Low performance on MSI 7770

[Jose713]

Hello all, my cousin has been getting terrible performance on his 7770 but only on certain games. Far Cry 3 and GTA 4 are the most noticeable games that dropped in fps. It's so weird because in other games he receives good performance in games like in Skyrim, LA Noire and ARMA 2. The drop in performance happened over one night because he could run those games better. Also, his CPU is at 60-65 degrees Celsius on idle. He's a very lazy person. He doesn't take care of his PC. I have to fix it for him. o.O I don't know the specs for his PC so is there anything we can do to check what's going on?

[DontUSASme]

If he doesn't clean it very often, I'd say there could potentially be some dust/debris buildup inside. Other than that you could check to see if the heatsink is doing it's job. You can try to get some Thermal Interface Material to replace the one that was on it. Over time it can dry out. Other than that I can't really say much. Any pics?

[Guest GRRigger]

If it gone bad "overnight" try recovery tool, if possible. Yea, the temperature are insane on idle. So it could be overheating. Does he get performance drop in all games ? What are load temps, i guess more than 80 degrees celsius?
Well, clean it, and if it still goes over 55 degree celsius at idle, then get a case fan or two. One side fan, one exhaust at the top if possible. Or just downclock the gpu to stock speeds.

 

As for cleaning, just use compressed air, a hair dryer if you dont have anything else for sensitive equip. 

[Jose713]

If he doesn't clean it very often, I'd say there could potentially be some dust/debris buildup inside. Other than that you could check to see if the heatsink is doing it's job. You can try to get some Thermal Interface Material to replace the one that was on it. Over time it can dry out. Other than that I can't really say much. Any pics?

Yes, I have some thermal paste that I can use for his cpu. I will do maybe today and post the results as soon as I can. He also uses an HP case .-.

[Jose713]

If it gone bad "overnight" try recovery tool, if possible. Yea, the temperature are insane on idle. So it could be overheating. Does he get performance drop in all games ? What are load temps, i guess more than 80 degrees celsius?

Well, clean it, and if it still goes over 55 degree celsius at idle, then get a case fan or two. One side fan, one exhaust at the top if possible. Or just downclock the gpu to stock speeds.

 

As for cleaning, just use compressed air, a hair dryer if you dont have anything else for sensitive equip. 

I told him to do the recovery tool but he's so lazy to do that because he'll lose all his games and other media. He has an HP case btw. So there is no space for fans.

I will go to his house today and see what we can do. Thanks for replying and I'll post the results as soon.  

[DontUSASme]

Yes, I have some thermal paste that I can use for his cpu. I will do maybe today and post the results as soon as I can. He also uses an HP case .-.

 

Buy a cheap aftermarket case, say a Fractal Design Core 1000, for better ventilation and airflow. You may be suffocating the components.

[Guest GRRigger]

HP case? Yep thats pretty cheap, useless for gaming and potentially fatal for your hardware lol. Thats why people do custom builds thank god. 

If your cusin is not too attached to his genuine Hewlett Packard case, you can try placing side panel solidly on a wood plank, drilling cuple holes for 120mm fan and fittings carefully, and put a cheap fan on it. It will take less than an hour and about 10 pounds for a fan. I take no responsibility for the suggestion tho :P

If you are not too handy yourself, ask someone who is familiar with equipment and drilling and what not. There are some tutorials on internet tho.

[Jose713]

I replaced the thermal compound and the temp is back to normal at about 40-45 degrees Celsius on idle instead of 65. As for the graphics cards performing low, I don't know why certain games perform worse and some perform really good. 

[DontUSASme]

I replaced the thermal compound and the temp is back to normal at about 40-45 degrees Celsius on idle instead of 65. As for the graphics cards performing low, I don't know why certain games perform worse and some perform really good. 

You can replace the thermal compound on the GPU, too.

[ANIMAL_ORIGIN]

If he doesn't care enough to clean his own PC then let him suffer! LOL

[Jose713]

Hey guys, I convinced my cousin to buy a computer case. He chose the white Corsair C70. Also, I found that his CPU usage was at 100%. It was a file named "FahCore_a4.exe" that was causing this. He got it from a torrent. I uninstalled the main file for that and now all of his games run significantly much better. I guess that's one way of punishing pirates. Thanks guys for helping out. :c