Sudden graphical performance loss

[Hallowenman]

I am out of nowhere experiencing lower performance from my computer in video games. It happens in pretty much any game, the only exceptions seems to be games that aren't graphically demanding (2D games, "light" games). A lot of stuttering (in some games) and lower FPS in many games, physics slow down (in some games). Not unplayable (in most games). I haven't done any performance testing, not able to compare any test as I haven't really done any tests before this happened. I would guess ~30% lower FPS in most games, and stuttering (worse in some games). Running same in-game settings as before in every game, and lowering setting helps a little, but not a lot. Not sure when this started, haven't been gaming a lot recently, but happened suddenly.

 

Tried running DDU, installed latest drivers. Seemed to help in for example iRacing and a little in American Truck Simulator as a test, but problem is still present. Other games like Forza Horizon 5 is stuttering really badly, lots of physics slow downs. See attachment, screenshot from task manager whilst playing FH5 today. CPU usage stays between 38% to about 80%, some spikes to 100%, but not often. GPU usage kinda seems a bit low(?) for a AAA game, RAM usage steady at 48%, (lots of background programs open as I always have, worked fine even with lots of programs running in the background before this problem appeared). Disk activity low, most games are on SSD.

 

Specs:

CPU        i5-9600K @ 4.9GHz (all cores) w/ Noctua NH-D14 cooler

MOBO     ASUS ROG Strix Z390-F GAMING
RAM        32GB HyperX Fury DDR4 3200MHz (8GB x 4 - believe its HX432C18FB3K2/16 CL18 (18-21-21))
GPU        EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti SC (08G-P4-5671-KR)
PSU        Corsair TX650M (650W CP-9020132-EU)

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 250GB SSD (NVMe M.2) (Boot/Windows)
Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD (Other game drive, non Steam games)
Samsung 870 EVO 2TB SSD (Steam drive / general game drive)
2TB Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM008

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - 21H2 - 19044.1645 - Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.4170.0 (Versjon    10.0.19044 Bygg 19044)

BIOS-versjon/-dato    American Megatrends Inc. 1401, 26.11.2019

GPU driverversion 30.0.15.1259  in msinfo32 (says 512.9 in GeForce Experience, 04/26/2022, installed 04/29/2022, game ready driver)

HWMonitor.txt

[Hallowenman]

Update: Noticed that when playing for example Forza Horizon 5, the GPU usage (according to task manager) is never above 30%, usually its around 10-20%, which seems really low. Lowering or increasing video settings (in-game) makes no difference, made sure to save settings, close the game and relaunch it, no difference.

When I am at the desktop, with for example Google Chrome in the foreground, GPU usage is around 1-2%, when having the Steam client in the foreground the GPU usage goes up to and stays at around 36-40%. Tried to change power mode in Nvidia control panel to maximum performance(?) (option is called "Ønsker maksimal ytelse" in norwegian, directly translated "Wishing maximum performance).

Seems to be something causing the GPU to not be fully utilized. Tried updating GPU drivers today, recently tried DDU (within last 14 days).