Low performance with GTX 770?!

[BJH]

Hey guys, this is my first post on this forum, so bear with me.

I am not sure if my EVGA GTX 770 is performing as should be. 
 

Here are my specs:
i5 4670K - Stock clocks for now, and stock heat sink.
Asrock Z87 Extreme 4 MOBO
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM
EVGA GTX 770 Superclocked ACX Dual Bios - Stock clocks
Corsair CX600M PSU
Fractal Design Define R4 case

Acer 1080p 60Hz monitor - All games played at 1080p.

So i built this system a few months ago, but without the graphics card, as I was short for money at the time and wanted a working system so left out the GPU. I recently got my GTX 770, installed the latest Geforce Experience (with drivers) and thought I was good to go. I like to have constant 60fps in my games, and from what i had seen in benchmarks, thought this would be possible even on the highest settings in most of my games. However, when playing some games, I was dropping below 60fps (Far Cry 3, and Borderlands 2, for example). In more intense scenes, my fps can drop to around 30fps, but what confuses me is that when running Precision X, my GPU is only hovering around 50% load at all times. Even when my frames begin to dip, my GPU load stays around 50%, and sometimes goes even lower. The reason why I am concerned is that benchmarks I have seen show around double the performance I am getting in some scenarios. I know the results will be different for every setup, but i didn't expect such a massive difference (Same resolution, same detail level). I have tried many 'fixes', such as changing settings in Nvidia control panel (power management from adaptive to prefer performance), reinstalling drivers, turning on and off vsync, etc; and still the same results. So after searching on many forums, and trying many different methods of fixing the issue, I have come to this forum hoping someone will be able to help me. 

I am really not sure what is causing this to happen. My PSU not having enough voltage? (The minimum for 770 is 600W, which is what my PSU is) My card being faulty? Driver issue? CPU bottleneck? This is all i can think of, but i thought my specs would be fine. My  CPU is at high load when playing games however (sometimes reaching 100% in borderlands 2), so maybe an overclock is needed.

 

Maybe this is normal, and I am just being paranoid, but  when i'm paying premium I like to know my items are working as they should. So if this is normal, some reassurance will be nice

 

So i guess to sum it up, my main questions are: Is it normal for the GPU to not be at 100% load all the time?

                                                                           Is there a bottleneck in my system? Is my card defective?

 

 

If more information is needed, please let me know.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, and I thank you all in advance for your time.   

[Jogostar]

what are the temps?

[Cwazywazy]

Sounds like something is bottlenecking it? Maybe your CPU is overheating and throttling? Get HWMonitor, open it, run a game for a while, and report the max temperatures.

[MegaDave91]

Yes, it is normal for it to not be a 100% all of the time.  Your system is also very balanced, so no worries there.

 

If you're surpassing 80 degrees, your 770 will throttle, meaning less performance. If you haven't already, set a fan curve so it does not get to 80 degrees.

[Bloodyvalley]

Did you uninstall the Intel drivers?

[BJH]

what are the temps?

The temps are fine. Sitting around 50C at all times, havn't  seen it go any higher, even after a long session on Far Cry 3. 

[BJH]

Sounds like something is bottlenecking it? Maybe your CPU is overheating and throttling? Get HWMonitor, open it, run a game for a while, and report the max temperatures.

This is what i was thinking. The CPU?

[Cwazywazy]

This is what i was thinking. The CPU?

Yeah. Look at how hot it's getting.

[Jogostar]

This is what i was thinking. The CPU?

CPU is fine, unless it is unstable.

[MegaDave91]

This is what i was thinking. The CPU?

No, the 4670k is among the best CPUs for gaming.

[BJH]

Yes, it is normal for it to not be a 100% all of the time.  Your system is also very balanced, so no worries there.

 

If you're surpassing 80 degrees, your 770 will throttle, meaning less performance. If you haven't already, set a fan curve so it does not get to 80 degrees.

That's good to hear. The  temps are fine, so it is not the cause. Thanks

[BJH]

Did you uninstall the Intel drivers?

Yes. This was done before installing the Nvidia drivers.

[BJH]

No, the 4670k is among the best CPUs for gaming.

This is what i have heard, and hence why i chose it. The CPU is stable, and i'm pretty sure it  is not overheating, as it is at stock clocks.

[Bloodyvalley]

Do a clean install of Windows 7 and it should be gone

[BJH]

Do a clean install of Windows 7 and it should be gone

Sorry, forgot to mention. I am using Windows 8.1. But a fresh install was going to be  my next move.

[MegaDave91]

Sorry, forgot to mention. I am using Windows 8.1. But a fresh install was going to be  my next move.

Are you choosing express installation when installing the graphics card drivers? 

[Valhallatier]

check your graphics card frequencies.... sometimes there's a bug where the clocks can't achieve full load

[BJH]

Are you choosing express installation when installing the graphics card drivers? 

I did the first time. Then after reinstalling tried custom, and didn't select HD audio and 3D vision drivers.

[BJH]

check your graphics card frequencies.... sometimes there's a bug where the clocks can't achieve full load

The card is boosting to full clock speed as normal. ~1200 Mhz, but the usage remains at 50ish%

[MegaDave91]

I did the first time. Then after reinstalling tried custom, and didn't select HD audio and 3D vision drivers.

You just want PhysX and the graphic card drivers, and maybe GeForce Experience if you use it.

[MegaDave91]

The card is boosting to full clock speed as normal. ~1200 Mhz, but the usage remains at 50ish%

Have you configured your settings in the Nvidia control panel for maximum performance?

 

EDIT: I see you have

[BJH]

You just want PhysX and the graphic card drivers, and maybe GeForce Experience if you use it.

That is all i currently have installed. Same issue.

[BJH]

Have you configured your settings in the Nvidia control panel for maximum performance?

Tried that. No difference. Is it maybe normal performance for this card? It just seems to be lower FPS than other benchmarks...

 

Maybe I'm just  being paranoid?

[BJH]

So is the power supply not the bottleneck? I was worried that it might not be enough. Would i be safe overclocking with this PSU, or would i need mor watts?