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Question

New motherboard, CPU & RAM - Low performance/fps

Aug 10, 2016 10:14AM PDT
Rig
Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI
Intel i5 6600K
Kingston Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 (2400Mhz)
Palit GeForce GTX 1060
Windows 10 Home

Problem
Recently upgraded from a Gigabyte GA-78-LMT-S2P, AMD FX-4100 and DDR3 RAM, and I was hoping to get away with a straight swap.
Booted up after replacing everything and installing new drivers, and performance was slow & FPS in games was consistently <10.

Already tried
Performed a Windows 10 Reset, same performance. Performed a clean install via the Media Creation Tool with a DVD, after formatting the drive etc. but still the same poor performance.

Help
When installing the motherboard drivers, Intel Management Engine Interface seems to be failing - is this vital?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I'm ging with vital.
Aug 10, 2016 10:23AM PDT

It's a sign something is off. It could be a BIOS issue or a driver.

The setup looks OK hardware wise but what is low performance? I hear this all the time about The Witcher and it's not the rig.

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I'll have another look at the IMEI
Aug 10, 2016 10:40AM PDT

Hmmm.. I'll try the IMEI again.

And poor performance, as in numerous stutters and lengthy dips below 10 fps in Total War:Warhammer and Deserts of Kharak on Mid-High settings (worse than before upgrade).

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I wonder if you forgot some other driver.
Aug 10, 2016 10:55AM PDT

I don't see mention of the usual drivers. The exact versions and order vary by the machine so ask it's maker to give you an install routine. Windows 10 on its own would do as you wrote.

Also, I don't see if you have some 4K UHD display. That GPU won't do much for that setup. My fix is to fall back to 1080p until the technology for 4K gaming arrives.

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Express install of mobo drivers from disc
Aug 10, 2016 12:02PM PDT

I've run the express installation of the drivers from the disc that came with the motherboard, and also checked the Gigabyte website for any newer versions.

Also, just trying to get 1080p, don't have a 4K display.

And I've been looking around, and found a few examples of people saying that the IMEI isn't too important, e.g. http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte/55149-intel-management-engine-interface-needed.html

I've also just sent a support ticket on to Gigabyte, so hopefully they'll be able to point out something I've missed/what the issue is.

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Answer
I'm thinking it's Warhammer now.
Aug 10, 2016 1:12PM PDT
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GPU was working OK in previous rig
Aug 10, 2016 1:37PM PDT

Sorry, I don't think I stated this above - I've had the GTX 1060 installed in my previous setup for a couple of weeks and its was performing OK (high settings at approx. 25+ fps). I had a big CPU bottleneck so I upgraded the mobo, CPU and RAM to hit ultra settings (should be able to comfortably).

Also, I've tried Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak and I did a quick Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark and they've all had lots of stuttering/ long stretches of <10 fps.

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Let's try something basic.
Aug 10, 2016 1:41PM PDT

This game does tax the CPU a little so are you sure the memory is in pairs and in the right slots?

Also, did you install the Nvidia Geforce Experience to get the latest driver and let it adjust the game settings?

There are a lot of posts about the game so I worry that you can get into trouble. Or rather Nvidia could accidentally break it for Warhammer.

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PS. Left out another basic item.
Aug 10, 2016 1:42PM PDT

NO USB DEVICES. Stick with USB mouse/keyboard but banish USB drives and other things.

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No joy
Aug 10, 2016 2:44PM PDT

Turns out I was running my RAM in single channel - just moved a stick over to the proper slot and I'm in dual channel now (thanks for that). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have made any difference in overall performance.

I do have GeForce Experience installed to make sure I've got the latest drivers, but its auto-optimisation is turned off.

And yeah, if it was just one game I'd have a better idea about the cause, but it seems to be a problem with the rig as it's affecting everything.

And the only USB devices plugged in are the receivers for my wireless keyboard & mouse.

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Stumped.
Aug 10, 2016 2:49PM PDT

I'm not there so I won't guess if there's a basic thing like Norton or such sapping the power. I'd give the Nvidia auto op a try.

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Answer
Reply.
Aug 11, 2016 12:26AM PDT

Please enable your BIOS settings and check once. Happy

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Answer
Is this Vital
Aug 11, 2016 1:50AM PDT

No ,I think you need to check your bios settings .

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CPU Cooler!
Aug 11, 2016 8:51AM PDT

Found the problem - it was my first time installing a new mobo and I messed up the cpu cooler install. All fixed now! Finally!

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Answer
CPU Cooler!
Aug 11, 2016 8:52AM PDT

Found the problem - it was my first time installing a new mobo and I messed up the cpu cooler install. All fixed now!