FPS drop due to dropping CPU clocks during gaming (Overwatch, FO4, etc)

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Hijongo

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Jul 5, 2016
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Hello! Another one of these threads, I have seen a lot of these on here trying to find a solution, but none have worked yet, so here is another.

Lately I have been having an issue where when I am gaming, my CPU clocks will randomly drop (from 3700 MHz to about 1600MHz) and dropping the FPS of the games I am playing. This seems to be a new problem, as I don't remember it happening in the past. I have mostly noticed it with the release of Overwatch. I know Overwatch has issues with frame rate after the full release, but mine was still pretty bad during the Beta. Additionally, I have noticed drops in other games as well, such as Fallout 4. My hardware is good enough that it defaults to fairly high graphics settings, but I have FPS drops no matter what graphics setting I am on. My system specs are as follows:


  • --AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor (With after market cooler)
    --ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
    --Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
    --Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
    --MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card
    --Windows 10 (64 bit)


The solutions I have tried so far are as follows:


  • --Updating video card drivers
    --Blowing the dust out of the computer
    --I monitored the temperatures during game play, and they stayed reasonable.
    --Turning off Cool N' Quiet, and other temperature throttles on the CPU
    --Re-seating the CPU cooler with new thermal paste
    --Installing onto a SSD rather than HDD (no changes)
    --Forcing my CPU to a set clock speed (still drops)
    --Setting windows to high performance mode
    --Updating the BIOS to the most recent version

At this point, I'm starting to think that it is either the PSU not being able to power everything well enough, I'm not sure if CPU drops come during GPU spikes and I'm not sure how to check, or some problem with the mother board. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Solution
jtk2515
Set your CPU fan to 100%
IF you have a case fan have it blowing on the VRM's

I would try that 1st to see if you can keep the VRM's at a low enough temp to push the Voltage. That being said most people just replace the Mobo as you cannt OC the CPU at a stable Clock with these boards.
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H

Hijongo

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Jul 5, 2016
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I will try this and post the results
 
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Decends

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Jul 3, 2016
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I know why your cpu's core speed is randomly dropping. its the Voltage Regulation Modules (VRMs for short) on your motherboard. The problem is that the motherboard you have likely has a 4+1 power phase deliver system for your CPU like most AMD FX 970 Chipset motherboards have. When using a AMD FX-8XXX or 9XXX series CPU, you need a AMD FX 990 chipset for sufficent power delivering. Your cpu is hitting a load high enough to where either the VRMs simply cant deliver enough power, your VRMs are overheating, or even both. As a result, the motherboard throttles the CPU's speed to avoid any damage to the VRMs. You need to upgrade to a better motherboard with 990 chipset. Those have a 8+2 Power phase deliverly VRMs that can handle the power requirements of the FX 8XXX and 9XXX processors from AMD.
 
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H

Hijongo

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Jul 5, 2016
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1,510


xof0Ovp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xof0Ovp.jpg

Sorry if this is hard to see but this is the best that I could do. There were random fluctuations in FPS and the GPU that did not seem to correlate at all (i.e. sometimes there was high FPS, but low GPU, and vice versa)
 
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H

Hijongo

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Jul 5, 2016
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1,510



How certain are of this? This sounds pretty reasonable to me, I'm just kind of hesitant to buy a new mother board, but if its what I gotta do, its what I gotta do. I haven't taken the time to look at these yet, but can you recommend a motherboard that would meet this requirement for a reasonable price?
 
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jtk2515

jtk2515

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Nov 30, 2013
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Set your CPU fan to 100%
IF you have a case fan have it blowing on the VRM's

I would try that 1st to see if you can keep the VRM's at a low enough temp to push the Voltage. That being said most people just replace the Mobo as you cannt OC the CPU at a stable Clock with these boards.
 
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Solution
H

Hijongo

Commendable
Jul 5, 2016
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1,510


I have always had the CPU fan on max, I think I couldn't do a variable fan for some reason when I built my computer.

 
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Decends

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I would say your power supply should be fine for now, upgrading it when you can would be a good idea for sake of a higher quality PSU. That is a excellent budget for upgrading your motherboard, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131877 , there is a motherboard that would be great for your CPU, its actualy one of the only boards recommended for the FX 9000 series CPU's which consume ALOT more power than the FX 8320. If you wish, i could also recommend a PSU for later on when you upgrade it if you wish to.
 
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H

Hijongo

Commendable
Jul 5, 2016
8
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1,510


Yeah if you could do that now, that would be great, thanks!

Edit: Additionally, it can't be too much larger, I only have a 15 amp breaker in my whole apartment :X
Also, I meant to mark your original post as the best solution since that's the one I'm going with, but accidentally clicked the wrong post.
 
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Decends

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Jul 3, 2016
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Alright, heres a PSU for you when you have the money, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817438059. Its a Tier 1 PSU, very high quality. Even supplies a little bit more power. It also has modular cables so you only have to put in the cables you need, and none of the ones you dont.
 
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