Low GPU usage with fps drops.

Draquenfull · Sep 28, 2015

First of all, i have to admit that I've been looking for a solution to this problem and I found out that more people had the same problem, but none of them could solve it, or at least they didn't comment after that.

Well, as the title says, I'm getting fps drops and there's no way I can find what's causing this. I will leave here my build:

Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme4
CPU: FX-8350
GPU: R9 280x
RAM: 8GB
Refrigeration: Default (no changes from factory)

The problem appears when I play games which have medium-high graphic requirements (BF4, Counter CS:GO Max. settings, Rainbow Six Siege beta...) these are just some examples. When i start playing them, the first minute seems to be fine, but after that the fps drop from 70-80 to 30-40 or even less, they stay like that for a few seconds and then they go up to 70-80 again, then drop again and so on and so forth.

I decided to gather information by using the MSI Afterburner, and I observed how in the exact moment the FPS dropped, the GPU usage dropped as well to 20% or so, and when FPS returned to their original value, the GPU usage did the same going back to 80% or above. When the GPU usage decreases, there is a great increase in the CPU usage going from 40-50% to 90% or even more.
It is a cycle that repeats itself every time a "demanding" game is played. Also, the average temperature for the GPU is about 60-63ºC and the CPU about 55ºC. Maybe that has something to do with it (I have thought about throttling, but I'm not sure if these components are ready to stand that temperature, so I haven't discarded that option yet).

If I play other games such as LoL or Binding of Isaac: Rebirth with low requirements the problem doesn't show. Maybe, because the graphic card makes a lesser effort, doesn't heat that much and it doesn't slow itself to cool down. I'm just wondering.

Sorry guys for all this text, every help will be welcome.

wiad · Sep 28, 2015

I'd say that there is a good chance that this is a thermal problem except that your temps don't seem high. I would still try and test that theory though. Turn your computer off for 5-15 minutes then in MSI Afterburner set your fan curve to ramp up very fast at low temperatures (hit 100% fan speed at 50 degrees). Then run your games again, if the problem disappears or occurs after a much longer period of time then you know it is a thermal problem.

Draquenfull · Sep 29, 2015

wiad :

Just tried what you said, i set the fan at 100% when the GPU hit 50 degrees. The temperature didn't go over 55ºC but the problem didn't disappear. I guess it has something to do with the GPU usage. For some reason it does not work properly and when it doesn't, the CPU increases its usage to replace the work that was being made by the GPU until it works again.

wiad · Sep 30, 2015

Draquenfull :

wiad :

Just tried what you said, i set the fan at 100% when the GPU hit 50 degrees. The temperature didn't go over 55ºC but the problem didn't disappear. I guess it has something to do with the GPU usage. For some reason it does not work properly and when it doesn't, the CPU increases its usage to replace the work that was being made by the GPU until it works again.

Alright it doesn't appear to be a thermal problem. What power supply do you have?

Draquenfull · Oct 1, 2015

wiad :

I couldn't tell you right now without opening the case but it is a 800W power supply. It shouldn't have any problem to provide enough power to all the components. I've been doing some extra research and I've been told that it may be due to the motherboard. It isn't a good one at all and has problems dealing with an 8-core processor which makes it overheat and in consequence: throttling.

They say that it could be solved by underclocking the micro a bit, just trying to find the correct frequence and preventing it from overheating.
That would make sense, because the CPU would have to reduce its frequence automatically, the GPU wouldn't have FPS to process and it stays idle for a few seconds (decreasing the GPU usage) until the CPU goes back to its normal performance and gives the GPU enough FPS to process.

Anyway, despite I will try that, what could I do to make the most of the graphics card? Shall I change the motherboard or would it be better to change the PC entirely?

wiad · Oct 1, 2015

Draquenfull :

wiad :

I couldn't tell you right now without opening the case but it is a 800W power supply. It shouldn't have any problem to provide enough power to all the components. I've been doing some extra research and I've been told that it may be due to the motherboard. It isn't a good one at all and has problems dealing with an 8-core processor which makes it overheat and in consequence: throttling.

They say that it could be solved by underclocking the micro a bit, just trying to find the correct frequence and preventing it from overheating.
That would make sense, because the CPU would have to reduce its frequence automatically, the GPU wouldn't have FPS to process and it stays idle for a few seconds (decreasing the GPU usage) until the CPU goes back to its normal performance and gives the GPU enough FPS to process.

Anyway, despite I will try that, what could I do to make the most of the graphics card? Shall I change the motherboard or would it be better to change the PC entirely?

I'm assuming you don't have a spare motherboard that you could test to see if that fixes your issue? I wouldn't buy anything unless I knew for almost certain that it would solve my issue. Your issue could be caused by many things. That said if you were set on your motherboard being the issue then I would recommend just getting a new mobo because there is nothing wrong with the rest of your system (as far as I know).

mlga91 · Oct 2, 2015

Draquenfull :

That is your problem, the CPU is bottlenecking your GPU, check for the core usage of each of your cores, if any of them reach 100% you start seeing that kind of things, and a lot of stuttering. I suspect that you have some crapware eating resources.

Thomas Lee · Oct 2, 2015

THIS ISSUE IS HAPPENING TO ME TOO!

So I play many titles from CoD to Borderlands, H1Z1, BF4... and all my games it seems to run fine at whatever fps it is... say 180 for BF4... but then every so often it drops to 14-20 fps for about 10-30 seconds. and it kicks back into 180 fps.

this happens for all games... and I'm even on the lowest settings.

I tried all the .CFG settings in BF4, the same thing still happens. I close all task during my gaming sessions... I have everything updated in terms of drivers.

I run my Games off a SSD, I tested it on all my HDD as well 7200rpm and SSD HDs

I am literally butt hurt on what is happening

It happened before I OC my Graphics Card, and after OC it is still happening...

Specs

MB:GA-970A-D3
GPU: Radeon 7970
CPU: AMD Fx-8350
Patriot: 16gb 1600hz

P.S my temps are also never above 60 on CPU amd GPU probably max at 70 which is fine cause this happens when my GPU is at 55 degrees too. same issue as OP. HELP US!

maxalge · Oct 2, 2015

Thomas Lee :

70 is not fine for amd cpus they have a very low thermal limit, most likely you are throttling

install amd overdrive and monitor your thermal overhead while under load

Thomas Lee · Oct 2, 2015

maxalge :

Thomas Lee :

70 is not fine for amd cpus they have a very low thermal limit, most likely you are throttling

install amd overdrive and monitor your thermal overhead while under load

no no, CPU is always below 50, I was talking about the GPU being close to 70

maxalge · Oct 2, 2015

Thomas Lee :

maxalge :

no no, CPU is always below 50, I was talking about the GPU being close to 70

if you are sure your cpu stays under 50 degrees, then other causes could include

bad ram, run memtest86

bad hard drives, run the manufacturer's health tool

bad psu/not enough psu, make and model?

motherboard bios/drivers out of date

power saving features are on

you have been hijacked by gpu mining software

run DDU remove all old gpu drivers install newest from website

Draquenfull · Oct 2, 2015

mlga91 :

I thought about that before, perhaps another software was using resources and prevented the game from reaching its max fps. After using the windows task manager to see what programs were working i saw that only the game was being played. The rest of the software was idle, or just consuming a 2-3% of the CPU.

I would say it is something related to the motherboard, i will try to underclock (once i find out how xD) and see if it works.

Draquenfull · Oct 2, 2015

Thomas Lee :

I have seen so many people with the same problem and people trying to help them but the thread always ended without a solution. The curious fact is that our CPU (FX-8350) was present in so many cases. Maybe the processor has something to do, idk. What I was told was that my motherboard wasn't good enough to handle the 8-core processor that I have.

1. It might be overheating so it may be decreasing the CPU performance to cool down.
2. If the CPU is working slower, it may reach the 100% and the GPU wouldn't have fps to process.
3. The GPU doesn't have fps to process and they decrease, and the GPU usage decreases as well as it cannot work faster if the CPU can't follow it.
4. Once the motherboard has cooled down, allows the CPU to go back to its normal usage, giving the GPU more fps to process, increasing the GPU usage and getting back to the normal fps.

This is just a theory which makes sense to me, but something that I cannot be sure of. They said that the solution was to underclock the CPU to prevent the motherboard from overheating. I will try that and see at least if i can get stable fps, playable would I say. I don't even know if the problem is due to overheating, but the symptoms indicate throttling. Generating a graphic with the msi afterburner I get a cycle in the GPU usage that repeats itself. It is always the same period of time, or very similar, before the usage drops again. So it seems like any component is overheating (CPU, GPU or maybe motherboard) because it looks like it decreases it's decreasing its usage intentionally. And the only thing I can think of is to prevent overheating, and even more if it is following always the same cycle. To cool down and overheat again.

You may have another problem, or even another component causing the problem, but what I have just written above in the 4 steps is what I think that may happen as a result, no matter what component is troubling.

Thomas Lee · Oct 2, 2015

Draquenfull :

Thomas Lee :

I have seen so many people with the same problem and people trying to help them but the thread always ended without a solution. The curious fact is that our CPU (FX-8350) was present in so many cases. Maybe the processor has something to do, idk. What I was told was that my motherboard wasn't good enough to handle the 8-core processor that I have.

1. It might be overheating so it may be decreasing the CPU performance to cool down.
2. If the CPU is working slower, it may reach the 100% and the GPU wouldn't have fps to process.
3. The GPU doesn't have fps to process and they decrease, and the GPU usage decreases as well as it cannot work faster if the CPU can't follow it.
4. Once the motherboard has cooled down, allows the CPU to go back to its normal usage, giving the GPU more fps to process, increasing the GPU usage and getting back to the normal fps.

This is just a theory which makes sense to me, but something that I cannot be sure of. They said that the solution was to underclock the CPU to prevent the motherboard from overheating. I will try that and see at least if i can get stable fps, playable would I say. I don't even know if the problem is due to overheating, but the symptoms indicate throttling. Generating a graphic with the msi afterburner I get a cycle in the GPU usage that repeats itself. It is always the same period of time, or very similar, before the usage drops again. So it seems like any component is overheating (CPU, GPU or maybe motherboard) because it looks like it decreases it's decreasing its usage intentionally. And the only thing I can think of is to prevent overheating, and even more if it is following always the same cycle. To cool down and overheat again.

You may have another problem, or even another component causing the problem, but what I have just written above in the 4 steps is what I think that may happen as a result, no matter what component is troubling.

Well shit... for a 200 dollar 8 core CPU. I thought this was going to do me wonders when I bought it 4 years ago. but then again... four years ago, anyhow. I have a pretty good heatsink on my CPU, so temps are never reaching above 55+ my GPU on the otherhand can get to as high as 70. But, then I set up my GPU fan to keep it well below 65.

needless to say, the mobo is the cheapest in my build. I was told that mobo were only good for slots and OCing, so I went with something simple and was on sale at the time (Gigabyte GA-970A-D3). I don't mind switching up my mobo for a newer better one if it really is the SOLUTION.

I was also told that perhaps the PSU might be an issue in some of the threads I read? id but I doubt it. most people are running decent PSU anyways 700+w with good brand products.

Draquenfull · Oct 6, 2015

Thomas Lee :

Draquenfull :

Well shit... for a 200 dollar 8 core CPU. I thought this was going to do me wonders when I bought it 4 years ago. but then again... four years ago, anyhow. I have a pretty good heatsink on my CPU, so temps are never reaching above 55+ my GPU on the otherhand can get to as high as 70. But, then I set up my GPU fan to keep it well below 65.

needless to say, the mobo is the cheapest in my build. I was told that mobo were only good for slots and OCing, so I went with something simple and was on sale at the time (Gigabyte GA-970A-D3). I don't mind switching up my mobo for a newer better one if it really is the SOLUTION.

I was also told that perhaps the PSU might be an issue in some of the threads I read? id but I doubt it. most people are running decent PSU anyways 700+w with good brand products.

Same as you, I always thought that motherboard was just good enough to offer more overclocking possibilities or for the PCEs. Anyway, I dont know for sure if the mobo is the problem, if it was 100% sure I wouldn't mind changing it. It seems like more peoples has had this problem but a certain solution never comes to light.

Thomas Lee · Jan 12, 2016

Draquenfull :

Thomas Lee :

Draquenfull :

Well shit... for a 200 dollar 8 core CPU. I thought this was going to do me wonders when I bought it 4 years ago. but then again... four years ago, anyhow. I have a pretty good heatsink on my CPU, so temps are never reaching above 55+ my GPU on the otherhand can get to as high as 70. But, then I set up my GPU fan to keep it well below 65.

needless to say, the mobo is the cheapest in my build. I was told that mobo were only good for slots and OCing, so I went with something simple and was on sale at the time (Gigabyte GA-970A-D3). I don't mind switching up my mobo for a newer better one if it really is the SOLUTION.

I was also told that perhaps the PSU might be an issue in some of the threads I read? id but I doubt it. most people are running decent PSU anyways 700+w with good brand products.

Same as you, I always thought that motherboard was just good enough to offer more overclocking possibilities or for the PCEs. Anyway, I dont know for sure if the mobo is the problem, if it was 100% sure I wouldn't mind changing it. It seems like more peoples has had this problem but a certain solution never comes to light.

So it has been a couple months,

Happy New Year to those coming back to read this post... any updates on the setup or possible solutions?
Needless to say, This issue is still affecting me on Fallout 4. I heard changing up to a 990 MOBO and OCing our cores can help solve this issue as long as we are able to keep the temps low. I may give that a try.

I'll post a follow up in the future when I do get around to it.

pds41 · Aug 27, 2016

Did anyone ever get to the bottom of this? I'm experiencing a similar issue in FarCry 3 (and to a lesser extent in Call of Juarez - Gunslinger) where I have 55-80 fps, then the GPU usage drops off and I get c20-30 fps.

I'm also running an FX-8350 on the Asrock 970 Extreme4 motherboard. Graphics card is a GTX660.

I was wondering if it was GPU related, but it looks like it might be time to upgrade the processor?

Draquenfull · Jan 16, 2017

pds41 :

Sorry for being idle such a long time, I finally determined to send it to the technical support and they took care of it. I suspect it was something related to the motherboard (which they had to change along with the graphics card). So, I couldnt tell you exactly what caused the problem besides that one of those was the main cause. Hope you find something soon.

Low GPU usage with fps drops.

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