Newly built system has gaming performance issues

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dan000

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Feb 14, 2013
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I recently built a gaming PC (a few days ago) and it's having some strange performance problems. It has an XFX 7970, an FX-6300, an MSI 970a-G46 and it can't even play Bioshock Infinite at the max setting. I am extremely disappointed because I expected much more from the fastest single GPU from AMD. I Know the motherboard is cheap and I'm starting to wonder if it's that or the CPU is bottlenecking the GPU. When trying to play planetside 2 I have to turn it down to medium and it can still be a little choppy, this was a game I thought I could max out no problem. I play at 1920x1080 if that changes anything. Any ideas would be well appreciated.
 
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zink1701

zink1701

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Can you list the full hardware spec of you machine please. Power supply model and size, ram installed ect would be a great help. With the CPU and GPU you should be able to max those games and play at 60FPS without an issue so the problem lies elsewhere, also I assume you have made sure all the drivers are up to date to.

Edit: Also have you checked the temps your CPU is running at under load could be something as simple as the heat sink not fitted correct. Sorry to ask so many questions but got to eliminate the obvious things first.
 
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dan000

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Thank you for you interest, here are my hardware specs:

Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46
CPU: AMD FX-6300 (Stock clock speed)
Video card: XFX 7970 Double D
RAM: G.skill Sniper F3 8GB (4x2)
Hard Drive: 500 GB Seagate Barracuda
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600W

I haven't had the chance to check the CPU temps or clock speed during a game but there was one driver not up to date. It was for the PCI slot, I loaded Bioshock Infinite up after installing it and it seems to have helped slightly but the game is still really choppy. I ran MSI afterburner during that test and the GPU was running at 99%. I don't really know if this is normal or not. Do you have any suggestion a good program for monitoring the CPU temps and Clock Speed.

Thanks again
 
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fearless1333

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As others have stated, the most likely culprit is drivers. Are you sure you installed your graphics driver at all? Go to http://amd.com/ and mouseover support and drivers at the top right and install the latest beta driver.
 
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dan000

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I have installed the 13.3 beta driver and restarted the system and still nothing, Bioshock Infinite is still just as choppy as it was before. Could it be any kind of problem or screwed up setting in AMD Catalyst?
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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dude, we almost got the same specs
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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we have the same mobo and cpu. i'm pretty sure it's a bottleneck issue. i dont know if you downloaded amd overdrive yet, but if you do have it, you can try overclocking to 3.9375ghz at 1.275-1.3v. that's what im currently at an been running beautifully stable for a month now.
 
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dan000

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I know actually I looked at a post earlier today and saw you and notice we had a similar setup. I originally thought it was a bottleneck so you may just be right. Are you using a stock heatsink because thats all I have right now?
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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yep, stock heatsink. At my OC settings, the temps per core maxed out at around 53C. but i do have a 200mm fan on the side panel of my case and a 140mm high performance fan in the case behind front bays pushing out 103cfm at 2000rpm right over my RAM and CPU area of the MOBO. pretty sure that helps out a lot. i did notice when i OC my cpu to more than 3.9375ghz, games tend to play in like, triple speed. So i believe its a bottleneck issue with my GTX 660 OC edition. I guess even an OC edition 660 can't keep up with the FX 6300 overclocked.

it's like my amd cpu and nvidia gpu are battling each other
 
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cmi86

cmi86

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There is something wrong elsewhere in your system. I am running a 6300 @ 4.2 Ghz on an MSI 970A G46 and with my 2X 6950's (basically a 7970) I am pulling way over 60 FPS in bioshock CRANKED at 1080. Start running hardware diagnostics to rule that out first.
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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you got your cpu overclocked to 4.2ghz. now would your fps be lower at stock cpu speed?
 
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cmi86

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dan000

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I used AMD Overdrive and clocked it up to 3.9 GHz and got basically the same result, so it has to be something wrong with the system. Correct? What sort of programs could I use to diagnose the problem?
 
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cmi86

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Well first off don't ever use programs like AMD overdrive. I strongly believe that they often cause more harm then good. First things first remove overdrive and the over clock associated with it. The go into the BIOS and reset to factory settings and re-boot.
Once this has been done download passmark http://www.passmark.com/download/pt_download.htm
Passmark is a benchmarking program that will rate the performance of all the individual components in your system and then let you compare your results with systems having the same or close to the same hardware profiles. Based on your scores vs. similar hardware should atleast point you in the right direction of the issue.
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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actually used the bios system to OC to 3.9
 
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dan000

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I cant find the reset button anywhere in the BIOS. I've checked online and the only thing I could come up with is pulling the battery out manually, could one of tell me where the reset button in the BIOS is.
 
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cmi86

cmi86

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Just pull the battery out and leave it out for at least 1 minute. This is perfectly fine and you wont harm anything.
 
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metalmachinist

metalmachinist

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dan, is your RAM running at the speed it should be? For instance, i have 8gb 1866mhz, and my bios default has DRAM at 800mhz, which is 1600mhz. Just wondering if you or cmi86, since we all have the same mobo, are experiencing this
 
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dan000

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Okay now I'm really confused. I unplugged the battery on the motherboard, put it back in, turned the system on, and ran passmark. It put the graphics card at just behind the GTX 680 which is what it should be performing at, but it said the drivers for the card were version 12.1 and I know I installed the beta drivers 13.3. I keep trying to load Red Orchestra 2 which is not a particularly demanding game and my PC has Some choppiness then it just freezes and I have to shut it down. I'm by no means an expert but I think this may still be pointing to something wrong with the drivers. Here are my Passmark scores if they mean anything to you:

Passmark rating: 2221
CPU mark:6397
2D Graphics mark:493.3 (seems low?)
3D Graphic mark: 4806
Memory mark: 1280
Disk mark: 866

By the way metalmachinist after I pulled the battery from the motherboard my DRAM was at 1600mhz and my 8GB g.skill Sniper is out of the box 1600mhz.
 
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cmi86

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What I would recommend doing at this point is uninstalling your currently installed graphics driver and suite. Basically anything amd related to your GPU. Once all of the driver and related files have been removed run a program called driver sweeper http://www.guru3d.com/files_get/driver_sweeper_download,4.html (select amd display and click clean) This program will make absolutely sure that the previous driver is 100% removed leaving a totally clean environment for you to install the newest graphics driver from the amd website.

 
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dan000

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I've removed the graphics drivers and reinstalled them, still nothing, Bioshock Infinite is still choppy as well as Red Orchestra 2. Could it be something wrong with the way the graphics card is installed could removing and putting it back in make any difference. I'm probably grasping for straws but I want to cover everything.
 
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cmi86

cmi86

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You might have answered this already but have you uninstalled the game and re installed it ?
 
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dan000

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I played Planetside 2(CPU intensive) at medium settings for 15 minutes, the game was of course choppy. I took a CPU temp reading and in that amount of time it reached 61 degrees C. This is a bad temp for my CPU right? The graphics card reached 67. Is it possibly to install an AMD heatsink backwards or could it be a problem with airflow in the case. cmi86, I've thought about uninstalling Bioshock but the problem has affected every game I've tried to played so I don't think it's that.

I could give a pic of the system if it would help.
 
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