Question Need advice from experienced PC gamers

Feb 21, 2021
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Hello!
Last month or so my PC has dropped in performance noticeably, especially with games. It is over 6 years old and it used to run games such as Witcher 3 at 60fps on High settings.
Out of nothing it stopped running games properly, it is incapable of running games at 60 fps anymore, and what's worse, the performance has dropped to 15-20 fps in "decent" games. Now I'm stuck playing pixel games during my free time.

I'm not a total beginner in computers. I've checked my GPU drivers, tried old ones; nothing. Tried running a GPU benchmark, doesn't look like it's overheating.

I know it could be plenty of things failing but I would appreciate your opinions and suggestions!

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Specs:
Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor

Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 CL9 Memory

Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3 GB Vapor-X Video Card
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I can't remember what PSU I am using, but it was around the low-mid end, 6 years ago.

My guess would be: old PSU not giving my rig the necessary power anymore, or GPU becoming faulty.

Thank you all in advance!
Mark
 
Okay, a simple question. Are you running any new 3rd party software or apps in the background? Maybe you recently installed something minor or something new that has an in game overlay? It sounds dumb but these apps have been known to cause issues with glitching, lag and overall performance.
 
Feb 21, 2021
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Okay, a simple question. Are you running any new 3rd party software or apps in the background? Maybe you recently installed something minor or something new that has an in game overlay? It sounds dumb but these apps have been known to cause issues with glitching, lag and overall performance.

Not really, as a matter of fact I was playing FF14 when out of nowhere my fps dropped. I had been playing FF14 for 3 months without any problems at all and one day it just dropped without any apparent reason. After that, I was unable to run games properly.
The only overlay in my computer is the default Radeon Software which is included with the driver. But it was already long ago installed before the disastrous event :(
 
Feb 27, 2020
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Interesting issue! Definitely sounds fixable. I would do the following (includes suggestions from above)

- Check the inside of case for anything that could be over heating. If you cleaned as soon as 2 months ago this shouldn't be the issue, but make sure any coolers, air or water, are firmly connected.

- Update bios to latest driver

- Go to add/remove programs in windows and delete EVERYTHING you don't need/use. If you're not sure what a thing is, do a quick google to make sure it's not a windows essential.

- Run a basic benchmark with monitoring stats, see is anything is overheating/bottle necking where it shouldn't.

- The problem could be you PSU as you stated. Find out what it is and google to see if they're known to conk out.

- Do you have decent hard drives? Could they be dying on you, an old HDD perhaps?

- Failing the above, consider a full wipe of windows and start fresh. Failing that I'm all out.

But good luck!
 
@gjaex94

If it is the GPU fans and you wanted to save the money on a new GPU at the moment, its possible to fix if the chip or board isnt already heat damaged.

The plastic shroud from the heatsink should be possible to remove and you can zip tie on a couple of 120mm or smaller case fans on there. It should work O.K as long as there's a spare fan port or two on your motherboard, if there's not you can just use a Y splitter cable.
 
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