MSI 970 Gaming motherboard AMD FX3850 8-core CPU Asus R9 380 4gb GPU 8gb RAM not sure of brand Thermaltake 500w PSI
I've been playing games well, though not as well as I should be... My buddy gets about 15-20 more fps on a significantly cheaper rig. But my issues are with my gpu losing it's display signal. My monitor will randomly lose it's signal and go blank into "power save mode". I plugged it into my tv via HDMI and the same thing will happen, it will just cut out and the tv will continue to look for a signal.
All drivers are updated, even tried beta drivers... Everything is seated properly, I even reseated my RAM and GPU. Perhaps I don't have enough PSU? 500 watts was what the associate at Fry's electronics suggested. But that's the only thing I can think of, once my GPU reaches a certain point it dies because a lack of power... Everything else continues to run when it crashes, so it's definitely the GPU.
Any ideas? First time build and I'm about to rip my hair out.
Hey... My advice will be to test... One by one. Stress test the CPU for a while. Stress test the memory, stress test the hard drives, check for hard drive errors, then stress test the GPU... One by one and whoever is causing issues will reveal itself.
Try setting the power target down in the drivers and see if it does the same. Also you can try using another HDMI cable, sometimes the cables makes your monitor loose connection.
ok so not including harddrives, fans, any leds or usb powered devices, internet cards, or whatever else you may have in your machine; you are using 394 watts of electricity give or take between your cpu, gpu, mobo, and ram. im assuming 1600 on the ram and not something like 2400 which uses more power. now your psu says 500 watts, however that is not the output. the output is actually around 10-20% lower or more depending on the rating. since you are using 394 watts + unknown amount from peripherals your psu output is less then the total amount your system needs. if you google the symptoms of your pc not getting enough power you will see it fits your situation perfectly.
TL;DR
EDIT oh yeah and your gpu/cpu dont use all 394 watts except on full load so gaming/stress=problems
Seems to be a PSU issue. If ya got 40 bucks to spend you can get a EVGA 600B which is cheap and WAY better than Tt PSU that is in your system right now. Yeah but first Stess test your system with Aida 64 for awhile roughly 30 mins on the entire system. Check for any abnormalities while running Aida 64, CPU Core Clocks drops, Crashes, Instant Shut Downs etc etc.
I'm very very new to this so it kind of makes me happy I somewhat halfway diagnosed this myself. That's a relief. I'm within my return warentee so I'll just exchange it for something bigger.
Would this also be the reason I can't keep up with my buddy's GTX 750? He out performs me in everything and his card is a good 100 bucks cheaper. Not trying to be THAT guy I just want to know I'm getting what I payer for.
you're gpu is probably using a power saver mode as it is smart enough to realize it doesnt have enough power to run at max. upping the power should solve that for you.
Might be a CPU bottleneck or your GPU might be throttling.
You can test this by using MSI afterburner and getting the OSD to show up whilst you're in game, you can tell it to show FPS, gpu temps, gpu frequencies and so on. If your card runs under 990mhz your card might be throttling.
I have an almost identical system as you, only I have an 8320e, a Corsair 600W psu and an asrock mobo instead of an msi one and my system is working just fine If your sure that all the drivers are properly installed, Its probably something in the windows power settings (make sure its on high performance with all settings maxed). Also make sure that your psu is compatible/supplying the right power to your gpu. Some cheap psus can supply a large number of watts but cant supply it reliably.
Throttling means the GPU is turning itself down. Holding itself back. Either because of heat, lack of power or something else.
Three performance difference could be a number of reasons. What CPU does your buddy have? Also are you sure he's running the same graphical settings as you?
He has an i3 4170. We are playing the same games, on high or ultra settings. I think he has a 450w PSU as well... He built his and I was all "mine will be bigger faster stronger!" lol
I'm really hoping I just need a new psu... I can exchange the one I have for a bigger one. Replacing the GPU wouldn't be so easy.
May i strongly disagree with everything you just said? FX8000 don't really bottleneck 380 more than an i3... More powerfull GPUs - yes... 380 - not really. Under using the GPU is not necessarily a CPU bottleneck. Not enough RAM, slower HDD, power settings, FRTC... Many things can lead to under utilization. For example, often i have 40% CPU usage and 60% gpu usage and still a lot of ram free.
Of course you may. This is a forum. A place for debate and discussion. In that tradition allow me to retort.
It is heavily dependent on the game. Some games that are single core dependant can be heavily bottlenecked by an 8350. Especially at stock clocks. I've experienced this first hand. A 380 could certainly be bottlenecked.
While it is true that a bottleneck or low GPU usage isn't always a CPU bottleneck it is the most likely. Especially if he has 8GBs+ of RAM. A HDD is incredibly unlikely to bottleneck a GPU. Essentialy impossible actually. Power usage is certainly a factor. As he is already investigating that end I didn't feel the need to mention it.
His poor performance in relation to a 750 is very mysterious and should be fully investigated so I proposed further avenues of approach with a CPU bottleneck being most likely.
