A6-3670K performance issues

[adrian719]

Hey guys,
I built myself a HTPC about a month ago, and decided to get a A6-3670k because I just needed it to play HD video.
Now unfortunately, I am getting lower than expected performance. I'm not sure what the problem is, but it seems to run slow, and the GPU performance is terrible. I'm not sure if I'm just used to my desktop, or if it really is terrible.
I've been using Performancetest by Passmark for the actual benchmarking, and I compare it to the values on the website. Obviously I wont get the exact same numbers as other people, but these numbers seem a little far off(my desktops numbers are +/-50).

Anyways, what could be causing this issue? Would overclocking give me slightly better performance, and if so, what goal should I work too?

Also, let me know if I should use another benchmarking program, and post up the results.


Specs:
AMD A6-3670k
Asrock A55M-HVS
Corsair 1333mhz 2x2GB RAM
CoolerMaster 460w PSU
30GB OCZ Vertex SSD
LG DVD 18x RW
Dlink PCI wireless N 150

 

[jason4207]

What do you mean by "lower than expected performance"? Are your HD videos not playing smoothly?

Llano benefits highly from fast RAM. Does your RAM have any OCing headroom? I found 2x2GB of Crucial 1866 9-9-9-27 1.5v on Newegg for $25 shipped.

I'm in the process of building (2) 3870k HTPC rigs right now for some friends. Right now the 1st one is OC'd to 3.2GHz w/ -0.075v vcore offset, 800MHz GPU w/ -0.075v offset, RAM 2x2GB 1866 9-9-9-27 1.55v all on the stock cooler. An aftermarket cooler should give much better results, but I can't complain; power usage is lower than stock and speeds are higher.

 

[adrian719]

What do you mean by "lower than expected performance"? Are your HD videos not playing smoothly?

Llano benefits highly from fast RAM. Does your RAM have any OCing headroom? I found 2x2GB of Crucial 1866 9-9-9-27 1.5v on Newegg for $25 shipped.

I'm in the process of building (2) 3870k HTPC rigs right now for some friends. Right now the 1st one is OC'd to 3.2GHz w/ -0.075v vcore offset, 800MHz GPU w/ -0.075v offset, RAM 2x2GB 1866 9-9-9-27 1.55v all on the stock cooler. An aftermarket cooler should give much better results, but I can't complain; power usage is lower than stock and speeds are higher.

Well, I am comparing it to my laptop with an A6-3420M. Which is decent. But I would expect an A6-3670K to definitely be faster. HD video tends to freeze or skip.
How would I determine the overclocking headroom on my ram?
I'll upgrade the RAM if that will have a noticeable perf increase.
I just got an aftermarket heatsink today, which is slightly different heatsink block with a 120MM fan that fits directly on the Mobo without a bracket (same mount as the stock heatsink).
Where do you think I should start? And how should I OC?

 

[jason4207]

What kind of HD video? Is it a local source? What program are you using to playback? If the playback program isn't using the GPU and is using the CPU that could be the source of your problem.

I wouldn't think the RAM speed would affect HD video playback like that. But I've been running these 2 A8 rigs fast since day 1.

If you want to OC the K processor and aftermarket HSF will make it pretty easy.

Post up a ss of CPU-Z's SPD tab so I can see the details on the RAM you are working with. Basically you loosen (increase) RAM timings and/or increase RAM voltage to allow higher speeds.

Right now both of the 3870k's I have are at 3.2GHz, but one needs a little more vcore than the other; -0.0125v offset vs -0.0500v offset.

My RAM is rated at 9-9-9-27 1866 1.5v, but I've had to give it a little more voltage to pass tests. I'm at 1.55v on 1 rig and 1.6v on the other, but I think I can bring those down.

I'm using Prime95 to stress test the CPU and memory systems. I select Blend, but then select Custom, so that I can increase the RAM usage. I look at the available physical memory in Task Manager and select about 100MB less in P95. I also drop the time to 5 minutes per test until I get in the ballpark. Final run is 15mins/test for at least 12hrs.

For the graphics I use MSI Kombuster and the Heaven benchmark to stress test. I can't remember all the options, but I run it at 800x600 low shaders, low tessellation.

Things to download if you want to try and OC:

HWMonitor
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
MSI Kombuster
Heaven benchmark
Prime95