Underpowered GPU - PSU 12V Rail only supplies 38A?

[NSRyan]

Sorry if my terminology is not 100% correct, I'm VERY new to understand PSUs.

Lately, I've been having very bad stuttering on demanding games. My specs are a GTX 1070, i5-6600K, and an ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming mobo with 8gb of corsair ddr4 RAM (2400mhz).
I've tried to see if my GPU has been receiving adequate power, and it turns out that my particular model of GPU, (ASUS ROG Strix 1070) requires a minimum 500W PSU with 42A on the 12V rail.
My PSU is indeed, 500w, however, on the 12V rail it only provides 38A (as stated online).

Now, I may be wrong, but I think the GPU draws more current as it needs it, so less demanding games will draw less than 38A, whereas more demanding games will draw more than 38A. As my PSU only provides 38A whereas the PSU requires a minimum of 42A on the 12V rail, is that why it occasionally stutters? Please understand that this is ONLY on high-demand games, and in intense situations in low-demanding games.

Would it be worth upgrading the PSU to a better model from the likes of Seasonic, EVGA or Corsair with a higher current on the rails?

My current PSU is a 500w Aerocool Integrator, which I will admit, is quite bad. I should probably upgrade this anyway as it is not a particularly reputable brand. Would this 'underpowering' be the cause of my stuttering?

I was looking, and this PSU seems to be good for the price. It has a 46A 12v Rail, and is 600W.
http://www.ebuyer.com/269259-corsair-cx-600w-fully-wired-80-bronze-power-supply-cp-9020048-uk?mkwid=s_dc&pcrid=51482424299&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh_bLBRDeARIsAH4ZYEOlIC-xhbbruP10DWg_0Bu7s5l84zksYoHh3VrFXWjORYd7yL3NiccaAtsREALw_wcB

What do you guys think?
Remember, I'm fairly new to PSUs etc, so please feel free to correct me as needed.

 

[Aeacus]

It is possible that underpowered GPU causes stuttering under higher loads.

While Corsair CX series are mediocre quality PSUs, your linked PSU is the older version of Corsair CX lineup (with green lettering) and that PSU is low quality unit.

For new PSU, you'd be much better off with any Seasonic unit, in 600W range. E.g M12II-620 EVO, G-650, Platinum 660 or PRIME 650 80+ Titanium,
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/Tc3RsY,CfXfrH,R7V48d,nn648d/

M12II-620 EVO (48A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/m12ii-620-evo/
G-650 (54A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/g-650/
Platinum 660 (55A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/platinum-660/
PRIME 650 80+ Titanium (54A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/prime-650-w-titanium/

M12II EVO and G series PSUs are good quality PSUs and come with 5 years of warranty. Platinum and PRIME series PSUs are great quality PSUs. Platinum series PSUs come with 7 years of warranty while PRIME series PSUs come with 12 years! of warranty.

Seasonic PRIME 650 80+ Titanium is the best 650W PSU money can buy at current date.
With Seasonic PRIME 80+ Titanium series, you'll get the highest efficiency (94%), tightest voltage regulation (0.5%), longest hold-up time (30ms), lowest ripple noise (20mV) and longest warranty (12 years) there is. Fully modular cables and toggle-able Premium Hybrid fan control too.
review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=493

My Skylake build is also powered by PRIME 650 80+ Titanium PSU (full specs with pics in my sig).
Oh, all semi- and fully-modular Seasonic PSUs are also compatible with CableMod SE-series custom sleeved power cables. To match my black & red theme, i replaced the stock black power cables with CableMod SE-series red colored power cables.
cablemod: https://cablemod.com/products/?filter_series=se-series

Actually, all my 3 PCs: Skylake, Haswell and AMD are powered by Seasonic. Got M12II EVO series powering my Haswell build and S12II series powering my AMD build.

 

[NSRyan]

It is possible that underpowered GPU causes stuttering under higher loads.

While Corsair CX series are mediocre quality PSUs, your linked PSU is the older version of Corsair CX lineup (with green lettering) and that PSU is low quality unit.

For new PSU, you'd be much better off with any Seasonic unit, in 600W range. E.g M12II-620 EVO, G-650, Platinum 660 or PRIME 650 80+ Titanium,
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/Tc3RsY,CfXfrH,R7V48d,nn648d/

M12II-620 EVO (48A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/m12ii-620-evo/
G-650 (54A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/g-650/
Platinum 660 (55A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/platinum-660/
PRIME 650 80+ Titanium (54A @ +12V), specs: https://seasonic.com/product/prime-650-w-titanium/

M12II EVO and G series PSUs are good quality PSUs and come with 5 years of warranty. Platinum and PRIME series PSUs are great quality PSUs. Platinum series PSUs come with 7 years of warranty while PRIME series PSUs come with 12 years! of warranty.

Seasonic PRIME 650 80+ Titanium is the best 650W PSU money can buy at current date.
With Seasonic PRIME 80+ Titanium series, you'll get the highest efficiency (94%), tightest voltage regulation (0.5%), longest hold-up time (30ms), lowest ripple noise (20mV) and longest warranty (12 years) there is. Fully modular cables and toggle-able Premium Hybrid fan control too.
review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=493

My Skylake build is also powered by PRIME 650 80+ Titanium PSU (full specs with pics in my sig).
Oh, all semi- and fully-modular Seasonic PSUs are also compatible with CableMod SE-series custom sleeved power cables. To match my black & red theme, i replaced the stock black power cables with CableMod SE-series red colored power cables.
cablemod: https://cablemod.com/products/?filter_series=se-series

Actually, all my 3 PCs: Skylake, Haswell and AMD are powered by Seasonic. Got M12II EVO series powering my Haswell build and S12II series powering my AMD build.

I could try upgrading the PSU. The only thing that strikes me is that in MSI Afterburner, when in game, when the stuttering occurs the 'Power' is only around 65%? Is the 'Power' reading related to the power that the GPU is drawing from the PSU? Or is it something else? Because if it was PSU related would the 'Power' reading not be a little bit higher?
For example, it says GPU : 65%
And that is the 'Power', not GPU usage.

I don't really want to spend money where it is not needed because I'm only 16 and money is quite hard for me to come across 😉

 

[Aeacus]

The power graph shows the GPU power draw from PSU. You can adjust the limit of GPU power draw by sliding the Power Limit bar.

I did a test with my Skylake build. I have Power Limit set at 100% and my GPU power draw is at 24% when my PC is at idle. During Unigine Superposition benchmark with 1080p High settings, GPU power draw peaked at 76% (average 70%).

Btw, your Aerocool Integrator is low quality (Tier four) PSU, just like the older model Corsair CX PSU you linked.
PSU Tier list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[NSRyan]

The power graph shows the GPU power draw from PSU. You can adjust the limit of GPU power draw by sliding the Power Limit bar.

I did a test with my Skylake build. I have Power Limit set at 100% and my GPU power draw is at 24% when my PC is at idle. During Unigine Superposition benchmark with 1080p High settings, GPU power draw peaked at 76% (average 70%).

Btw, your Aerocool Integrator is low quality (Tier four) PSU, just like the older model Corsair CX PSU you linked.
PSU Tier list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Whilst idle, my 1070 GPU power draw is 8% (Power Limit set at 150% under 'power graph properties' in the monitoring tab). What I did notice is that in Black Ops 3, my pagefile usage was over 15000MBs, however I'm not sure if that is a lot. It is only 5000 in Rocket League, however I get the occasional stutter in both games. It's not too frequent, but it is enough to irritate me. I can't see any usages spiking, however I feel that it may be slow read/write speeds with the pagefile? Or alternatively, it could be a RAM issue. I really don't know.
Will definitely look at getting a better PSU anyway though.

EDIT: The RAM could be an issue as the pagefile is being used when you run low on RAM. The PSU may cause issues also.

 

[Aeacus]

The pagefile read/write can also cause stutters.

At current date, 16GB of RAM is optimal when playing latest games. Though, you can disable any unnecessary programs before starting to game, to free more RAM for game to use. Also, what's your system disk? HDD or SSD?

To know which of your component is underperforming, run the UserBenchmark test tool,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Software

 

[NSRyan]

The pagefile read/write can also cause stutters.

At current date, 16GB of RAM is optimal when playing latest games. Though, you can disable any unnecessary programs before starting to game, to free more RAM for game to use. Also, what's your system disk? HDD or SSD?

To know which of your component is underperforming, run the UserBenchmark test tool,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Software

Can I just say, I really appreciate your support with this, it is helping me diagnose a lot 😀
I ran the userbenchmark tool in the past, and it performed quite poorly, however I did a BIOS flash just last week and it seems to have improved the situation. I just ran the userbenchmark and these are the results: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/4478883
As we can see my GPU is running as expected so there may be no signs of it being underpowered? I won't rule it out just yet. My CPU is running below average, and I believe this is because the majority of people with the i5-6600k overclock it, so mine doesn't perform as well as theirs. Correct me if I'm wrong though. What confuses me is the RAM. It is in the 9th percentile, which I believe may be the cause of my stuttering by the looks of it. I did run the userbenchmark with Chrome open, so I will close it and run another test after I have posted this. In my old DDR3 build with a GTX 950 and FX-6350 OCed, I had 16GB so that may be the best choice for me. To answer your question, I run my OS on my SSD, and all games on my HDD. My HDD is a WD Green which is about 5 years old. I think if I got a new, faster WD Black, and a RAM upgrade, that may improve performance and eliminate the stuttering as the pagefiling would be reduced as more RAM would be available, and when pagefiling is needed it would be a bit faster as I would have a new, faster drive.

What are your thoughts? I still believe I need to get a new PSU however, as I'm taking a large risk running this one. Additionally, why do you think my RAM is performing so poorly? I did notice it is running at 2133MHz, despite being a 2400MHz module.

Once again, thanks for the support

UPDATE: Just ran another userbenchmark with Chrome closed. It's pretty much the same, but the RAM improved. It still isn't great though. 36th percentile. http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/4479099
Any ideas on how to increase that? As other people with the same stick evidently get better performance. The only thing I had open when running the bench was Discord.

 

[madmatt30]

A low quality PSU with badly filtered power & bad ripple , voltage fluctuations can cause this behaviour

You're confused by required GPU wattage , your component list runs a max of about 370w so a good 450w PSU would manage.

The issue is that aerocool is absolutely dire quality.

Running a £400 card on it is a risk I would not be willing to take personally.

 

[Aeacus]

By looking your results, i too see 2 issues: CPU and RAM.

RAM fix is easy, go to your BIOS and set your RAM to run at 2400 Mhz. Currently, it's running at 2133 Mhz and underperforms a bit. You might need to enable XMP from BIOS to get your RAM running at 2400 Mhz.

Though, why your CPU is underperforming - that's a harder thing to figure out. And no, it's not because you run your CPU with stock clock speeds.
In my Skylake build, i too have i5-6600K CPU and here are my UserBenchmark runs:
CPU OCd to 3.9 Ghz: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/3760877
CPU OCd to 4.1 Ghz: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/3760746
And here's one older run before i upgraded my RAM from 8GB to 16GB. My CPU is running at idle speeds of 800 Mhz, while when needed, Intel's turbo boost activates and clocks my cores up to 3.9 Ghz,
link: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/2113283

To get your CPU running normal, try changing Power Plan mode from your Win 10 Control Panel and see if it has any effect,
further reading: https://www.howtogeek.com/240840/should-you-use-the-balanced-power-saver-or-high-performance-power-plan-on-windows/

I have Balanced power plan in use under my Win7. Though, you may run yours at High Performance.

About storage. Since you have games on HDD and OS on SSD, there is improvement to be gained if you put 1-2 most played games on your SSD. For one, it reduces game loading times considerably. And it can also cure your stutters since both the game and pagefile are on the same, fast read/write SSD.
Since your SSD is a bit small, i'd go for a new SSD at 250GB range, e.g Samsung 850 Evo,
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/3kL7YJ/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam
and comparison between your current SSD,
link: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/HyperX-Fury-120GB-vs-Samsung-850-Evo-250GB/2586vs2977

Out of all Western Digital lineup, the Green HDDs perform the worst. Green HDDs can be useful in a laptop where the drive's power consumption matters to save battery life. In desktop PC, where you have constant power coming in from the mains, there's no need for a HDD which is designed to use less power. That being said, i'd replace it with WD Blue HDD. WD Black HDD doesn't give enough boost in performance to justify it's higher price from the Blue HDDs.
Comparison between WD Blue and WD Black,
link: http://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/WD-Blue-1TB-2012-vs-WD-Black-1TB-2013/1779vs1822
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/Fz2kcf,MwW9TW/

In my household, i have 4x WD Blue 1TB (WD10EZEX) HDDs in use, 2x in Skylake build and 2x in Haswell build. So far, none has died on me and i'm pleased with their performance.

As far as your PC upgrades go;
1st thing would be PSU. You can go with the M12II-620 EVO PSU to save some money.
2nd in line would be new and bigger SSD, so you can put 1-2 most played games on your SSD.
3rd in line would be 2nd stick of 8GB RAM.
Though, to boost your gaming performance, i'd buy a set of 2x 8GB 3000 Mhz or 3200 Mhz RAM and take the 2400 Mhz RAM out of the build completely. You can keep your 2400 Mhz RAM as a backup or sell it.
Here's a good video to watch about different RAM speeds and performance gain between them,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Yt4vSZKVk

While you can buy one 8GB 3000 Mhz RAM stick now and 2nd one later, i don't advise that for several reasons. RAMs that are sold as a set are tested and confirmed to run together. Those RAM sticks that are sold one at a time usually have issues running together with other RAM sticks, even if both RAMs are exactly the same. Also, with 2 sticks, you can run your RAM in dual-channel which is much faster compared to the single-channel of using only 1 stick.
Here's a good comparison between single- and dual-channel speeds, despite total RAM amount being 8GB,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2133-C14-1x8GB-vs-HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2133-C14-2x4GB/3555vs3554

4th upgrade would be WD Blue 1TB HDD to replace your WD Green 500GB HDD out.
Here's also a comparison between your WD Green 500GB and WD Blue 1TB HDDs,
link: http://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/WD-WD5000AVDS-63U7B1-500GB-vs-WD-Blue-1TB-2012/m3450vs1779

 

[madmatt30]

The issue with user benchmark is it merely takes an average from people with the same components.

The CPU score is a non-issue , you're being compared to people with 6600k's of which 90% of people will be pushing 4.4/4.5ghz overclocks.

Userbenchmark does not account for this at all.

Ram speeds - very very little difference in anything apart from memory benchmarking

The amount of ram may be impacting performance, although many people manage with 8gb fine.

You should however run at 2400 if your memory is rated at that native simply because there's no reason not to.

Which drive is pagefiling set to ??

As per above a WD green is not an ideal gaming drive.

PSU - you should replace it anyway , a £400 GPU on a £25 PSU is never a good idea.
I won't guarantee it'll solve any problem but it will give you piece of mind.
I have seen schonky voltage regulation & ripple cause both mb & GPU circuit protection to kick in in the past though.

 

[NSRyan]

By looking your results, i too see 2 issues: CPU and RAM.

RAM fix is easy, go to your BIOS and set your RAM to run at 2400 Mhz. Currently, it's running at 2133 Mhz and underperforms a bit. You might need to enable XMP from BIOS to get your RAM running at 2400 Mhz.

Though, why your CPU is underperforming - that's a harder thing to figure out. And no, it's not because you run your CPU with stock clock speeds.
In my Skylake build, i too have i5-6600K CPU and here are my UserBenchmark runs:
CPU OCd to 3.9 Ghz: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/3760877
CPU OCd to 4.1 Ghz: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/3760746
And here's one older run before i upgraded my RAM from 8GB to 16GB. My CPU is running at idle speeds of 800 Mhz, while when needed, Intel's turbo boost activates and clocks my cores up to 3.9 Ghz,
link: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/2113283

To get your CPU running normal, try changing Power Plan mode from your Win 10 Control Panel and see if it has any effect,
further reading: https://www.howtogeek.com/240840/should-you-use-the-balanced-power-saver-or-high-performance-power-plan-on-windows/

I have Balanced power plan in use under my Win7. Though, you may run yours at High Performance.

About storage. Since you have games on HDD and OS on SSD, there is improvement to be gained if you put 1-2 most played games on your SSD. For one, it reduces game loading times considerably. And it can also cure your stutters since both the game and pagefile are on the same, fast read/write SSD.
Since your SSD is a bit small, i'd go for a new SSD at 250GB range, e.g Samsung 850 Evo,
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/3kL7YJ/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam
and comparison between your current SSD,
link: http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/HyperX-Fury-120GB-vs-Samsung-850-Evo-250GB/2586vs2977

Out of all Western Digital lineup, the Green HDDs perform the worst. Green HDDs can be useful in a laptop where the drive's power consumption matters to save battery life. In desktop PC, where you have constant power coming in from the mains, there's no need for a HDD which is designed to use less power. That being said, i'd replace it with WD Blue HDD. WD Black HDD doesn't give enough boost in performance to justify it's higher price from the Blue HDDs.
Comparison between WD Blue and WD Black,
link: http://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/WD-Blue-1TB-2012-vs-WD-Black-1TB-2013/1779vs1822
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/Fz2kcf,MwW9TW/

In my household, i have 4x WD Blue 1TB (WD10EZEX) HDDs in use, 2x in Skylake build and 2x in Haswell build. So far, none has died on me and i'm pleased with their performance.

As far as your PC upgrades go;
1st thing would be PSU. You can go with the M12II-620 EVO PSU to save some money.
2nd in line would be new and bigger SSD, so you can put 1-2 most played games on your SSD.
3rd in line would be 2nd stick of 8GB RAM.
Though, to boost your gaming performance, i'd buy a set of 2x 8GB 3000 Mhz or 3200 Mhz RAM and take the 2400 Mhz RAM out of the build completely. You can keep your 2400 Mhz RAM as a backup or sell it.
Here's a good video to watch about different RAM speeds and performance gain between them,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Yt4vSZKVk

While you can buy one 8GB 3000 Mhz RAM stick now and 2nd one later, i don't advise that for several reasons. RAMs that are sold as a set are tested and confirmed to run together. Those RAM sticks that are sold one at a time usually have issues running together with other RAM sticks, even if both RAMs are exactly the same. Also, with 2 sticks, you can run your RAM in dual-channel which is much faster compared to the single-channel of using only 1 stick.
Here's a good comparison between single- and dual-channel speeds, despite total RAM amount being 8GB,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2133-C14-1x8GB-vs-HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2133-C14-2x4GB/3555vs3554

4th upgrade would be WD Blue 1TB HDD to replace your WD Green 500GB HDD out.
Here's also a comparison between your WD Green 500GB and WD Blue 1TB HDDs,
link: http://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/WD-WD5000AVDS-63U7B1-500GB-vs-WD-Blue-1TB-2012/m3450vs1779

Wow, thanks for the response. Appreciate the time and effort you put into this. I understand that my WD Green is a poor performing hard drive. I got it a few years ago when I didn't understand much about PCs. I just assumed it would be fine. I will look at installing Rocket League on the SSD. I play that game every day. As for Black Ops 3, I'll leave it on the HDD as it is nearly 100gb in size.

As for the Power Plan, I already had it on High Performance. I always do this following factory resets. Do you think balanced will improve performance?
Also, I'm going to go and increase the RAM speed in a second.

As for the CPU, however, I'm stumped. Like I said, the Power Plan was already on High Performance. I also run a Hyper 212 Evo, and I get fine temps (30 degrees idle, 50 degrees under load). The only thing I could fault is the amount of thermal paste I put on to begin with. I put FAR too much thermal paste on but seeing as my temps were okay I just left it. Also, I see that overclocking the CPU by an extra 0.4ghz from stock to 3.9ghz increased the benchmark score by less than 9%. I'm honestly not too sure if this means that there IS something wrong with mine, because 8.5% isn't a huge increment. I'm going to increase the speed of the RAM, and this may potentially alleviate some of the CPU usage under load. I'll report back once I'm done.

 

[NSRyan]

The issue with user benchmark is it merely takes an average from people with the same components.

The CPU score is a non-issue , you're being compared to people with 6600k's of which 90% of people will be pushing 4.4/4.5ghz overclocks.

Userbenchmark does not account for this at all.

Ram speeds - very very little difference in anything apart from memory benchmarking

The amount of ram may be impacting performance, although many people manage with 8gb fine.

You should however run at 2400 if your memory is rated at that native simply because there's no reason not to.

Which drive is pagefiling set to ??

As per above a WD green is not an ideal gaming drive.

PSU - you should replace it anyway , a £400 GPU on a £25 PSU is never a good idea.
I won't guarantee it'll solve any problem but it will give you piece of mind.
I have seen schonky voltage regulation & ripple cause both mb & GPU circuit protection to kick in in the past though.

Hey, thanks for the response.
What you said about the CPU is exactly what I thought. I was being compared with people pushing much higher overclocks, and considering I'm running stock, I wouldn't expect any different. I've chosen not to overclock in the past because I don't believe my PSU is of a good enough quality to handle it anyway, so upgrading the PSU will also allow me to OC which should increase performance as a whole anyway. I'm about to increase the RAM speed now. Also, I will look at ordering a new WD Blue in a few weeks. If this RAM speed increment fixes my stuttering, I'll be happy until I can order these new parts which I need. I will also get another 8GB stick, or a new 16GB 3000Mhz set if I have the money.

 

[NSRyan]

GOOD NEWS!
Well, kind of. Not sure how it has affected the performance in games yet. But, after applying the 2400MHz clock to my RAM, it is now 'WAY above expectations!' 😀
http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/4479842
That said, it still gets a reading of 44.4%. Not sure how good/bad that is, although it is in the 91st percentile for this particular type of RAM. I might look at getting a dual-channel set of HyperX as I've had some in the past and it has been brilliant.
Also, the RAM increase has alleviated the CPU, and has increased it by nearly 3% on the benchmark reading. It is now around 7% less than your 3.9GHz OC, which I think is quite good.
As for the stuttering, the GPU got a score of 100%. No issues with the GPU or Mobo there.
The SSD got a score of 66.2%. It's classed as 'Good', although a Samsung SSD would be better.
My WD drive however, only 43%. Needs upgrading. I think I'll buy a new PSU and HDD after my birthday.

The RAM could also do with being upgraded. I'm currently looking at getting a new job and if it all goes to plan then I'll have an extra bit of money coming in which means I could get the RAM sooner.

I'm not too concerned that the CPU is in the 34th percentile, as most people who buy the 6600k overclock, and most people just buy the 6600 if they are going to leave it at stock. I'll overclock when I get the new PSU as I don't want to burn this one out. Really regret buying it without putting the research in. Like I said in my first post, I'm really new to PSUs 😀
Time to load up a few games and see what the stutter situation is like. I'm not expecting HUGE improvements, but it should be a bit better.

 

[NSRyan]

I tried increasing the RAM speed further to 2600MHz, as I saw the option in the BIOS. I'm not sure if there are any downsides to doing this, as the RAM is a 2400MHz module.
I ran another userbenchmark, and the results are quite interesting.
http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/4480001

The system is gone down from a '90%' gaming system to an '88%'.
The CPU has gone up to over '84%'.
The GPU has gone DOWN from '100%' and is now performing under expectations.
The SSD has gone down too.
The RAM has gone up CONSIDERABLY, I'm now in the 97th percentile.

Does anyone know why a lot of other components are now performing worse? Should I revert to 2400MHz? Was it a coincidence? Is the 2600MHz causing instability?
EDIT: Never mind. I think I ran the userbenchmark too early after restarting, and things might have still been loading or something. I restarted my PC again, left it 5 minutes, did userbenchmark again, and the results have gone back up.
http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/4480129
However the SSD benchmark is considerably worse this time. It seems to be getting worse and worse every time I run userbenchmark. Is it just a coincidence? I hope so :S

 

[Aeacus]

Your latest run is pretty good.

Though, i wouldn't run 2400 Mhz rated RAM at 2600 Mhz since overclocking RAM that much does decrease it's lifespan quite considerably. It's like when you OC your CPU with high level. Sure, you'll get far better performance out of it but you'll also fry your chip faster.

As far as SSDs go, all SSDs have set amount of write cycles before they're toast. Your SSD is rated to write up to 354TB of data before it's done.
specs: https://www.kingston.com/datasheets/shfs37a_en.pdf

Since my Kingston SSD has bigger capacity, it's also rated to withstand more data written, 765TB,
specs: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/sh103s3_en.pdf

 

[NSRyan]

Your latest run is pretty good.

Though, i wouldn't run 2400 Mhz rated RAM at 2600 Mhz since overclocking RAM that much does decrease it's lifespan quite considerably. It's like when you OC your CPU with high level. Sure, you'll get far better performance out of it but you'll also fry your chip faster.

As far as SSDs go, all SSDs have set amount of write cycles before they're toast. Your SSD is rated to write up to 354TB of data before it's done.
specs: https://www.kingston.com/datasheets/shfs37a_en.pdf

Since my Kingston SSD has bigger capacity, it's also rated to withstand more data written, 765TB,
specs: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/sh103s3_en.pdf

Even after the overclock, and installing some games on my SSD, I still get stuttering occasionally. It definitely isn't as frequent or as bad on the SSD, however it is still there. I don't know what the cause could be, as there are no usage spikes on the SSD, memory, CPU or GPU when the stutters occur... It could be a driver issue, or a Windows 10 issue. I could always try Windows 7, but that lacks DX12. Maybe the PSU is the true cause of the stuttering seeing as it fails to provide the full 42A on the 12v rail that is needed for my 1070.

 

[Aeacus]

I'd go with new PSU since running such a high-end system on low quality PSU is like asking to get your system fried.

Since PSU is the most important component inside the PC, you do not want to use "budget" PSU if you care about your system.
With my Skylake build, i went as far as to get the best PSU money can buy at current date. While my system isn't as high-end as yours is (you have a far better GPU in there), i care a lot about my PC. My PSU is 3rd most expensive component inside my PC, costing even more than my full-tower ATX case.

 

[NSRyan]

I'd go with new PSU since running such a high-end system on low quality PSU is like asking to get your system fried.

Since PSU is the most important component inside the PC, you do not want to use "budget" PSU if you care about your system.
With my Skylake build, i went as far as to get the best PSU money can buy at current date. While my system isn't as high-end as yours is (you have a far better GPU in there), i care a lot about my PC. My PSU is 3rd most expensive component inside my PC, costing even more than my full-tower ATX case.

I'll look at buying a new PSU in just over a week, when I get some money. Then I'll see if it fixes my problem. As far as RAM goes, I'll upgrade to a 3000mhz 16gb (2x 8gb) set as soon as possible. I won't have a LOT of money, a budget of around £70 ($92) for my PSU. What would you suggest would be good? Keep in mind I need preferably over 42A on the 12v. Maybe even a little bit of headroom for overclocking as well 😉
EDIT: I've also read online that unparking CPU cores can fix small stutters. I'll give it a try, as it has no negative effects on the CPU as they are designed to run this way. If it works, I would still upgrade the PSU in a week or two, for peace of mind.
UPDATE: Never mind. It seems that the core unparking remained from a while ago when I did it. I thought it may have been reverted following a factory reset. That didn't fix the stutters.

 

[Aeacus]

Add 6 quid and go for the fully-modular Seasonic M12II-620 EVO i suggested above (48A @ +12V),
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/Tc3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-ss620gm2

 

[NSRyan]

Add 6 quid and go for the fully-modular Seasonic M12II-620 EVO i suggested above (48A @ +12V),
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/Tc3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-ss620gm2

Thanks. I'll look at picking it up when I can. As for RAM, I was considering, like you said, a fresh 3000MHz 16GB kit from G.Skill or something like that. What would you suggest there? I have a feeling that the increase in frametime in game could be partly due to pagefile usage, as even know it is using my SSD, it is not anywhere near the speed of my RAM. This isn't ideal when I'm trying to run titles on maximum settings.
Would you suggest getting 2x8gb, or 4x4gb? I see in your benchmarks that you have 4x4gb HyperX.

 

[Aeacus]

New RAM first depends on what CPU cooler do you have. AIO or air cooler? If air cooler then which one? Since some of them hang over RAM slots and you have limited RAM clearance.

2nd thing to consider is budget. Not all RAMs are priced the same.

As far as 2x 8GB vs 4x 4GB goes, 4x 4GB is a bit faster. A good comparison between my most commonly suggested RAM, a Corsair Vengeance LPX,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-2x8GB-vs-Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB/3546vs3558

I usually put Corsair Vengeance LPX RAMs into my suggested builds for several reasons:
1. Affordable.
2. Normal-profile RAM. They are only 33.5mm tall and fit under any CPU air cooler.
3. Eyecandy. Heatsinks come with 5 different colors to match the build theme: black, white, red, blue, gray.
4. Huge speed range. Corsair LPX RAMs are available with the speeds starting from 2133 Mhz up to 4333 Mhz.

In my Skylake build, i have Kingston Savage RAM in use,
specs: http://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX430C15SB2K2_8.pdf

While my Kingston Savage 4x 4GB is a bit better than Corsair Vengeance LPX 4x 4GB,
comparison: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Kingston-HyperX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB-vs-Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB/m43906vs3558
they are also really hard to get,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GDqbt6/kingston-memory-hx430c15sb2k28

Though, if you think that you one day you'll need 32GB of RAM then go with the 2x 8GB set. Else-ways, go with 4x 4GB.
For the latest AAA titles, 16GB of RAM is more than enough. 32GB and more RAM can be found in builds that are used for video rendering since there, a lot of RAM is needed.

 

[NSRyan]

New RAM first depends on what CPU cooler do you have. AIO or air cooler? If air cooler then which one? Since some of them hang over RAM slots and you have limited RAM clearance.

2nd thing to consider is budget. Not all RAMs are priced the same.

As far as 2x 8GB vs 4x 4GB goes, 4x 4GB is a bit faster. A good comparison between my most commonly suggested RAM, a Corsair Vengeance LPX,
link: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-2x8GB-vs-Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB/3546vs3558

I usually put Corsair Vengeance LPX RAMs into my suggested builds for several reasons:
1. Affordable.
2. Normal-profile RAM. They are only 33.5mm tall and fit under any CPU air cooler.
3. Eyecandy. Heatsinks come with 5 different colors to match the build theme: black, white, red, blue, gray.
4. Huge speed range. Corsair LPX RAMs are available with the speeds starting from 2133 Mhz up to 4333 Mhz.

In my Skylake build, i have Kingston Savage RAM in use,
specs: http://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX430C15SB2K2_8.pdf

While my Kingston Savage 4x 4GB is a bit better than Corsair Vengeance LPX 4x 4GB,
comparison: http://ram.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Kingston-HyperX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB-vs-Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3000-C15-4x4GB/m43906vs3558
they are also really hard to get,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GDqbt6/kingston-memory-hx430c15sb2k28

Though, if you think that you one day you'll need 32GB of RAM then go with the 2x 8GB set. Else-ways, go with 4x 4GB.
For the latest AAA titles, 16GB of RAM is more than enough. 32GB and more RAM can be found in builds that are used for video rendering since there, a lot of RAM is needed.

I currently run a Hyper 212 Evo as my cooler, with 1 stick of Corsair Vengeance LPX installed in the RAM slot closest to the CPU. No issues there with regards to space. The cooler doesn't hang over the RAM slots on my mobo. As I said, I have the LPX model that is 2400MHz, and I'm running it at 2600MHz. You advised me not to do this however I am not seeing any system instability and my memory voltage is 1.36v, which I've heard is quite safe. Also the temps are fairly normal.

From what you've said I am definitely considering getting the Vengeance LPX over other types of RAM. One thing I'm not too sure of, from what you've said in the past, is upgrading from 8gb to 16gb. Several times in the past I have had 8gb and simply bought another stick of the exact same model to upgrade to 16gb. No issues. However recently, and from what you've said previously, this can cause issues? I understand that single modules are sometimes sold as they are due to incompatibility with other modules, however is this entirely true in all cases because in the past I have upgraded like this and had no issues?
I'd like 16gb simply for future proofing and to lower my pagefile size. It can get quite ridiculous at times ranging as high as 15gb+.

ALSO: I was asking around, and for my budget someone suggested I get this PSU: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/550w-evga-supernova-gs-80-plus-gold-full-modular-sli-crossfire-single-rail-45a-plus12v-1x120mm-fan-a
It is 80+ gold, modular, has 45A on the +12v, and is in tier 1 on the TH list. What do you think? It is made by EVGA, collaboratively on the Seasonic platform.

 

[Aeacus]

Hyper 212 EVO is "budget" CPU cooler with sleeve bearing fan and i wouldn't suggest nor use it.
Here's why i don't like sleeve bearing fans: http://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/779-computer-case-fan-bearing-differences

My i5-6600K is cooled by Arctic Freezer i32 with 2x Corsair ML120 Pro fans in push-pull configuration. Though, the Freezer i32 comes with semi-passive fluid dynamic bearing fan and CPU cooler has 6 years of warranty,
review: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/arctic-freezer-i32-cooler,5004.html
pcpp: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/rz7CmG/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-acfre00004a

As far as running 2400 Mhz RAM at 2600 Mhz, i, personally wouldn't do it. But since you don't get any system stability issues, feel free to run it at 2600 Mhz.
Since i have Kingston RAM, Kingston doesn't advise to run RAM faster than it's rated speeds. It also written so at the end of the *.pdf file i linked:

All Kingston products are tested to meet our published specifications. Some motherboards or system configurations may not operate at the published HyperX memory speeds and timing settings. Kingston does not recommend that any user attempt to run their computers faster than the published speed. Overclocking or modifying your system timing may result in damage to computer components.

When RAM sticks are made, they all are tested to see if they work together. First the kit of 8 is set up. If 8 sticks doesn't work together then they are split up to the kit of 4 and tested again. This split up and testing goes on and on until sticks that doesn't want to work together at all, are sold separately, one by one.
I too have managed to get 2 sticks running while i bought both sticks separately with a year or two between purchase dates, but that was with DDR3 RAM which is more forgivable. You can even get different make, model and speeds of DDR3 RAM running if you're lucky. Though, i'd still go with a set of 2 DDR4 RAMs since with that, you have a guarantee that those two sticks do work together. And if they don't, you can RMA them and get a new set, cost free.

EVGA Supernova GS series isn't made by EVGA since EVGA isn't PSU OEM. It's sold by EVGA while made by Seasonic and it's using Seasonic X-series platform. It's a good PSU and it will power your PC fine for years to come.
review: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=438
I prefer to skip the middleman (Corsair, Be Quiet!, EVGA, XFX etc) and buy my PSUs directly from PSU OEM.