GPU Underperforming help

LeafTree

Today I launched a game, beamng.drive, and for some weird reason I was running at 20FPS with a 6950 XT. Normally I would get around my monitors max display output (165FPS) but today I did not. I rebooted, no change. I then tried different games and saw it happened in all of them except 2. I reinstalled drivers, reseated the GPU, reset CMOS. Nothing. I was watching statistics and saw that in the games that were lagging, the util and power draw were very low figures. The power draw maybe max of 80W and max of 5% util. I made zero change to the drivers. I do have the latest drivers available for amd cards (23.9.1) but I got the update a few days ago and nothing like that happened. The games that for some reason were unaffected were Fortnite on DX12 only and beamng on Vulkan Only. All the other games run at like 35FPS on their lowest settings which should not be happening on a 6950 XT. Not sure what to do. Any help?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Is there any chance the monitor you're gaming on is connected to the IGP instead of the 6950 XT?

LeafTree

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/51816#Comment_51816

It is connected to the 6950 XT and it has been ever since I build it.

LeafTree

I also did roll back the drivers to see if it was a driver issue but that did not work. Also synthetic benchmarks seem to work as intended.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Try their clean install utility here then reinstall 23.9.1: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-601

LeafTree

https://community.microcenter.com/discussion/comment/51822#Comment_51822

Tried it, didn't work. I should also mention along with the low FPS is about 100ms frame times.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Please list the full specs on your system. There's no frame limit set on the games that are running poorly? What's your CPU usage when you're having these performance issues?

LeafTree

Full Specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X

Motherboard: MSI Pro B650-P Wifi

GPU: AMD Radeon 6950XT 16GB GDDR6 VRAM

RAM: G.Skill Flare X5 32GB 6000 DDR5 RAM

Case: Fractal Pop Air

Cooling: Lian Li Galahad 240mm AIO

Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2TB

PSU: MSI MPG A850G 850W 80+ Gold

No Frame limit. On Starfield, when in space flying around, my CPU doesn't really budge 2%

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Anything else that might be a factor? Seems unlikely since some games work. In Adrenaline under Settings, there's a factory reset option. Try that. You might also toggle other settings like super resolution on and off. If it's still having the same issue, my next suggestion would be to install it in another system and test.

LeafTree

I did try the factory reset, again nothing worked. I don’t have another system to test it on.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

That card is the AMD brand, it's not an AIB card?

LeafTree

Yes, it is AMD brand

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

What if you run a stress test tool on the card like OCCT, Furmark or MSI Afterburner? Does the usage and power draw increase 300W+?

LeafTree

I ran Furmark many times, and each time the results came out with about 300W. Seems that synthetic benchmarking is fine.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Could you screenshot what's set under Adrenaline - Performance - Tuning?

LeafTree

Yes, I will. I am at school currently so once I get home I will.

LeafTree

Screenshot 2023-09-12 160626.png

Screenshot 2023-09-12 160636.png

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

I get the feeling like the PC thinks the game isn't the focused app and treats it like a background app. Single or dual monitor setup? And are the games run in windowed or full screen mode? Doesn't changing that make any difference?

LeafTree

Single monitor, full screen. Switching between windowed and full screen doesn’t do anything.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

It's definitely a weird issue. Found a few similar cases online but no solutions. What if you go into Settings - Gaming and disable all the built in XBOX Game Bar/Capture functions?

If that doesn't work. Try an old driver just to see what happens: https://drivers.amd.com/drivers/whql-amd-software-adrenalin-edition-22.11.2-win10-win11-dec8.exe

LeafTree

Nothing worked.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

I don't think that card has a dual BIOS, does it?

Would be wise to take the OS out of the equation if that's possible. Clean install on another driver, see if the issue exists. If you don't have one, you could a clean install of Windows. If that's not convenient for you, doing a repair install from the ISO would be an option as well that shouldn't be destructive. Assuming you haven't tried that already.

LeafTree

I will reinstall windows over the weekend

LeafTree

@PowerSpec_MikeW

Just realized, before reinstalling windows, that my iGPU is being used 100% in all games even though I am plugged in through the graphics card. Is this the problem where my iGPU is being used instead of my GPU?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

It sounds like it, but that shouldn't be possible if you're physically connected to the discrete GPU. Try disabling the IGP in the BIOS. Should be under Settings - Advanced - AMD CBS - iGPU Configuration if memory serves.

LeafTree

I don’t have AMD CBS on my BIOS.

LeafTree

28D43F5B-A4ED-4C89-B0D5-0D003667D69A.jpeg

LeafTree

I think I just fixed it. I just disabled the iGPU in device manager and it works good now. Weird.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

Would of been Integrated Graphics on that BIOS, but disabling it in software works just as well. That's very strange, I'll look into it more and see what I can find out.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@LeafTree

So this is Hybrid Mode supported by AM5 IGP and the RDNA 2 GPU. You can change the behavior under Settings - Display - Game Settings. Select the game, options and set it to run on the discrete GPU. Unclear why this behavior would have changed on its own, but that's where you can adjust it or disable the it entirely.

I haven't really played with this at all nor have I ever seen a game try to run in power save mode as a default.