AMD high end Computer performance problem

David_DDD

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
23
0
1,510
So. I build my first PC for gaming. But some games run slower then they should be.
specs:
GPU- R9 390
CPU- FX-8350
MOBO- MSI 970 GAMING
RAM- 8 GB G. SKULL 2133
PSU- Corsair CX550m
OC- Win 8.1

Sometimes the game like Arma 3 would freeze for couple of seconds. The most interesting part is that it doesn't matter how low my settings are they still don't improve my pc performance. It looks like there is some kind of a bottleneck. For example: Arma 3 on ultra would run at 50-70 FPS, but when I drive in town and there are a lot of buildings to render the drop is down to 20 FPS some times. But when I switch my setteing to minimum nothing changes! Same FPS. The familiar problem is with all the other games like Total War, Hitman etc. Games work the same on ultra and max settings but when I switch to min it has a slight improvment.

All the driveres are updated via AMD driver update app.
it seems that my CPU works only on 40-50% on max load. So it's not that.
The same with GPS. When I tried to speed it up with Radeon app NOTHING changes.
There is only one suspicious thing about RAM: while gaming it uses about 4-5GB of memory. The rest is for cache. I have tried to turn the cache off in Windows settings but then my PC started doing some weird staff and when I would open couple of apps it would reboot with massage "Not enough memory". So I turned cache on again.
Enother thing is with XMP. It turned on in BIOS but than my PC would reboot couple of times a day and show massage something like: your overclock mode has faild. Return to BIOS to change.

I have this problem for over a year. I have spend a lot of hours over this sh*t. And if you will help me to solve this problem I will be very thankfull!
 
Check your CPU temperature while gaming. AMD has a quite low threshold before CPU starts throttling - it is 61C. If possible, keep it below 55C at all times.

If temps are too high, your CPU cooler might need cleaning, thermal paste replacement, or even replacement of the entire cooler with a better model.
 

David_DDD

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
23
0
1,510


CPU temp while gaming is about 55-57 °C. As a cooler I have Cooler MAster 12 EVO
 
Good cooler. Temps are... well, can't tell precisely. I would certainly want them lower, at least by several degrees. Does the stuttering happen even at 55-57C temp? Try monitoring for longer if possible, it could be that temps get even higher over time.

Is the cooler heatsink clean from dust?
 

David_DDD

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
23
0
1,510


Bro, the dust on the heatsink won't dramaticaly effect the PC performance. The same with "several degrees". I have heard the cases when AMD was 70-80 degrees and worked just find. The problem is definitely not it CPU temp
 
Some games are graphics limited like fast action shooters.
Others are cpu core speed limited like strategy, sims, and mmo.
Multiplayer with many participants tend to like many threads.
By todays standards FX cores are slow and are likely contributing to your problems.

You need to find out which.
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To help clarify your CPU/GPU options, run these two tests:

a) Run YOUR games, but lower your resolution and eye candy.
If your FPS increases, it indicates that your cpu is strong enough to drive a better graphics configuration.
If your FPS stays the same, you are likely more cpu limited.

b) Limit your cpu, either by reducing the OC, or, in windows power management, limit the maximum cpu% to something like 70%.
Go to control panel/power options/change plan settings/change advanced power settings/processor power management/maximum processor state/
This will simulate what a lack of cpu power will do.
Conversely what a 30% improvement in core speed might do.

You should also experiment with removing one core. You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of processors to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.

If your FPS drops significantly, it is an indicator that your cpu is the limiting factor, and a cpu upgrade is in order.

It is possible that both tests are positive, indicating that you have a well balanced system,
and both cpu and gpu need to be upgraded to get better gaming FPS.
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David_DDD

Commendable
Feb 16, 2016
23
0
1,510


Thank you very much for the reply.
The thing is my brother has the same CPU and GPU and we play the same games together. His FPS are higher most of the times than mine
 
What is different?
motherboard, bios level, cpu cooler, overclock for cpu or gpu?
Is windows on a ssd or hard drive?
Same settings in a game, same resolution?

Whatever, you want to find out how to make things better.

Use the tests above to get an idea if you are limited by cpu or by graphics.

I am betting on cpu.