Low FPS / Random FPS drops with new GPU

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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Hi everyone.

I recently upgraded my graphics card from an XFX Radeon HD 7750 to an EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Superclocked 2 GB. I have been playing games such as Arma 2 (multiplayer), Arma 3, Dayz Standalone, and Far Cry 3. In Arma 2 & 3, my frame rate struggles (25-30 fps) when I play multiplayer, but is totally fine when I am in the editor (45-60 fps). It doesn't seem to make a difference with any of the settings I play with (ultra or low). I also experience random frame drops when I am in multiplayer (DayZ mod, for example). My frames will drop from 25-30 down to 5-15. I also experience the frame rate drop in Far Cry 3 and Watch Dogs, making the games nearly unplayable at times. As I said prior, it doesn't seem to make a difference what settings I am on, my frames do not seem to change with them. I've made sure that I'm not running Precision X while playing, I've benchmarked with Ungine Heaven & Valley, and have played with nearly every setting in the Nvidia Control Panel. I am at a loss for what it could be, and was wondering if anyone else might be experiencing the same issue. My PC specs are:

- Corsair CX600W PSU
- Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Motherboard - Upgrading to ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard tomorrow.
- 16 GB Crucial RAM 1333MHz- Upgrading to 8 GB GSkiLL Sniper @ 1866MHz tomorrow.
- EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Superclocked 2GB
- AMD FX-6300 6-Core @ 3.5GHz
- 1 TB HDD @ 7200 Rpm (storage)
- 500 GB HDD @ 7200 Rpm (recording)

Let me know if I left anything important out! Thanks!

- Sam.

 
Solution
Your processor is having trouble handling the load. Explains why regardless of graphical settings, the game will freeze up. Throw a FX-8320 or 8350 into that new motherboard; should help with your problem. Or, overclock the Fx-6300 to increase performance, given you have after market cooling available.

EDIT: Before I upgraded to my FX-8320 OC 4.5ghz, I had a FX-6300, like yourself. I'd go as low as 2 fps in Company of Heroes 2 (a very intensive game for CPU and GPU), which is what made me upgrade. I now never dip below 25~ LOWEST (average is much higher) on extreme settings.

KyleADunn

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Your processor is having trouble handling the load. Explains why regardless of graphical settings, the game will freeze up. Throw a FX-8320 or 8350 into that new motherboard; should help with your problem. Or, overclock the Fx-6300 to increase performance, given you have after market cooling available.

EDIT: Before I upgraded to my FX-8320 OC 4.5ghz, I had a FX-6300, like yourself. I'd go as low as 2 fps in Company of Heroes 2 (a very intensive game for CPU and GPU), which is what made me upgrade. I now never dip below 25~ LOWEST (average is much higher) on extreme settings.
 
Solution

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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Thanks for the quick reply! I've wondered about that, and was actually mulling over the decision last night. What would you recommend for an aftermarket cooler if I purchased an FX-8320? I've read multiple reviews saying the stock cooler is not sufficient.

 

KyleADunn

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I use a Hyper 212 Evo (you can buy em' for like $35 USD), and have my 8320 OC'd to 4.5ghz for 24/7 usage, and I am always within safe temps.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
 

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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I've swapped from 1920x1080 to 1600x900 to 1280x720, all of them seem to yield very minute changes in FPS.
Arma 2 Settings are:
Texture Detail: Normal
Video Memory: High
Anisotropic Filtering: Off
Antialiasing: Off
Terrain Detail: Normal
Object Detail: Normal
Shadow Detail: Normal
HDR Quality: Normal
Post Process Effects: Off
Vsync: Enabled

 

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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I haven't done that, so I suppose that could be an issue. Do you have a link that I could use to download cc cleaner?

Thanks for the quick response, by the way!
 

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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So I went ahead and uninstalled my AMD drivers. It seems that while it hasn't fixed my low FPS, it has fixed the random FPS/lag spikes that I get. It's a start! Thanks :)
 

delellod123

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Jun 5, 2012
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May just be GPU/CPU combo not being too powerful. I'd suggest overclocking your CPU to at least 4.0-4.2 GHZ, though I would recommend the 212 cooler someone else suggested first. Also, you can overclock the GPU a bit too, there are many guides on TOMS & all over the web. For that, you wont need anything else but some patients.

Last, disable vsync. You aren't hitting 60FPS, no need for it. ARMA 2, like someone else suggested IS a very CPU intensive game. Your CPU is already fine for it, just needs more horsepower (hence the overclock). Id venture to say that with your FX 6xxx CPU and the 660 combo, you could get around 45-50 fps on Arma 2 with Very High Settings, 1080P, DX9, High AA. The GPU will be the limiting factor in this case.
 

sambr58

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Jul 10, 2014
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I took your advice and purchased an FX-8320. I get it on Saturday and am hoping for good results.

Thanks!

 

stokes1790

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Feb 18, 2013
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I would be extremely hesitant to suggest overclocking on that PSU (CX series). Just my 2 cents. But I'd suggest a new PSU if you want to overclock, or just for general peace of mind- the CX series is average at best, not really what I'd want to trust my whole system on.

Probably doesn't matter, but would hate for OP to try overclocking and blow his whole system due to critical PSU failure.
 

delellod123

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Jun 5, 2012
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