Evga GTX 970 Issue

[itzhalo]

Hello everyone! I really enjoy playing PC and I have sunk so much money into my PC to run it so I can have a good time playing it. Well about a month or two ago I upgraded my PC, clean installed windows, and now I am here today with this issue. Before I get too in-depth here are my specifications:

CPU: AMD FX 8350 (Stock)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i Liquid Cooler (Temps are about 25 idle and 48 under load so no throttling)
Ram: 16gb Gskill Ripjaws @1600mhz
GPU: Evga GTX 970 SC
Motherboard: Asrock Fatal1ty 990FX Killer
PSU: Corsair CX750m

Ok with that said here are the things I have tried:
-Clean installation of Windows
-Defragging my hard drive
-Moving GPU to another PCI-E Slot
-Changing cables on PSU
-Upgrading my ram
-Disabling things in bios (Cool & Quiet, Turbo core, etc)
-Overclocking both CPU and GPU
-Changing power in nvidia control panel to prefer maximum performance
-Also changing the power mode to performance in windows
-Reinstalling Games and deleted profiles
-Tested multiple PSU and also tested the current one I have right now

Games that run like complete garbage for me:
-Battlefield 4
-Insurgency (It's even a source game and it runs like shit with fps drops!)
-Garry's Mod
-Borderlands 2
-The Forest
-No More Room in Hell (Yet again another source game)
-Far Cry 4 (FPS Drops)

Also to add onto this my friend has the same specs as me but just has Corsair ram and he is getting the same performance issues. So hopefully if there could be a solution it would fix his performance as well. Alright so onto the frames. I usually get 55-80 fps and it is always fluctuating and jumping around. The reason this is happening is because I noticed my GPU usage is not reaching its maximum 98% or even 99%. It is very upsetting because this game is awesome and I just want to get a constant framerate I can enjoy. I also have another friend with the exact same motherboard and processor as me yet he has dual radeon GPU's (Sorry I forgot the models) and he runs well over 100 fps with a constant 99% usage in Battlefield 4! So this CPU is definitely not a bottleneck. Now this is the weird thing, when I play single player campaign on BF4 I get pretty good usage (About a constant 98% usage with the occasional drops) yet once I go into multiplayer all that good performance just goes away. I really hope we can narrow down the reasons as to why this is happening. Maybe is it the 970 and FX 8350 just not the best couple for this? I just sunk so much money into my PC and I can't really afford anymore things and I was hoping this build would be perfect. Thanks guys!

Also someone on the Nvidia forums posted this:

 

[toddybody]

Hey Friend, sorry about the issues. You should definitely be crushing those titles with your rig (which is great btw).

I didnt notice anything about drivers for your 970 up there. Have you installed current drives yet?

Also (and many will disagree), Ive personally had poor/mixed results with GPU overclocking. There is always a "right" OC between memory and GPU core...which fails to provide me expected gains; often worse results (i.e., +100Mhz Boost clock, Mem @ default).

I'd try clear GPU drivers and set your 970 back to default settings...

For what it's worth, I had dual FTW 970s and had some weird scaling issues on them in SLI; bit the bullet and went 980s and am much happier. Let us know what else you learn dude...

 

[JackNaylorPE]

BF4 drives everyone nutz.

Worth checking the PSU.... run the GPU and CPU tests independently in OCCT while monitoring voltages on all 3 rails. In some cases the CX series has dropped lower than 11.4 volts on the 12v rail which is outside the ATX spec.

 

[itzhalo]

Hey Friend, sorry about the issues. You should definitely be crushing those titles with your rig (which is great btw).

I didnt notice anything about drivers for your 970 up there. Have you installed current drives yet?

Also (and many will disagree), Ive personally had poor/mixed results with GPU overclocking. There is always a "right" OC between memory and GPU core...which fails to provide me expected gains; often worse results (i.e., +100Mhz Boost clock, Mem @ default).

I'd try clear GPU drivers and set your 970 back to default settings...

For what it's worth, I had dual FTW 970s and had some weird scaling issues on them in SLI; bit the bullet and went 980s and am much happier. Let us know what else you learn dude...

I was thinking that. And yes I am running the current driver at the moment (347.52) but since I do have the Evga 970 SC is there anyway to take the SC off? Sorry to sound very inexperienced it is just whenever I go to precision x everything is at default.

 

[itzhalo]

BF4 drives everyone nutz.

Worth checking the PSU.... run the GPU and CPU tests independently in OCCT while monitoring voltages on all 3 rails. In some cases the CX series has dropped lower than 11.4 volts on the 12v rail which is outside the ATX spec.

I hear you on that one. Is there any program I can use to monitor the voltages and somehow take a screenshot of it for you? I mean my friend has the same PSU and is having these issues as well so that could mean something but he does have my exact same motherboard, GPU, and CPU so it makes it harder to narrow things down. This is my second PSU from Corsair because I returned my old one to Best Buy because it failed on me. I just don't have the money to throw around to buy a different/better PSU from another manufacturer to test out if this is truly the source of it :/

 

[JackNaylorPE]

yes OCCT....it will monitor the voltages during the test and create a series of graphs of relevant data

http://www.ocbase.com/

 

[itzhalo]

Alright I tested my GPU and CPU separate. Prime95 with small fft's and used Evga OC Scanner to test the GPU.

CPU:

GPU:

 

[1LiquidPC]

Tried updating UEFI?

 

[itzhalo]

Tried updating UEFI?

Definitely, I have updated almost everything I could. I even tried the beta UEFI and still nothing. I have run out of so many options that's why I was hoping to hear from you guys :/

 

[1LiquidPC]

How far is the FPS actually fluctuating? I think it's almost "normal" in certain less demanding games for the GPU to drop speed as it really isn't stressing the GPU(recorded this using GPU-Z). BF4 Multiplayer is more stressful than SP on the CPU as well. CPUs will do the same thing in games. I've recorded this behavior in HWmonitorPro as well in the background while gaming. If I play BF4, my CPU will run at the full 4.4Ghz and my 970s will boost to 1243Mhz, but playing an older game like Dead Space, my CPU never moves from idle Windows speed of 1.2Ghz w/ 970s running lower as well.

 

[itzhalo]

How far is the FPS actually fluctuating? I think it's almost "normal" in certain less demanding games for the GPU to drop speed as it really isn't stressing the GPU(recorded this using GPU-Z). BF4 Multiplayer is more stressful than SP on the CPU as well. CPUs will do the same thing in games. I've recorded this behavior in HWmonitorPro as well in the background while gaming. If I play BF4, my CPU will run at the full 4.4Ghz and my 970s will boost to 1243Mhz, but playing an older game like Dead Space, my CPU never moves from idle Windows speed of 1.2Ghz w/ 970s running lower as well.

I will be right back I will record a match on Battlefield 4 with my GPU usage and FPS. I'll play 30 seconds of team deathmatch and conquest

 

[itzhalo]

How far is the FPS actually fluctuating? I think it's almost "normal" in certain less demanding games for the GPU to drop speed as it really isn't stressing the GPU(recorded this using GPU-Z). BF4 Multiplayer is more stressful than SP on the CPU as well. CPUs will do the same thing in games. I've recorded this behavior in HWmonitorPro as well in the background while gaming. If I play BF4, my CPU will run at the full 4.4Ghz and my 970s will boost to 1243Mhz, but playing an older game like Dead Space, my CPU never moves from idle Windows speed of 1.2Ghz w/ 970s running lower as well.

Here is basically the annoying issue:
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHReaYOPnDY&feature=youtu.be"][/video]

 

[itzhalo]

As you can see in the video my frames are no where near the performance my card should be at.

 

[1LiquidPC]

How many fps do you think you should be at? What resolution/settings are you using?

 

[itzhalo]

How many fps do you think you should be at? What resolution/settings are you using?

I am playing at 1080p and should be getting well over 60 or even 70fps average even with resolution scaling at 100%1

 

[itzhalo]

Also did anyone else have this issue and resolve it without switching to intel?

 

[ninj0e]

You surely are at a disadvantage there, my 970 works just perfect at 1080p, here is a video of it running BF Hardline: [video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9gxwE3mhZ4&feature=youtu.be"][/video]

You should try to see how much VRAM is being used, if you're exceeding 3.5GB (which would be rare at 1080p) then the problem is the card, you can actually get a full refund as of right now because of nvidia's false advertisement issue.

 

[itzhalo]

Yeah I just am completely confused at this point. Getting about 50fps average in Far Cry 4 :/

 

[itzhalo]

I don't know if this matters but here is my usage on Far Cry 4:

It seems pretty normal with some usage drops but I do get stuttering and fps drops :/

 

[ninj0e]

You should try to see how much VRAM you're using, also, if this continues to happen, try to get an RMA for your card and replace it.

 

[itzhalo]

You should try to see how much VRAM you're using, also, if this continues to happen, try to get an RMA for your card and replace it.

Yeah but what kept me from sending this card in was my friend who has almost the same exact build as me has the issue as well so I doubt there would be 2 defective cards.

His specs:
FX 8350
Evga 970 SC
Asrock Fatal1ty 990fx killer mobo
16gb Corsair Vengence Ram
Corsair h100i Cooler
Corsair CX750m PSU
Windows 7 Professional 64bit

 

[jerdle]

You misunderstand. The entire GTX 970 line is defective. Your possible solutions are to:
1) deal with it
2) pay nvidia more for a 980
3) return it and get an R9 290x

 

[ninj0e]

You haven't answered my question, how much VRAM are you using, not how much GPU, if your VRAM is exceeding 3.5GB then the problem is there. What resolutions are you playing at, how many monitors? Because if you didn't know, this particular line of cards has been engineered with 3.5GB of DDR5 VRAM, if you are exceeding that point, the problem is highly probable caused by this issue.

 

[itzhalo]

You haven't answered my question, how much VRAM are you using, not how much GPU, if your VRAM is exceeding 3.5GB then the problem is there. What resolutions are you playing at, how many monitors? Because if you didn't know, this particular line of cards has been engineered with 3.5GB of DDR5 VRAM, if you are exceeding that point, the problem is highly probable caused by this issue.

I play at 1080p with only 1 monitor. I will hop onto Battlefield 4 and see how much Vram I am using. Doubt I am using much to begin with considering the usage is low.

Edit: Just played a 40 player Shanghai conquest match and only used a max 2164mb on the GPU and the CPU never went past 75% either :/

 

[itzhalo]

Shouldn't Battlefield 4 be using most of the Vram as well?