Random GPU Usage Drops

KSP · October 24, 2018

Hello,

So I have been experiencing a random problem for the past few months where my GPU randomly drops 5-25% Usage while in game for seemingly no reason, which causes weird "hitching" and stuttering in games. I spent months trying to see if resetting my Overclocks would work, resetting in game settings, and seeing if cleaning out old drivers would work, but nothing helped. Lately, while messing around will some more stuff, I have discovered some potentially interesting clues that have brought up some questions:

-I have my PC connected to a modem/router combo from Xfinity, and while my speeds are excellent, my "BufferBloat" is extremely high, sometimes exceeding 1200ms. Using WireShark, I discovered that during a five minute session of Rust, my internet experienced a lot of "TCP Retransmissions" and other TCP related issues. Could getting a new router/modem fix this problem, and maybe even my GPU usage issues? Furthermore, this GPU usage issue only occurs in multiplayer games, like Rust, Rainbow Six Siege, and COD BO4.

-I usually have my frames capped at 144 to match my monitors refresh rate, but I recently decided to just uncap it and see how it goes. My GPU usage was much more stable, but it did sometimes still drop 5-10% for seemingly no reason.

-I am using CableMod ModMesh cables for my whole PC. I read somewhere online that custom cables can sometimes cause power delivery problems to components. Should I try using my default cables that came with my PSU to check?

-I have my PC plugged into a surge protector from Tripp Lite, could plugging directly into the wall help?

I don't think there is any bottlenecking occurring or anything in my PC, as it is fairly new. My CPU and GPU temperatures are good, below 70c on the CPU and 55c on the GPU. My CPU usage also looks fairly normal as well. Here are my specs:

-i7 7700K @4.8GHz 1.300v

-EVGA GTX 1080Ti FTW3 Hybrid @2075MHz

-Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB @3200MHz

-ASUS Maximus IX Formula

-EVGA G3 1000watt PSU (with custom cables as mentioned above)

-NZXT X52 CPU cooler

-Dell S2716DGR 1440p 144Hz

What could be my issue? I've spent so many hours troubleshooting my CPU and GPU that I'm starting to think that they are not the direct problem. What should I try first? Again, this is a random problem I've begun experiencing since about April/May of this year.