GPU Usage Spikes UP/Down/Up/Down While Gaming

[Mindless-HammerN]

All,

I have recently begun having issues while gaming. After a few minutes of gaming, my GPU usage % begins to spike up an down constantly which makes my frames per second spike up and down from 50 to 10 etc. This essentially makes gaming impossible.

While on the server I have a ping of around 10-20, so the internet doesn't appear to be the problem.

Attached is an image showing the GPU% initially runs around the 100% mark and gaming is fine, then after 2-3 minutes of gaming this spiking behaviour begins:

Comp Specs:

Graphics Card: GeForce GT 650M

Any thoughts on how I might be able to fix this? I've run some diagnostics on the graphics card which it seems to always pass, and i've got updated virus software and have run malware checks which have found nothing.

Much appreciated!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

All,

I have recently begun having issues while gaming. After a few minutes of gaming, my GPU usage % begins to spike up an down constantly which makes my frames per second spike up and down from 50 to 10 etc. This essentially makes gaming impossible.

While on the server I have a ping of around 10-20, so the internet doesn't appear to be the problem.

Attached is an image showing the GPU% initially runs around the 100% mark and gaming is fine, then after 2-3 minutes of gaming this spiking behaviour begins:

Comp Specs:

Graphics Card: GeForce GT 650M

Any thoughts on how I might be able to fix this? I've run some diagnostics on the graphics card which it seems to always pass, and i've got updated virus software and have run malware checks which have found nothing.

Much appreciated!

Well, I suppose that depends on a number of variables, like in game settings, what game your playing etc. Is this for all games, or just BF3?

First off, your playing at 1080p, and at that res, even the desktop variant of your GPU would struggle badly (again depending on game settings and amount of ram also). If your running on high settings, those spikes in FPS are to be expected. Your CPU is beefy enough, it's just the GPU, although reasonable, (and good for a mobile) is only a midrange card. Maybe dial back settings specially AA and anti aliasing post, these will kill performance.
Also at 1080p vram usage for BF3, can be 1.2gb and beyond depending on your settings, and that can cause problems too. How much ram is on your GPU?

 

[rjfreno]

I have the same exact problem. and Keith, this even happens with all low settings, trust me the settings dont matter. This isnt a problem with the game, its a gpu problem, but I just dont get it. It clearly has the capability to run at 50fps for example, but then just drops to like 15. then back up to 50, then back down to 15. It makes no sense. I have an alienware m17x r3. I have only recently had this problem... started right around the time my warranty expired...

 

[17seconds]

All that is showing is that your CPU, or other parts of your system, like the internet connection on a multiplayer server, is bottlenecking your GPU. In an ideal situation, your GPU would be running at 99% usage, but when it runs below that, it's indicating how much your CPU/system is holding your GPU back. It will vary from game to game as some games are just not that demanding and won't ask much from your GPU. Even a good internet connection may cause delays for your GPU.

To increase your GPU usage, increase your in-game settings and antialiasing (don't lower them!) to put more strain on the GPU graphics. You could also overclock your CPU, to help it keep up, but really as long as your games are running fine, don't worry about it.