Random GPU Usage Spikes (0-99%) When Idle and Taskbar Reset

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euphoria4949

euphoria4949

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Aug 26, 2012
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Hi to all, ok so I've been getting this for a while now at completely random times, but it just happened twice within an hour so I thought it was about time I asked what's going on.

I keep getting random GPU usage spikes when the PC is idling, it goes from 0% to 99% for a few seconds, then back down to 0% for a few seconds, then back up to 99%, then back down...... and repeats this for about 1 minute then suddenly stops. When this happens, Windows 7 taskbar which I have stretched out resets back to default and sometimes also changes my theme from Aero to standard. It happened just a few minutes ago, I restarted the PC, waited for it to completely load up, then I went and made a coffee and came back, so the PC was in idle for around 8 minutes with Nothing open or running. Then suddenly, it's starts ramping up to 99% usage.
I read that the cause can be WEI (Windows Experience Index), but this was a fresh Win7 install just yesterday so I checked that and it said WEI has not been run so there is no score.

So does anyone have any ideas what could the cause???

Appreciate any help,
Thanks
 
Solution
Thelps
Ensure the card is sat firmly in its PCI-E x16 slot (not at an angle) and that all power connectors are securely attached. Press down firmly on the card to rule out 'creep' caused by the PCB expanding and contracting due to temperature fluctuation consistent with usage.

A clean driver install may also help.
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Thelps

Thelps

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Feb 20, 2013
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Ensure the card is sat firmly in its PCI-E x16 slot (not at an angle) and that all power connectors are securely attached. Press down firmly on the card to rule out 'creep' caused by the PCB expanding and contracting due to temperature fluctuation consistent with usage.

A clean driver install may also help.
 
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Solution
euphoria4949

euphoria4949

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Thank you for your replies.

@dovah-chan - Sorry for the derpy question, but what would be the best way to do that??

@Thelps - The card was actually on re-installed yesterday as I drained and striped my loops to clean them. I am 100% positive everything is seated correctly and firmly, but I have double checked again just now, and as I thought everything is ok.
Also the driver was only installed yesterday as well, as I also did a complete fresh install of Windows. But this issue has been happening with my previous Windows install and all Nvidia drivers from the past year.
 
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dovah-chan

dovah-chan

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Feb 5, 2014
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You could try MSI afterburner (I believe it tracks which processes use the GPU) or look for any other utilities that can track that. Is it just your GPU that is spiking or does you CPU spike as well? If it's just your GPU then you might have an unstable power supply (specifically your 12V rail) or its throttling somehow. (possibly by a poor cooler) The other question I have is what clock speed does it idle at and when you get that spike do the clock speeds go up as well?
 
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euphoria4949

euphoria4949

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Oh, I actually use MSI AB but I didn't know you can check what process are in use, I'll have a look into it.
To be honest I haven't noticed if my CPU is ramping up at the same time, next time it happens I'll check. Also I haven't noticed if the GPU clock is going up either, I just tend to close whatever I have running until it stops.

As for the PSU, I'm 99% it's not that as it's happened on my old PSU (Corsair 650) and my current PSU (Seasonic 850).
 
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