okay, so recently i have been playing games and i have needed to put my settings faar down because my framerates are so low. for example, when my pc was new, i was runnung bf4 (my first game) at high 70s on ultra 1080p, now i have to turn my settings down to medium to get even 60, also i can only run bf3 at med for smooth gameplay aswell. arma i run on low.theese are all of my demanding games.
i have checked my temps, all fine, no dust anywhere, i cleared out my pc with a dusting cannister a few days ago which did nothing. re-installed all drivers, nothing running full load apart from gpu... i cant figure it out, thanks for suggestions.
Check if W8.1 has done all the updates (Microsoft has screwed up the last two patchday updates, and W8.1 isn't as vocal about availability of new updates as W7 was unfortunately).
Most fps problem in CPU dependent games are caused by thermal throttling though. I would say 90% of all fps problems in CPU bound games on Haswell and Haswell refresh are caused by lack of high performance cooling, even on locked CPU's. In my opinion, Haswell and Haswell refresh CPU's and AMD's FX8k series, really need a high performance cooler, either an AiO or a high performance air cooler. The way the thermal throttling is set up, is that the temps never really go all the way up to Tj, but the CPU will start throttling way before Tj is reached.
In the summer, this was one of the most discussed things at LAN's, where gamers with Haswell/Haswell Refresh CPU's weren't getting really good CS:GO fps performance. The solution in nearly all cases, was to add an AiO cooler or a high performance air cooler. A Corsair H50/55/60 type of deal (any brand, just an example because the Corsair AiO are ubiquitous) with a single 12 cm fan will do just fine since you're not overclocking, and is easy to work with. Overclockers, especially on Haswell and FX8k, might need thicker or larger radiators or very high performance air coolers like 140 mm Noctua towers. Also check your TIM.
CPU manufacturers should really start mentioning on the boxes of their CPU's that third-party cooling solutions are required for full performance in CPU bound applications. On and AMD CPU, insufficient cooling will just fry the CPU, on Intel many users won't even see the problem because of the extreme thermal throttling that keeps the temps down to a level that doesn't even seem alarming, but there is no use in paying for an i5 or i7 when you only get Pentium performance.
I'm on a 4790k right now and with all my fans on highest settings and aftermarket thermal paste used with the stock heatsink that comes with the 4790k I am consistently getting 100c in bf3. It downclocks to 2.5ghz from thermal throttling. It's ridiculous, why can't they treat i7's and i5's like they do with Intel Extreme chips in the sense that they don't come with stock heatsinks because stock heatsinks will never be able to cool the CPU anyway!
Intel Core i7 and potentially Core i5 CPU stock heatsinks ARE FULLY INCAPABLE and they are only in there to trick you into thinking that they are fine. They will last until the warranty runs out and then the CPU will probably kill itself and ten you'll have to fork out some more money to intel for your next CPU.
A little bit of a rant but also a bit of n eye opener, the stock heatsinks on i7's and i5's (potentially) are lies.