GTX 260 wont go over 86% usage

[sma11s101]

No matter what I am doing, the GPU usage seems capped at 86%. It is a gtx 260 superclocked from Evga. I've also been having stuttering problems but I'm not sure it's related. Is the usage supposed to stay that low?

 

[jaguarskx]

It should be fine, your video card could be bottlenecked by your CPU. You need to post your specs before that can be determined.

No game fully stresses your video card to 100% so 86% seems reasonable to me. If you really wanna so your video card pushed as hard as currently possible, then download the FurMark benchmarking program. Do not let FurMark run for a prolonged period of time since maxing out your card means a lot of heat will be generated.

Generally speaking, excessive heat and electronics do not go well together.

 

[sma11s101]

Furmark still only goes up to 86%. Also, overclocking the CPU just a little didn't make any difference. On the graph of the usage, its literally a horizontal line at 86%.

All settings are stock except bumping the QPI up to 6.4, setting the ram to 1600, and the CPU voltage to 1.00

i7 920, stock speeds
gtx 260 superclocked
6gb ddr3 1600 OCZ something or other
2 WD black 640Gb in raid 0
Asus p6t mobo

 

[jaguarskx]

Your i7 920 CPU will not bottleneck your GTX 260, so that's not the problem.

I would guess it might be driver related. Try uninstall the drivers in Safe Mode, then re-install when you re-boot and log in to Windows normally. If you still have issues, then try install an older driver.

You may need to test your card on another PC if possible (like a friend's).

 

[sma11s101]

I fixed the stuttering. Turns out that was caused by a screen dimming program called F.lux.

The usage cap remains despite trying different drivers though.

 

[WR2]

The usage cap remains despite trying different drivers though.

Did you run the FurMark benchmark test as suggested?

 

[sma11s101]

Yup. FurMark and any other benchmarking program I can find still top out at 85-86%.

 

[PsyKhiqZero]

if your getting lines across the screen you may be running into thermal issues. try removing the side case panel and underclocking the gpu back to vanilla speeds.

 

[sma11s101]

Ok well i think I figured it out. This may be common sense but if i'm watching the fuzzy cube it only goes up to 86%. When i minimize it it goes up to like 96%. Normal?

 

[Joseph BlackDracko]

i had the same problem since like 6 months, during a lot of test and try i figured it the problem, the newer drivers are capping the 260gtx model (dont know about others) just use the original driver of your card or at least one with more than 6-12 months old, and that will make avaliable the 100% usage again in fact im fixing it now again because i reinstalled my pc, so i was checking if someone had another more fancy fix but seems this is the only option for now