GPU usage% drops sporadically while playing a game.

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

GPU usage% drops from around a average of 95% while playing my game to around 66% to about as low as 37%. Its getting a bit annoying having these lag spikes occur all the time. Anyone have any ideas what could be happening?

*A side note that I did attempt to do a overclock on my gpu through MSI afterburner and the game crashed almost immediatly I attempted to play and after that I just hit the "Reset" back to default button and it worked just fine.

 

[Phazoner]

Which is your PSU?

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

Which is your PSU?

EVGA 500 watt 80 plus

 

[Phazoner]

That's a very low tier PSU, it may be having trouble feeding your GPU.

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

I feel like that's a very good possibility. Would you need to know my other specs to confirm that suspicion? I might be pushing my PSU to its limit I think

 

[Phazoner]

Not really, minimum PSU recommended for a system with a 1060 is 400W. 80 Plus certification means a brand new PSU guarantees supplying at least an 80% of the wattage sold, this means, 80% of 500W, 400W, on the edge. Additionally, all additional fans, HDDs, etc are draining extra power and depending on the CPU and the cooling system its draw is different (an AIO draws more than an air cooling, an i5 power draw is around 65W and a FX 8350 is around 125W...).

So yes, probably you need a new PSU.

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

I am using a 1080 geforce GTX on the 500 watt so you are probably right.

 

[Phazoner]

I am using a 1080 geforce GTX on the 500 watt so you are probably right.

It depends on the quality of the PSU and the usage. If you are playing with VSync or any other way of framerate capping (or your CPU is bottlenecking) the GPU won't reach its maximum consumption or be even close. I have a 1070 and my monitor is 1080p/60Hz so I capped my FPS to 60 (activating VSync will have the same consumption effect) and the GPU goes as much as 60% usage when playing top games like Battlefield V at max settings. When playing games like CSGO the usage is just ridiculous, around 10%.

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

I have a 1080p 144hz monitor and it usually stays at 95% GPU on the MMO I play

 

[Phazoner]

I have a 1080p 144hz monitor and it usually stays at 95% GPU on the MMO I play

Which is your PSU?

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

I have a 1080p 144hz monitor and it usually stays at 95% GPU on the MMO I play

Which is your PSU?

Don't quite understand that question. I usually sit at 95% GPU usage, but it drops to around 66% to as low as 27% at times which causes a lag spike. Now I stated I had the 1080p 144Hz monitor cause you mentioned it in your earliest post as that could have a part to play.

 

[Phazoner]

Uh, oh, sorry, sorry, I misunderstood the conversation, somehow I thought that the comment of the 1080 was written by other user saying sarcastically that his 1080 was good with a 500W PSU meaning I was wrong. So I was like "omg that PSU has to be freakin good" LOL. I was thinking your GPU is a 1060 because I was writing in other post about supplying a 1060.

Sorry for the misunderstanding again. 500W is definitely not enough for a 1080 and specially with a very low tier PSU like that. A medium-high tier 550W should be enough, but just go for a nice 600W PSU and you'll be fine for sure. There's a Tier list, a Tier 4 600W PSU would be fine.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

Uh, oh, sorry, sorry, I misunderstood the conversation, somehow I thought that the comment of the 1080 was written by other user saying sarcastically that his 1080 was good with a 500W PSU meaning I was wrong. So I was like "omg that PSU has to be freakin good" LOL. I was thinking your GPU is a 1060 because I was writing in other post about supplying a 1060.

Sorry for the misunderstanding again. 500W is definitely not enough for a 1080 and specially with a very low tier PSU like that. A medium-high tier 550W should be enough, but just go for a nice 600W PSU and you'll be fine for sure. There's a Tier list, a Tier 4 600W PSU would be fine.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

Alright I'll look into getting a new PSU was planning on getting a new case to so this will be perfect
Was thinking of getting a 750W maybe a 850W if that works just as well bronze+

 

[Phazoner]

Uh, oh, sorry, sorry, I misunderstood the conversation, somehow I thought that the comment of the 1080 was written by other user saying sarcastically that his 1080 was good with a 500W PSU meaning I was wrong. So I was like "omg that PSU has to be freakin good" LOL. I was thinking your GPU is a 1060 because I was writing in other post about supplying a 1060.

Sorry for the misunderstanding again. 500W is definitely not enough for a 1080 and specially with a very low tier PSU like that. A medium-high tier 550W should be enough, but just go for a nice 600W PSU and you'll be fine for sure. There's a Tier list, a Tier 4 600W PSU would be fine.

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/631048-psu-tier-list-updated/

Alright I'll look into getting a new PSU was planning on getting a new case to so this will be perfect
Was thinking of getting a 750W maybe a 850W if that works just as well bronze+

PSUs aren't just a thinner or thicker door for the electricity, they can manage better or worse the electricity distribution, as well as stress rises in the electrical network. You prefer to have a PSU which manages more than enough electric caudal and can avoid electrical issues than a PSU which has a brutal electric caudal but which is more likely to fail in protecting your system.

Check the tier list and pick at least a 550W Plus Silver or 600W Plus Bronze and at least in the Tier 4.

 

[kagaminelenthe2nd]

So you're telling me that a "EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G1+, 80 Plus Gold 750W" won't be a good choice to go with? I guess what I'm getting out of you is that to high of Watts for the system can fry the system.

 

[Phazoner]

So you're telling me that a "EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G1+, 80 Plus Gold 750W" won't be a good choice to go with? I guess what I'm getting out of you is that to high of Watts for the system can fry the system.

No, no, I mean that more wattage doesn't mean that it is a best PSU,

The EVGA G1+ is a Tier 2 PSU, a really, really good PSU, but you simply don't need a 750W PSU, you can get another Tier 2 PSU with 600W and it will be probably cheaper and for sure more than capable to handle your PC energy requirements.