Question Time to replace my i7 4770k?

[thunder0024]

Good evening, everyone! I'll cut right to the chase. I'm running an i7 4770k, GTX 1080ti, MSI Z87-G45 motherboard, and 16GB Ballistix Sport DDR3.

I've had my i7 4770k for a little over 6 years now. It's served me well in that time, and has lived longer than my pair of 290Xs. However, in the past months, I've noticed some across the board issues that I think can be traced back to it. The issues are as follows:

-Chrome can be laggy (not internet-related)
-Razer Synapse-related programs are glitchy and laggy (lighting gets stuck and macros stop working)
-Inputs get stuck for a very brief second in certain games
-Discord freezes in games (usually at the same times as inputs getting stuck) (no overlay)
-Games stutter from time to time
-CPU usage is almost always at 100 when in games, whereas GPU usage remains low (often around 10-20%). When it is at 100, it dips to about 70% whenever the game, Synapse, Discord, or anything else gets frozen
-Among other smaller things which involve some form of lag or getting stuck

It's currently running at a 4.2Ghz overclock which has been stable and supported by a water cooler for 2 years. I'm thinking of reducing the overclock and seeing if that helps. Otherwise, I'm thinking it's time to start planning on replacing it (which means replacing the mobo and RAM as well). My guess is that it's getting to the point where it can't handle multiple tasks at once anymore, and even simple ones such as having Razer Synapse control keyboard lighting and macros. The ones involving the keyboard aren't nearly as prevalent when the CPU isn't under load, and the same goes for the Discord issues.

I don't want to jump the gun quite yet, so I'm looking for thoughts, advise, and suggestions. Thanks!
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask as I'll be closely monitoring this post.

UPDATE: I defaulted my CPU in the bios. Default clock, hyperthreading on, etc. Usage now hovers at around 75% and fluctuates. Ill be sure to let y'all know if I see any differences.
Here's how usage looks now while playing the Modern Warfare beta:

https://imgur.com/a/7Ts2cVp

View: https://imgur.com/a/7Ts2cVp

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

Well, the 4770K is still an ok CPU. The most likely reason for it to be running slowly is software, not hardware. I had similar problems a few months ago and traced it back to the Razer software. I uninstalled it and my performance came back.

Also, the 1080Ti is a bit beefy of a GPU to run with a 4770K. On newer games it makes sense for the processor to be maxing out and the 1080Ti having a pleasant walk through the park. I doubt you are getting everything the 1080Ti has to offer. So, your CPU is struggling to run games, programs, etc. while the GPU is starved for frames to be fed to it from the CPU. This could be a sign of an aging CPU on newer programs, or excessive or faulty background tasks.

So, my guess is that it is software related, but a CPU upgrade has a good chance at gaining you GPU performance as well.

 

[thunder0024]

Well, the 4770K is still an ok CPU. The most likely reason for it to be running slowly is software, not hardware. I had similar problems a few months ago and traced it back to the Razer software. I uninstalled it and my performance came back.

Also, the 1080Ti is a bit beefy of a GPU to run with a 4770K. On newer games it makes sense for the processor to be maxing out and the 1080Ti having a pleasant walk through the park. I doubt you are getting everything the 1080Ti has to offer. So, your CPU is struggling to run games, programs, etc. while the GPU is starved for frames to be fed to it from the CPU. This could be a sign of an aging CPU on newer programs, or excessive or faulty background tasks.

So, my guess is that it is software related, but a CPU upgrade has a good chance at gaining you GPU performance as well.

I would honestly say it IS software related, but I have no clue how to go about solving that issue. I have no doubts either that the Razer software is partially to blame, however, I pretty much need that to get the peripherals working properly. It gets bad when after releasing W, my player will continue to move forward for a full two seconds. That and the Discord issue. It'll just freeze up, and won't respond to my push-to-talk and I wont be able to hear audio. I've got a dual monitor setup going, one just for discord and other things I like keeping an eye on, so I can actually see it freezing.

Not exactly sure what to do about it.

 

[justin.m.beauvais]

If you must have it, it might be a good idea to find an older version of the software to use until they sort out their issues. Just resist the urge to hit that update button until they have fixed it.