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Game drops to 0 FPS and CPU Usage drops to 0%

Tags:
  • Hardware
  • Games
  • CPUs
  • FPS
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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April 27, 2014 11:29:33 PM

So I have no idea about hardware but I figure that this is a hardware related problem.

While gaming (Marvel Heroes, Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead) I drop to 0 FPS for up to 1 minute and my CPU Usage will drop to 0%. This has been happening for 8 days now and completely out of the blue.

I have tried updating drivers, lowering game settings to minimum, rebooting my pc and a few more things mainly orientated around the game.

Benchmarking Test: https://novabench.com/view/603857

Specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel Core i5-3570 3.40GHz
AMD Radeon R9 270X
16GB DDR3 RAM

More about : game drops fps cpu usage drops

a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 12:07:21 AM

Power Supply?
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April 28, 2014 5:59:29 PM

cst1992 said:
This one?
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/the-2012-el-cheapo-power...
Change it.

It's a wonder your PSU didn't blow up; that one did.

Get a good quality PSU; 550W or more. Your CPU and GPU both use that much power.
Get ones from the Corsair HX,TX,GS,AX line, Antec, XFX or Seasonic. Seasonic recommended.



I have to ask, I've been using this power supply since 2009 and with the CPU & GPU since January. Why am I only having problems with it now?
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April 28, 2014 12:08:13 AM

What do you mean by "Power Supply"?
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a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 10:44:32 PM

_Sped said:
cst1992 said:
This one?
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/the-2012-el-cheapo-power...
Change it.

It's a wonder your PSU didn't blow up; that one did.

Get a good quality PSU; 550W or more. Your CPU and GPU both use that much power.
Get ones from the Corsair HX,TX,GS,AX line, Antec, XFX or Seasonic. Seasonic recommended.



I have to ask, I've been using this power supply since 2009 and with the CPU & GPU since January. Why am I only having problems with it now?


One word: Degradation.

All power supplies suffer it thru time, shit like that power supply suffer from it at accelerated rates while under more than a casual load.


That specific unit exploded at 400w load.

I'm surprised it has not destroyed your system already.
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a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 12:54:00 AM

Which power supply do you have? Make and Model? And please don't just say 500 Watts or 750 Watts, doesn't help.
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a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 11:02:45 PM

A low quality power supply shortens the life of your components. Harsh as it may sound, the effects could be showing up.
I can pretty much guarantee you'll see an improvement with a good power supply.
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April 28, 2014 1:20:16 AM

Thermal Master TM-420-PSAR-I3

It came with the case.
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a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 11:06:25 PM

maxalge said:


One word: Degradation.

All power supplies suffer it thru time, shit like that power supply suffer from it at accelerated rates while under more than a casual load.


That specific unit exploded at 400w load.

I'm surprised it has not destroyed your system already.

Right.
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Best solution

a b à CPUs
April 28, 2014 7:43:26 AM

This one?
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/the-2012-el-cheapo-power...
Change it.

It's a wonder your PSU didn't blow up; that one did.

Get a good quality PSU; 550W or more. Your CPU and GPU both use that much power.
Get ones from the Corsair HX,TX,GS,AX line, Antec, XFX or Seasonic. Seasonic recommended.
Share
May 1, 2014 7:07:26 PM

cst1992 said:
This one?
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/the-2012-el-cheapo-power...
Change it.

It's a wonder your PSU didn't blow up; that one did.

Get a good quality PSU; 550W or more. Your CPU and GPU both use that much power.
Get ones from the Corsair HX,TX,GS,AX line, Antec, XFX or Seasonic. Seasonic recommended.


Just bought a new PSU; a Gigabyte PoweRock AX 600. It's 600W and if anything it's made the problem worst. I still drop down to 0 and 0% only it lasts longer and it makes the game non-responsive.
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a b à CPUs
May 2, 2014 12:47:54 AM

_Sped said:
cst1992 said:
This one?
http://hardwareinsights.com/wp/the-2012-el-cheapo-power...
Change it.

It's a wonder your PSU didn't blow up; that one did.

Get a good quality PSU; 550W or more. Your CPU and GPU both use that much power.
Get ones from the Corsair HX,TX,GS,AX line, Antec, XFX or Seasonic. Seasonic recommended.


Just bought a new PSU; a Gigabyte PoweRock AX 600. It's 600W and if anything it's made the problem worst. I still drop down to 0 and 0% only it lasts longer and it makes the game non-responsive.


hmmmm.


Download this install and run the cpu bench:
Cinebench


While you do that have this running in the background:

Core Temp


Temps ok?
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May 2, 2014 1:29:52 AM

Since Cinebench is taking abnormally long to download, I used NovaBench which I already had installed.

Temps: http://i.imgur.com/iF2lXyL.png
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a b à CPUs
May 2, 2014 2:23:39 AM

_Sped said:

Just bought a new PSU; a Gigabyte PoweRock AX 600. It's 600W and if anything it's made the problem worst. I still drop down to 0 and 0% only it lasts longer and it makes the game non-responsive.


Why did you get that PSU? It's not even 80PLUS certified. It's not bad, but not very good either.
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May 2, 2014 3:21:36 AM

cst1992 said:
_Sped said:

Just bought a new PSU; a Gigabyte PoweRock AX 600. It's 600W and if anything it's made the problem worst. I still drop down to 0 and 0% only it lasts longer and it makes the game non-responsive.


Why did you get that PSU? It's not even 80PLUS certified. It's not bad, but not very good either.


All I could afford at the time. Besides, you said a 550W or more and that's what I got.
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May 2, 2014 3:42:28 AM

_Sped said:


All I could afford at the time. Besides, you said a 550W or more and that's what I got.


I listed the brands too.
Anyway, nothing can be done now that you got it. And besides, something else seems to be the problem in your case(pun not intended).
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May 2, 2014 4:59:52 AM

Other than games, I also just noticed that this seems to be happening on videos as well. I just tried to watch a movie and it continued to stutter.
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a b à CPUs
May 2, 2014 10:19:03 PM

_Sped said:
Since Cinebench is taking abnormally long to download, I used NovaBench which I already had installed.

Temps: http://i.imgur.com/iF2lXyL.png


Wow those temps! Especially in a locked non overclocked cpu.

Your cpu is overheating and throttling down to save itself.

You have the stock cpu cooler? Check the fans for failure.

You might need to take the cpu cooler off to reapply thermal compound and seat it properly.
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May 2, 2014 10:21:00 PM

maxalge said:
_Sped said:
Since Cinebench is taking abnormally long to download, I used NovaBench which I already had installed.

Temps: http://i.imgur.com/iF2lXyL.png


Wow those temps! Especially in a locked non overclocked cpu.

Your cpu is overheating and throttling down to save itself.



They're averaging out at around 72 degrees Celsius at the moment. It's surprising because I have that many fans in the case it's not funny.
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a b à CPUs
May 2, 2014 10:25:50 PM

_Sped said:
maxalge said:
_Sped said:
Since Cinebench is taking abnormally long to download, I used NovaBench which I already had installed.

Temps: http://i.imgur.com/iF2lXyL.png


Wow those temps! Especially in a locked non overclocked cpu.

Your cpu is overheating and throttling down to save itself.



They're averaging out at around 72 degrees Celsius at the moment. It's surprising because I have that many fans in the case it's not funny.


lol one of the cores actually reached 105...

Run a game with core temp in the background then quickly alt tab to it when you get 0 cpu usage.


I'm betting it's too high temps.
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May 2, 2014 11:34:20 PM

maxalge said:
_Sped said:
maxalge said:
_Sped said:
Since Cinebench is taking abnormally long to download, I used NovaBench which I already had installed.

Temps: http://i.imgur.com/iF2lXyL.png


Wow those temps! Especially in a locked non overclocked cpu.

Your cpu is overheating and throttling down to save itself.



They're averaging out at around 72 degrees Celsius at the moment. It's surprising because I have that many fans in the case it's not funny.


lol one of the cores actually reached 105...

Run a game with core temp in the background then quickly alt tab to it when you get 0 cpu usage.


I'm betting it's too high temps.


I'll try a game in a moment but I think I might have found why it's overheating. I opened up the case while it's running and there is a cable stopping the processor fan from moving. If heat is the problem, it should be an easy fix (plus I have an extra fan I can add since I have 3 blank spots)
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May 2, 2014 11:47:35 PM

Got a letter opener in and moved the cable aside and now it's down to 40 degrees and it appears to be dropping some more.
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