Very good build, Crappy Performance? Please Troubleshoot

[eliwells]

Dear FacePunch members,

I received these computer components as a gift, and I assembled the computer myself. However, instead of the very high performance I was expecting, it is atrocious at times. All items were purchased new and all are working correctly. Can anyone please help me locate what my problem might be? If more details are needed, then I will give them:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3820 CPU @ 3.60 GHz
RAM: 16 GB
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit
GPU: GeForce GTX 660

I have an SSD, and I don't really know what the problem is. I know the GPU is a little bit outdated, but the performance I get can be atrocious. For example, I recently purchased BF4, and it's literally unplayable. I would estimate maybe 10, maybe even less FPS. At others times, it stutters on Microsoft Word. It seems unthinkable (to me) that this could happen on this quality of a rig, yet it does. Can someone please tell me where I might be going wrong? Thanks!

[thermobaric]

Altough it is strange that your pc struggles with word and bf4, and should be capable to get 60 fps at medium, don't expect ultra performance from a 660 in games.

Aside from that, is it a fresh install of windows? Viruses can greatly reduce performance

[Big D Duchovny]

Make sure that you've got the correct drivers installed? Did you apply the thermal paste correctly? Throttling due to heat might be a factor.

[eliwells]

[QUOTE=thermobaric;42747243]Altough it is strange that your pc struggles with word and bf4, and should be capable to get 60 fps at medium, don't expect ultra performance from a 660 in games.

Aside from that, is it a fresh install of windows? Viruses can greatly reduce performance[/QUOTE]

I do have a pretty fresh install of windows. I'm pretty careful with my PC, and no I don't expect ultra performance but better than what I'm getting!

[editline]3rd November 2013[/editline]

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;42747261]Make sure that you've got the correct drivers installed? Did you apply the thermal paste correctly? Throttling due to heat might be a factor.[/QUOTE]

I have all of the correct drivers, but I hadn't considered the thermal paste. I'm pretty certain that it was correctly applied, but I'll check! Thanks for the idea!

[[EG] Pepper]

BF4 runs like shit on windows 7, DICE say it's optimized for windows 8.

[Doritos_Man]

[QUOTE='[EG] Pepper;42748442']BF4 runs like shit on windows 7, DICE say it's optimized for windows 8.[/QUOTE]

I doubt it would cause that much trouble...

[Anthrax713]

BF4 seems to run pretty bad on windows 8, constant crashes and freezing.

[GiGaBiTe]

Make sure you have the Intel chipset drivers installed. Go on the Intel website and get the "Intel Chipset Install Utility". Also make sure that you have the right version of graphics drivers for your video card, the latest drivers aren't always the best, especially for older cards.

And don't use Windows Update drivers. They're almost always out of date or a cut down mangled version. WU also tries to push older drivers when you have newer drivers installed if you aren't careful.

[Shadaez]

run hwmonitor while playing and check the temps, sounds like thermal throttling on your CPU to me.