Pre-Built PC is under-performing/feels off

MeekyMikey · 15 Mar 2022 at 20:52

Hello all and thanks in advance for any replies/advice.

So to preface my post, this is my first proper gaming PC after years of playing on laptops. I know a few basic things about computers however I feel as though I am missing something when it comes to my new PC.

My Specs are as follows:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 OC 12GB
Motherboard: MSI Tomahawk MAX II ATX
RAM: 2 x 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR4 3600MHz
PSU: Kolink Classic Series 600W 80 Plus Bronze
Monitor: HP X24IH 144Hz Monitor

I purchased the PC last October and ever since I began using it something just felt... off. I know you may be wondering why I have taken so long to post anything, that is simply because I have been trying for some time to get to the bottom of the issue.

I have performed clean installs of my GPU drivers and made sure to update every other driver on my PC. The main issue I am facing is that every game just doesn't feel right, its hard to explain but its almost like a fractional stuttering feeling? Also the framerates are a lot lower than I was expecting which I know sounds ridiculous and I fully realise I may be overestimating what the performance should be, but it just feels as though something is bottlenecking somewhere. In some games such as Insurgency Sandstorm I get massive stutters and frame drops as well, the performance is just all over the place really.

Any advice would be much appreciated and if anybody would like more info I am more than happy to post more.

Thanks all.

Rob_B · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:08

What speed is your RAM actually running at? (check task manager or preferably CpuZ)
Have you run any benchmarks to see if your suspicion of low performance is correct?
Are you on Win11 and suffering from the TPM stutter issue?

mickyflinn · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:11

Also is your games on a ssd drive ?

MeekyMikey · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:23

Rob_B said:
What speed is your RAM actually running at? (check task manager or preferably CpuZ)
Have you run any benchmarks to see if your suspicion of low performance is correct?
Are you on Win11 and suffering from the TPM stutter issue?

Hello, I have checked CpuZ, under DRAM Freq. it says 1799.6 MHz.
I am not using windows 11 I am on windows 10 and it has been quite a while since I ran a benchmark. Would there be any you would reccomend?

Thanks.

MeekyMikey · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:23

mickyflinn said:
Also is your games on a ssd drive ?

Some of my games or on SSD, most are on my hard drive.

Rob_B · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:30

You're aware of your fps yeah? Using afterburner? What are your cpu/gpu usages looking like?
As for benchmarks no idea I'm afraid, see if your games have any built in first.

mickyflinn · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:32

MeekyMikey said:
Some of my games or on SSD, most are on my hard drive.

Do games on both drives have the same stutter , trying to work out if the mechanical hard drive is the problem.

Journey · 15 Mar 2022 at 21:42

Have you enabled the 144Hz refresh rate for your monitor in the GeForce control panel? Just curious.

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:44

Rob_B said:
You're aware of your fps yeah? Using afterburner? What are your cpu/gpu usages looking like?
As for benchmarks no idea I'm afraid, see if your games have any built in first.

So far I have just been checking my fps with any available in-game counters or by enabling the one built into steam. I haven't used afterburner. It seems as though the GPU is being utilised but the usage always seems very low. I shall have a look for some available benchmarks and post the results.

Thanks

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:45

mickyflinn said:
Do games on both drives have the same stutter , trying to work out if the mechanical hard drive is the problem.

I have tried installing/re-installing on both drives and unfortunately it seems they both have the same problem.

Thanks.

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:46

Journey said:
Have you enabled the 144Hz refresh rate for your monitor in the GeForce control panel? Just curious.

I have enabled 144Hz in both my windows settings and on Nvidia control panel, I also tried going down to 120Hz to see if this made any difference and unfortunately it didn't

Thanks.

Rob_B · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:46

Try afterburner to get cpu usage, low gpu usage could suggest being cpu bound but I'm not sure that's the problem.

Journey · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:48

MeekyMikey said:
I have enabled 144Hz in both my windows settings and on Nvidia control panel, I also tried going down to 120Hz to see if this made any difference and unfortunately it didn't

Thanks.

As I said it was a curiosity, not indicative of why you don't feel you are getting the performance you expect. You really need to get some monitoring software installed, and look at the performance of the CPU/GPU over a few games for a decent length of time.

mickyflinn · 16 Mar 2022 at 09:51

MeekyMikey said:
I have tried installing/re-installing on both drives and unfortunately it seems they both have the same problem.

Thanks.

Download msi afterburner you need to monitor cpu, gpu fps and ram usage to see if any dips coinside with stutter.

Try 60 Hz refresh rate and move up from there

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 10:08

Rob_B said:
You're aware of your fps yeah? Using afterburner? What are your cpu/gpu usages looking like?
As for benchmarks no idea I'm afraid, see if your games have any built in first.

I have performed a benchmark using User Benchmark and it appears everything is performing as it should. Other than the memory possibly? https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/51253213

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 10:12

So I ran a Bench Mark and the only thing that seems to be under performing is my memory, I have checked in my Bios and I have XMP profile 1 enabled, should I look into the settings and post more info?
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/51253213

Thanks all for responses so far.

SonicSW20 · 16 Mar 2022 at 10:22

Run a memory test and see if its stable.

MeekyMikey · 16 Mar 2022 at 10:57

SonicSW20 said:
Run a memory test and see if its stable.

Just finished running the test, no issues have been detected, could they possibly be set at the wrong speeds?

Thanks.

ASMB · 16 Mar 2022 at 11:38

If the xmp is enabled then they are running at the rated speeds. Try disabling xmp and allow the memory to run at the basic speed. See if that will eliminate any micro stutters at the low end, although, you are likely to lose some maximum and average frame rate. However, if it eliminates micro stutters then you will have an overall smoother experience

mickyflinn · 16 Mar 2022 at 11:47

MeekyMikey said:
Just finished running the test, no issues have been detected, could they possibly be set at the wrong speeds?

Thanks.

Check memory sticks are in slot 2 and 4 from the cpu.