Huge FPS drops AMD FX-8350 / GTX 770

Candan · Nov 21, 2015

Hi Guys

Suffering large FPS drops.

Vsync on. Steady 59-60 fps @ 1920x1080. Then for know reason it drops to 20-22 fps for 30 seconds then back up to normal. Repeats every 3 to 4 minutes.

Doesn't matter what I'm playing. Even at low quality graphics settings. Doesn't matter if it's a high action scene or not. i.e practice laps on Project Cars; standing still in The Witcher 3, etc. Then when it catches up it boosts to Benny Hill speeds, then settles back to normal

Temps ~65c under load
When it happens, my system monitor reports CPU @ 100%, so I assume it's a bottle neck. But why with my spec? Seems pretty well balanced to me.

I've run Prime95 CPU stress all night long with no errors.

System specs:
Windows 10 x64
ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0
AMD FX-8350 - Stock 4ghz no OC
Nvidia GTX 770
Nvidia Driver 358.91 (but it's been doing it for months on older drivers)
G Skill F3-1866 PC3-14933 (2x8gb)
Coolermaster V Series 650w PS
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 [Hard drive] (1TB)
KINGSTON SSD SH103S3240G [Hard drive] (240GB)

Thanks for your help!

PeppermintFangs · Nov 21, 2015

Do you mean all temps are around 65c?

AMD states that the maximum temperature for the FX-8350 is about 61c, which means it could (possibly) be thermal throttling above that temperature, though that's unlikely. I'd be more concerned with the lifespan of a CPU at that temperature.

However, if you're speaking about your GFX, GeForce specifies the max temperature as 98c for prolonged use, so there's no possibility of thermal throttling there.

What does your system monitor report for GPU usage when this drop occurs?

Candan · Nov 21, 2015

PeppermintFangs :

Hmm Thanks. I'll go gaming for an hour and report back

PeppermintFangs · Nov 21, 2015

Candan :

Great!

What you're looking for in terms of a bottleneck is one system at full usage while the other one isn't.

For example:
CPU Usage: ~100%
GPU Usage ~30%

Readings like those would suggest that your GFX is significantly more powerful than your CPU.

If possible, also pay close attention to the temperatures to see if they spike upwards while the usage spikes downwards.

Candan · Nov 21, 2015

While gaming, the GPU is mostly 95-99%. The CPU chugs along at 50+%. CPU temp 60c. Then it drops to 20fps, and the CPU jumps up to 100% usage. After 15 seconds we're good again. Until 3 minutes later, rinse, repeat.

Never mind. Just ran 3dmark Firestrike and saw strong evidence of cpu% go up to 90+% and gpu% drop to 5+%. Seems like a cpu bottleneck to me. Question is, how do i fix it?

Candan · Nov 29, 2015

PeppermintFangs :

My GPU is being starved. The CPU goes right up to 99% and the GPU drops to 20%. Temps no more than 61C CPU and 68C on the GPU

But why?

PeppermintFangs · Nov 29, 2015

Candan :

Sounds like a CPU bottleneck... You can attempt to overclock your CPU, which may or may not fix the problem. If it doesn't, a CPU upgrade may be in order.

You can follow this tutorial for overclocking the 8350: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckeAmnDeTk

Candan · Nov 29, 2015

Sounds like it, you're right. But it doesn't make sense. I've heard of guys running SLI 980's on an FX8350. But I have the NZXT H440 case and it's really tough to keep cool!

PeppermintFangs · Nov 29, 2015

Candan :

Every setup is a little different.

I forgot to mention that overclocking your CPU will cause a higher heat output, so you will need a CPU cooler. Even if you don't overclock, I'd still recommend picking one up.

The Hyper 212 Evo is a great choice for mild overclocks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

It's $20 on Newegg right now after a $10 rebate!

If you have a bigger budget, you could get an all-in-one CPU cooler.

Corsair H55:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SV7IEJI?tag=pcpapi-20&pldnSite=1

Kraken X31: http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Kraken-Liquid-Cooling-RL-KRX61-01/dp/B00L0YLJJG

Either way, you will need to get a better cooling unit for your CPU.

Candan · Nov 29, 2015

PeppermintFangs :

I have the Corsair H55 now. In fact I RMA'd one a few months back. Turned out the next one gave the same results! Guess it wasn't defective after all!

I'm looking to replace the stock front fans with better ones. I'll try to move my h55 rad to the top of the case. See if that helps.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Please let me know if you think of anything else!

PeppermintFangs · Nov 30, 2015

Candan :

Wow, really? In that case, there is something seriously wrong with those temps. And with no OC?

Definitely move the rad to the top, and if there's anyway you can send me a picture or diagram of the cooling setup in your case, I may be able to help you troubleshoot.

The H55 is a great cooler, and I'd be very surprised if it let your CPU get to 61c unless something was wrong. Even when I had the stock cooler on my FX 6350 my temps didn't get that high under load. Now with my Kraken installed, the temps never rise above 32c under load (and my CPU is overclocked to 4.2GHz).

NightAntilli · Nov 30, 2015

The reason your CPU goes to 100% is because the CPU downclocks to (I think) 1.4 GHz to avoid overheating. It's not the CPU overheating btw. It's your motherboard VRMs. Your motherboard is known to throttle with FX-8 CPUs because its power phase design is quite weak. It cannot handle the power draw of your CPU, and to protect its components, it lowers the clock of your CPU.

A temporary solution is to let your CPU draw less power... Go into BIOS, disable two cores, and the issue should be remedied, or at least less severe. You'll have a 6 core rather than an 8 core, which is a bummer, since you paid for the FX-8, not an FX-6. The alternatives are downclocking your CPU, trying to cool your VRMs better, or getting a better motherboard.

Candan · Dec 1, 2015

Thanks to both of you!

I might be some time to come back. I am deep in a house move, but I will take pics of my cooling setup and send them when I get a chance, with the rad on top. As I said, it is the 2nd H55 cooler I've had and it didn't help. it would be too coincidental to have the same temps and issues with both. I'm also using, as I said an NZXT H440 case - which has world renowned cooling issues. So I'm sure that's the reason.

I will try the 6 core thing too. Not as a permanent fix, but as a test for the issue. Perhaps you're right about the mobo. The 8350 is right at the top end of what the mobo will accept. I've googled since you've mentioned there's a lot of talk about these mobos overheating.

Thanks!

Candan · Dec 1, 2015

Another thing I thought about.... Regardless of CPU or GPU temps, the issue only seems to occur when gaming after the PC has been powered on for several hours. Not just due to gaming but even when it's been idle for a considerable amount of time. I suppose this could point at overheating VRMs right?

NightAntilli · Dec 1, 2015

Yeah. You can verify this too with the software called HWiNFO;
www.hwinfo.com/

When you start it, it tracks your CPU speed in a small separate window. Now be careful, don't confuse the cool n quiet feature with throttling. Cool n quiet lowers clock speed when your CPU is idle. It's much different than throttling.

What you can do is run Prime95. Rather than looking for errors after you've started it, run HWiNFO and click on sensors. There's an icon at the bottom that resets your stats. After Prime95 is running you can reset the stats to make sure it shows only stats when under load, making sure cool n quiet isn't dropping your CPU speed.

You'll see CPU package temperature and socket temperature. Monitor both, and likely your socket temperature will be the one that's higher and causing the throttling. Monitor your clock speed. You can also monitor your voltages. If you're throttling, you'll see the CPU clock speed and voltage dropping at a specific temperature, waiting for it to cool down, and returning to full clock speed.

Candan · Dec 1, 2015

NightAntilli :

Thanks. I have HWinfo and I'll pull that up tonight and see if I can see a pattern here.

Did a Stress test with Prime95...

All the cores are showing full power, then they drop to 1.4ghz. Definite throttling happening.

For the temps, am I looking at the "CPU 0 package" temps or the mobo CPU temps?

CPU package MAX 37.6C
ASRock970 Extreme3 MAX 61.5C

Could the 61.5C be the issue and not the VRMs?

Candan · Dec 1, 2015

An update.

Went into the bios and turned OFF Enhanced Halt State, Core C6 Mode, CPU Thermal Throttle; all to disabled or OFF

Booted up. Stressed with Prime95 again. Throttled again when it hit 61.5C. The system made a suspicious "heat click" but it appears to still be running OK

So I got to get those temps down. What's the best fan control prog, I'm not hearing much spin up. I'm not OCing at all so I don't know what to use.

NightAntilli · Dec 1, 2015

The 61.5 is definitely the issue. It shows up as the name of your motherboard, but it's the VRM of your motherboard

Package is your CPU itself, that temp is more than fine.

You should turn CPU Thermal Throttle back on. It's a protection for your system. Turning it off can cause things to overheat.

You can do one other thing, figure out how to put a fan on the backplate of your motherboard. It should help keep things cool. It can be a nightmare if your case doesn't have enough space for a small fan. Doesn't matter how small it is. I used a 60mm fan and it was dangling back there lol.

Candan · Dec 2, 2015

NightAntilli :

OK, so I've hung fans on zip ties and goodness knows what. It did help in not allowing the stressing to get the temp up to 60+C as quickly, but it still got there. So in the end, if I invest in a better mobo - say Gigabyte GA-970A UD3P which has 8+2 Power phase, it will keep Mosfets from burning up and stop the throttling? Simple as that?

NightAntilli · Dec 2, 2015

Yup. Simple as that. That's probably the best motherboard you could get at that price too. Great choice.

One of the problems of a lot of market coolers is that unlike the stock fan, they don't blow air across the VRMs. A good airflow can also help mitigate the problem, but generally, a good motherboard is the best solution.

Huge FPS drops AMD FX-8350 / GTX 770

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