FPS problems with new rig/OC SOLVED

[Ajn]

Hi guys, I've just got my new sandy bridge rig and it is (was?) amazing! All details listed below. I installed win7 on that fresh and wonderfull ssd and man that drive is fast. Then I got all necessary software and drivers installed and got on with battlefield bad company 2. With high settings my fraps benchmarks during online play gave me around 75 average fps with stock cpu and gpu.

Then I got time and started overclocking and at first I made the mistake not to set up vcore manually and ended up with 4.3ghz and 1.4V+ vcore but when I noticed that I lowered the voltage to 1.300V and with that setting my temps topped at 66 degrees celcius in prime95.

Actually I got 2 problems. First was with bios version 1.60 which was a nightmare to get to post. I mean, it would not boot if I touched the multiplier, vcore or advanced cpu settings. I degraded to 1.40 and it worked well, I even tried 4.4ghz@1.32V and it worked fine. Now I know this particular cpu needs high voltage to run properly and with 1.40 bios overclocking works well.

The second problem is the big and annoying one. Even though overclocking works well now, I get way too low fps in games. After the oc'ing even if I try bios DEFAULTS I get lower fps than I got when I installed my system (before I started overclocking), Now, my average fps in bad company 2 are around 50-55, over 20 lower than before overclocking. This goes with stock clocks or any oc. I updated my drivers (mb and gpu) and I have not any eist or speedstep enabled. Stragely my cpu usage in bad company 2 is pretty low, maxing in something like 70-75%. In dirt3 benchmark I get 12fps (with old cpu I got over 60, Q6600) and I find that really odd = not playable.

When I start prime95 the cpu usage goes to 100% and temps rise like they should. Where is the problem??? Should I reinstall windows7?

I got 6,20 in cinebench 11.5 cpu test (compare http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i...600k-review/14)


core i5 2500k (tried stock, 4.0ghz@1.28V and 4.4ghz@1.32V with same results)
asrock z68 pro3
HD6950
corsair vengeance 8gb 1600mhz cl9
corsair agility 3 60gb ssd
corsair hx520w
samsung F3 1tb


TL;DR fps dropped after OC'ing. Tried stock clocks & volts (even with default bios!) and still up to 25fps lower in average.

[TV Addict#2]

with that amount of performance degradation I would try a fresh install

[Ajn]

I reinstalled windows 7 and oh ####. Still getting 12fps in dirt3 and I got following results with synthetic benchmarks when cpu was 4ghz:

unigine heaven benchmark, defaults : avg fps 32, score 805

hyperpi 1M/normal 1core: 10,327s 4core: 11.487s - 15.178s

furmark benchmark, defaults: avg fps 38

A friend of mine who has almost identical rig comfirmed those results as almost the same as his (he has his 6950 shaders unlocked and 2500k clocked a bit higher, otherwise with same setup). So hardware seems to work well with all but games. wtf??


I got newest drivers for everything, all important updates installed, newest directx and framework, cpu and gpu rise to 100% with synthetic tests, gpu with games too.

[Ajn]

Problem with bad company 2 still exist....I don't know what the hell I should do now, I've tried all I can imagine to improve (regain...) fps but nothing is working

[Ajn]

HOLY COW! A friend of mine suggested that I could check my pci-e status....and guess what, it was on x1 instead off x16! With "instructions" from http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=522 I managed to clean the connector a bit and now it works with x16....dirt3 gives me an average of 107fps now

And with bad company 2, cpu usage was now 88% at most and avg fps was 80 like is should be!

I find this very odd. Now lets get back to overclocking! cya.

[TV Addict#2]

good job getting the proper setup,I've read about the PCI-E bus defaulting to x1 before but never had the occasion personally