I recently built my first PC and, despite following many guides and having my roommate assist with the cables, I'm facing a serious issue. While everything seems to work fine outside of gaming, once I try to play any video game, the performance drops to an unbearable 2fps, which is even worse than my old MacBook. I should mention that my games are installed on an external 8TB WD drive, and I didn't experience such problems when using the same setup on my Mac. I'm completely confused about cable connections, as there's so much conflicting advice out there, and I couldn't get any case fans to turn on, nor could I get the RGB lights to work. Here's what I have in my build:
- **CPU**: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor
- **CPU Cooler**: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM
- **Motherboard**: MSI PRO B650-S WIFI AM5
- **RAM**: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB 32GB
- **Storage**: MSI SPATIUM Series M482 2TB SSD
- **Graphics Card**: GIGABYTE WindForce GeForce RTX 5070 12GB
- **Case**: Montech AIR 903 MAX
- **Power Supply**: EVGA 750 GQ 750W Semi Modular
3 Answers
You’ve got a really nice build! Just to be safe, make sure all drivers are updated including your GPU driver. Sometimes, games can default to the integrated GPU instead of the dedicated one, so double-check that too. Also, if you haven't started it, consider downloading any necessary apps for your RGB or cooling system; those can often enhance performance significantly.
I appreciate the heads up! I’ll look into the drivers.
It sounds like you might have your monitor plugged into the wrong port. Make sure it's connected to the graphics card, not the motherboard! If your monitor is connected correctly and you're still experiencing issues, double-check your cooling setup; if your fans aren't spinning, your CPU might be overheating and throttling.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll check the monitor connection right away.
I didn’t realize that was a possibility, I'll definitely look into it!
Sounds like a classic case of cables not being connected properly. Also, check if your RAM is seated correctly and has XMP enabled. If your CPU temperatures are too high, it might be due to incorrect cooler installation. Make sure the cooler is mounted properly and any fan headers are plugged in. Also, update your BIOS; that can fix a lot of issues!
Good call on the BIOS update! I forgot to do that after building mine and had some serious problems until I got around to it.
I’ll try the BIOS update! That’s a great idea.
That’s what happened to me! Ensure you’ve got the right drivers installed; otherwise, it could lead to huge performance drops.