GPU usage 100% but no VRAM Usage

[Manas Lad]

Hey there,

I own a GT 710 2GB DDR3 and i7-3770 and I am facing a problem since the last two days... Whenever I play any game, my PC just drops its frames.... like from 70 to 30 or below... why does this happen? When I check Task Manager, it shows 100% GPU Usage and VRAM usage only 0.6GB out of 2.00GB.... Please help...

I usually play on low resolution... because FPS is what matters me and not quality... still my FPS drops... instead of getting more FPS

[Eigenvektor]

100% GPU usage is the expected case. That means it's running as fast as it can. The GT 710 is simply a very slow card. VRAM usage is primarily down to texture resolution. If you're not maxed out on VRAM, then a lack of VRAM is not the issue, it's simply the card being a super slow card.

 

You should also mention which games you're playing and at what settings.

[Manas Lad]

9 hours ago, MrLion said:

Are the games you are playing the same games you could play just fine before? And have you tried doing a clean reinstall of the drivers, using DDU?

I haven't tried using DDU but reinstalling drivers don't fix that?

[Manas Lad]

9 hours ago, Eigenvektor said:

100% GPU usage is the expected case. That means it's running as fast as it can. The GT 710 is simply a very slow card. VRAM usage is primarily down to texture resolution. If you're not maxed out on VRAM, then a lack of VRAM is not the issue, it's simply the card being a super slow card.

 

You should also mention which games you're playing and at what settings.

 

CSGO:-

Resolution:- 720x720 (16:10) / 960x720 (4:3) (Matters what gives me more performance)

All settings lowest possible except Multicore Rendering set to Enabled..

 

Also forgot to mention that I Overclocked it... Up to 300Mhz Memory Clock and 300Mhz Core Clock..... (That's the max I could find)

Could that be the case causing some problems to my GPU... Now I have uninstalled the MSI Afterburner...

 

Also to mention that whenever a bot or a player comes in my FOV, the my game starts to lag... literal from constant 60 to 30s or 20s...

[xAcid9]

Passive GT710? Did you check the thermal of your CPU and GPU?

[Manas Lad]

2 minutes ago, xAcid9 said:

Passive GT710? Did you check the thermal of your CPU and GPU?

thermal what?

[xAcid9]

35 minutes ago, Manas Lad said:

thermal what?

Temperature of your CPU and GPU when the frame drops happen. 

[Manas Lad]

1 hour ago, xAcid9 said:

Temperature of your CPU and GPU when the frame drops happen. 

Can you just check by yourself? there are so many temperature counts... I'll send a screenshot....

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The above screenshot is the temperature of Overclocked GPU....)

[xAcid9]

Your CPU was thermal throttling, change the thermal paste. 

[Whatisthis]

Clean out the cpu cooler first. If that doesn’t fix it, repaste it. If that doesn’t fix it, get a better cooler.

 

oh, and make sure the fan on it is working.

[Mark Kaine]

yup seems its not ur gpu, funny enough,  its the cpu overheating,  need new thermal paste and maybe  a better  cooler.

 

 

Also post FULL system specs please 

[Manas Lad]

9 hours ago, xAcid9 said:

Your CPU was thermal throttling, change the thermal paste. 

i changed the thermal paste... the same day.... when i reported my problem here...

[Manas Lad]

42 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

yup seems its not ur gpu, funny enough,  its the cpu overheating,  need new thermal paste and maybe  a better  cooler.

 

 

Also post FULL system specs please 

CPU:- Intel i7-3770 8M Cache. Upto 3.90Ghz

CPU Cooler:- Intel Stock Cooler for LGA 1155 Socket

GPU:- Gigabyte GT 710 2GB DDR3 (Overclocked btw)

RAM:- 1 x IRVINE 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (My 2nd DIMM slot is not working... My PC beeps when installed a RAM stick in that slot..... so yeah Single RAM Channel Mode)

Motherboard:- Zebronics H61 Micro-ATX Motherboard

PSU:- i-ball 450w Non-Modular PSU

Storage Devices:- 1) SSD:- Gigabyte 120GB SATA SSD

                               2) HDD:- i) Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

                                              ii) Seagate Barracuda 2TB 5400rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

 

Please reply what else needed in specs...

[Manas Lad]

10 minutes ago, MrLion said:

Don't send these "annoyed" messages. You didn't mention you repasted at all, so people here trying to help you couldn't have known.
Reinstalling drivers sometimes help with these things because some Windows update or game update sometimes can mess things up. Now we have ruled out your GPU isn't the problem.

When you overclock, the first thing to do is go back to stock/normal (or the last known stable config) if you start facing issues. We also don't know how you overclocked. Did you just change the core speed and left everything else in auto? If you didn't undervolt at the same time to find the balance you will overheat your CPU. Even when everything is on auto, generally speaking more volts than needed are given for "stability".

I apologize for the message I sent... I just said it casually... If you did felt like that extremely sorry...

 

The Core Voltage Option for GPU is greyed out in MSI Afterburner even after unlocking voltage control and voltage monitoring in Afterburner settings.... The only things I can change are the Core Clock, the Memory Clock and the Fan Speed of the GPU

[Whatisthis]

38 minutes ago, Manas Lad said:

CPU:- Intel i7-3770 8M Cache. Upto 3.90Ghz

CPU Cooler:- Intel Stock Cooler for LGA 1155 Socket

GPU:- Gigabyte GT 710 2GB DDR3 (Overclocked btw)

RAM:- 1 x IRVINE 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (My 2nd DIMM slot is not working... My PC beeps when installed a RAM stick in that slot..... so yeah Single RAM Channel Mode)

Motherboard:- Zebronics H61 Micro-ATX Motherboard

PSU:- i-ball 450w Non-Modular PSU

Storage Devices:- 1) SSD:- Gigabyte 120GB SATA SSD

                               2) HDD:- i) Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

                                              ii) Seagate Barracuda 2TB 5400rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

 

Please reply what else needed in specs...

The stock cooler is garbage and is one source of problems. The other source of problems is 8GB ram which is not enough and will cause your page file to be used (causes stutter and slowdowns). The single channel doesn’t help. And that gt710 isn’t doing you any favors either.
 

at this point I’d say you’ll be best off trying to buy slightly more modern hardware (used if need be). At least 16gb ram. Sell existing hardware to cover part of the cost.

 

If you really want to try to make the current system work, you need a cpu cooler. Thermalright is a good brand if available near you. Almost anything from them will work for your use case. Also, you need 16gb ram.

 

 

[Manas Lad]

2 minutes ago, MrLion said:

I'm sorry, I might've expressed myself wrong. I meant to say the voltage of the CPU (we saw your GPU isn't the problem).

Another thing to ask: I saw you mentioned CS:GO: What maps are you seeing the drops? Is it on every map and every time you die? Or is it select maps? For example, with my CPU OC and my GPU left as default (max performance) I can reach 350+fps in general, while playing, I get around 200. However, in Anubis, I get 120-150 (and it feels very stuttery and jittery). When I die, it goes back to 350 for a second.

My internet has been messed up for a while so I haven't been playing. I was playing deathmatch right now again, and even on Mirage it feels weird. It's not smooth like before even though my FPS count is "ok". Perhaps something in CS changed, but I doubt it. (I also wonder if the new "steam update" causes this, but I also doubt it).

For you, I would recommend you try to go back to stock settings for the CPU.

It's like... on every map I do face the "FPS Drop" issue... Now that I know that my CPU is Thermal Throttling... and that I have changed my thermal paste... what's the next thing I'm supposed to do if you could guide me...

 

The same thing happens with me as you said while playing deathmatch. I used to get a whopping 80+fps... but now... I'm down to 60 or even lower 20s when the FPS Drops 

 

My CPU is already in Stock Settings... I haven't Overclocked my CPU... 

[Manas Lad]

4 minutes ago, Whatisthis said:

The stock cooler is garbage and is one source of problems. The other source of problems is 8GB ram which is not enough and will cause your page file to be used (causes stutter and slowdowns). The single channel doesn’t help. And that gt710 isn’t doing you any favors either.
 

at this point I’d say you’ll be best off trying to buy slightly more modern hardware (used if need be). At least 16gb ram. Sell existing hardware to cover part of the cost.

 

If you really want to try to make the current system work, you need a cpu cooler. Thermalright is a good brand if available near you. Almost anything from them will work for your use case. Also, you need 16gb ram.

 

 

Well you see... I have another RAM Stick with me... but the problem is my DIMM Slot as I mentioned in specs... My PC beeps whenever I install a RAM Stick in that slot... My RAM stick does work... as I tested it in my 1st DIMM Slot...

 

I know that the hardware I own... is old.... but I do have to wait 1/2 more years for a complete new build... And I'm planning a good build under 70k INR (853$).... I will come again and discuss some good brands and models for my new build...

 

Till that, I have to run this PC for two more years...

[Whatisthis]

28 minutes ago, Manas Lad said:

Well you see... I have another RAM Stick with me... but the problem is my DIMM Slot as I mentioned in specs... My PC beeps whenever I install a RAM Stick in that slot... My RAM stick does work... as I tested it in my 1st DIMM Slot...

 

I know that the hardware I own... is old.... but I do have to wait 1/2 more years for a complete new build... And I'm planning a good build under 70k INR (853$).... I will come again and discuss some good brands and models for my new build...

 

Till that, I have to run this PC for two more years...

Can you sell the 2x8 and get a single 16?

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, Manas Lad said:

CPU:- Intel i7-3770 8M Cache. Upto 3.90Ghz

CPU Cooler:- Intel Stock Cooler for LGA 1155 Socket

GPU:- Gigabyte GT 710 2GB DDR3 (Overclocked btw)

RAM:- 1 x IRVINE 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (My 2nd DIMM slot is not working... My PC beeps when installed a RAM stick in that slot..... so yeah Single RAM Channel Mode)

Motherboard:- Zebronics H61 Micro-ATX Motherboard

PSU:- i-ball 450w Non-Modular PSU

Storage Devices:- 1) SSD:- Gigabyte 120GB SATA SSD

                               2) HDD:- i) Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

                                              ii) Seagate Barracuda 2TB 5400rpm 3.5" inch SATA HDD

 

Please reply what else needed in specs...

ok, well, remove the old thermal paste and  put some fresh one on (look it up on YouTube how to)

 

your cooler might be ok, since it was fine befo, just need fresh thermal paste (get arctic MX4)

[Manas Lad]

37 minutes ago, MrLion said:

I apologize again, I got confused. You said you OCd the GPU not the CPU, and I understood the other way around.

If it's stock but your mobo is faulty, maybe the mobo is failing as a whole. I agree with "whatisthis" that your parts aren't the best, but I disagree with his sentiment. He's sort of telling you to "throw it away and upgrade" which isn't an option right now as you've told us and misses the point of the post. You mentioned already this started happening a couple of days ago.

Have you installed new hardware or software on your computer since then? If you have updated Windows recently, check if uninstalling your last KB update helps. It certainly is an odd behavior that out of nowhere things start performing worse.
Do you have the game on the SSD or one of the HDDs? If it's an HDD, which one? I assume is the 7200RPM one. If not, try to move it there. And if you can, try to move it there. However from the HDD to the SSD won't make that much difference.

Other than that, I don't know what else to try and I would say either the mobo is failing or the hard drive. ( you could try moving the game to SSD to see if performance goes back to normal).

Actually the 5400rpm HDD is very old... like 8-9 years old... and the 5400rpm HDD is bought recently... like a 3 months ago... So would that make any difference? 

 

As you have mentioned... I have installed a Cumulative Update for Windows 10 22H2 version.... let me uninstall and see if it makes it any better

[Manas Lad]

2 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

ok, well, remove the old thermal paste and  put some fresh one on (look it up on YouTube how to)

 

your cooler might be ok, since it was fine befo, just need fresh thermal paste (get arctic MX4)

I did replace the paste the same day (yesterday) I reported this problem here.... 

[xAcid9]

4 hours ago, Manas Lad said:

i changed the thermal paste... the same day.... when i reported my problem here...

Check your cooler mounting, those stock coolers stand off clip was known to get easily broken and causing mounting pressure issue. 

My 3770 rarely reach 90c on gaming load with stock cooler, never thermal throttle unless I overclock it. 

 

Try open the side panel and see if it improve your CPU temperature. 

[Manas Lad]

14 hours ago, MrLion said:

You put 5400RPM twice I assume your 5400 is the 9 year old drive (VERY old for an HDD, it will die very soon if it's not malfunctioning already) and 7200RPM is the new one.
- If you have the game on the 5400RPM, get it out of there and put it in the new one.
- If you can make space on the SSD, try to put the game there and see how it behaves (when I say "space available" I don't mean just enough for the game to fit. Make sure the drive isn't completely full or with the bar on Windows Explorer red).

Regarding the thermal paste. People are telling you to "throw away your cooler and get a new one" or get "better thermal paste". Nonsense. If the computer was running better 2 days ago, that's not the problem (I do agree that better parts or better paste will perform better, but in this case is not an issue - I use a very cheap uknown paste that I bought 8+ years ago lmfao). I also trust that you did the job correctly. But I will say this just in case: Maybe you put too little paste or it didn't spread correctly. If this could be the case, you could try reapplying thermal paste again and with a plastic guitar pick, old credit card, or just a business contact card carefully spread the paste you apply evenly throughout the processor's metal heat spreader. Generally speaking, especially on older CPUs, this isn't really needed however is not a useless extra step since you spread the paste a bit before putting pressure with the cooler, and so the contact could be more even afterwards.

Last but not least, Intel stock CPUs are BAD. Not on the performance part, but those rubbery/plastic tips that you have to "clip" on. Ugh, I remember those days, it was painful. Make sure you haven't broken any legs on the cooler's clips. Also make sure the cooler is seated and adjusted properly. (Again, I believe you did it fine the first time but just in case, to check).

Let me know how things go.

Sorry I by mistake said the 5400rpm was 9 years old... Actually the 7200rpm is old and the 5400rpm is new....

 

As you said about reapplying thermal paste, I did reapply it but I spread it with my hand and not some sort of card... So is that not good?? Let me know accordingly...

 

Well the CPU cooler perfectly fit or "rigid" over there... I made it sure by grabbing and giving a small amount of pull to the cooler... But unfortunately... when is saw my cooler, that small part of plastic pin is broken shown in the picture below

 

 

So does that make any difference...

[Manas Lad]

Just now, Manas Lad said:

Sorry I by mistake said the 5400rpm was 9 years old... Actually the 7200rpm is old and the 5400rpm is new....

 

As you said about reapplying thermal paste, I did reapply it but I spread it with my hand and not some sort of card... So is that not good?? Let me know accordingly...

 

Well the CPU cooler perfectly fit or "rigid" over there... I made it sure by grabbing and giving a small amount of pull to the cooler... But unfortunately... when is saw my cooler, that small part of plastic pin is broken shown in the picture below

 

 

So does that make any difference...

@xAcid9

[Manas Lad]

9 hours ago, MrLion said:

I am not sure if using your finger is "terrible" but it's certainly not recommended. I think maybe you could be spreading it unevenly which defeats the purpose of spreading it in the first place, and might add some small dirt perhaps. As well as getting your finger filled with greasy paste.

So the 5400RPM is the new one... that one buy is bad. Unless you just save files, pictures, etc. in there it might be ok if you needed more storage, but otherwise buying one of those new is not a good purchase in general. If the game is on the other HDD (7200) and is that old, it might be malfunctioning. Try to move the game to the SSD if you have any space.

And if one of the legs of the cooler is broken, is not ideal but not a major issue either if the other 3 are tight. It might make a small difference, but it's not like it will be fine and then suddenly overheat. The same happened to me on my old Intel system, although it was an i3 3220, not an i7. Still, I don't think it's the issue unless the cooler fits so uneven or loose that is not cooling the CPU properly.

Okay then... as you say... I will reapply the thermal paste... with a card or some plastic thing...

 

Okay... I'll try to move some games to my SSD... because it already contains my OS... My intention was to have more storage than performance.... for future proof build

 

Okay... I'll reinstall the cooler again... But surprisingly I am noticing a small change in temperatures... You did saw the previous temperature and said the that the CPU is Thermal Throttling... But now a few hours ago, I checks the temperatures again. it showed max. 85 °C.... Still I do face some stutters... Now is that fine? Because it all happened suddenly... I don't what was the cause to that Auto fix... So then is the 5400rpm HDD causing stutters? Or the Intel Rapid Storage Technology?