The games are functioning, but the frame rate remains very low.
The games are functioning, but the frame rate remains very low.
About a week ago I experienced GPU-related FPS problems with games that depend heavily on the graphics card. I recently swapped out my SSDs because they stopped working, hoping it was related but it didn’t seem so. No crashes have occurred yet; performance dropped from around 60 to under 10 frames per second in most titles. The issue started randomly while playing a modded modpack with shaders enabled. I’ve tried it across different games—MC and OldSchool Runescape work well without shader packs, whereas Enshrouded, New World, Eternal Strands, The Isle, and Satisfactory don’t. Balatro, Bejeweled 3, and Lucky Hunter run smoothly. I attached a CSV file showing the stress test results (see https://rtech.support/guides/hwinfo/). In Furmark, under the parameters listed in that guide, the average reached only 2 to 6 FPS max. The m.2 is brand new, so it’s a fresh Windows install. All drivers and the BIOS are up-to-date, and everything else—including the PSU—is less than a year old. My hardware specs: Windows 11 Home 64-bit, MEG X570 UNIFY (MS -7C35), BIOS version E7C35AMD AL1 (latest), AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, 8-core, 16GB RAM, G.Skill Ripjaws V Series (Intel XMP), DDR4 3200MHz/XFX Speedster SWFT210, Radeon RX 7600XT, Crucial T500 2TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 650-750W PSU (from IBUYPower a few years back). Update: The fix came via an RMA; the GPU was defective from the start and just worsened one day. Tip: When upgrading a working GPU, save it for future troubleshooting. And keep it in a place you can reach easily. If I’d remembered where I left it, this would have been much simpler. StressTest2-7-25.CSV
I think there might be malware involved or the PSU isn't delivering consistent 12V power for the GPU. If you're playing and your GPU is running at very low framerates with minimal usage, the issue likely lies with the PSU. Conversely, if the GPU is overheating at low power draw, then the problem is probably with the GPU itself.
I would install antivirus tools like Malwarebytes and perform a system check. Malware disrupts gameplay and significantly reduces performance, which I’ve experienced before. After running the scan with Malwarebytes, I found 30 viruses and cleared them, restoring my performance. Additionally, while scanning, I opened Command Prompt as Administrator and executed sfc /scannow.
The likelihood it's a virus is very small. I usually avoid risky websites. Also, the two SSDs I swapped in with brand new m.2 drives haven’t been connected together at the same time before or after. This problem was occurring before I updated my SSDs and is still happening even after a fresh install of Windows and drivers. The performance is reaching its maximum limit—this screen capture of gpu-z might be useful, but I’m not sure what to expect here.