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I built my very first PC about two weeks ago. I went with a cheap PC (less than 500) so I can learn, mess with it, overclock cpu, gpu, memory etc.. without any worries. On paper, This system should run game from 2017 and downwards without any issues. Or that what I thought..

System specification:

The Symptoms:

  • Games drop fps at certain places regardless of the Graphical settings. For example, Dishonred 2 drops to 40 fps at many places whether it's on the lowest possible Graphical settings or the the highest settings. L.A Noier and Sleeping Dogs struggles to keep steady 60 FPS whether I'm on high or low graphic settings, and it drops to low 40s fps in certain places regardless.

  • The overall performance of my GPU is much lower than other similar systems and even some lower systems.

  • Highest GPU temperature I got is 72°c.

  • When Games struggling to render a steady fps, GPU utilization doesn't seem to be hitting 100%. In fact its much lower. There are spikes in gpu Usage on general.

  • GPU crashes under a heavy load. Blackscreen and no signal immediately after a GPU benchmark or an in game heavy load. Hard restart requires.

  • At a very Rare occasions, the PC boots with a noticeably better GPU performance without any changes in my part. Suddenly, LA Noire and Sleeping Dogs is working in a steady 60 fps. Weird. However, it's super rare and I'm struggling to reproduce this state.

  • Overall, changing in game graphical settings doesn't seems to help improve my gaming experience in any way. Which is really weird. That's why I concluded it must be a throttling related issue.

Things I have tried that didn't have any effect on the issue:

  • Reinstalled windows 10.

  • Run a memory test using memtest86. No errors found.

  • Overclocking and underclocking the GPU.

  • Undervolting the GPU voltage and overvolting it for a little bit.

  • Increase GPU power limit and decrease it.

  • Increase and decrease the VRAM voltage.

  • Installing The original GPU Rom as I discovered that the Original Rom was edited for crypto mining.

  • Decrease windows processes and optimizes it to the fastest possible configuration. (Windows feel very responsive).

  • Reassembled some of my system parts, and made sure everything was tucked in correctly.

  • Reset CMOS.

  • Uninstalling the GPU driver using DDU on a safe mode and install it back with AMD standard settings.

  • CPU stress test using Cinabench. Both single and multi Core tests Passed successfully with no issues.

  • Changing the HDMI cable.

  • Using a DP cable.

  • Run my system on a 144hz and 60hz monitor.

  • Yes, I have tried to Turning It Off And On Again.

Things I haven't tried yet:

  • Changing the PSU.

  • Testing my GPU in a different system.

  • Overclocking the RAM.

  • Overclocking the CPU.

  • Using new SSD instead of HDD.

  • Change the RAM.

  • Reapplying a quality thermal past on the GPU.

The Suspect:

  • Bad PSU.

  • Defective GPU.

  • Overheated mb VRM.

  • Overheated GPU parts hidden from sensors.

This is the log from hwinfo. I started playing Dishonored 2 after about a minute from the start of the log. The LA Noire Log is immediate. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L1FPH1ygFMJXYEOpxU_c1aq4gUk8Sx56/view?usp=sharing

Any lead on this issue would be much appreciated as I start to run out of things to try.

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This is ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE..I managed to solve the problem. A problem that consumed me for two weeks to the point I became obsessed with it. After doing EVERYTHING I found on the internet and things I came up with. After putting my new build into torment and torture... What solves the issue actually BLOWS MY MIND.

I decided to do one last thing before giving up completely and probably pick a fight with the seller that sold me a cheap used (119$) RX 580 4gb. "It's 95% new" yeah right.. Once my order of high performance thermal grease arrived. I decided to change the thermals of my GPU as well not only the cpu. When I disassembled the RX 580 I noticed there was an accumulation of dust on the left side. I used a brush to clean it very carefully and very well. Then I removed the old thermal paste which was applied really badly with my new high performance one. Put everything back together then turned on my PC. I clicked on the heaven benchmark which never passed previously. It always ended up with a black screen of death. I immediately noticed the fps has increased more than 50%. Also for the FIRST time ever, my gpu passed the benchmark with a higher score than even the 8gb one. Tempreture never exceeded 65°c throughout the whole benchmark. I was mind blown. I almost teared up. No joking.

No I can play Dishonred 2 on ultra at 60fps. No problem. I dreamed of that before.

The lesson I learned is this. People, please maintain your electronics and never ever take the word of a seller. Always make sure yourself. I really hope this help people who struggle with the same issue.. back to gaming.. peace..

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