Why is my computer so bad at gaming compared to others?

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

Okay, so I've had this computer for about 3 years now, here are the specs

motherboard : gigabyte 880GM-USBL
CPU : Amd fx-4100 quad-core
RAM: 4gb ddr3 sdram pc3-12800
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7870
PSU: 500 watts

Ever since day one I got my first graphics card, which was the AMD radeon 6450, I realized that it performed like crap, compared to other people with the same exact specs as me (CPU and GPU wise). now that I've upgraded to the HD 7870, I mean.. I can run games better than I used to be able to, but other people with the same specs run games a LOT better than I have been able too, I've upgraded all my drivers, tried changing the settings in catalyst control center to optimize performance, made sure my cpu usage wasn't being eaten up, made sure that my PCI slot was being used in bios, yet.. I've still never got nearly as good performance as other people get. I don't get it, is my motherboard bad? I dont have any viruses/malware, I've checked for that a ton of times, registry is clean, cache is also clean. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY PC? Is my cpu shot? Is my power supply unit bad? I just dont understand.. Also, my temperatures are usually low for both the gpu and cpu. Any suggestions on what to do/buy?

AgentTran · Mar 9, 2014

I'm not sure if that CPU is good, but it could also be your PSU, is should be of a good brand, XFX, Seasonic, Antec, and Corsair are just some to name.
Can you tell me what your performance is in games?

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

AgentTran :

Well, performance wise, I get lag in games that I should be able to run easily. I tried playing a game called Tera rising, game ran awfully on the lowest settings, when people who have slightly different specs than me, can run the game on ultra. Do you think the power supply unit would really affect my pc that much?

JOOK-D · Mar 9, 2014

The FX 4100 is quite weak, and is installed in a poor motherboard.
Update your BIOS to the latest version, at least F5 to ensure that the FX 4100 is supported.http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3828#

You could try getting another 4GB RAM stick to run in dual-channel with your existing one. Ensure they are the same brand and model.

What's the brand and model of that PSU?

AgentTran · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

If TERA plays on low horribly on your computer, some is definitely wrong.
I run a 750ti and TERA runs on Ultra at 30 - 60 frames...

Update your BIOS maybe?

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

JOOK-D :

when I try to get the f5 drivers. I extracted 3 files to my desktop, Flashspi, 880GMB3L.F5 and autoexec. NONE of them work, everything says its not compatible

Beezy · Mar 9, 2014

old bulldozer architecture, 4 threads on 2 module/"cores". the 6300 would be a big step up, the 8320 would be even better. my 6300 + 7870 ghz at 720p ran all games at 55-60 fps. my 8320 + 7870 ghz (recently upgraded CPU) is better for heavily threaded games, but i took a slight hit in single core performance..still all games are easily 50 fps + at veryhigh/ultra. once i get my new M5a99FX PRO 2.0 (currently using M5a97 r2.0) i should be able to get single core performance back up.

for your case, an FX 6300 (not 6100) and another 4GB of RAM will help tons

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

AgentTran :

when I try to update my motherboard it says "The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need a 32 bit or 64 bit version of the program. I downloaded the correct version.. sigh

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

Beezy :

Im not sure its the cpu from what I've seen so far, I think it's the fact that my motherboard is trash.. or my power supply, one or the other.

Beezy · Mar 9, 2014

updating the motherboard should have nothing to do with windows. you generally access the file through a USB stick or somewhere on the HDD.

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

Beezy :

Windows? The problem isn't with windows, the problem is the way my pc performs when gaming.

JOOK-D · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

I'm not entirely sure how gigabyte does their BIOS updates. Generally you should format a flash drive and extract the files on to there.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/187437/how_to_update_your_bios.html

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

JOOK-D :

Kirigaya :

I'm not entirely sure how gigabyte does their BIOS updates. Generally you should format a flash drive and extract the files on to there.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/187437/how_to_update_your_bios.html

Just checked what bios I had. It appears I do have f5 bios.. so it supports the CPU fine, do you think it's the power supply that makes my PC so slow compared to others?

JOOK-D · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

JOOK-D :

Just checked what bios I had. It appears I do have f5 bios.. so it supports the CPU fine, do you think it's the power supply that makes my PC so slow compared to others?

Possibly. What's the brand and model?

Run this tool in the background and briefly play some games. Then post a screenshot back here. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
It will allow me to check that you haven't got voltage or temperature issues.

As I said, the FX 4100 is a slow CPU. Slower than the Phenoms in fact.

TheUnknownPC · Mar 9, 2014

Its the Power Supply Im sure of it

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

JOOK-D :

Kirigaya :

Possibly. What's the brand and model?

Run this tool in the background and briefly play some games. Then post a screenshot back here. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
It will allow me to check that you haven't got voltage or temperature issues.

As I said, the FX 4100 is a slow CPU. Slower than the Phenoms in fact.

http://gyazo.com/6f5451a66beec7dd43b46633b3ea3519 Here is a picture of my power supply unit, my gpu requires 500w and ill do that right now.

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

http://gyazo.com/600b930c361bbd423345369e0cd989d0 and here is the screenshot with cpu-z while tera is running.

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

TheUnknownPC :

I left a picture of it

ezskills · Mar 9, 2014

If you are overclocking your cpu or gpu maybe your power supply is not giving your system enough power it needs

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

ezskills :

I am overclocking neither of them actually, I just get meh frames for pretty much everything.

TheUnknownPC · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

JOOK-D :

http://gyazo.com/6f5451a66beec7dd43b46633b3ea3519 Here is a picture of my power supply unit, my gpu requires 500w and ill do that right now.

Kirigaya :

Id Suggest Getting a new PSU like the EVGA 650W NEXB

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

TheUnknownPC :

Kirigaya :

Id Suggest Getting a new PSU like the EVGA 650W NEXB

Do you think the PSU is really most of the problem? I could either get a new cpu, or psu

Kirigaya · Mar 9, 2014

JOOK-D :

its going to come down to either getting a new cpu, psu, or motherboard, which one?

AgentTran · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

CPU for sure.
Even if it did work fine, it is very old and outdated.

Go upgrade that, it probably will fix your problem too.

TheUnknownPC · Mar 9, 2014

Kirigaya :

TheUnknownPC :

Kirigaya :

Id Suggest Getting a new PSU like the EVGA 650W NEXB

Do you think the PSU is really most of the problem? I could either get a new cpu, or psu

A New CPU and PSU

Why is my computer so bad at gaming compared to others?

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