help Erratic and unnatural GPU usage on RTX 2060 Super, please help

lairiak · July 12, 2020

I've had this problem ever since I've installed this GPU. I upgraded from a 1060 (3GB) to an RTX 2060 Super. Compared to the other card, the GPU usage as seen in multiple hardware monitoring programs (GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner, HWMonitor, Task Manager) is a lot more erratic and demanding. For example, scrolling left and right on task manager when nothing is open boosts GPU usage from 0%-10% and around there. NVIDIA Shadowplay takes up an erratic 8%-40% when recording, watching a Twitch stream takes up an extra 30%, also fluctuating. My GTX 1060 could handle Shadowplay just fine, at a consistent 10% always. Games and other similar demanding apps seem to run fine, but I feel like they should run a lot better given the power difference between the two cards. Without this underlying issue, it would likely be better.

Video showcasing the erratic usage:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpj_O-uOvN4

I need some insight whether or not this is really normal.

Things I've tried:
Re-installing Windows
DDU Drivers (I'm on the latest, as of 7/10/2020)
RMA GPU (used ZOTAC before, switched to an MSI)

I'm at a loss for ideas.

Specs if needed:
Ryzen 5 3600x (NO MANUAL OC)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB
MSI RTX 2060 Super VENTUS
MSI B450 Tomahawk
16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz (dual channel)
2 TB TOSHIBA 7200 RPM HDD
256 GB Samsung 960 EVO SSD M.2
750w GAMEMAX Gold certified PSU
MSI Gungnir 100 Case (4 case fans pre-installed, 3 manually added)

Poet129 · July 12, 2020

15 minutes ago, lairiak said:

I've had this problem ever since I've installed this GPU. I upgraded from a 1060 (3GB) to an RTX 2060 Super. Compared to the other card, the GPU usage as seen in multiple hardware monitoring programs (GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner, HWMonitor, Task Manager) is a lot more erratic and demanding. For example, scrolling left and right on task manager when nothing is open boosts GPU usage from 0%-10% and around there. NVIDIA Shadowplay takes up an erratic 8%-40% when recording, watching a Twitch stream takes up an extra 30%, also fluctuating. My GTX 1060 could handle Shadowplay just fine, at a consistent 10% always. Games and other similar demanding apps seem to run fine, but I feel like they should run a lot better given the power difference between the two cards. Without this underlying issue, it would likely be better.

Make sure your 2060 gpu isn't a scam gpu.

Snowarch · July 12, 2020

gpuz check that. and check for throttle. your driver settings may be set to adaptive clocking where it down and up clocks the gpu. mines like that on linux at high resolutions. supposedly 100% usage at desktop in 4k gwe(like gpu afterburner), yet games work fine.

Eighjan · July 12, 2020

~20% GPU usage isn't abnormal...

That MS Compatibility power draw, on the other hand...

And for the love of God; HOLD THE SCREEN STILL.

Mick Naughty · July 13, 2020

Should prolly watch the actual gpu tab to see specific gpu usage. Not sure why any of this would be a concern what so ever.
Aslong as it’s 99% under 3d while gaming on anything that isn’t optimized like crap.

lairiak · July 14, 2020

On 7/12/2020 at 5:47 PM, Snowarch said:

gpuz check that. and check for throttle. your driver settings may be set to adaptive clocking where it down and up clocks the gpu. mines like that on linux at high resolutions. supposedly 100% usage at desktop in 4k gwe(like gpu afterburner), yet games work fine.

Switched from "optimal power" (factory default) to "prefer maximum performance." Things seem to be more consistent.

On 7/12/2020 at 5:49 PM, Eighjan said:

~20% GPU usage isn't abnormal...

That MS Compatibility power draw, on the other hand...

And for the love of God; HOLD THE SCREEN STILL.

Looking back on the video, I don't know what was up with the MS Compatibility, but as of monitoring it now, it's fine? Weird. As for holding the screen still, I was trying to "shake it" to showcase how it draws like 10% of 3D power when scrolling but in hindsight, kinda hard to see visually. Sorry lol.

On 7/12/2020 at 9:23 PM, Mick Naughty said:

Should prolly watch the actual gpu tab to see specific gpu usage. Not sure why any of this would be a concern what so ever.
Aslong as it’s 99% under 3d while gaming on anything that isn’t optimized like crap.

Games seem to run fine. I was mainly concerned because I'm not used to the sporadic spikes and such, so I made this thread asking if it was normal.

On 7/12/2020 at 5:43 PM, Poet129 said:

Make sure your 2060 gpu isn't a scam gpu.

It shouldn't be, I ordered it directly from Amazon under the official MSI vendor. Plus, I did RMA the previous card (which was from ZOTAC) also under the official vendor.

Thanks to the replies, I've ascertained that this is likely normal. Thanks for the help!