Why are my framerates so bad?

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Random12346

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Jul 1, 2014
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Hi guys,

4(ish) years ago I built a pretty decent budget gaming PC (Phenom II X4, MSI R6770, 4GB DDR2, Samsung SSD). It could run most games on max settings 1080p at >30fps no problem. However now since I did my last format and upgraded to Windows 8.1 my framerates are much lower. BF4 is dropping to <20 even on minimum settings, I'm getting <20 on State of Decay and DayZ, even Borderlands 2 drops to <25 even though its a few years old now. I've got the latest drivers from AMD. Could the shitty performance be down to a software/driver problem or do I just need to upgrade my rig?

Thanks
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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You can try disabling some of the graphical options in Windows, some of that stuff will run in the background. Though I wouldn't think that would make a huge difference. Is you SSD nearly full, they should be kept below 80% full so that is has some space for shuffling data around.

But I agree that you are correct in stating that you are due for an upgrade.
 
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dottorrent

dottorrent

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I think it's safe to say that an upgrade is in order. Keep the storage and upgrade everything else.

Here is a nice budget build which may double or even triple performance (just tell me where you are from and i'll change it from $ to whatever currency) -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($86.48 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $598.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Trust me on this, there will be a very serious performance boost with this.
 
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Random12346

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Thanks for the detailed build. I agree it would make a huge difference, but unfortunately I am very short on cash right now. I've just run 3DMark and I scored 500, despite the 6770 scoring >1500 in builds with similar processors. I'm looking to max out the framerate with what I've got, and then in the future when I have some cash I'll follow your recommended build. Do you have any idea what could be causing the performance issues software-wise if the drivers are up-to-date?

Regarding PSU, I can't remember the exact spec, but it was more than enough for the rig.
 
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dottorrent

dottorrent

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Possibly your copy of Windows 8.1 has errors. Is your disk clean, free of scratches? If your disk has scratches, contact Microsoft for a downloadable version of 8.1. Don't forget to supply your key when you do, or they'll point blank refuse.
 
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Random12346

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Hmmm... I installed from a download which I had burnt to a usb drive, so it can't be that. I'm looking into possible driver problems as 3DMark threw up a few driver warnings.
 
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Random12346

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I can't really afford a whole new rig, the one I've got should be and has been good enough but recently I've seen a huge drop in framerates since my upgrade from Windows 7 to 8.1. I've checked drivers and so am wondering what else it could be.
 
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Random12346

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That's not so - I've had these same games running on the same rig previously and got much higher framerates. It's only recently that they've got so bad. The fact that the benchmarks are so much less than expected show it's something else that's wrong.
 
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Eximo

Eximo

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Run memtest and a check against your SSD, you can get odd performance when the system has to make repeated attempts for the same data.

Not that you haven't, but check for firmware updates and the latest drivers as well.

Windows 8.1 didn't like my mouse as an off the wall example, had to run the default driver in order to get Windows updated from 8, and then had to wait several months for a new software release. (Install mouse software, computer broken, really neat feature ): )
 
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