Why are my games running like garbage?

[Tas9303]

I've seen this question asked a few different times and the answers all come out a different way depending on how the system is set up, but here goes.

Build:
MSI 970 Gaming motherboard
AMD FX-8350 black edition running 4.2ghz
16gb Kingston hyper FuryX ddr3 ram
EVGA GTX 960 FTW 2gb GPU
2 TB hard drive (can't remember specs for sure)
2 160gb hard drives (older, unsure of specs again)

Os: Windows 10 Pro


I've talked to a few people and they can't seem to come up with any reason why I have 20-40 fps in games like Overwatch or GTA 5 running system recommended graphics settings. What might be some issues/what can I do to help this.

Thanks.

 

[CmdrJeffSinclair]

I've seen this question asked a few different times and the answers all come out a different way depending on how the system is set up, but here goes.

Build:
MSI 970 Gaming motherboard
AMD FX-8350 black edition running 4.2ghz
16gb Kingston hyper FuryX ddr3 ram
EVGA GTX 960 FTW 2gb GPU
2 TB hard drive (can't remember specs for sure)
2 160gb hard drives (older, unsure of specs again)

I've talked to a few people and they can't seem to come up with any reason why I have 20-40 fps in games like Overwatch or GTA 5 running system recommended graphics settings. What might be some issues/what can I do to help this.

Thanks.

I can immediately think of a few reasons

Your GPU is a lower end card AND has such a small amount of memory (2GB) which is considered absolute bare bones. This is a huge limiting factor. GTA5 is poorly optimized and still one of the most demanding games. On max graphics an AMD R9 390 would still only average 35-45 FPS at 1080p to give you an idea.

Your CPU isn't known to be amazing for CPU intensive games like GTA5. More than that, the FX series as a whole is bad for GTA5. However, out of all the FX processors the 8350 is probably the best power + thermals at high overclocks. The entire line of FX processors were a pretty solid FAIL for gaming.

Your limiting factor is definitely the GPU. The CPU itself should be fine at that overclock however FX CPUs will bottleneck really high end GPUs as well and generally just perform badly.

 

[Tas9303]

Sorry, new to this forum. Figuring things out. What would you suggest as a GPU that would work well with the FX 8350?

 

[amtseung]

On top of JeffSinclair's mention of the entire FX CPU lineup being horrendous at just about anything except overclocking on a single core and your 2GB VRAM limitation, I'd add:

1.) Mechanical HDD's will forever be slower than SSD's. Especially in games like GTAV, where it's continually loading in the game world via whatever LOD method they use, the greater your draw distance, the exponentially worse your framerate will be, compounded by your weak CPU and slower HDD.

2.) 970 chipset motherboard and any FX octacore is generally a bad idea. Overclocking an octacore on a 970 chipset is usually a fire hazard. I know MSI has better mobo power delivery on their 970 boards than their competitors, but doublers on each phase don't mean extra throughput. Well, then again, 4.2ghz isn't a crazy OC either. Keep an eye on VRM temps. You could be VRM throttling.

3.) I went 6 months without defragging my only HDD at the time, and after i defragged it, I got all my fps back. It was amazing.

4.) What make/model power supply do you have?

5.) GTAV, on top of being an i7 wh*re, is also a VRAM wh*re. 4GB VRAM minimum, 6 is cool, 8 would be nice, depends on the resolution/details/AA settings you're running. With 2 gigs of VRAM, you can run out really, really fast. Like lightning fast.

6.) Overwatch digs single-threaded performance, mainly due to its multiplayer nature and netcode. No FX CPU has any semblance of single-core performance, even at 7~ish ghz. I've tried. I also lit a motherboard on fire trying. An i5 4460 at its 3.2ghz stock speed on a dirt cheap $35 motherboard soundly wrecks any FX at any speed for single-core performance, just for reference.

TL;DR With your hardware specs, your fps numbers sound about right if you're running it at 1080p. Your "system recommended graphics" will only make it worse. It's not so much the GPU as it is the CPU.

 

[CmdrJeffSinclair]

On top of JeffSinclair's mention of the entire FX CPU lineup being horrendous at just about anything except overclocking on a single core and your 2GB VRAM limitation, I'd add:

1.) Mechanical HDD's will forever be slower than SSD's. Especially in games like GTAV, where it's continually loading in the game world via whatever LOD method they use, the greater your draw distance, the exponentially worse your framerate will be, compounded by your weak CPU and slower HDD.

2.) 970 chipset motherboard and any FX octacore is generally a bad idea. Overclocking an octacore on a 970 chipset is usually a fire hazard. I know MSI has better mobo power delivery on their 970 boards than their competitors, but doublers on each phase don't mean extra throughput. Well, then again, 4.2ghz isn't a crazy OC either. Keep an eye on VRM temps. You could be VRM throttling.

3.) I went 6 months without defragging my only HDD at the time, and after i defragged it, I got all my fps back. It was amazing.

4.) What make/model power supply do you have?

5.) GTAV, on top of being an i7 wh*re, is also a VRAM wh*re. 4GB VRAM minimum, 6 is cool, 8 would be nice, depends on the resolution/details/AA settings you're running. With 2 gigs of VRAM, you can run out really, really fast. Like lightning fast.

6.) Overwatch digs single-threaded performance, mainly due to its multiplayer nature and netcode. No FX CPU has any semblance of single-core performance, even at 7~ish ghz. I've tried. I also lit a motherboard on fire trying. An i5 4460 at its 3.2ghz stock speed on a dirt cheap $35 motherboard soundly wrecks any FX at any speed for single-core performance, just for reference.

TL;DR With your hardware specs, your fps numbers sound about right if you're running it at 1080p. Your "system recommended graphics" will only make it worse. It's not so much the GPU as it is the CPU.

Every single statement he said is also proven fact. Between our two responses you should be able to see your system is on the lower end and your FPS is accurate given your specs.

Good news is am3+ mobos are compatible with AMD's new Zen lineup of bada** processors coming out so if you decide to upgrade get a Zen processor that fits your needs and I'd recommend no less than an AMD R9 390 graphics card for great 1080p gaming with extra memory for graphics modding but also considered to be entry level high end graphics card for 1080p with a mid-range card price. My R9 390 is by Sapphire and has been amazing for the price

 

[uber9000]

On top of JeffSinclair's mention of the entire FX CPU lineup being horrendous at just about anything except overclocking on a single core and your 2GB VRAM limitation, I'd add:

1.) Mechanical HDD's will forever be slower than SSD's. Especially in games like GTAV, where it's continually loading in the game world via whatever LOD method they use, the greater your draw distance, the exponentially worse your framerate will be, compounded by your weak CPU and slower HDD.

2.) 970 chipset motherboard and any FX octacore is generally a bad idea. Overclocking an octacore on a 970 chipset is usually a fire hazard. I know MSI has better mobo power delivery on their 970 boards than their competitors, but doublers on each phase don't mean extra throughput. Well, then again, 4.2ghz isn't a crazy OC either. Keep an eye on VRM temps. You could be VRM throttling.

3.) I went 6 months without defragging my only HDD at the time, and after i defragged it, I got all my fps back. It was amazing.

4.) What make/model power supply do you have?

5.) GTAV, on top of being an i7 wh*re, is also a VRAM wh*re. 4GB VRAM minimum, 6 is cool, 8 would be nice, depends on the resolution/details/AA settings you're running. With 2 gigs of VRAM, you can run out really, really fast. Like lightning fast.

6.) Overwatch digs single-threaded performance, mainly due to its multiplayer nature and netcode. No FX CPU has any semblance of single-core performance, even at 7~ish ghz. I've tried. I also lit a motherboard on fire trying. An i5 4460 at its 3.2ghz stock speed on a dirt cheap $35 motherboard soundly wrecks any FX at any speed for single-core performance, just for reference.

TL;DR With your hardware specs, your fps numbers sound about right if you're running it at 1080p. Your "system recommended graphics" will only make it worse. It's not so much the GPU as it is the CPU.

Every single statement he said is also proven fact. Between our two responses you should be able to see your system is on the lower end and your FPS is accurate given your specs.

Good news is am3+ mobos are compatible with AMD's new Zen lineup of bada** processors coming out so if you decide to upgrade get a Zen processor that fits your needs and I'd recommend no less than an AMD R9 390 graphics card for great 1080p gaming with extra memory for graphics modding but also considered to be entry level high end graphics card for 1080p with a mid-range card price. My R9 390 is by Sapphire and has been amazing for the price

I'm confused here. I personally have an 8350, gtx 760, 8gb ram, and I'm getting pretty good FPS high settings in most games (some dips to about 55fps). I get a solid 60fps in GTA5 medium settings. How can this be the case? I've had the 8350 for years now too.

 

[cryoburner]

I rather doubt that an FX-8350 at 4.2Ghz would be limiting performance in Overwatch to 20-40fps. Overwatch is not a particularly demanding game in terms of CPU requirements. Here's a video (comparing gaming performance of Ryzen CPUs) that starts by showing the performance of an FX-8300 overclocked to 4.5Ghz in Overwatch, and performance remains steady in the 100-130fps range throughout the video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG0PfwH0jbM

An FX-8350, even at stock settings, should be capable of running Overwatch at around 100fps. Now, they are using a GTX 1080 as well, but that's at Epic detail settings. A GTX 960 would likely also be able to manage those kinds of framerates if you turned the settings down to around medium, and could probably maintain around 60fps at high settings, assuming you're running this at 1080p. Try lowering graphics settings in the game to see if that helps. And of course, make sure you don't have supersampling forced on or something.

If you're getting poor framerates at medium-high settings, I would check your temperatures and make sure your CPU or GPU isn't overheating and throttling itself down. Also, 160GB hard drives are not likely to have great performance, as they are probably around 10 years old, so it would likely be best to make sure your OS or games are not installed on them. For bulk storage they're probably fine though.

 

[dudeman509]

I can get well over 50 FPS in GTAV in mostly high settings with a GTX 970.

People love to blame the FX for holding things back, but it's not the FX in this case. I haven't played Overwatch; been meaning to.

That CPU could handle a 1060 (which is > a 970) without issue.

 

[CmdrJeffSinclair]

I can get well over 50 FPS in GTAV in mostly high settings with a GTX 970.

People love to blame the FX for holding things back, but it's not the FX in this case. I haven't played Overwatch; been meaning to.

That CPU could handle a 1060 (which is > a 970) without issue.

Except that this guy is using a 970 FX board with a high overclock. His thermals could be causing him to throttle under loads. Not only that you have DOUBLE the VRAM he does.

When a GPU sends more to the CPU under heavy load but the CPU is already dealing with crap of its own it can create a whole line of issues that aren't even hardware limited, rather settings or thermal limited as well as a lot of other issues thatr can be resolved without hardware upgrades but would require a lot of troubleshooting.

Regardless, he has 2GB VRAM. It's just not good enough. He should manage low settings with higher FPS with that card and cpu combos

Don't turn this into an AMD FX hate thread. FX have well-known bottlenecking issues during all sorts of gaming scenarios.

 

[dudeman509]

Mines a 970 board too (8+2 power phase; that one is 6+2). And as someone else said, their 2 gig 770 is running it fine.

I think thermals and speeds while gaming do warrant an investigation. CPU throttling or VRM throttling is a possibility. Probably way less of a possibility for the 960.

Perhaps actual game settings warrant investigation as well. Some of the advanced settings in GTAV (also grass textures) will bring my 970 to its knees if cranked up.

 

[cryoburner]

Except that this guy is using a 970 FX board with a high overclock. His thermals could be causing him to throttle under loads.

An FX-8350 has a 4.0 GHz base clock, with a 4.2 Ghz boost. Running it at 4.2 GHz is not exactly what I would consider a "high overclock". : P It is possible something could be throttling in the system, either CPU or GPU though. It might be useful if he checked his temps while running these games that are getting lower-than-expected frame rates. Or maybe he's just running them at 1440p, or "Ultra" settings, or something else the GPU can't handle well.