GTX 970 underclocking in-game

[thePhysicist8]

Just over a week ago (first noticed playing GTA V), I started getting some serious framerate issues with my GTX 970. GPU-Z shows my core clockspeed hovering around 500MHz, when It's overclocked to 1450MHz. When I set power management to "prefer maximum performance" in the Nvidia control panel, it runs at full speed outside of games, but still underclocks in-game. GPU utilization is at 99% and the temperature stays below 65C. I've tried removing the overclock, reinstalling the drivers and rolling back the drivers. Power management in the Windows 10 control panel is set to "maximum performance", and my PSU is a Corsair RM850. CPU is an i7-4820k. I'm really stumped.

 

[renz496]

Does it happen with other games?

 

[Sergeant_Sneaky]

Try turning your fans up to get that temp under 60c, for some reason my 970 started to throttle at 63c, for whatever reason.
Another thing you can try is the Kboost setting in EVGA Precision.

 

[dingo07]

have you tried using PrecisionX 16?

 

[thePhysicist8]

Does it happen with other games?

Yes

Try turning your fans up to get that temp under 60c, for some reason my 970 started to throttle at 63c, for whatever reason.
Another thing you can try is the Kboost setting in EVGA Precision.

The fans kick in at 65, and then it goes back down to 55-60. I'll can try turning them up more.

have you tried using PrecisionX 16?

I've tried removing the overclock and even uninstalling afterburner, so I don't think it's a problem with the software I'm using.

 

[renz496]

What driver version you're using right now? Have you tried using DDU to do clesn driver install? Also instead of gpu-z use msi afterburner OSD to monitor the core clock in game.

 

[renz496]

What driver version you're using right now? Have you tried using DDU to do clesn driver install? Also instead of gpu-z use msi afterburner OSD to monitor the core clock in game.

 

[thePhysicist8]

I'm using 350.12 and, yes, I've tried using DDU. Afterburner OSD (really cool, did not know about that) is also reporting ~500MHz.

I also tried manually setting my fan speed to 50%. The temperature stayed around 45C, but it didn't help.

 

[renz496]

Is it on win 10?

 

[thePhysicist8]

Yes

 

[Noah Siano]

On my 760, anytime I try to overclock it, i can get it great in all the benchmarks and even some games, but once it fails in a game(which it always does), it will fail for everything until i restart my computer and set the core clock a little lower.
So try the card at stock speeds and give your computer a restart, then see what happens. If it's still not stable, try an underclock. If that still doesn't work, then you've got some issues with the card

 

[thePhysicist8]

I've already tried all of the above.

 

[Noah Siano]

When you run Unigine Heaven or Valley, what does it say the clock speed is there? It could just be certain games aren't working well with the latest driver.

 

[thePhysicist8]

It's the same with Heaven and Valley. Also Furmark.

 

[Noah Siano]

Have you checked the TDP of the card in GPU-Z? It could possibly not be getting enough power through either fault of the power cable, psu, or the card itself.

 

[dingo07]

humor Us and use driver 347.88 with EVGA's PrecisionX 16 to overclock and set temp targets and clock offsets - don't let windows control anything, then tell us if it solves your issue

 

[thePhysicist8]

I hadn't thought of that. It's at around 50% TDP under 100% load. Is it likely just a faulty PSU/card?

 

[Noah Siano]

half power draw is usually a problem with the psu. Try to plug in your pci cables into different spots on the psu? Or if you have extras, swap them out and that will show if its the cables or not(which it shouldnt be)

 

[thePhysicist8]

I tried three different ports on the PSU and a new cable. No dice. I'll have to continue this in the morning.

 

[Noah Siano]

Well, its easier to check the psu than the software/drivers. Do you have another graphics card you could try with your current psu/rig setup? That would determine if your psu is working properly.

Also, did you ever try using driver 347.88?

 

[thePhysicist8]

I just tried switching out my 970 for an old HD 7870, and it worked perfectly with no underclocking. I guess this points to a problem with the card.