low power gpu GPU not using full power usage while gaming

[RaZeyYaron]

Hi everyone!

 

I've owned an MSI RTX 2070 ARMOR 8G for 2 years now and I've always noticed I was not getting the performance my friends had in games when their hardware was less powerful than mine.

Yesterday I've decided to try and plug my GPU in the PC of a friend to test if it was broken, after some testing we found out the problem was not the GPU itself. The FPS was 5x higher than it was on my own PC.

 

I returned home and tried to re-seat my GPU screw it so it was secure in and try again, this resulted in again only 80W power consumption and 52% Max power usage under 100% utilization of my GPU. My GPU is 100% being used but the power consumption is low. My friend tried to launch the same game with a 2070 Super and his GPU Power usage was at 100%. I've noticed my CPU usage is 30% in CSGO for example and GPU usage will be at 100%, my friends will get 200+ fps in maps where I can only get 60 fps. My friend also stated that his GPU was using 100% power usage while under a 100% utilization.

 

After this I checked with GPUz and it stated that my total wattage from the 6 and 8 pin was at 60W. I know not every game can utilize the full power of the GPU but because of the testing I did I think this behaviour is very weird. Friends that own a 1070 have a significantly higher average fps in some games than me (around 50+ more).

I've tried the following things:

1. Reseating GPU in PCIe slot
2. Reseating the PSU cables in the GPU
3. Turned my PCIe support from auto to 3.0 in my BIOS
4. Turned off any power saving settings of my CPU in the BIOS
5. Updated graphics drivers
6. Reinstalled graphics drivers with DDU
7. Reinstalled Windows
8. Testing my card in another rig (Card is fine)
9. Changed Windows power plan to balanced
10. Changed Windows power plan to High performance
11. Changed the Preferred power setting to Maximum Performance in NVIDIA control panel

 

My full specs of my system are:

• Motherboard: MSI B150M gaming pro
• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700k
• GPU: MSI RTX 2070 Armor 8G
• RAM: 2x 8GB CRUCIAL BALLISTIX 2400Mhz (stuck at 2133 because motherboard only allows 2133)
• Storage: Samsung 1TB Sata SSD
• PSU: 600w Cooler Master

 

I've also checked if the GPU & CPU were overheating and this is not the case. I've ordered a new PSU to test if it could be a broken cable that is causing this low power draw. If this is not the case I suspect the motherboard is the issue because my CPU is running fine and I don't have any system instability problems while using my PC normally or while gaming.

 

The attachments are my GPUz screenshot under 100% utilization of my GPU, my MSI afterburner graphs while playing CSGO & my friends graph while playing CSGO with a 2070 SUPER.

I would love to hear your thoughts about my problem (and hopefully some solutions)!

My Graph:

Friends graph:

[Fasauceome]

24 minutes ago, RaZeyYaron said:

If this is not the case I suspect the motherboard is the issue because my CPU is running fine and I don't have any system instability problems while using my PC normally or while gaming.

You put your 2070 in your friend's pc, did you try your friend's graphics card in your PC?

[HanZie82]

Is the framerate limited? (V-sync can do that).

Is it set to DirectX in the settings? Or at least not Software!

[RaZeyYaron]

5 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

You put your 2070 in your friend's pc, did you try your friend's graphics card in your PC?

No I have not. I think it wouldn't narrow down the issue, because if the card still won't work with max power usage I'm still stuck at this split stage between PSU & Motherboard. Even if it works at 100% power usage I'm not sure it would be my card, it sounds like a weird thing that my card works in another PC and not in mine while my friends card does work in my rig. I'm willing to give it a go though, when I have the opportunity I will let you know what the outcome is!

[RaZeyYaron]

8 minutes ago, HanZie82 said:

Is the framerate limited? (V-sync can do that).

Is it set to DirectX in the settings? Or at least not Software!

No I have V-Sync disabled, also the DirectX software auto-downloads while launching the game from steam and showing up with no problems in the settings.

[Rauten]

If possible, try to get a different PSU to test (maybe your friend's? since we know for sure it's a good unit).

 

Not an expert, but my thoughts go straight to the PCIE power out of the PSU, or the power that the MoBo is supposed to feed the card through the x16 slot.
The PSU is easier to test than a different MoBo, so that's what I would try.

[RaZeyYaron]

Just now, Rauten said:

If possible, try to get a different PSU to test (maybe your friend's? since we know for sure it's a good unit).

 

Not an expert, but my thoughts go straight to the PCIE power out of the PSU, or the power that the MoBo is supposed to feed the card through the x16 slot.
The PSU is easier to test than a different MoBo, so that's what I would try.

I've ordered a new PSU that will arrive tomorrow. I will plug everything in and try a couple of tests again. If that won't fix the issue on my card I will try my friends GPU on the old & new PSU. If this doesn't fix anything my motherboard must be broken with the PCIe power.

[Stockholmes]

I think your CPU is also a bottleneck. Don't know else other than the aforementioned PSU/Mobo that could be the problem unfortunately. But the CPU shouldn't bottleneck that hard I don't think.

[RaZeyYaron]

Just now, Stockholmes said:

I think your CPU is also a bottleneck. Don't know else other than the aforementioned PSU/Mobo that could be the problem unfortunately.

Yeah my CPU can be a bottleneck but I shouldn't be losing so much performance if that would be the problem. At least not so significant as it is right now.

[Fasauceome]

46 minutes ago, RaZeyYaron said:

I think it wouldn't narrow down the issue, because if the card still won't work with max power usage I'm still stuck at this split stage between PSU & Motherboard.

well, that's why I think it would be a good test. If the other PGU is not power limited, them the problem is specifically the combination of hardware that you are using (which should not be the case but a random defect is likely the culprit here)

 

and if your friend's 2070 works in your PC, and your 2070 works in his PC, maybe you could swap cards?

[RaZeyYaron]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

well, that's why I think it would be a good test. If the other PGU is not power limited, them the problem is specifically the combination of hardware that you are using (which should not be the case but a random defect is likely the culprit here)

 

and if your friend's 2070 works in your PC, and your 2070 works in his PC, maybe you could swap cards?

Yeah I agree. If it won't work in my rig with the new PSU I will still get a new motherboard. It should probably work then. While it works at this rate it is still usable but it sucks because of the bad performance. And I could swap for a little while with my friend.

[ENIGMA-S]

Was the problem solved by new psu?

[Hickaru]

On 3/12/2021 at 8:52 PM, RaZeyYaron said:

Yeah I agree. If it won't work in my rig with the new PSU I will still get a new motherboard. It should probably work then. While it works at this rate it is still usable but it sucks because of the bad performance. And I could swap for a little while with my friend.

Hey please update! I have the same exact issue with my 3070Ti and I'm trying to figure it out, how did you fix this?

[Tsoruu]

Same exact issue with 3060 here, please help...

[owen ras]

On 3/12/2021 at 7:46 AM, RaZeyYaron said:

I've ordered a new PSU that will arrive tomorrow. I will plug everything in and try a couple of tests again. If that won't fix the issue on my card I will try my friends GPU on the old & new PSU. If this doesn't fix anything my motherboard must be broken with the PCIe power.

did it fix it my gpu is having the same problem 

[owen ras]

is there any tips I have a 3080ti and a Ryzen 7 5800x my gpu is majorly under performing for one example I get around 110 fps in Minecraft and 150 fps on fortnite with low settings I think my gpu may not be getting enough power it normally uses 190w when i play fortnite with low settings and I've watched bench marks with the same specs and they normally get 295 watts on fortnite and around 250 fps with the same settings

[maclry]

On 3/2/2022 at 4:16 PM, owen ras said:

is there any tips I have a 3080ti and a Ryzen 7 5800x my gpu is majorly under performing for one example I get around 110 fps in Minecraft and 150 fps on fortnite with low settings I think my gpu may not be getting enough power it normally uses 190w when i play fortnite with low settings and I've watched bench marks with the same specs and they normally get 295 watts on fortnite and around 250 fps with the same settings

Hey, ive got the same card with the same issue, could you lmk if you find a solution? 

[valentino3015]

Soo did anyone find a solution to this issue, Im having the same problem with several games (especially ones that run on DX12) on my 3070