20FX/#CPU
*Note the 125w FX 6350 is missing from the boards cpu support list*

I don't think its because of that, because as I stated, it started doing it around 2 months ago, before that i didn't have any problems with any game. I've been using this PC for a year now.
But just in case, can you tell me where can I check the frequency. Can I monitor it in MSI Afterburner or do I have to download some kind of different program?

 

[bignastyid]

Cpu-z and hwinfo will show the CPU frequency.

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

Cpu-z and hwinfo will show the CPU frequency.

I downloaded CPU-Z and what info do you want me to show to you? Should I do the "Bech" option or when I get the FPS stutter Alt + Tab and check the frequency?

 

[sizzling]

Just because it’s was working doesn’t mean it cannot be the motherboard. If the VRM’s were over stressed you could be seeing an issue as a result of damage from prolonged use.

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

Just because it’s was working doesn’t mean it cannot be the motherboard. If the VRM’s were over stressed you could be seeing an issue as a result of damage from prolonged use.

How can I check if that's the case?

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

Cpu-z and hwinfo will show the CPU frequency.

Anyways here are some pictures of the frequency. It jumps betwwen the 2 pictures and while I get the FPS stutter I've only seen it at the 2nd picture. Not sure if its just a coincidence.

Picture 1 : http://prntscr.com/lwnrak
Picture 2 : http://prntscr.com/lwnsas

Also, I have checked for malware and viruses and I have detected some and deleted them, but it's still happening.

 

[bignastyid]

1.4Ghz, yep you have VRM throttling.

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

1.4Ghz, yep you have VRM throttling.

And can I fix it somehow? Or should I ask to replace my motherboard or buy a new one? And if I should buy a new one, can you recommend one to me that's a reasonable price?

 

[bignastyid]

You can't fix it unless you have a time machine so you can go back in time and get the proper motherboard.

You are not going to find a new, good and reasonably priced AM3+ motherboard. They have been out of production for awhile now.

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

You can't fix it unless you have a time machine so you can go back in time and get the proper motherboard.

You are not going to find a new, good and reasonably priced AM3+ motherboard. They have been out of production for awhile now.

So my best bet is to return it and ask for a new one, because I still have 2 more years of warranty.

 

[bignastyid]

You can't fix it unless you have a time machine so you can go back in time and get the proper motherboard.

You are not going to find a new, good and reasonably priced AM3+ motherboard. They have been out of production for awhile now.

So my best bet is to return it and ask for a new one, because I still have 2 more years of warranty.

You can try. But where you have been running an unsupported CPU that has been making the VRMs work harder than they were designed to they may void the warranty. But even if they do replace the board, the replacement will likely be the same or similar model that will just end up having the same problem.

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

You can't fix it unless you have a time machine so you can go back in time and get the proper motherboard.

You are not going to find a new, good and reasonably priced AM3+ motherboard. They have been out of production for awhile now.

So my best bet is to return it and ask for a new one, because I still have 2 more years of warranty.

You can try. But where you have been running an unsupported CPU that has been making the VRMs work harder than they were designed to they may void the warranty. But even if they do replace the board, the replacement will likely be the same or similar model that will just end up having the same problem.

I just looked at the site where I take my parts from and I found this motherboard : ASROCK 970 Pro3 R2.0 and can support a CPU up to 140 W and my processor wants only 125 W and I can afford it even right now!
Link to the site (it's in czech) : https://www.alza.cz/asrock-970-pro3-r2-0-d521708.htm

 

[coldmast]

Can you underclock/undervolt the FX6350 to push it inline with the FX6300 TDP of 95W (that is, match the FX6300 stock)? See if it helps with the frame drops.

 

[Candan]

The VRMs on ASROCK 970 boards are well renowned to be poor and have throttling issues. They have very little heat sinks. It good at all. Had this board years ago. Had to keep all case panels off all the time and a fan blowing on the VRMs full time

 

[whydoyouaskbro]

Can you underclock/undervolt the FX6350 to push it inline with the FX6300 TDP of 95W (that is, match the FX6300 stock)? See if it helps with the frame drops.

Can you send me a video that explains it in detail, because I have never tried to over/underclock anything.
EDIT: I have searched for around 1,2 hours and can't find a program or a video that works for my processor. I have tried multiple programs, but all of them either don't support my processor or can't detect it, thus not I'm not able to make any changes to it. Please someone help.

 

[coldmast]

See the ASRock N68C-GS4 FX Manual
http://asrock.pc.cdn.bitgravity.com/Manual/N68C-GS4%20FX.pdf


Some random overclocking video with this board:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqO8kJghYQg


Option 1
An easy fix would be knocking the core count from 6 cores down to 4 cores which should knock back the power consumption down [in the Bios it is listed as CPU ACTIVE CORE CONTROL]. You essentially turn the FX 6530 into a "FX 4350."
"CPU Active Core Control
This allows you to adjust CPU Active Core Control feature. The configuration
options depend on the CPU core you adopt. The default value is [Disabled]."

Option 2
I'd prefer taking the FX 6350 19.5 Multiplier (19.5x200MHz = 3.9 GHz) [strike]down to the supported FX 6300 17.5 Mulitplier (17.5x200Mhz = 3.5 Ghz)[/strike]. But I don't see the option in the youtube video. And I don't even see a FX 6300 in the support list: https://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-GS4%20FX/index.asp#CPU.
On this unoffical list a couple of other processors are shown.
http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASRock/N68C-GS4_FX.html


"Multiplier/Voltage Change
This item is set to [Auto] by default. If it is set to [Manual], you may adjust the
value of Processor Frequency and Processor Voltage."

Option 3 (last option not sure if this will help with the VRM issue).
Well you could go into the BIOS and you are presented with options for doing that. I don't think the CPU multiplier can be changed in that specific motherboard BIOS. So the most you can do is knock back the front side bus speed down from 200MHz.

No guarantees that this will fix your symptom as too much damage may have already been made. Don't overclock anything, if you make a mistake you may have to use the jumper to reset the bios to default (make sure you have the motherboard somewhere to reference).

After a lower power consumption fix has been made in the BIOS you can ensure that windows is set to high performance mode in the power options.

You should download CPU-Z and confirm that your processor is dropping into the low power p state 1.4 GHz @ 0.875 V when noticing the frame rate drop.

 

[Mojtaba Hosseini]

hey. what happened at last? I'm having same problem, I wanna know how did it turn out for you? could u solve it?