Hey everyone, I just built my first gaming PC but I'm running into some pretty serious performance issues that are making it almost impossible to use. I've made sure the HDMI is connected to the GPU directly. Here are the main problems I'm facing:
- The overall performance is very sluggish, and at times the cursor is super laggy.
- In CS2, I'm only getting around 30 FPS, while my CPU temperatures hover around 60°C. Occasionally, I experience a total black screen that loses connection to my monitor when under load, which forces a restart.
- Although most temperatures seem normal, HWMonitor did show spikes hitting around 90°C a couple of times.
- There's also audio crackling and glitches when I use my monitor for audio output (I haven't activated Windows, so I can't change the settings).
I've checked that the memory and SSD speeds seem to be normal, but I'm still learning about PC components. Here's what I've tried so far:
- Enabled XMP/EXPO for the RAM in BIOS.
- Set PCIe to 4.0 in BIOS.
- Updated my BIOS to the latest version.
- Installed the most recent chipset, AMD GPU, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and audio drivers.
- Made sure all cables are properly connected inside the case.
- Verified there was no plastic left on the cooler and thermal paste was applied correctly.
- Reviewed the power settings to ensure the RX 7800 XT is being used.
- I even reinstalled Windows.
Right now, I'm wondering if the issue could be related to the PCIe riser cable, but I'm not certain. Oh, and I haven't installed any case fans yet – I didn't think that was a major issue since my temperatures seem okay, but I could be wrong.
My build includes:
- SSUPD Meshlicious case with PCIe Gen4 riser
- Ryzen 5 7600X CPU
- Sapphire Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB GPU
- Gigabyte B650I AX motherboard
- Kingston Fury Beast 32 GB RAM
- Kingston Fury Renegade 1 TB SSD
- Noctua NH-L12S cooler
Thanks for any help or insights you can offer!
3 Answers
Before jumping to conclusions, have you benchmarked any applications to check CPU and GPU utilization? It's really important to see what’s underperforming. Also, maybe consider disabling the XMP/EXPO settings in BIOS – sometimes that can lead to instability and could explain the audio issues you're hearing.
It sounds like your performance issues could be due to the PCIe riser. Those can sometimes cause problems with bandwidth. If you can, try running your GPU without the riser and see if that improves FPS. Also, check your CPU and GPU utilization while running CS2. It's crucial to know which component is acting up. Don’t forget to run it with the case door open since you don’t have fans yet!
I just tried without the riser and my FPS in CS2 dropped to 10! So I can rule out the riser, I guess. Could this mean my motherboard is faulty?
If your CPU temperatures are mostly okay but you're hitting 90°C sometimes, it could indicate a cooling issue. Since you don’t have case fans yet, airflow might be limited. Make sure you're monitoring those temps closely, especially under load. It wouldn’t hurt to get some fans in there, just for stability.
I disabled Expo and saw no difference, unfortunately 🙁