Massive Fps Drops

[DeathBestowerX]

Hello,

I am having issues with almost every video game I play. It seems that I drop 10-20 fps during heavy explosions and also during specific loading areas. I do not believe this is normal due to the fact that some games run flawless. I know I don't have the greatest set up, but I don't believe it should be doing this. I have a Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 and CoolMax model 500b PSU. (500w) I usually run games using Radeon Pro and other tools as my CCC setup doesn't install correctly anymore and I lack the space needed for storage to format my hard drive and fresh install. I run Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit with the capability of running a 64 bit OS, but again no space to re-install. I thought perhaps it was drivers, but I believe I am fully updated. I did, however, install some drivers for my audio card that is actually a part of my integrated graphics,at least that's what I've been lead to believe. Now the issue with that I believe is that I am not running my integrated graphics card. I have tried countless things and would appreciate any help I could get, thank you. By the way, not to informed on bottle necking, but could that be an issue?


I would like to add that I realized that Catalyst Drivers are still installed, I have tried Drive Sweeper before but I have been warned that AMD chipsets can be harmed from this. Although I have had no previous issues, I am still unsure whether I should attempt this again.

I use Dxtory, Ati Tray Tools, Radeon Pro, and attempted FXAA Tool, but it only works on specific games. Aside from that I have also changed multiple settings in hopes of fixing these issues, yet no in game settings or out have seemed to help.

I have used CCleaner and tried cleaning errors, I have Defragged, and I have disk cleaned up. On top of those methods, I have also completely cleaned my entire computer inside and out safely.

I have also tried the ATI GPU Scaling Fix.

A few fixes were simple: Change Audio Frequency lower, running game without any other tools, using DXtory to set specific FPS, and plugging in an Xbox 360 controller.(Eliminates Input Lag)

I have even installed Prio to permanently set priority for specific games.

Ive tried compatibility modes,checking off the three main boxes and run admin, I run GameBooster all the time, and I have adjusted memory and others for performance; this includes virtual memory and attempting to go with Classic theme.

I've tried setting certain games to different frame limits just because I've read it works, but still doesn't help.

I have also disabled what seems to be unnecessary HID in the Device manager.

My virtual memory is set to 4990 Initial Size to 6000 maximum size. I have thought about using Ready Booster to increase performance, but am unsure if this would help very much.

My Processor scheduling is set to Programs,

In services.msc (run or start bar) there is a program called background intelligent transfer service- I have set this to manual.

I have temporarily disabled my anti-virus AVG, disabled Windows Firewall(now on again), and have disabled and re-enabled Stereo Mix.

I've uninstalled Via and re-installed, tried 3D Analyze 2.36 with no hope and unplugged certain USB. Although I believe that my wireless Logitech mouse and keyboard may be an issue, I don't have the cash for wired ware. I have definitely noticed a difference in fps when using a controller; it even fixed Dead Island to play pretty amazing.

But as I've said All drivers should be up to date and all seems to be in order but am I missing anything?

 

[0___________0]

What are specific games that you experience the massive FPS drops in? And at what graphics settings do you play them?

What are the load temps your GPU reaches? Play a graphically demanding game for a while and monitor the temps, what does it peak at? Is your card throttling at all, reducing its clockspeed? I doubt it's overheating, but just checking.

Bottlenecking is a term used to describe the result when one component in a system is slower relative to the others and causes them to perform below what they are capable of. Your CPU could definitely be a major bottleneck in games such as Battlefield 3, where two slow cores are just not enough. It's a safe bet your CPU is holding you back in a lot of games.

You should be OK to use Driver Sweeper to remove the display driver, just don't tell it to remove "all AMD drivers", just the display one. AMD even recommends using it if their uninstall manager can't remove it. I think CCleaner does the same thing, but you have to uninstall the Catalyst driver normally first.

 

[lyssword]

Maybe some games use more cpu for explosion simulation, and that's usually on the cpu (unless it's done with physx card). Your athlon x2 seems a bit underpowered for modern games.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

I have definitely considered my computer being outdated and possibly dragging down the performance, I was unclear on if that's truly what bottle necking met, thank you for clearing that up for me and I also appreciate your help lyssword. Mostly games that people have claimed "Bad Port", but I have seen them working on other systems on youtube.com. Prototype, Prototype 2, Darksiders, Postal 3, Saint's Row 3, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, Stalker.

Games that run well:Skyrim with very little drops if any, Oblivion, F.e.a.r., and Bionic Commando, etc...

I usually play with highest settings until it becomes a problem, I then lower settings, but some of these games have lag that seems can't be fixed.

I've monitored some of these games and everything seems to be up to par, but I will continue to watch these and update you with any new information. Thank you for these new ideas. By the way is a HD 5770 a good card in general? Could it compare to an Xbox360 with the correct processors?

 

[DeathBestowerX]

I have noticed it is about 1-2 seconds of stopping before it loads again...Very strange.

 

[0___________0]

The 5770 is an entry level card, it's capable of playing any game out there, but many you won't be able to max out, it's a lower end part and doesn't have the horsepower for that. It's faster than the GPU in the xbox360, but that isn't saying much. Keep in mind the consoles drive a much lower resolution and many games only target 30 FPS.

You're probably experiencing a CPU bottleneck in a number of games. What you should do is run some monitoring software (Such as MSI Afterburner with the included Rivatuner OSD software) and log your CPU and GPU usage while playing. If your CPU is running at 100% and the GPU is only averaging 70% then your CPU is bottlenecking you. The on screen display will show you the load on each component while you're playing, so you can see where the bottleneck is when you have the FPS drops.

 

[lyssword]

and you're not streaming youtube music/video in background? I've noticed that will cause some games to stutter, even tho flash doesn't use that much cpu.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

As far as running any other applications, GameBooster kills off any unnecessary processes that are running or would run, so I am assuming that isn't the case, but thank you for your help.

Now as far as the Xbox360 goes, I do know most console games are set at 30 fps and are usually at a 720p resolution, but would my card run smoother if it were placed in a better system with the resolution also set on 720p?; I always take into consideration other hardware, as this seems to effect quite a bit.

Also would I be able to have similar effects as most console games seems to have everything maxed out excluding anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering; I could be wrong of course. I also believe the Xbox360 uses DirectX9 or 10 opposed to 11,which I have had many issues with,especially trying to get most games to play in DirectX11; even if they aren't supposed too ha ha.



I have tried Rivatuner and MSI Afterburner and it seems like they both didn't work. In fact MSI forced me to System Restore; perhaps I did something wrong, I believe I installed them separate, maybe that was the problem.

I still haven't had a chance to do much with GPU-Z, but I will keep you updated. Thank you both for your help.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

I mean better in comparison to the Xbox360-just to clarify.

 

[coffeejunkee]

You really should get an external hdd for backup. If you can't, I would advise to partition your hdd so you have dedicated Windows/apps and data partitions. Moving all the data will take long though. Then reinstall Windows and the AMD graphics drivers (CCC only if you want to overclock/control fanspeed, else Radeon Pro can do everything CCC can). Don't install any drivers you don't need, don't install all that stuff running in the background and no need to mess with all that scheduling/priority stuff.

Then keep in mind the 5770 is an older midrange card, so it will struggle in newer games. If that happens, turn settings down, starting with AA.

 

[Tsavo]

Look at the event viewer log and make sure ACEEvent isn't spamming the log with errors. This killed a HDD in a laptop a few years ago due to heat from the HDD constantly running.

You can Google, "disable AMD external event" for info on how to disable this service.

Might not be the source of your problem, but it only takes a few seconds to check.

 

[MrK6]

Looks like you're on Catalyst 11.5, those are ancient. Try the latest drivers and see if that helps.

 

[BigChickenJim]

This sounds for all the world like a classic CPU bottleneck. The best way to check is to fire up a game that's giving you issues (BF3 multiplayer is great for testing CPU bottlenecks), turn all the settings down to low, and lower the resolution. If the drops continue happening you've got a CPU bottleneck. If they don't you need a new GPU.

For the record, most console games these days run at the equivalent of medium-low settings.

Also, I've never heard of Driver Sweeper damaging hardware. However, I know it can delete important system files and render certain updates impossible to apply. That situation can necessitate a reformat and Windows reinstall. In fact, last time I ran it I got a disk read error after reboot, but only once. I will never use it again unless I have to. Do you have a link showing that it can actually damage hardware? That would be an interesting (and stressful) revelation...

 

[DeathBestowerX]

What are specific games that you experience the massive FPS drops in? And at what graphics settings do you play them?

What are the load temps your GPU reaches? Play a graphically demanding game for a while and monitor the temps, what does it peak at? Is your card throttling at all, reducing its clockspeed? I doubt it's overheating, but just checking.

Bottlenecking is a term used to describe the result when one component in a system is slower relative to the others and causes them to perform below what they are capable of. Your CPU could definitely be a major bottleneck in games such as Battlefield 3, where two slow cores are just not enough. It's a safe bet your CPU is holding you back in a lot of games.

You should be OK to use Driver Sweeper to remove the display driver, just don't tell it to remove "all AMD drivers", just the display one. AMD even recommends using it if their uninstall manager can't remove it. I think CCleaner does the same thing, but you have to uninstall the Catalyst driver normally first.

Thank you all for the responses and I will be testing all of these strategies out and responding accordingly.

My first question for "0___________0" is : where would I find my load temps, what should they run at and what do you mean by throttling?
As far as testing goes, all I have done so far with that is test clock and memory speed which seemed to run the highest and it stayed at the set speeds; this theory though was only tested on The Walking Dead Survival Instinct.

"BigChickenJim" I do believe that no matter what I do with the graphics I still experience the same amount of stopping, whether at the same place or randomly.

So considering both of you state the same problem, I'm assuming this is probably my issue.

I will be furthering tests and will keep you updated. Thank you all and I will attempt your methods and respond accordingly.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

I will send you the links I can find, I have only seen one case of hardware desecration, but even then I don't have the best of memory ha ha.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

Looks like you're on Catalyst 11.5, those are ancient. Try the latest drivers and see if that helps.

Thank you and yes, I definitely felt that could be an issue.
I plan on downloading 11.5 again, booting in safe mode, and running the uninstall, then running DriveSweeper for display drivers only (all while having a backup system restore) and running Ccleaner. Also I shall hunt down folders and destroy them if they pertain to ATI.

Then I shall try to install the newest drivers, if this doesn't work, would you recommend me still keeping what ever drivers do get installed, because CCC usually doesn't work, leaving drivers behind with no CCC controls, and I can't afford a third external hard drive to do a format.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

Look at the event viewer log and make sure ACEEvent isn't spamming the log with errors. This killed a HDD in a laptop a few years ago due to heat from the HDD constantly running.

You can Google, "disable AMD external event" for info on how to disable this service.

Might not be the source of your problem, but it only takes a few seconds to check.

Thank you for informing me on this.

Strange...I have 716 events.
How might I tell if these are erroneous?

 

[DeathBestowerX]

You really should get an external hdd for backup. If you can't, I would advise to partition your hdd so you have dedicated Windows/apps and data partitions. Moving all the data will take long though. Then reinstall Windows and the AMD graphics drivers (CCC only if you want to overclock/control fanspeed, else Radeon Pro can do everything CCC can). Don't install any drivers you don't need, don't install all that stuff running in the background and no need to mess with all that scheduling/priority stuff.

Then keep in mind the 5770 is an older midrange card, so it will struggle in newer games. If that happens, turn settings down, starting with AA.

Thank you for your information.
At this point I run a partitioned drive for most of my games, although it seems installing some games to a partitioned drive can cause issues with some games, it makes it easier to find and manage.

I will say, however, that I do have quite a bit of games installed into the main Windows drive. Perhaps some of them are caused from this.

I don't have the cash for a third external hard drive though, so I'll have to wait for some extra cash, but I will be going through my games to find out which ones are installed on what.

I know at this point, The Walking Dead Survival Instinct, one of my main problematic games, is installed on my partitioned game drive.

 

[0___________0]

Nothing you've described sounds like overheating or throttling, I was just covering all the bases. HWiNFO64 is a good program to monitor with, it will record temps for everything that has a sensor. Your GPU is probably rated for a max temp somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees Celsius. It should be staying under 85 though. Throttling means that your card is reducing its clock speed it order to stay within the safe operating temp and power draw range. You said that your clock and memory speeds weren't changing so your card isn't throttling. I never suspected that heat was a problem, but it's just something to check.

The fact that you experience the same low FPS on any graphics setting indicates a CPU bottleneck. Normally reducing the load on the GPU will increase your frame rate, but if your CPU is unable to cope with the processing in a timely matter, it won't matter. HWinfo can also log usage for CPU and GPU, you should play some games that lag and then see which components are being stressed the most. Remove and then upgrade your drivers first. A lot of newer games will benefit from that.

 

[tweakboy]

Dont sidegrade my friend. Your just throwing money away if you do. gl

 

[DeathBestowerX]

Nothing you've described sounds like overheating or throttling, I was just covering all the bases. HWiNFO64 is a good program to monitor with, it will record temps for everything that has a sensor. Your GPU is probably rated for a max temp somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees Celsius. It should be staying under 85 though. Throttling means that your card is reducing its clock speed it order to stay within the safe operating temp and power draw range. You said that your clock and memory speeds weren't changing so your card isn't throttling. I never suspected that heat was a problem, but it's just something to check.

The fact that you experience the same low FPS on any graphics setting indicates a CPU bottleneck. Normally reducing the load on the GPU will increase your frame rate, but if your CPU is unable to cope with the processing in a timely matter, it won't matter. HWinfo can also log usage for CPU and GPU, you should play some games that lag and then see which components are being stressed the most. Remove and then upgrade your drivers first. A lot of newer games will benefit from that.

Ok thank you I will try that and inform of any changes.

Also BigChickenJim you quote, "For the record, most console games these days run at the equivalent of medium-low settings."

Where would I go to find this type of information; I am very much interested in comparisons.

Thank you both for your time.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

Nothing you've described sounds like overheating or throttling, I was just covering all the bases. HWiNFO64 is a good program to monitor with, it will record temps for everything that has a sensor. Your GPU is probably rated for a max temp somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees Celsius. It should be staying under 85 though. Throttling means that your card is reducing its clock speed it order to stay within the safe operating temp and power draw range. You said that your clock and memory speeds weren't changing so your card isn't throttling. I never suspected that heat was a problem, but it's just something to check.

The fact that you experience the same low FPS on any graphics setting indicates a CPU bottleneck. Normally reducing the load on the GPU will increase your frame rate, but if your CPU is unable to cope with the processing in a timely matter, it won't matter. HWinfo can also log usage for CPU and GPU, you should play some games that lag and then see which components are being stressed the most. Remove and then upgrade your drivers first. A lot of newer games will benefit from that.

I also must ask is HWiNFO64 made for a 64 bit system? The reason I ask is because I am currently running 32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate OS and just want to be safe.

Thank you again.

 

[0___________0]

I also must ask is HWiNFO64 made for a 64 bit system? The reason I ask is because I am currently running 32 bit Windows 7 Ultimate OS and just want to be safe.

Thank you again.

Ah, I forgot you have a 32 bit OS, HWiNFO32 is what you want: http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html

 

[toyota]

This sounds for all the world like a classic CPU bottleneck. The best way to check is to fire up a game that's giving you issues (BF3 multiplayer is great for testing CPU bottlenecks), turn all the settings down to low, and lower the resolution. If the drops continue happening you've got a CPU bottleneck. If they don't you need a new GPU.

For the record, most console games these days run at the equivalent of medium-low settings.

Also, I've never heard of Driver Sweeper damaging hardware. However, I know it can delete important system files and render certain updates impossible to apply. That situation can necessitate a reformat and Windows reinstall. In fact, last time I ran it I got a disk read error after reboot, but only once. I will never use it again unless I have to. Do you have a link showing that it can actually damage hardware? That would be an interesting (and stressful) revelation...

except for AA you dont lower the settings, you simply lower the resolution. many settings impact the cpu so if you lower them then you defeat the point.

 

[DeathBestowerX]

Ah, I forgot you have a 32 bit OS, HWiNFO32 is what you want: http://www.hwinfo.com/download32.html

Okay awesome, thank you very much.

Also this is what I get when I install Ati Catalyst Control Suite Drivers 13.4 and any other I've tried. I will note, at a point I managed to get audio working, but then I system restored. Without the display drivers, CCC doesn't work correctly. Also I haven't restarted yet, but Gpu-Z still claims I have 11.5 drivers even after these installs. I tried every uninstall method including Driver Fusion, Driver Sweeper separately, and CCleaner.

Any Ideas on that?