Question Vrm overheating?

[Blingbo]

I play GTA with friends mostly these days and ever since i got the game in 2015 i get frame drops every 5-10 minutes. Ive checked the clock speeds during those moments and they go from 4.2GHz to 1.4GHz for a few seconds. Graphics do not make a difference. Could extra fans or more airflow in general solve this or would I need a board that can handle the cpu better? And are the vrms the culprit? Everything is stock
AMD fx-8350
MSI 970
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3
Samsung Evo 860 1TB
Seagate barracuda 1TB 7200.14
Kingston KHX1600C9D3/4 2x4GB
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A160 2x4GB

Thanks!

 

[CountMike]

I play GTA with friends mostly these days and ever since i got the game in 2015 i get frame drops every 5-10 minutes. Ive checked the clock speeds during those moments and they go from 4.2GHz to 1.4GHz for a few seconds. Graphics do not make a difference. Could extra fans or more airflow in general solve this or would I need a board that can handle the cpu better? And are the vrms the culprit? Everything is stock
AMD fx-8350
MSI 970
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3
Samsung Evo 860 1TB
Seagate barracuda 1TB 7200.14
Kingston KHX1600C9D3/4 2x4GB
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A160 2x4GB

Thanks!

Heat sink for VRM would help more.

 

[helpstar]

Is the BIOS up to date?

The 8350 is not officially supported or was forgotten on the CPU compatibility list

 

[Blingbo]

Is the BIOS up to date?

The 8350 is not officially supported or was forgotten on the CPU compatibility list

I updated it to latest version late 2019 if I'm not mistaken. And for the heatsink idea, isn't my Hyper 212 Evo (forgot to list) enough to keep things cool? CPU goes up to 50ish degrees Celsius. Also, not every "demanding" game creates this problem, for example DOTA 2, Star Citizen and GTAV causes this, but The Witcher 3 and Escape from Tarkov does not. Any other ideas?

 

[jon96789]

If the CPU temp only reaches 50 degrees, it is unlikely the VRMs are overheating. Install HWiNFO64 and check the VRM temps (the app checks the VRM temps if the mobo has sensors for them.

 

[Blingbo]

If the CPU temp only reaches 50 degrees, it is unlikely the VRMs are overheating. Install HWiNFO64 and check the VRM temps (the app checks the VRM temps if the mobo has sensors for them.

It seems to have only 3 sensors: CPU, Northbridge and Motherboard. Northbridge runs around 55C and the motherboard itself is ~30C. All these temp readings are while playing GTA by the way

 

[cherry blossoms]

Your motherboard appears to be a 4+1 phase for the VRMs, which I would consider marginal / inadequate for an FX8350. Additional cooling directed at the VRMS may be of benefit to test them,

One quick and dirty way to get airflow is to take off the side of the case, and direct a standard house fan to blow air at an angle through the case., or if you already have them, just use a standard case fan blowing directly on the VRM area.

Also, mixing different RAM can lead to instability / unusual issues as well..

 

[Blingbo]

Your motherboard appears to be a 4+1 phase for the VRMs, which I would consider marginal / inadequate for an FX8350. Additional cooling directed at the VRMS may be of benefit to test them,

One quick and dirty way to get airflow is to take off the side of the case, and direct a standard house fan to blow air at an angle through the case., or if you already have them, just use a standard case fan blowing directly on the VRM area.

Also, mixing different RAM can lead to instability / unusual issues as well..

This problem was present before the second pair of sticks, so I'd rule that out. Case is open 24/7 anyway, I'll find a fan and try this for any results. Is there anything else that might throttle the CPU? It goes from 4119MHz to 1406MHz (all clocks)

 

[drea.drechsler]

This problem was present before the second pair of sticks, so I'd rule that out. Case is open 24/7 anyway, I'll find a fan and try this for any results. Is there anything else that might throttle the CPU? It goes from 4119MHz to 1406MHz (all clocks)

Also get a bag of MOSFET heatsinks and thermal tape or thermal glue and put them on the VRM FET's. That will further help cooling those poor things.

Is it overclocked? If so the processor APM will throttle the CPU to keep it within the TDP rating of the processor regardless of the clock you set it to. Proper overclocking motherboard BIOS's have a (functional) setting to disable APM.

 

[Blingbo]

Also get a bag of MOSFET heatsinks and thermal tape or thermal glue and put them on the VRM FET's. That will further help cooling those poor things.

Is it overclocked? If so the processor APM will throttle the CPU to keep it within the TDP rating of the processor regardless of the clock you set it to. Proper overclocking motherboard BIOS's have a (functional) setting to disable APM.

Everything is stock, I've tried overclocking but didnt bother testing and returned the clocks.

 

[helpstar]

Downclock the CPU to like 3.5GHz and try again, eventually undervolting can help as well, to reduce heat from the VRMs.

For a FX CPU use the amd overdrive tool and check the temperature margin there..

 

[Blingbo]

Downclock the CPU to like 3.5GHz and try again, eventually undervolting can help as well, to reduce heat from the VRMs.

For a FX CPU use the amd overdrive tool and check the temperature margin there..

I've thought of that too, but what performance decrease should I expect? I am running on 40-50fps with medium settings right now. And underclocking is stable, right? I dont need to go back and forth?

 

[helpstar]

You will have to test it yourself
You will have to underclock till it´s stable and not throttling to 1400MHz anymore

 

[Blingbo]

Last night, the CPU was stable. I haven't touched anything to explain that, it just did not get throttled. Why is an on/off issue?