GPU is not being used at all on some games (unplayable). Very low clock speed (under base boost level). Used to work perfectly fine before.

[Mastaflex]

Config : 
OS : Windows 10
CPU : AMD Ryzen 5 3600
GPU : Nvidia RTX 2070 SUPER (ASUS)
RAM : GSkill  DDR4 64GB (4x16) 3200MHz
MB : ASRock X570 Pro4
PSU : Corsair RM850X
Monitor : AOC CQ32G1, 1440p, 144Hz

 

Some games don't use my GPU properly. 

 

Two important facts to avoid being off topic :
-First, it's not about a GPU under-performing : it's about the card not even being used by some games !
-It's not about the GPU itself since I already tried with another GPU (GTX 1060) and I got the exact same problems.

 

On thoses unplayable games, I observed common odds problems : gpu load, clock, and voltage are all extremely low and fans speed is close to 0 RPM since the card is not used.

 

I tested plenty of games so that you can see the "benchmarks" results (see the sheet I shared). 

 

Playable games :
BF1, BF3, BF4, Battlefront 2, Metro Exodus, Call of Duty Cold War, Borderlands 2, Titanfall 2
On a side note : every benchmarks tools like 3DMark, Unigine, Kombustor and any stress tests worked perfectly fine with the GPU load to the max and high FPS.

 

Unplayable games :
BFV, Call of Duty Warzone, SkaterXL, Session, Rocket League, For Honor, The Witcher 3, Tekken 7, GTA V, Street Fighter V, Crysis 2, Bioshock Infinite

 

Works but... games :
Dead Space, Starcraft 2
I got decent fps still on those ones but it's because they are old games and pretty easy to run. But GPU clock speed is not ok though.

 

I ran all those games fine before, and now everything's broken... 

 

What I already tried to fix it :
-change settings in nvidia control panel (force maximum performances)(in programs tab or global)
-force windows power plan to max settings
-uninstall drivers with DDU (safe mode)
-reinstall old drivers (tried 5 differents versions)
-rollback windows update
-set and check RAM configuration in BIOS
-remove 2/4 RAM sticks to see if there was a conflict.
-changed cables on PSU
-update bios version
-update chipset drivers
-uninstall/reinstall games on other drives
-check temperatures on GPU or CPU (it's normal). 
-reinstall directX
-change monitor resfresh rate (144Hz, 60Hz...)
-switching off/disable others monitors to keep only one
-change GPU for another one (GTX 1060) : still the exact same problems on the same games.

 

None of the above worked.

 

My observations :
-The GPU acts like it's not being used/activated (I'm on desktop it's not a problem of forcing the correct GPU to be used). It's either black or white : not an underperforming GPU.
-It's not about CPU bottleneck since my CPU usage is low aswell.
-Temps are good on both GPU and CPU.
-Some games I have plenty of FPS in menus, but when the game starts it's terrible.
-Nvidia Control Panel settings seems to not affect anything since there is no difference with "max performance setting"  cause GPU still have low clock speed with that setting "on".

 

My theories :
It's probably software related cause I have no solid proof of hardware failure on any of the PC components.
Plus the fact that I can play some other games and benchmarks perfectly prove that point.

 

My questions : 
-Is it really a driver issue ? I tried reinstalling nvidia drivers (different versions) multiples times with DDU in safe mode.
-Is it the MOBO ? If so, why it's working perfectly on other games ?

 

I would like to know what exactly triggers a GPU and set the clock speed, cause It's probably there we will find a solution.

 

Please give me new informations/ideas, I already did all basic stuff and fixes found on forums. Thanks a lot guys.
 

[xg32]

reinstall windows, or install windows on another drive then play a game that's known broken

[Mastaflex]

23 minutes ago, xg32 said:

reinstall windows, or install windows on another drive then play a game that's known broken

I can't afford to reinstall OS cause I need it for work and I found dozen of ppl having a very similar problem as mine who tried formatting windows without success so i don't know if it's really useful...

[Falkentyne]

Mastaflex.

Reinstall windows.

Sometimes you have to just deal with it and not say "oh i can't afford to do it".  Making excuses doesn't solve problems.  sometimes you have to just say "Screw it, I'm screwed.  Gotta deal with it."  Your life isn't going to end by reinstalling windows.  You do have a roof over your head and a car or other vehicle, right?  Then you have the basics you need covered.

Priorities, man.

 

I had to reinstall windows after a bizarre somewhat failed upgrade from 10 to 11 caused repeated spam nonstop "Firewall" errors in event viewer in windows 11, which I spent far too much time trying to fix.

 

Let me tell you a little thing.

I spent *MORE* time trying to fix the problem than I did simply reinstalling windows with a CLEAN install and reinstalling all my apps!

 

First:
Clean install of windows does not delete your files as long as you choose "keep personal files, apps will need to be reinstalled".  It deletes what's installed but not the data.  It backs up the folders for you.

 

Windows 11 is even better about this.  It is actually smart enough to keep the same username and in many cases, many of the files in users/documents folder still remain there.  Program Files and program files x86 is backed up to windows.old.  So all your data is still present.

 

And you can always try a "repair install" first, by choosing "keep personal file and apps".  If that doesn't fix the problem, then do a clean install.

You'll lose a LOT less time and money than you will spending countless hours trying to fix a problem when you can get windows up and running in 15 minutes and spend the rest of your time fixing your data.

[Mastaflex]

3 minutes ago, Falkentyne said:

Mastaflex.

Reinstall windows.

Sometimes you have to just deal with it and not say "oh i can't afford to do it".  Making excuses doesn't solve problems.  sometimes you have to just say "Screw it, I'm screwed.  Gotta deal with it."  Your life isn't going to end by reinstalling windows.  You do have a roof over your head and a car or other vehicle, right?  Then you have the basics you need covered.

Priorities, man.

 

I had to reinstall windows after a bizarre somewhat failed upgrade from 10 to 11 caused repeated spam nonstop "Firewall" errors in event viewer in windows 11, which I spent far too much time trying to fix.

 

Let me tell you a little thing.

I spent *MORE* time trying to fix the problem than I did simply reinstalling windows with a CLEAN install and reinstalling all my apps!

 

First:
Clean install of windows does not delete your files as long as you choose "keep personal files, apps will need to be reinstalled".  It deletes what's installed but not the data.  It backs up the folders for you.

 

Windows 11 is even better about this.  It is actually smart enough to keep the same username and in many cases, many of the files in users/documents folder still remain there.  Program Files and program files x86 is backed up to windows.old.  So all your data is still present.

 

And you can always try a "repair install" first, by choosing "keep personal file and apps".  If that doesn't fix the problem, then do a clean install.

You'll lose a LOT less time and money than you will spending countless hours trying to fix a problem when you can get windows up and running in 15 minutes and spend the rest of your time fixing your data.

Thanks for your message, but I will tell you few things : 

 

I already reinstalled Windows plenty of times in my life without even thinking cause I was stuck and I had no other solution.

So I'm very aware that it is "simple" and "fast" but you can't imagine what I have to reinstall, what I have to re-do to setup Windows like right now.

 

Everything you said is crazy correct.... if it solves my problem.

And it can, but it also can be completly useless.

 

Not that I don't listen to your advice, but I'm kind of sick of people asking for "reinstall Windows" after a first read.

I too often saw people asking for it when the actual fix was a matter of pushing a button.

I understand it resolves tons of cases, it's the easy solution. But I search for a specific one.

Since I can use my PC for the moment, I prefer to find other potential fixes right now. 

Sorry I will not spend 4 days to have Windows reconfigured like before, especially if it does nothing...

At least for now, like I said.

 

But I appreciate your help though.

 

 

[xg32]

45 minutes ago, Mastaflex said:

I can't afford to reinstall OS cause I need it for work and I found dozen of ppl having a very similar problem as mine who tried formatting windows without success so i don't know if it's really useful...

u'd find out if it's useful or not if you install a 2nd copy of windows on another drive.

[Mastaflex]

1 minute ago, xg32 said:

u'd find out if it's useful or not if you install a 2nd copy of windows on another drive.

yes that's a great idea I will try that.

[Mastaflex]

Ok guys, I installed a fresh Windows on another drive to test some games, and it seems to work ! (I will continue to tests other games to be sure). Now, I STILL don't want to reinstall Windows, but I know it's responsible. So what can mess up with the GPU ? What "thing" in Windows triggers the clock speed or manage the detection of the card by a 3D app ?

[Slizzo]

Problem is finding what's different between the fresh install of windows and the old install.

 

Something you have installed on the old system is causing your issue. Only way you can try to figure it out is to start uninstalling programs one by one until you find the culprit. Even then it may not resolve the issue. Old software, old drivers, something remaining on the system that isn't removed on a normal uninstall of a program..

[Mastaflex]

5 hours ago, Slizzo said:

Problem is finding what's different between the fresh install of windows and the old install.

 

Something you have installed on the old system is causing your issue. Only way you can try to figure it out is to start uninstalling programs one by one until you find the culprit. Even then it may not resolve the issue. Old software, old drivers, something remaining on the system that isn't removed on a normal uninstall of a program..

Yes I will dig that, and if I don't find a fix I can still install the problematic games on this drive... Thanks.

[j0qR]

I've had this exact same experience and tried most of the things you have with no luck. I was about to rollback drivers and Windows updates when I found this thread stating you tried it and didn't work. 

 

I wanted to add, I did a full reset i.e. fresh install of Windows with only drivers and Windows updates after and the problem still occurred. I've never installed a second copy of Windows on another drive before but I'm thinking about trying that this weekend.

 

Here's my benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47525137

[Mastaflex]

21 hours ago, j0qR said:

I've had this exact same experience and tried most of the things you have with no luck. I was about to rollback drivers and Windows updates when I found this thread stating you tried it and didn't work. 

 

I wanted to add, I did a full reset i.e. fresh install of Windows with only drivers and Windows updates after and the problem still occurred. I've never installed a second copy of Windows on another drive before but I'm thinking about trying that this weekend.

 

Here's my benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47525137

And now I'm afraid to reinstall Windows on the main drive even if it worked for the second drive lol.

[Dreckssackblase]

I've had a very similar issue recently where my 3080ti would keep clocking down to idle clocks (500mhz) when gaming and I found it changing setting itself to a 10% powerlimit while in those games. After resetting that to 100% it has worked perfectly fine for me. Have you checked power limit in Afterburner or similar software ?

[j0qR]

SOLVED: There was an update to Citrix Workspace causing this issue for me. I uninstalled the app and everything is running smoothly again. Going to use my work laptop from now on instead of PC while others are choosing to use older versions.

 

Here's a useful link for others having the same issue: https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/414547-citrix-workspace-causing-low-gaming-performance-on-pcs/

 

Thanks for all the help!

[Mastaflex]

On 11/5/2021 at 8:44 AM, j0qR said:

SOLVED: There was an update to Citrix Workspace causing this issue for me. I uninstalled the app and everything is running smoothly again. Going to use my work laptop from now on instead of PC while others are choosing to use older versions.

 

Here's a useful link for others having the same issue: https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/414547-citrix-workspace-causing-low-gaming-performance-on-pcs/

 

Thanks for all the help!

Man I use citrix for work too, I will try it ! If it works YOU ARE THE MAN !

[Mastaflex]

On 11/5/2021 at 8:44 AM, j0qR said:

SOLVED: There was an update to Citrix Workspace causing this issue for me. I uninstalled the app and everything is running smoothly again. Going to use my work laptop from now on instead of PC while others are choosing to use older versions.

 

Here's a useful link for others having the same issue: https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/414547-citrix-workspace-causing-low-gaming-performance-on-pcs/

 

Thanks for all the help!

Man, it WORKED !!! Thank you very much. I'm glad I waited and didn't format ! Thanks again !