[SOLVED] Graphics card usage is very low in certain games.

Oct 4, 2019
3
0
10
I am using a laptop with an RTX 2070 Max Q and my issue is basically that in some games the usage of my GPU is very low, In Rainbow Six Siege it is just fine and sits around 90%, on Yakuza 0 even 95%, meanwhile on Tera it sits around 20% and on Borderlands Enhanced Edition it does not even go above 10% usage. The result of this is massive lag, like running the games at 3 to 15fps. I have no clue what the issue is and I tried to force the graphics to work hader via Afterburner but that option is not available on laptop and notebooks. What is my best bet here? I tried reinstalling the drivers of course, I thought whether it could have to do something DirectX versions but that is not the case either so I am completely stuck here. Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciate, thanks in advance.
 
Solution
A common problem with gaming laptops is poor control of heat.
Once a processor gets too hot, it will throttle and you will get lagging symptoms.
Verify that there is unobstructed airflow the coolers.
Really not much you can do about that.
It is counter intuitive, but setting the max cpu lower than 100% for impacted games might even things out.

If you are gaming on battery, the default windows settings will reduce your cpu, gpu and monitor brightness to conserve battery.
In the nvidia control panel go to > manage 3D settings > in the programs settings tab look for the specific games that are getting low framerates > Click on them and set the default rendering GPU to your 2070.

Some applications will default to using your integrated GPU based on the CPU, this is a common issue on laptops. Setting it to your dedicated GPU should fix it.
 
Oct 4, 2019
3
0
10
What laptop?
It is a custom built one from a Dutch website.
https://gamepc.nl/gaming-laptop-kopen/raider-pro-rgb-15-6-info

In the nvidia control panel go to > manage 3D settings > in the programs settings tab look for the specific games that are getting low framerates > Click on them and set the default rendering GPU to your 2070.

Some applications will default to using your integrated GPU based on the CPU, this is a common issue on laptops. Setting it to your dedicated GPU should fix it.
The thing is that they are using the gpu, just not to the extent of what it is capable of. In the MSI Afterburner overlay it states that my RTX 2070 is being used. In Borderlands specifically it could not even find my Intel HD graphics. Not a single game is using my Intel HD graphics. Setting their default to RTX 2070 is not doing anything since it is already using the RTX 2070.

The low GPU usage is not the only problem though, many games have horrendous microstuttering issues. Such as Call of Duty 4, Dead Island, Victron Vran and games that are not graphically intensive in the slightest way. Yet other games do just fine, such as PUBG, Destiny 2, GTA V and Rainbow 6. What could be the issue here? I really find it strange that newer titles work far better than older ones, which makes me think it is a driver issue but no driver seems to work better than the other.
 
Oct 4, 2019
3
0
10
You should reset your Afterburner to base gpu settings and go up in steps from there. Try your games on base settings to see if the gpu works better that way. You may have overclocked, or set some settings too high. Can you post a shot of your afterburner settings?
As you can see I haven't really messed around with overclocking and what not, in fact I downloaded Afterburner after the issue persisted to try to fix it, but it was a dead end.
View: https://i.imgur.com/paraZAJ.png

View: https://i.imgur.com/pv6Eyj3.png


I am running Windows 10 Education Edition. Could it have something do to with the situation because I know Windows 10 messes up quite often. Is there anything I should check in the BIOS? Could something be faulty, even though the laptop works fine on newer titles? I just do not know, I have never seen a similar issue before on anyone's system.
 
A common problem with gaming laptops is poor control of heat.
Once a processor gets too hot, it will throttle and you will get lagging symptoms.
Verify that there is unobstructed airflow the coolers.
Really not much you can do about that.
It is counter intuitive, but setting the max cpu lower than 100% for impacted games might even things out.

If you are gaming on battery, the default windows settings will reduce your cpu, gpu and monitor brightness to conserve battery.
 
Solution