I've built several PCs for friends, and they're all running great without issues. However, my own custom-built PC seems to underperform no matter what upgrades I make. I've completely reset Windows and uninstalled everything, but I'm still facing problems. In games like Jump Space, Enshrouded, Helldivers, Arc Raiders, Where Winds Meet, and Nightreign, I hardly manage to get above 70 FPS. My specs include an RTX 5060 Ti with 12GB, an unlocked i5 13th Gen processor, two Samsung Pro 990 SSDs (one for games, one for Windows), 32GB of DDR5 RAM, an 850W gold PSU, and a QHD Ultra Gear 27-inch monitor. Friends who play at similar medium to high settings are getting way higher FPS, even with weaker GPUs. I could use any advice on what might be causing this issue!
5 Answers
Have you checked if your monitor refresh rate is limited in Windows? This happens more often than you'd think, and it could be capping your FPS without you realizing it.
Double-check that you're running the latest BIOS for your motherboard. Also, unplug all USB devices except your keyboard and mouse, and disconnect all drives except for your boot drive and the one with Steam. Finally, ensure your graphics drivers are updated and then retest your performance.
Did you make sure to enable the XMP/EXPO settings in your BIOS? This can significantly impact your RAM's performance, and it's a common oversight when building PCs. It could help you get better frames per second if you did forget to enable it.
Make sure to check your motherboard's manual regarding the PCIe lanes. It’s also a good idea to verify that your graphics card is installed in an x16 slot. If you're using multiple NVMe SSDs, they might be affecting the performance of other components, so keep that in mind.
The GPU is definitely in the right slot, and both SSDs are NVMe, so I think that's all good.
I wonder if your friends are using 4x multi-frame generation in their settings. That could explain the FPS difference with a weaker GPU. It's worth asking them if that's the case, especially if the games you're playing don't support frame generation.
Some of the games I’ve been playing don’t support frame generation, so it’s not that.
I did that on my old motherboard, but I've checked the new one, and XMP is enabled now.