A gaming studio damaged my computer's speed.
A gaming studio damaged my computer's speed.
It's an RX 580 with a device ID listed. This could relate to driver issues. It's possible both the GPU and RAM were overclocked, but the latter had less impact on performance. I’d consider updating Windows to 11 for better optimization. Even though the machine is old, it might improve speed. Back up your files first. A USB drive works well for creating a Windows installation. Make sure to update Windows before starting a clean install if you need to renew your license key. You can find Windows 11 here. Use the update Assistant to run setup.exe on the USB after preparing the installation disk.
I’ll handle it later when I have the opportunity—I’m almost ready to go. But I’ve heard before that because my computer is old, Windows 11 won’t work. Unless that’s just companies hiding something.
The software isn't compatible with Windows 11. Changing to Windows 11 won't improve speed.
Good news is that the official AMD driver download page is available. It seems there might be an issue with the driver or installation causing difficulties. Try removing the existing driver and installing the newest one for your card. Using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) can help clear old display drivers, though it may not always be needed. On the AMD driver site, choose: Graphics Radeon 600 | 500 | 400 Radeon RX 500 series. Then pick your GPU model (RX 570 or RX 580?). Click Submit and select the OS version for Windows 10 64-bit (should be 25.8.1). If the issue continues, go back to earlier steps, pick your card model, and choose "Previous versions" to try an older, stable version (25.5.1 as of 2025-05-08). You should match the driver version with your card model; selecting the wrong one shouldn’t matter.
A lot of the time with a mobo/hardware related crash, the BIOS does revert back to safe default settings. So very high probability that if the system was overclocked before, you lost those settings. Not saying that is the cause of all your issues, but your BIOS is most likely set to safe defaults.
I will check a few things to confirm the correct driver version 570/580. This was what I believed initially led to the problems. DTG prompted me to follow these steps after issues started, yet none resolved them: DDU clean, reinstall, BIOS update, and a full clean reinstall of TSW6 (the only game where performance dropped). I’m unsure if this was the cause, but I also experienced random audio loss from TSW6 for about three days. Troubleshooting didn’t help until the issue reappeared unexpectedly—possibly a glitch or corruption. I’ll try the new drivers again, and I won’t stop here just because it didn’t work initially; that’s why I’m seeking assistance. If this fails, would it be safer to overclock with expert advice or take the game to a specialist in person?
Overclocking likely won’t fix your issue since the performance drop probably isn’t due to an overclock being undone by a BIOS reset. The problem is much larger than simply reverting to default settings. Beyond extreme overclocking with unusual cooling methods, OC and tuning usually only boost performance by 20-30% at best, and often much less on today’s hardware, which is already near its limits. If you’re seeing less than half your previous performance while lowering graphics settings further, there must be another factor at play. A few more checks: Are you connecting your monitor to the GPU or the motherboard? Have you verified CPU and GPU temperatures? If everything looks normal, a complete Windows reinstall from scratch might be necessary—this will also reset drivers and could resolve persistent software issues.
I just finished the driver reinstall after a thorough clean and fresh install. Performance seems improved slightly, though not enough to match before. The game crashes with a fatal error but keeps running until the screen freezes, then closes when the message clears. My CPU usage is near maximum during TSW6. SOLVED – I found two loose cables: one labeled PCI-E and another beside it without a label. They’ve been unplugged for months since I rarely open the case. My monitor is an old TV connected to the Sapphire GPU I suspect. I also have persistent DTS Audio problems, similar to after my last driver update—still no working audio even after reinstalling drivers. Frequently see multiple pop-ups at once. I’ve tried reinstalling everything via the ASUS installer inside the motherboard’s files, but it’s hard to fix without more time. I’ll keep working on restoring game performance before this happens. Updated Dec 8, 2025 by DR18037
PCIe cables can be either 6-pins or 8-pins connectors. The PCIe cable you have has probably a 6 pins connector but can be paired with the 2-pins connector to become an 8-pins connector. This is a common form factor for PCIe cables. As for being unplugged, this is ok. They are spare cables in case you install an expansion card that needs a CPIe cable or if you upgrade your GPU for one that needs more PCIe cables than the GPU you currently have.