Huge FPS drops when playing videogames. Any help?

deadlymaul · May 10, 2015

Hello, I have encountered quite a weird problem when it comes to gaming. I have recently upgraded my PC (By adding an additional 4 GB ram and replacing the CPU with Q6600- original was an E3400 from Intel).
I have experienced huge FPS drops in quite few games since I have changed my specs, more specifically: GTA 5, CS:GO and DOTA 2. I played LoL to see if this happens but all went fine over there while on Minecraft it went fine aswell, but the huge FPS drop started after about 1-2 hours of continuous playing, while on the previously mentioned games it takes max 30 mins before it starts, depending on their requirements). The FPS drop doesnt last long tho (around 15-30 seconds until it returns to normal, but during that time, it is unplayable). RAM usage is doing fine, there's always around 3GB+ of available RAM left, but free RAM drops to 0-especially in the case of GTA 5. What I have observed is that the CPU usage gets ridiculuosly high when the FPS drops occur. CoreTemp indicated that the temp of the cores is normal, in between the recommended ranges but the Load was always at 100% during the drops. Does anyone know why does this happen and how could I fix it? PC was scanned with both Kaspersky and Malwarebytes, no viruses/malwares found to cause such a problem.

Here are my full PC specs:
8GB RAM Kingmax DDR3 1333Mhz
Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4Ghz
Nvidia Geforce GTX650 2GB from ZOTAC
Motherboard MSI G41M-P26
Pretty basic CPU cooler, Deepcool CK-11509 styled but from different brand
A 450 W Power source and that's pretty much all that counts.

I have removed dust from PC about 2 weeks ago (When I updated its hardware) from everything, including the power source.
I think the problem might be the CPU, since I didn't have problems with CS:GO FPS drops back when I had the E3400, but why would it do that?

Thanks in advance.

GhislainG · May 10, 2015

The Deepcool CK-11509 (or similar) is not good enough to cool a Q6600. Install a better cooler and it will no longer throttle; even the stock cooler that came with the Q6600 is fine if you don't overclock. The E3400 is a 65W CPU while the Q6600 is 105W.

deadlymaul · May 10, 2015

GhislainG :

I thought that probably the cooler was a bit too outdated, literally the CPU cores sit at around 70 degrees (what CoreTemp says). When it comes to the power output, I dont really see the problems, it works fine. Power source was doing some weird sounds before the update but that was because of the amount of dust/other debris it had in.
If I am to update the cooler, which one would you recommend between those?

http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-103/
http://www.deepcool.com/product/cpucooler/2013-12/7_481.shtml
http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-tx3-evo/
http://www.pureoverclock.com/Review-detail/enermax-ets-n30-taa-cpu-cooler-review/

Thanks for the reply.

vrumor · May 10, 2015

You are trying to run GTA V on hardware that is 5-6 years old (CPU), and a video card that is barely considered a gaming card, and you are wondering why you have huge FPS drops? You barely meet minimum reqs for the game. Upgrade your hardware, sorry but that is my recommendation.

deadlymaul · May 10, 2015

vrumor :

Minimum reqs for GTA 5 notes the Q6600. I get 45-60 FPS until the FPS drops occur. I see no problems in that and can run the game with high textures and not only (so that I get all out of 2GB of VRAM) without problem, and as I mentioned, GTA 5 is not the only game which suffers from those drops, it is one of the higher specs demanding tho.

GhislainG · May 10, 2015

I'd go with the Enermax ETS-N30. If installing it requires removing the motherboard and you'd rather not to, then the CM TX3 would meet the requirements, but it can't keep the CPU as cool.

deadlymaul · May 13, 2015

GhislainG :

Ok, have bought a CM Hyper 103 (the shop ran out of the ETS-N30 cause it was on a sale). Pleased with its results, lowered my CPU temp at least 10 degrees, but the problem still isn't solved apparently. I still get the same kind of freezes.

Arronleeds · May 13, 2015

what operating system are you on.

deadlymaul · May 13, 2015

W7 Ultimate SP1

Arronleeds · May 13, 2015

i had problems with stutter on win 7 but with battlefield 4, got windows 8.1 pro and it was fine, you said your temps are normal but what are the temps.

deadlymaul · May 13, 2015

It sits around 45 degrees in idle and it jumps to 60-65 when in a fairly demanding game.

Arronleeds · May 13, 2015

doesnt seem like the temps are an issue, so youre encountering fps drops on every single game you play?

deadlymaul · May 13, 2015

Yes, but on some games I dont encounter the drops that fast. I.E. Drops occur in Minecraft after a very long time of playing (hence it's a low-requiring game) whilst when on GTA 5 I get the drops after around 2-3 mins of playing. Never had this problem in LoL tho.

Arronleeds · May 13, 2015

that ram seems to be on the poor side mate but if you say you didnt have issues before with the old cpu and thats all that you have changed along with adding more ram then the only things i can think of is, A) cpu is faulty, b) power supply is rubbish and poorly made and cannot handle the new cpu and C) ram may be faulty

deadlymaul · May 13, 2015

Is there any way to check which one of those is the bad one?

Arronleeds · May 13, 2015

if it is the ram simply take out one stick and see if you still get the issues, if you do then try the other stick and if you still get issues then, then its not the ram.
i dont know what brand power supply you have and im not sure how you check them for failure either.

drops are usually to do with cpu spikes and not gpu spikes, i have had cpu spikes on battlefield and its been because of the drivers. but in your case it wont be drivers as it happens on every game, the only way to test its your cpu is if you could try it in a friends pc if they have a motherboard similar to yours that supports your cpu , just put the cpu in their pc along with your hdd as it has your os on.

you could also try wipe your hdd and install the os again and then download just one game and see if it stutters. if you dont get stuttering it will have been something on your hdd.

Vic 40 · May 13, 2015

Also have the latest drivers for the motherboard and bios too? Just to see if it fixes anything.

deadlymaul · May 14, 2015

Arronleeds :

Sorry for the late reply, wasn't home yesterday. I have an ALINE PX 450 PSU. I had like 2 problems with it. First was around a year ago when it started making weird sounds after installing my GTX 650, but the sounds completely diminished 1-2 min after being on. And second was when I bought the RAM and CPU, it started roaring like crazy. Opened it up, cleaned off dust, cleaned the fan in and out and afterwards it didn't make any worrying sounds at all. Tried the RAM method, both work very well, no problems. The CPU part is going to be quite a pain to test, mostly because I dont think any of my friends have an 775 socket motherboard. Also drivers and BIOS version are all up to date. I would really could want to think it is the power source that is the black sheep in all of this, but everything works fine. PC boots fine, PC doesnt shut down or things like that even after 10 hours of being turned on. There are no beeps/weird sounds in the computer. A thing that could confirm this theory is that I used
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine and got a result of around 400 W minimum and 480 W recomended. If it is the PSU, could I get a straight explanation to how this affects the CPU usage (which is higher than it should be) and also any recommendation for a new PSU that is also cheap? Already spent quite a lot in upgrading this rig

Arronleeds · May 14, 2015

basically if a psu is broken, it could be giving enough juice to power everything one minute but then the next minute it could be not giving enough power out, basically voltage spikes, if your psu was making noises before you really should have replaced it then as thats not a good sign. the power supply itself looks really cheap and tacky (no offence) and im surprised its still going at all.

check this list out for a few cheap psus that are branded and would be better for the job
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#sort=a9&page=1&X=0,5387&W=400,470

deadlymaul · May 14, 2015

Arronleeds :

I was surprised aswell by how it still works after the sounds it started to make during the past year. Nevertheless I'll look for a 500W PSU and return once I install it to see if I find any results. That should do the trick.

Arronleeds · May 14, 2015

Good luck mate

deadlymaul · May 16, 2015

Hey, while I wait for my new PSU to be delivered, I decided to take a look at the voltage levels. The results are those:
http://i.imgur.com/VwSrYkL.png
I really think that the +12V level is way off the charts.
Are the other levels at a normal range?

GhislainG · May 16, 2015

Those voltages can't be accurate; otherwise the system wouldn't work at all and you couldn't see that screen. Use a DVM or check them in the BIOS.

Arronleeds · May 16, 2015

Deffo looks like the psu is the issue, check the bios and see if you get the same issues then also check what the new psu is giving you.

Vic 40 · May 17, 2015

The bios is the best way to check voltages,the only thing will be that the pc isn't really pushed so no drops.
You could use the next to check for voltages too,it's most of the times pretty accurate,

Download hwinfo32,

http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html

You can open hwinfo32,after that open the sensor window by marking/checking sensors only,after that click run.

Huge FPS drops when playing videogames. Any help?

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