[SOLVED] GPU Thermal throttling and 100% usage spike

[JayK___]

Within the last week (one Nvidia driver update ago) my game performance has taken a dramatic hit. Regularly dropping from what used to be 100+fps in intensive games to 15 fps. Even non-intensive games will take large drops in performance. But only games, not browsing or even use of photoshop or other similar programs. I did extensive diagnosis and have found that my GPU is shooting to 100% usage in situations where it clearly does not require it, which results in thermal throttling. For example, playing portal 2 with <39% GPU usage I am able to maintain 144 fps. Suddenly the GPU will hit 100% usage and then raise temp and throttle, while maintaining high usage which results in atrocious frames. Suddenly, the usage will drop to suddenly the usage will drop and i was have a brief moment of high performance before the usage spikes and throttling begins. I have:
-Safe booted, DDU reinstall, roll back on old drivers, reinstall current drivers, etc.
-Undervolted GPU
-updated/fresh installed windows,bios,and drivers
-Raised and lowered in game settings, tested multiple games
-Multiple virus scans on all drives
I cannot pin point the cause at the moment of spike using procexp, task manager, hwmonitor, msi afterburner, and throttle stop. I have not yet run memtest86. However, upon running latencymon it stated that it may be the result of poor WLAN adapter. I have yet to test this theory as I cannot use a wired connection in my living situation. Has anyone had a similar issue.

Specs:
Dell G8
i7-8750H
GTX 1060-Max Q

 

[kerberos_20]

are you sure about dell G8?, if its G7, try updating your bios
https://www.dell.com/support/conten...edgebase/software-and-downloads/supportassist

 

[JayK___]

Oops, definitely a typo. A G7. I have recently done bios updates. No solution

 

[kerberos_20]

you have laptop, u cant treat it same way as desktop by using vanilla nvidia drivers, thats because dell is manufacturer of your graphic card, not nvidia (which only produces graphic chip to manufacturer), vram, pcb traces, vrm, cooling solutions are all made by manufacturer and is considered as proprietary hardware, in which has its own thermal and power limits or gpu switching ability (optimus/q-design) which can be affected by using non certified drivers (by dell) for your GPU.
nvidia also states pretty much same in driver updates

"This is a reference driver that can be installed on supported NVIDIA notebook GPUs. However, please note that your notebook original equipment manufacturer (OEM) provides certified drivers for your specific notebook on their website. NVIDIA recommends that you check with your notebook OEM about recommended software updates for your notebook. OEMs may not provide technical support for issues that arise from the use of this driver."

if you experiencing issues with "nvidia" drivers, u will need to download dell certified drivers from theirs web pages
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/g-series-15-7588-laptop/drivers
im not sure if this is your unit, if not u can change it in change product link at top of page

once downloaded gpu drivers (for both intel HD and nvidia GTX with Q-design)
download DDU
reboot to safe mode
open DDU
select: NVIDIA Software and drivers
select: Clean, do not restart
select: Intel Software and drivers
select: Clean, do not restart
disconnect from internet (remove network cable from PC or turn of wifi router)
reboot
now just install drivers u downloaded from dell download page:
install intel driver
reboot
install nvidia drivers
reboot
connect back to internet

 

[JayK___]

you have laptop, u cant treat it same way as desktop by using vanilla nvidia drivers, thats because dell is manufacturer of your graphic card, not nvidia (which only produces graphic chip to manufacturer), vram, pcb traces, vrm, cooling solutions are all made by manufacturer and is considered as proprietary hardware, in which has its own thermal and power limits or gpu switching ability (optimus/q-design) which can be affected by using non certified drivers (by dell) for your GPU.
nvidia also states pretty much same in driver updates


if you experiencing issues with "nvidia" drivers, u will need to download dell certified drivers from theirs web pages
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/g-series-15-7588-laptop/drivers
im not sure if this is your unit, if not u can change it in change product link at top of page

once downloaded gpu drivers (for both intel HD and nvidia GTX with Q-design)
download DDU
reboot to safe mode
open DDU
select: NVIDIA Software and drivers
select: Clean, do not restart
select: Intel Software and drivers
select: Clean, do not restart
disconnect from internet (remove network cable from PC or turn of wifi router)
reboot
now just install drivers u downloaded from dell download page:
install intel driver
reboot
install nvidia drivers
reboot
connect back to internet

I have installed Dell specific drivers, and nonintensive games seem to be fixed. Modern games now have a much better performance when compared to before. There are still bouts of spikes but I sense the core issue is solved. Thanks a lot I have been working on this for days

 

[JayK___]

I also downloaded Dell Laptop Power Manager service which seems to be the only way to make the fans more aggressive. That coupled with even further GPU and CPU undervolts have solved my issue, to the point of better performance than before.