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Degraded performance, low GPU utilization

B

Bad ConNecTioN

Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
618
Hardware:
Phenom II 965 BE
AsRock 890fx Deluxe 3
4gb DDR3 @1600mhz
HD 5850
XFX 650w PSU
W7 64bit


An E-buddy of mine built the rig last November, and things were working great. However sometime in December his game performance significantly deteriorated. What was once well over 200fps in CS:S, is now under 100. When BF:BC2 was playable, his average frames are now into the teens.

He was getting random bsods, and his memory failed memtest and prime95 (Reaper HPC)...so he got an RMA. New memory was the same issue...so he got newegg to allow an exchange for Kingston HyperX (verified by ASrock to work with board). I had originally thought that his poor gaming performance was due to ram errors...however, new memory was installed today and the same issues persist (low gaming performance). The memory was manually configured, to the proper voltages and timings.

Curious, I had him log GPU utilization (GPUz) while gaming...and according to him it doesn't break 45% in either CS:S or BF:BC2. It doesn't seem like a hardware failure, as the rest of the system seems to be working ok. He is saying Firefox is loading slower, but honestly there is no way to quantify that.
I've had him log baseline CPU usage...and its pretty much 1-2% at idle...so there shouldn't be any malware or viruses in the background hogging resources. Furthermore, the system will load 100% in prime 95, and its not overheating or anything...though it is at the limit during prime (63c). When he logged CPU usage during gaming, he reported 92% in BF:BC2...though unfortunately Core Temp doesn't seem to work all that well with AMD chips, so it only gave 1 reading. When I log CPU usage in BF:BC2, I get roughly 95% on one core, and roughly 30-60% on all the other cores (Intel).


Is it just a case of unreal expectations? Around the time the issues cropped up, he switched to a larger monitor (1080p). I told him that was the cause...more pixels to render. However he swears up and down that it was working correctly (i.e playable) for the first few days on the new monitor. So I guess my question is what kind of performance should he expect?
At 1920x1080, running BF:BC2 at all high, HBAO off, and 4x AA...what FPS would be realistic? My own guess puts the average at around 50fps. He is currently getting 15-20 while playing the campaign. Additionally he gets 94 average FPS in the CS:S stress test...and I know that is definitely low, even at max settings.


What really got me concerned was the GPU utilization. My 6970 sits at 98-100% activity while playing BF:BC2, his peaks at 40, and spends most of the time in the 30% range. This seems extremely odd to me, especially at high settings. Could a faulty card cause this issue?
Anyone know of recent software issues that can create these symptoms? He recently upgraded to the 10.12 Preview drivers using steam. I told him to remove them, run driver sweeper, then go back to 10.11 (they worked for him before). Unfortunately, he can't seem to get rid of the new control panel...even after running driver sweeper in safe mode.
As a last ditch effort, I might recommend a Windows reinstall.


Thanks for any help!
 
Never heard of a monitor causing these kinds of issues....aside from the obvious increase in graphical strain due to more Pixels. That said, while no super powerhouse, his PC should have plenty of horsepower to handle 1080p in lots of games. Even factoring in the larger screen, 15fps in BF:BC2 is a bit low. Hell, I get better performance than that with a single 6970 at 6048x1080....a lot better lol.
 
I believe he was being sarcastic...

Sounds like a driver issue to me. Wait till 11.1 come out and give them a shot first before a reinstall unless he's just really bored.
 
Try unistalling, cleaning, and reinstalling ati drivers. Worked for me.
 
I had him run some benchmarks to gauge overall system performance. Not looking good....

http://3dmark.com/3dmv/2881376

In vantage, he got 8632, which seems to be way off for that system (run at default, performance category).
GPU and CPU scores are too low. He's running the 11.1a beta drivers, hence them not being approved. He'll run the official 11.1 release when it becomes available. Otherwise, this tells me its either his PSU or motherboard, as those are the only two components that could impact both CPU and GPU scores. Since the PC is more or less stable...I'm going to assume the PSU is fine, so that leaves us with the motherboard.
I'm gonna have him get a multi-meter to check voltages anyways...to be thorough. But it looks like the ASrock board has taken a ****.

Anyone ever experience anything like this? In my own computing history, I've lost 2 MoBo's...both times they just up and died. Never had any performance degradation...which is why this is so confusing to me. What could cause this? Electronic parts usually just "die"...


He's gonna reload windows as the last resort before getting an RMA on any parts. He's already installed various versions of the ATI drivers (running driver sweeper in safe mode to clean old ones). I pride myself on being able to fix just about anything...unfortunately I'm not anywhere near this guys PC to work on it. However, this is by far the most troublesome issue I've ever dealt with. I don't even have a clue where to begin with regards to hardware replacement. I'm thinking MoBo...someone else on this board said the same thing. Anyways...more fun to come.
 
Has he done a full Windows re-install yet? I'd do that as a ditch effort. Have you looked at the 3d core/memory clocks while a game or benchmark is running?
 
easiest way to isolate the problem is to simply remove components or replace them.
does he have another computer he can try the card on?
does he have another card he can test in his current computer?

has he tried running furmark and looking at gpu-z?
 
rUmX said:
Has he done a full Windows re-install yet? I'd do that as a ditch effort. Have you looked at the 3d core/memory clocks while a game or benchmark is running?
Click to expand...

three4seven said:
easiest way to isolate the problem is to simply remove components or replace them.
does he have another computer he can try the card on?
does he have another card he can test in his current computer?

has he tried running furmark and looking at gpu-z?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately he doesn't have another computer with appropriate parts.
First thing I asked him to do was make sure to see if the card's 3d clocks were activating, and they were. Used GPUz logs and he cracked open a couple games. The card does indeed clock up to the proper core and memory speeds. Otherwise, he's never touched any of the clocks.

Looking at the Vantage score, even his CPU score is low compared to other 965's at stock. Should be roughly 11.5k, and its only 9.5. Nothing was running in the background according to him. Makes me think its a system issue, and not just the GPU. The physics scores (CPU) in 11 are also low.
Here is his 3dMark 11 score - http://3dmark.com/3dm11/510859
Very very low...


He's going to reload windows as the last effort. If its still crap afterwords, its time to start RMAing parts. He's gonna get his hands on a multi-meter tomorrow to test the psu. If it checks out, then the motherboard goes back for an RMA.
 
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