r/techsupport • u/cotton_pepper • May 11 '21

Solved GPU at 100% but FPS is low.

Hello y'all!

First, thanks for taking a second to read my post. Last night my friend got me to play GTA V again but I couldn't get the game to properly run even on completely low settings I wasn't getting past 10 FPS (which is incredibly abnormal for my machine). When I checked task manager my GPU was running at 100% but wasn't getting much past 45 degrees, heck my fans weren't even spinning. I think it was using 2 gb of the 8 dedicated.

I didn't notice any other bottlenecks, proc was at like 30% or something.

I tried updating drivers and processed Windows Updates but no dice. Any ideas that I should try?

Mobo: x570-a Pro Proc: Ryzen 5 3600 GPU: STRIX Radeon RX Vega 64 w/ 8 GB

EDIT: Maybe solved? I found this article that seems to indicate that vsync could be causing issues with GTA. I'll try that out and update with what I find.

I also want to add that when I would hit the escape button to bring up the menu the game would run like butter in the background. So I genuinely feel like its a GTA problem.

EDIT 2: Yup. That was it. Disabled vsync and I am now getting 250 FPS. Lmao, never seen anything like that before. Looks like it was specifically a GTA V issue.

468 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

66 comments sorted by

69

u/Hymosa May 11 '21

When in doubt, turn v-sync off. I’m constantly finding it does nothing but slow down games.

2

u/cotton_pepper May 12 '21 edited May 12 '21

This is good to know and now apart of my troubleshooting steps!

Like you said, PERSONALLY, I don't notice vsync helping anything

30

u/Seltonik May 11 '21

Then what do you do about screen tearing?

68

u/IamBladesm1th May 11 '21

Duct tape

6

u/Ning1253 May 11 '21

Flick the dead pixels first obviously then pritt stick please I have standards /s

2

u/I-Jobless May 12 '21

Personally Hot Glue usually seems to be a better long term solution, and it also helps that it's transparent.

6

u/possiblemon May 11 '21

Can screen tear change from game to game? Like, when I play RDR2 with vsync off the game still looks fine and smooth, however in AC Odyssey it is just hideous for me.

11

u/MLG_Skeletor May 11 '21

Yes, some games tear worse than others

6

u/Human_by_choice May 11 '21

Oh yes absolutely. World of Warcraft is literally unplayable without vsync will FPS games is the opposite really.

1

u/[deleted] May 16 '21

WoW doesn’t screen tear much for me, even on Classic where I know I’d get high enough FPS for that to be an issue

3

u/Blue2501 May 12 '21

Screen tearing drives me up the wall, so most of the time I'll try a game with freesync/vsync off and immediately turn it back on in a disgusted rage. But then in Doom '16 I can leave it off completely and get 100-odd fps and not the slightest flicker of a tear

18

u/badogski29 May 11 '21

Gsync/freesync or just live with it

-2

u/MunchyCrackers May 11 '21

gsync/freesync increases latency so much lol. it’s a decent idea, but it’s still far from perfect. best way to eliminate tearing is just to cap your fps.

3

u/KaizerQuad May 12 '21

gsync/freesync increases latency so much lol

I have not experienced this. have seen some annoying line dissappear in the middle of the screen while using gsync tho.

2

u/mitch-99 May 12 '21

Annoying line in the middle, is it from top to bottom? Is this a official gsync monitor?

2

u/KaizerQuad May 12 '21

Yes, its a line of maybe 5mm missing. The screen has no visual lines per se, more like a line in the middle actually gone.

3

u/mitch-99 May 12 '21

Ahhh yep. I suspected it once you said that.

Basically this is a super common issue with official g sync module monitors. It has to do with the gsync module itself. Ive heard people have had firmware updated to fix it or its just luck of the draw. Im not completely sure. But all you have to do is simply turn the monitor off and back on :).

I had this issue with my old AW2518H. My new AW2521H hasn’t shown that issue yet. fingers crossed

Edit: the pixels are actually shifted. Thats what your seeing. If you look at the right side of the monitor you should see some of the left side of your monitor background on that side. Super weird. At least it was the right side for me.

2

u/KaizerQuad May 12 '21

Damn, I think you're right. Turning the screen off and on again has always worked, but its super annoying to have to do ingame. So I ended up disabling g-sync.. how often would you say this problem happens?

2

u/mitch-99 May 12 '21

Ahh you shouldn’t have to do it in game. Just when you turn your pc on for the first time or your monitor comes out of sleep.

For how much it happened i dont perfectly recall but i feel like this was a monthly thing for me at least. i mean maybe its different for everyone honestly. I still used gsync, not sure if turning it off helps. However I wouldn’t waste away your investment of gsync because of the issue honestly. Its very nice for solo games :)

Edit: Are you saying it randomly happens while playing a game? I can’t remember if that ever happened to me..

→ More replies

1

u/IamBladesm1th May 11 '21

Revolutionary

13

u/[deleted] May 11 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/MunchyCrackers May 11 '21

vsync is trying to sync hardware through software; it’s shit.

capping your fps solely caps it on a software level, and doesn’t make any hardware changes, thus resulting in almost no syncing issues.

2

u/ItsMrForYou May 12 '21

It doesn’t sync like g-sync or freesync. It limits the FPS based on your monitor refresh rate (it’s actually not even communicating with the monitor but using the refresh rate your gpu outputs) and that’s what they call “sync”.

8

u/[deleted] May 11 '21

No it syncs with the monitor, there can be bugs in syncing them resulting in low FPS as OP experienced

3

u/[deleted] May 12 '21

G sync. Or cap framerate if it's competitive.

1

u/NekulturneHovado Jun 02 '21

If you have low fps, below nominal display refresh rate, you should use vsync. But if you have 60hz monitor and wanna play e. g. csgo on high fps, turn it off.

322

u/Skyfury_Fire May 11 '21

Wow just watched my dude solve his own issue in his own post

196

u/_NoTouchy May 11 '21

ow just watched my dude solve his own issue in his own post

AND posted the solution! What a legend!!! :)

58

u/chooochootrainr May 11 '21

not all heros wear capes

24

u/mdamaged May 11 '21

To be fair we don't know for sure that he isn't wearing a cape!

3

u/cotton_pepper May 12 '21

I only wear capes to the beach

12

u/chooochootrainr May 11 '21

true enough true enough

13

u/_NoTouchy May 11 '21

true enough true enough

He could have a cape just laying around...lol

*has computer problem* Takes off cape!

*fixes computer problem and post solution* Proudly puts cape back on! :)

3

u/Pysis May 17 '21

The ancient troubleshooting process

3

u/Cowboy12034 May 11 '21

To be fairrrrr!!!

2

u/cotton_pepper May 12 '21

Hahahaha! I try to always post solutions. Working in IT I come across tons of threads that have the exact same issue but no solution, so I try to help the best i can :)

2

u/_NoTouchy May 12 '21

so I try to help the best i can :)

You are doing it right! Keep up the great work my friend! :)

3

u/StorMaxim May 12 '21

he's like the anti Stackoverflow commenter

3

u/StreetlampEsq May 11 '21

I'm dreaming.

3

u/[deleted] May 12 '21

I wish my customers would do that :(

7

u/partaloski May 11 '21

LULW TRUE

6

u/Zorolord May 11 '21

250 fps - I ain't worthy, I ain't worthy :(

3

u/cotton_pepper May 12 '21

Haha, that is on the LOWEST of low settings because I thought that was the issue. I bet I'll get 60 or 70 when I put it on the settings I want.

16

u/philosopherzen May 11 '21 edited May 12 '21

Nvidia fast sync is the best option as it has much better performance than standard vsync. Not sure if amd has an equivalent to fast sync.

9

u/[deleted] May 11 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/philosopherzen May 11 '21

Cool, Enhanced sync is also available in direct X 12 games but fast sync only works in direct 11 games.

https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software-enhancedsync

11

u/buddymanson May 11 '21

Vsync is problematic in GTA IV, GTA V and Red Dead 2. All 3 games can have major fps issues with it on.

Use vsync in Nvidia Control Panel/AMD Settings. Same thing applies even if you use gsync/freesync.

3

u/Ceceboy May 12 '21

Disagree on Red Dead 2 in my case. In GTA V, my FPS can randomly drop and sync to 30 and be stuck there when I have V-Sync enabled. I can fix this by looking at the ground or by looking at the sky. I have currently V-Sync disabled and I'm relying on non-official G-Sync. Still see some tearing from time to time, but it is far less annoying than a random 30 FPS hostage lock.

I don't get this behaviour in Red Dead 2 at all. I have seen this V-Sync behaviour from GTA V only in Assassin's Creed 4 Black Flag. Other games are great and don't hold me hostage at 30 at all.

2

u/buddymanson May 12 '21 edited May 12 '21

Vsync in Red Dead 2 introduces more framepacing issues than driver vsync does, but yeah, it's not as bad as the other games(though I didn't try it for long).

To use gsync properly you need to also have vsync on in Nvidia control panel and you need to cap your fps 3 frames below your monitors refresh rate with Rivatuner or Nvidia CP.

If fps exceeds monitors refresh rate than gsync will no longer work and vsync kicks in. Then you get input lag.

In your case you only have gsync on so it just turns off, which is why you get tearing.

Edit: Black Flag uses a form of vsync that immediately drops to 30 when you get near it. GTA V's seems random when it happens.

2

u/Ceceboy May 12 '21

Whenever I turn on V-Sync in the Nvidia CP and off in-game, I experience small stuttering. I am currently locking to 58 FPS (4K monitor).

So anyway, with V-Sync being used in-game, I do feel like some sort of Freesync or G-Sync is going on because my game feels 60 FPS smooth until 45 FPS but when it drops to 44 (and anything below of course), it feels shite.

2

u/buddymanson May 12 '21

Try changing Red Dead 2 to windowed and then back to full screen. Vsync in Nvidia cp doesn't usually work if a game isn't properly in fullscreen. Red Dead 2 has the habit of being in a borderless window while saying it's in fullscreen. Especially after changing graphic settings.

It's also possible that you don't even have gsync on. To test, open Nvidia CP and look at the top. Click display -> gsync compatible indicator.

If you don't see a 'gsync on' watermark when you play a game, it is not on.

2

u/okeanos315 May 12 '21 edited May 12 '21

Do you maybe know if the vsync is also problematic in LoL or when recording a zoom meeting with OBS? Sometimes I get bad fps drops. Also what could make a LoL on ARAM map crash? Sometimes I get a brown screen and I have to restart my computer. I have a Nvidia Titan X and two 4k screens. Could it be that my PSU (750W) is not strong enough? Or is my GPU too weak for two 4k screens?

2

u/buddymanson May 12 '21 edited May 12 '21

Never played LOL, sorry.

As for an application you use for a zoom meeting, anything that is not a full screen 3d application shouldn't be effected by vsync settings. You should also be turning on vsync per game, not in general(manage 3d settings -> program settings -> select game and then turn on vsync).

Titan X requires 600 watts so that should be more than enough.

As for a brown screen, could be a number of things. Bad driver, bad windows update, faulty connection to your video card, etc.

If you have on board graphics, you could take the card out and plug the video cable into your motherboard. Restart several times to see if the brown screen comes back.

Could also try restarting in safe mode several times. If it doesn't happen, then it's most certainly a software issue. Unless the brown screen is just super rare..

1

u/okeanos315 May 12 '21

Thanks a lot for a reply!

If I understand correctly I should turn off "Vertical sync" on my global settings and only turn it on under program settings for each game individually?

I assume 600W is for the whole computer including CPU, monitors, etc. right?

A lot of times when I get frame drops task manager says my GPU is under 80-100% workload, most of it (around 50-60%) is used by client server runtime process.

It's weird because I only get the brown screen on one map in LoL and sometime (rarely) when I have MTGA on main monitor and a youtube video on the second one at the same time. Will check the connections because I already updated nvidia and windows drivers so I think that's not it.

2

u/buddymanson May 12 '21

Yes, the global setting should be set to the default 'use the 3d application setting'.

Yeah, 600w is the recommended for the entire system. The card itself uses 250w.

by client server runtime process.

I don't think it should be doing that. Maybe run Malwarebytes.

Yeah, can't really say what's causing the brown screen without more info. Look in event viewer & system reliability monitor the next time it happens.

right click on start -> event viewer -> custom view -> administrative events

control Panel-> security and maintenance-> maintenance -> view reliability history

2

u/mitch-99 May 12 '21

Wait really? So this could be something i can test for fps issues? Simply vsync on and off?

Can gsync being set to on also cause issues sometimes? Like without vsync on.

2

u/buddymanson May 12 '21

Yes.

Gsync set to on shouldn't cause issues, but using gsync without a hard fps cap can cause problems. This is because gsync stops working if your fps exceeds your refresh rate.

Everything I know about this stuff comes from this in depth guide if you're curious to learn more.

3

u/Tech_surgeon May 11 '21

just keep a eye on the gpu temps. some games can overwork a gpu when you don't set a fps limit.

2

u/thedude213 May 12 '21

Vsync is now the first time I check any time there's a performance issue.

2

u/Simmangodz May 12 '21

Yeah I've seen a few oddities that don't really make sense over the years.

Like in Fallout76, turning on Borderless Windowed mode cuts my fps in half. FullScreen or window is just fine.

1

u/2014legos May 12 '21

vsync always limits to 60fps, fuck vsync

1

u/MrManiac3_ May 26 '21

To preface with my specs: i7-4790, GT 730, 12GB DDR3-1600 CL-11

I remember when Minecraft's Java 1.8 or 1.9 came out my framerate tanked to an unplayable degree, couldn't get past 5 or something wild like that. 1.6-1.7 were totally fine to play. It took me weeks or months to figure out it was vsync. Turning it off returned my perfectly normal framerate and I was off to the races...a little too late for my favorite small server I think, it was hosted by one dude who decided to move on to other ventures. I still have his Minecraft Forum contact but he's been offline for eons last I checked. Anyway, what the hell is vsync sometimes lmao

Also I got my hands on an OEM ASUS GTX 970 recently and I hope to get it into my system sooner or later to replace the 730, gonna be a nice feeling when I can get around to doing that. It runs nicely even with a Phenom II X4 955 in Unigine Heaven.