How to Troubleshoot System? Simple 1080P Video Lagging/Choppy!

[HowardJRoark]

I built what I thought would be a decently capable system, but it seems to be heavily underperforming. Do you have any recommendations for troubleshooting what the weakest link is?

It's having a hard time running even a dual 1080p monitor setup. Regular 1080p video files are dropping frames, video editing with Sony Vegas has become impossible due to the preview window dropping down to about 1 frame per second when previewing raw, unedited video, and lately high resolution images are lagging in photoshop when zooming or moving around. The whole system is dragging and I'm not sure why.

I ran the Fire Strike Extreme test on 3dmark with what seems to be an embarrassing score of 593 (EDIT: my last 2 tests hit scores of about 2,200). I'm not sure how to interpret the score though to determine if my system should be performing better given the specs below, or, if it's a reasonable score for my system then how to narrow down what the weakest links are for upgrades.

My specs are below, and I'd love to hear any thoughts you have!

Computer Specs
GPU: Zotac Geforce GTX 760
CPU: Intel Core I5 4690k @3.5ghz
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
RAM: 16gb w/ Kingston HyperX FURY (2x8GB) 1866MHz DDR3
PSU: Silverstone SFX-L 500w
Motherboard: Asrock z97e-itx
Cooling: Noctua L9i fan
Case: SilverStone Mini-ITX ML08B-H

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Done a clean install of the driver?

 

[HowardJRoark]

Done a clean install of the driver?

You mean for the GTX 760? Not yet...is there a particular way to go about uninstalling it cleanly, or is it just a simple uninstall and then reinstall?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Run the Nvidia installer and check the box for clean install.

 

[HowardJRoark]

Run the Nvidia installer and check the box for clean install.

Got it, thank you. I did a full uninstall of everything Nvidia using the 'Display Driver Uninstaller' and then did a clean install of just the driver without the extras. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any improvements...tried photo editing in Photoshop and video editing in Sony Vegas and still experienced the same lag in all the programs.

I tried running the normal Firestorm benchmark test on 3dmark and got a score of 3470. I checked other people's scores with the same GPU & CPU setup as me and there are hundreds of scores in the 6,000 range - just not sure what in my system is preventing that level of performance?

EDIT: I overclocked my 4690k @ 3.5ghz up to 4.2ghz and have been stress testing with Prime95 while watching CPU-Z numbers - my CPU core speed literally won't go above 798.10 mhz, and if any of the other numbers matter: multiplier x8.0, Bus Speed 99.76. Am I missing something? Should I be multiplying the 798.1 by something? It dips down occasionally but is otherwise stuck at 798.1 mhz which doesn't seem possible...

 

[ATMINSIDE]

What temperature is the CPU when it is not going above idle speeds?

 

[HowardJRoark]

What temperature is the CPU when it is not going above idle speeds?

It's low to mid-30's...usually about 34 degrees.

 

[Johan45]

It almost sounds like throttling. If you're running P95 and it's stuck at 800MHz then something is up. That would explain why the FS scores are all over the place. Have you tested it just running at stock with no overclock?

 

[trents]

Yeah, I was going to ask if you were sure it was the video card that was the issue and not the CPU. Looks like you now know it is the CPU causing the problem instead.

What are you cooling the CPU with? Are you using the stock OEM cooler? Make sure the Cooler is seated properly and making good contact with the CPU. If you are using a push pins style cooler such as the OEM kind I can tell you they can be a pain to install, especially if you haven't done it often. It is so easy to inst all them and have one pin not full engaged. Please check that first if it applies. And make sure the cooler fan wire is connected to a motherboard pin header and is spinning. Sometimes a wire inside the case can get caught in the fan blades.

If the cooler is not the issue, then consider these measures:

1. Flash to the latest bios.
2. Remove the CPU and check for bent socket pins.
3. Make sure both power connectors from the PSU to the motherboard are seated correctly.
4. Remove the motherboard and essential components from the case and set the system up outside the case. Check the case's motherboard tray for misplaced standoffs.
5. Take out the video card and test the system using the onboard video. Remove all but one memory stick and try each one one at a time in every slot. Remove all other unnecessary add on components from the system.
6. If you have a compatible spare, swap out the PSU with a know good one.

 

[HowardJRoark]

It almost sounds like throttling. If you're running P95 and it's stuck at 800MHz then something is up. That would explain why the FS scores are all over the place. Have you tested it just running at stock with no overclock?

I returned the cpu to stock settings and ran P95 again - same results with a core speed of 798.10 mhz. I ran Firestorm again and got an almost identical score to my previous run @ 3672. I thought that kind of throttling was set somewhere in the settings...is there anywhere I could specifically look for that?

Yeah, I was going to ask if you were sure it was the video card that was the issue and not the CPU. Looks like you now know it is the CPU causing the problem instead.

What are you cooling the CPU with? Are you using the stock OEM cooler? Make sure the Cooler is seated properly and making good contact with the CPU. If you are using a push pins style cooler such as the OEM kind I can tell you they can be a pain to install, especially if you haven't done it often. It is so easy to inst all them and have one pin not full engaged. Please check that first if it applies. And make sure the cooler fan wire is connected to a motherboard pin header and is spinning. Sometimes a wire inside the case can get caught in the fan blades.

If the cooler is not the issue, then consider these measures:

1. Flash to the latest bios.
2. Remove the CPU and check for bent socket pins.
3. Make sure both power connectors from the PSU to the motherboard are seated correctly.
4. Remove the motherboard and essential components from the case and set the system up outside the case. Check the case's motherboard tray for misplaced standoffs.
5. Take out the video card and test the system using the onboard video. Remove all but one memory stick and try each one one at a time in every slot. Remove all other unnecessary add on components from the system.
6. If you have a compatible spare, swap out the PSU with a know good one.

I'm using a Noctua L9i fan - I will check on it to ensure proper contact, but shouldn't there be evidence of higher temperatures from an ineffective fan? It seems the temp of low 30's is within the expected range for my CPU. The Silverstone SFX-L 500w PSU seems to be performing properly, but from my understanding, for the sake of power savings it is designed to remain idle and not spin it's fan unless under higher loads which it seems to be doing properly. I will look into your other suggestions though.

 

[wingman99]

Dose your CPU throttle running RealBench?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Let us know how it goes with trents' other suggestions, they're all good starting points. Try one, test. If it doesn't help, try the next.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

What are the load temps when running Prime?
I don't see how thermal throttling has been ruled out yet. All I see is idle temps in this thread.

 

[trents]

I returned the cpu to stock settings and ran P95 again - same results with a core speed of 798.10 mhz. I ran Firestorm again and got an almost identical score to my previous run @ 3672. I thought that kind of throttling was set somewhere in the settings...is there anywhere I could specifically look for that?



I'm using a Noctua L9i fan - I will check on it to ensure proper contact, but shouldn't there be evidence of higher temperatures from an ineffective fan? It seems the temp of low 30's is within the expected range for my CPU. The Silverstone SFX-L 500w PSU seems to be performing properly, but from my understanding, for the sake of power savings it is designed to remain idle and not spin it's fan unless under higher loads which it seems to be doing properly. I will look into your other suggestions though.

Not necessarily. Idle temps are not good indicators of the cooling mechanism being in good order. There's hardly any power draw happening. And I don't mean to insult your intelligence, but it should be asked, did you apply thermal grease between the heat sink and the CPU? We've actually had posters that didn't know that needed to be done.

Just a word of advice for future reference, HowardJ, when building a new system it's always smart to set it up outside the case first. That way if some component is faulty and you need to RMA it, it's much easier, especially given the cramped confines of a mini ITX case. You don't have to disassemble the whole works to remove it. It also helps you know whether or not electrical groundouts inside the case is causing the problem since you know it worked outside the case.

 

[Trap05]

Update your motherboard bios? What version are you on currently? Your cpu is properly supported after v1.5. Do this at stock speeds FYI

 

[HowardJRoark]

What are the load temps when running Prime?
I don't see how thermal throttling has been ruled out yet. All I see is idle temps in this thread.

Here is what I'm seeing while running P95 while watching CPUID and my temps...I just want to make sure I'm reporting what I'm seeing accurately. While running P95 my CPU temp stayed consistently at 36 degree +/- 1 degree. It never went above 37. Core speed never moved from 798.1 mhz.

Dose your CPU throttle running RealBench?

It looks like it does - I ran RealBench and it shows a core speed of 798.2 mhz but I received a system score of 20806 which seems high?

did you apply thermal grease between the heat sink and the CPU?

Yes, I did ensure the right amount of thermal grease was used.

Update your motherboard bios? What version are you on currently? Your cpu is properly supported after v1.5. Do this at stock speeds FYI

I was at BIOS v1.8 but just updated to v2.1 and am still receiving the numbers in the images above (at stock speeds).

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Clear the CMOS...

 

[Soulcatcher668]

Use HWmonitor to monitor temps.

Something is really odd here. It is not even ramping up to a point where it would throttle it looks like.

Clear CMOS, pull the battery, unplug the power supply and power the system to drain the caps. Reattach and run your tests. That will reset all the bios settings.


*ninja by RJARRRPCGP while typing.

 

[trents]

core voltage at .702 when running P95?

Are you sure your bios version supports that CPU model?

Also, it's hard to tell much with such a short Prime95 run. Let it run for 10 minutes or so.

 

[Soulcatcher668]

Are you sure your bios version supports that CPU model?

Bios 1.3 added support for the 4790K. OP said he was running 1.8 and updated to 2.1.

There must be some weird power saving feature enabled in the BIOS or something.

From the Anandtech......

The Power Saving mode will reduce the CPU to 800 MHz and will slowly ramp the speed up as more performance is needed. It will require a good 10 seconds of full throttle to get to full speed. Performance mode disables any idle states, but also opens up another menu for more options.

As Trents said..... what do the monitors say after 10 mins of PRIME?