What is hindering my performance?!?

[somewhatsavvy]

I first bought a used PC(@ a PC shop, didn't really have a lot of money initially) and then I decided to upgrade it.

So now I have:
MSI Z270-A PRO
i5 7600k at stock settings (disabled EIST/TurboBoost/Virtualization and the C-states)
pic of CPU features in BIOS: https://imgur.com/a/Wz0Xb
CPU Cooler: DeepCool Gammaxx S40
2x4gb Corsair vengeance RAM running in dual channel mode (XMP enabled @ 3000MHz)

and my old(used from the PC shop) components on this rig:
Gigabyte GTX 660 https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N660OC-2GD#ov
Seagate 300 GB HDD (it's old but it's enough for me)
About the HDD:
I ran SeaTools tests and failed the Short Self-Drive test but it passed the long generic test.
Generic 500W PSU (FinePower DNP-550)

But when I play CS:GO (and I only play CS:go, keep in mind it's quite a CPU intensive game, especially when I game at 1024x768 res and medium-low settings), I still have this intermittent stutter lag: in intense gunfights and on some checkpoints of the map where the textures are being preloaded (I thought it was all loaded in the RAM already (console setting cl_forcepreload 1). I usually play on 1024x768 but I stutter on it and when I try 800x600 gameplay is smoother but it's too hard on the eyes.) I had this stutter on the old rig (AMD FX 8150 and 8gb ddr3) but I thought it was happening because my fps wasn't high enough (150 with drops). Now my fps is a consistent 300 but I still have this stutter lag.

So I decided to monitor a full game using MSI Afterburner and here's what I've got:
pic1: https://imgur.com/a/Vmsn3
pic2: https://imgur.com/a/9uf9S
pic3: https://imgur.com/a/RuqSX <(after this I skipped the usage graphs for the first 2 cores but they're the same as the other ones)>
pic4: https://imgur.com/a/I6xyJ

What caught my eye was the Voltage limit spiking back and forth. And the question arouses out of this: is it my graphics card having troubles or is it my PSU after all? Or maybe it's actually the HDD at fault here. I wouldn't like to dish out extra money on things I don't need to swap which is why I've come here.

extra info: I did multiple clean installs, both Win7 and 10, turning off as many unnecessary services/features as possible, the game configs are optimized for best performance. I've tried both new drivers and old drivers for the LAN controller, Realtek and Nvidia drivers, always use SG TCP optimizer to set the rig up for gaming. Nvidia global settings all set up for maximum performance and I've tried most of the possible tweaks in this world.

Would really be happy to hear your advice.
Thanks in advance!

 

[fredfinks]

PSU. it could be a faulty GPU but im all-in for the PSU.
Yes, its a pain in the a** to diagnose without replacement gear.

 

[kanewolf]

8GB RAM (probably single DIMM) is cutting your memory bandwidth in 1/2.

 

[somewhatsavvy]

PSU. it could be a faulty GPU but im all-in for the PSU.
Yes, its a pain in the a** to diagnose without replacement gear.

I'll be looking for a 750W PSU now. Thanks for your input!

8GB RAM (probably single DIMM) is cutting your memory bandwidth in 1/2.

Sorry about that, I updated the thread. I'm running 2x4GB in dual-channel mode.

 

[fredfinks]

Hey make sure you get a decent model. You dont need 750w (not that its a problem to have more than you need) a crap PSU can be crap even if its 100000w.
Have a look at stickied PSU info in relevant forum.

 

[somewhatsavvy]

I still don't get it.
I monitored the FurMark test: https://imgur.com/a/xGn6B

Now I'm hitting the power limit but not getting a voltage limit (the complete opposite from the game). I'm still unsure whether it's the GPU or the PSU

 

[fredfinks]

Intermittant problems are horrible. It could be GPU sure, but again, im still going with the PSU.

 

[Rogue Leader]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from somewhatsavvy : "Am I maxing out my PSU?"

I'm using a generic 500W power supply.

Mobo: MSI Z270-A Pro
CPU: i5 7600k with a deepcool gammaxx S40 cooler
Gigabyte GTX 660 https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N660OC-2GD#ov
300 GB HDD.

On the graphics card site it says that a 450W is recommended (mine is 500W) BUT

when I'm ingame, this is my Power limit: https://imgur.com/a/9uf9S
Is this the overall system power limit or just the graphics card? Because if it's the latter, then I might be maxing out the PSU and that might be what's causing the stutter ingame

EDIT: Please ignore, I've mixed the power limit and memory usage up. I thought the power limit was ~400 but that was the memory usage.

 

[DSzymborski]

Usually, PSUs do more sudden off events that intermittent ones, but given that it is power related and the PSU is absolutely terrible, I'd still replace that first and re-evaluate. As Fred notes, intermittent problems are a complete pain in the butt.

As for the PSU, it's hard to find solid information, but they do seem to be goosing their specs, giving two +12V rails combining for 29 A (348W) but then saying it has 400W of +12V power. I wouldn't be surprised if the true +12V capacity is around 300W and systems with a GTX 660 have been measured to be at 300W at load, so you might start seeing some odd behavior that isn't of the traditional turning off/frying variety.

My advice would be to replace the PSU and see if it fixes the problem, given that even if this rig were not having any obvious user-side problems, you'd still want to replace the PSU.

 

[somewhatsavvy]

I'm leaning towards the HDD now, because I've loaded onto a deathmatch server (so the map should be in the RAM), played around for sometime and then alt-tabbed and took a screenshot https://imgur.com/a/bmny5

The HDD is loud when it's working (making loud crackling noises), but CrystalDiskInfo should "Good" health, here is the DiskMark bench: https://imgur.com/a/H7lum but it only failed one of SeaTool's tests as I earlier said.

 

[fredfinks]

It could be the HDD. keep in mind a 300gb drive is quite ancient
good luck

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Thread Closed.

OP has admitted to running a pirated OS.

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3565742/hard-page-faults-win7-win10.html