H61M-HVS "This computer does not meet the requirements for installing the software". VGA driver.

[Mjktoolband]

I recently purchased a PC with the following specs:

ASrock H61M-HVS motherboard
Windows 8 - 64 bit
3rd gen i5 processor
Nvidia GTX 650
500G HDD
8G Ram

(If additional specs are helpful, please let me know how to find them and I'll report back promptly. I'm also probably providing too much info, so I apologize in advance if any of this is irrelevant.)

I purchased this mainly to play games. It plays single player games just fine. I play Far Cry 3 on ultimate settings with no problems at all and it looks beautiful. When I play any single player game, I get amazing performance. When I play a MMO or online First Person Shooters like Aion & Tera or Black Ops II & Battlefield 3 my Frames Per Second plummets to anywhere from 0 - 7. It becomes unplayable. I sometimes get lucky where I will be able to play for a short while at a beautiful 60+ FPS, but after a bit, it plummets and doesn't usually recover. I have had it recover back to where it was playable again after the FPS went to 6 in a MMO once, but it took 5 literal minutes and it only went back up when I left town and was out in the wilderness fighting alone. This usually happens in an MMO when I get near other playable characters. For example, in a busy town near an auction house or main quest hub. In First Person Shooters, I usually get horrible Frames immediately, but if I get lucky I'll get a nice 60 FPS for awhile, then when I exit that match and enter another, my FPS will plummet to the 0 -7 and it's unplayable. If I restart my PC, I seem to get great performance for a bit, but then it will eventually resort to the same problem.

Tech support at iBuyPower (company that shipped the PC) recommended some fixes. Here is what I have done so far to no avail:
-updated graphics driver from Nvidia using a clean install
-Used SeaTools for Windows to test my HDD using "Generic Long" test. It passed.
-update every driver from ASRock's website that was dated after I received my PC (all drivers dated 1/30/13. H61 Motherboard Series Manufacturing - ASRock Inc. ). I have done this, but the VGA driver is giving me problems. When attempting to install the VGA driver ver: 15.28.6.64.2857, I get the following error message: "This computer does not meet the requirements for installing the software". When I told iBuyPower tech support of the VGA driver problem, they informed me that I'd have to contact ASRock about the issue.

There is, what may be, a better VGA driver on Intel's site, but I'm not savvy enough to know if I can attempt to install without ruining something. ( http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...09%09%09%09%09 ) It's "Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 7 & Windows 8 64" Version: 15.28.12.64.2932. (I've also read somewhere that an .exe file will work instead of a .zip. I couldn't find a .exe file on ASRock's site, but there is one available with Intel's version.)

Other recommendation from iBuyPower tech support that I haven't done yet because I'm too scared: updating the BIOS. My current information from Regedit is "SystemBiosDate: REG_SZ: 9/18/12" and :SystemBiosVersion: REG_MULTI_SZ: version 80.07.35.00.60". The Asrock website ( H61 Motherboard Series Manufacturing - ASRock Inc. ) has a version that was released on 9/21/12 that says it supports Windows 8, but the version number is 2.50 which is nothing near the number I found in regedit under system info.

On my own accord, I have reset my modem and router. My PC is hard line connected via ethernet cable to the router.

I really don't care about the Frames Per Second number. I'd just like my games to be playable. This PC has much better specs than my old system. Even though the graphics are much, much better on my new system, the old system allowed me to play these same online games with no issue. I've even tried lowering the graphics settings in the games to the lowest possible and it doesn't help the Frames Per Second issue or make it playable. I've also limited the number of playable characters an MMO will display. I put this on the lowest setting of 10 other playable characters max and the FPS issue persists.

My specific questions are:
1) Should I try the Intel HD Graphics Driver? Any downsides? Could this solve my problem?
2) Should I update the BIOS?

I am more than open to any suggestions to fix this issue. Thanks in advance.

[korakios]

.................................................. ...
There is, what may be, a better VGA driver on Intel's site, but I'm not savvy enough to know if I can attempt to install without ruining something. ( http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...09%09%09%09%09 ) It's "Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 7 & Windows 8 64" Version: 15.28.12.64.2932. (I've also read somewhere that an .exe file will work instead of a .zip. I couldn't find a .exe file on ASRock's site, but there is one available with Intel's version.)
.................................................. .............................
My specific questions are:
1) Should I try the Intel HD Graphics Driver? Any downsides? Could this solve my problem?........................

You might check if you are actually using the nvidia gtx 650 card instead of the intel one on your games.I think you use the intel gpu which is not for gaming proposes!I am not aware with your motherboard so someone else can hopefully guide you

[Mjktoolband]

You might check if you are actually using the nvidia gtx 650 card instead of the intel one on your games.I think you use the intel gpu which is not for gaming proposes!I am not aware with your motherboard so someone else can hopefully guide you

My monitor is plugged into the GTX 650 card slot on the back of my PC instead of the onboard graphics slot. Does that mean I don't need the VGA driver that is giving me the error message?

[- wardog -]

What is your BIOS set to for graphics? PCI Express or Onboard?

In Device Manager(or whatever Win8 calls it now) what is shown for the current Display Adapter?

[Mjktoolband]

What is your BIOS set to for graphics? PCI Express or Onboard?

In Device Manager(or whatever Win8 calls it now) what is shown for the current Display Adapter?

In the BIOS the Primary Graphics Adapter is set to PCI Express.

In the Device Manager, the Display Adapter is shown as Nvidia GeForce GTX 650

[- wardog -]

In the BIOS the Primary Graphics Adapter is set to PCI Express.

In the Device Manager, the Display Adapter is shown as Nvidia GeForce GTX 650

Ok, good. That shows it's using the GTX 650.

Do not download or install the file(s) you linked at Intel as they are for the on-die iGPU within the Ivy Bridge cpus.

[- wardog -]

The latest nVidia drivers for your GTX 650 and Win8x64 are HERE, 314.07

Are you monitoring what the temp is on your 650 while in involved game play vs "out in the wilderness"?

[Mjktoolband]

The latest nVidia drivers for your GTX 650 and Win8x64 are HERE, 314.07

Are you monitoring what the temp is on your 650 while in involved game play vs "out in the wilderness"?

I have the 314.07 nVidia driver.

How do I monitor the temp on my 650? I have never done this.

Thank you.

EDIT: I didn't think about this when writing my initial post, but it's probably important: When I received this PC, it seems that in shipping, the CMOS battery had come loose. I pushed the battery back into place and made sure it was fully seated. I believe this cleared the CMOS. The computer came on, but Windows 8 wouldn't start. After researching, I found that I needed to change the storage configuration in BIOS/UEFI from IDE to AHCI. This seemed to fix the problem. After doing a system restore in Windows 8, everything seemed to work fine.

Is it possible that clearing the BIOS/UEFI has changed something else in the BIOS to default and this is causing these problems? If so, is there a website or guide that I can go to get the BIOS/UEFI settings back to where they should be? I have the owner's manual ( http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.us...Model=H61M-HVS ) , but I don't know which settings I should use. I seem to have fixed the storage configuration, but I'm afraid there are some other settings that may have reverted to default settings that I need to correct.

[- wardog -]

Has this ever worked properly since receiving it?

I ask because it would IMO have to had taken quite the drop/hit in shipping to have dislodged the CMOS battery.

[- wardog -]

Has this ever worked properly since receiving it?

I ask because it would IMO have to had taken quite the drop/hit in shipping to have dislodged the CMOS battery.

I hit post too soon.

And that leaves me wondering if the video card might have been damaged as it is semi-suspended via the PCIe slot and bracket.

To monitor GPU temps look and see if the cards manufacturer offers such a utility. If the card came with a card specific CD included it may even be there's one on it.