Cpu usage drops

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Henry_Huynh

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Jun 26, 2015
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AMD FX 9370
gigabyte 990fxa-ud3
GTX 760 SLI
In games that I use SLI, like battlefield 4, my fps drops from 90-110 to 20-30ish for a bit and then returns to normal. I think the culprit is my CPU as when these drops occur there's a dip in my cpu usage then returns to normal after the fps drop subsides. My temps are at max 50c when playing, does anyone know how to fix this?
 
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Redneck5439
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JamesSneed

JamesSneed

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This issue wont be your CPU per say if you see the CPU utilization drop when it happens as the opposite would be occurring if you are CPU limited or the CPU is throttling due to heat. These two tips below are my best guess as what may be causing the issue. This does possibly sound like a core parking issue which is CPU related.

See if disabling core parking helps:
http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1939190/increase-fps-cpu-intensive-games-windows.html

Try installing missing DirectX libraries:
Go to the BF4 folder in .\origin games\Battlefield 4\Open ._Installer\directx\redist Right click on DXSETUP.exe and click "Run as Administrator"
What this does is install the DirectX libraries that were copied to your hard drive but never installed that are needed for DirectX to properly process the game code.
 
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Redneck5439

Redneck5439

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Aug 21, 2015
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What psu do you have? FX 9370 CPUs are power hungry beasts, if not getting the proper/consistent power it could cause the problem you are describing. What cpu cooler are you running? It is possible that the heat is spiking and you are getting thermal throttling which could also cause your problem. Those are the two most common places to start.
 
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Henry_Huynh

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I have a EVGA supernova 850w gold and a corsair h55
 
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Redneck5439

Redneck5439

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Just brainstorming here but do you have the latest bios? I have a Sabertooth 990 FX R2.0 and FX 8370. When I first upgraded from Phemon II to FX 8350 I just "plugged and play" and always thought that chip was just a little wonky. When I upgraded from FX 8350 to FX 8370 again the processor seemed to be acting wonky and was doing strange things while overclocking. I updated to bios to the latest version and all the strange behavior disappeared and I was able to get a good stable overclock. I would check to see if there is a newer bios version.
 
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Henry_Huynh

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I have updated my bios yet it still occurs, do you have any other tips?
 
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Redneck5439

Redneck5439

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I think it is possible you are experiencing thermal throttling. The FX 9370 is a hot processor and when stressed can produce a lot of heat. You are on a water cooler, but an H55 is one of the smaller coolers and may not be enough for your particular processor. I would suggest to run AMD Overdrive and HWmonitor while gaming and see what your temps are doing. It may be quicker and easier to have Overdrive (the most precise program for monitoring FX temp) running while doing a Prime 95 stress test. If you temps are under control after say 40 min of Prime 95 then we know its not thermal throttling. If however your temps are spiking to dangerous levels then you need a better water cooler such as the H100i.

I hate to say it, but your processor at stock is probably running hotter than my FX 8370 when overclocked to 5Ghz @ 1.44Vcore. I had to go to the H100i to effectively cool my 8370 for overclocking.
 
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JamesSneed

JamesSneed

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I doubt its thermal throttling, as he is seeing low CPU usage in these dips if the CPU was throttled down it would be pegged out running these games at a lower frequency.

How old are your graphics card drivers?

Did you try going into the Windows 8 power options yet? Make sure core parking is off by setting it to 100% and bump the min processor state to 100%. Sometimes power management can cause some weird things and it seems to vary by each motherboard model.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/unlock-core-parking.196807/
 
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Henry_Huynh

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I found out it was actually thermal throttling... My temps would be fine for a sec then next thing you know its like a volcano in my room. This 9370 produces more heat than my space heater, I have to get a new cooling setup, I have the corsair h55 atm, I fixed the problems for now by downclocking my cpu so it doesn't heat up as much. While the cpu usage dips the clock speed reduces from 4ish to around 1-2, I didn't spot this last time. I just realized that it happens in games I use SLI in because those games are more graphically demanding which makes my cpu hotter, my fps is fine in League of Legends or CS:GO but as soon as I load up BF4 or such my temps go through the roof. Anyone have a good suggestion for a cpu cooler?
 
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Redneck5439

Redneck5439

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I thought it sounded a lot like thermal throttling. I overlooked it at first because you were technically on liquid cooling, however the H55 is a small solution for the FX 9370. As for cooling you are going to be looking at something like the the H100i (GTX), possibly H110 (GT) depending on your preference. If you wanted to switch to air you could also look at something like the PH-TC14PE or Noctua NH-D14 or NH-D15. Those air solutions are just as good as the H100i GTX, cost less, and you have no threat of a leak killing your system (although I do love my H100i).
 
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