How to check if my pc is underperforming?

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 15, 2017

Any way for me to know for sure if my pc is underperforming? Playing on 900p atm but I'm not getting the expected fps on games like doom and bf1.

Also, how do I check if my stick of ram is bad or underperforming? Because even on games like bf1 the ram usage never goes over 6gb and I find that extremely odd.

herrwizo · Feb 15, 2017

Full system specs? What details? Average, mix and max FPS?

Impossible to answer without more info. If you base your expectations on youtube videos, prepare to be disappointed, as many of them are fake. For reference, use benchmarks by major tech sites only.

As for RAM usage, it is supposed to be under your max memory usage - memory should never reach max usage to avoid disk swapping and extreme loss of performance. Memory usage has nothing to do with bad ram or underperforming RAM (in fact, you will never find the RAM to be "underperforming" (at least not in your scenario), GPU and CPU are the ones mainly responsible for performance, and the most important thing about RAM is the amount you have). Bad RAM usually means blue screens, resets, instability, crashes and so on, so it is certainly not bad.

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 15, 2017

My pc specs are:

I5 6400
Galax gtx 1060 6gb
Corsair value select ddr4 2133mhz 8gb ram (one stick)
corsair cx 500w 80+ bronze

Average fps on games like doom and overwatch is around 90-120, but on doom I get a few dips to 60-57

On battlefield...It varies a lot. Goes from 75 to 60 to 45 to 60 again, never really consistent enough for me to know. I know my CPU isn't a i7 but from most benchmarks I have seen I should not be having this problem.

Temperatures are fine, gpu never got above 70 (usually stays in 55-60) and CPU never got above 55. Already did everything I could think of: reinstalled windows, updated the drivers, etc etc

Just for the sake of asking, what are some of the major benchmark websites that you use?

herrwizo · Feb 15, 2017

This site also does benchmarks, for example

Also techspot, anandtech, guru3d, to name a few. Best to check them all and derive a final conclusion yourself.

You have a fairly nice specs, although that PSU is a low-end model, but it doesn't affect performance, only the longevity of the PSU itself.

As for the dips in doom and overwatch, please check your CPU temperatures while gaming - if they are too high (say, above 80-85C) you will have to clean the CPU heatsink and reapply thermal paste, maybe even get a better CPU cooler. That will provide more stable fps.

Battlefield is a different story and your CPU is not to blame here - developers have to fix the game itself, since it sometimes lags even on i7s. It is poorly optimized for CPU usage, that's all.

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 15, 2017

herrwizo :

thanks for the quick answer! I get this fps dips only on doom (sorry for not clearing that up) and I only really got them when I was looking at two set pieces in chapters...3 and 5, if I do recall correctly. Overall the game runs at 90-120 with everything maxed out...I thought I would be getting a higher fps since im playing on 900p and those fps numbers are usually what you would get on 1080p.

Anyways, my CPU temp never goes about 60, usually it stays at 45-55 depending on the game.

The thing with bf1 is that a friend of mine, using an i3 6100 and his gtx 950, is getting better, more stable fps that me: I played for hours on his house and never noticed the same fps drops that I get.

My fps on the game is really really unstable and that makes me feel like there might be something wrong with my pc.

kango69 · Feb 15, 2017

Check the temps on the GPU
I noticed on my Galax 970 that it will throttled back if it gets to warm.

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 15, 2017

GPU temperature is also fine, never got higher than 70 and it only reached that temp once.

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 15, 2017

Sooooo....any other suggestions?

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 20, 2017

Still waiting...come on, i need this

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 24, 2017

http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/2922633

This was the result of my benchmark...any opinions?

kango69 · Feb 24, 2017

The memory and GPU seem to performing slower than normal.
Here is my score
http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/2922850
Also your CPU was at 16% usage during benchmark so you must have had apps running in the background

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 24, 2017

kango69 :

what could be the cause of it? How can I check?

kango69 · Feb 24, 2017

Download cpu-z and check what speed your memory is running at
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
Also if your curious about the difference in single and dual channel memory performance here is a good benchmark
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/does-dual-channel-memory-make-difference-in-gaming-performance/
I would follow this guide and turn off any background apps you don't use and then run the benchmark again
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/7225-background-apps-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 24, 2017

http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/2924819

Here's the new benchmark, as requested.

My RAM: the "NB frequency" shows 2700 Mhz and the "DRAM frequency" shows 1067 Mhz (those are my desktop numbers).

kango69 · Feb 24, 2017

The benchmark results in general look fine.
The only problem I see is the memory, I think you would definitely benefit from another stick of ram.
Going dual channel will boost your system speed and help with gaming.
Here is another thread where the user was running single channel
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-3131643/motherboard-bottlenecks-ram.html

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 24, 2017

Already bought a second stick of RAM, should arrive in three weeks...but the thing is, i highly doubt it will help me that much. My friend with a i3 6100 and gtx 950 runs the game better than me, my fps on BF1 jumps around between 70 and 40: it never stays in 40 for too long, probably 3-4 seconds, but it happens way way WAY more often than i wanted (often = every 20-40 seconds).

I hope this extra stick of RAM helps me, because i'm super ultra short on Money right now.

kango69 · Feb 25, 2017

While you are waiting for the memory stick try this guide to optimize Window 10 for gaming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwiHog2leMM
I used the same guide when I set up my Windows 10 system
What software do you use to monitor you FPS CPU usage ect.
I use MSI Afterburner and its great for checking system performance while gaming
https://www.msi.com/blog/setting-up-osd-with-msi-afterburner
This is a good guide to explain the effects of a bottleneck in your system
http://www.pcgamer.com/will-your-cpu-bottleneck-your-graphics-card/

TheMirageOfDeceit · Feb 25, 2017

Thanks for the links, kango, i'll use that windows guide when I get home.

I am currently using msi afterburner to monitor my pc.

I was afraid of the bottleneck but a friend of mine (and pretty much most around here) assured me that there would be no bottleneck...guess they were wrong.

How to check if my pc is underperforming?

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