[SOLVED] I upgraded to a 3080, and it's using less than 5% utilization on every game I play.

[Excrucial]

Hi all, I recently upgraded from a 2060 to a 3080. I didnt notice much of a performance increase, and recently checked my task manager to realize that while my CPU is under load, the 3080 is rarely ever above 5% usage with the games I play.

I've used DDU to wipe and reinstall the latest drivers, and I've set my power settings to max performance.

I'm currently running an i7 9700 (no K) CPU, an EVGA 3080 FTW GPU, and 32GB of 3200Mhz Corsair RAM which is all being fueled on a 750 watt PSU. Also, I play at 1080p.

I'm stumped and any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks to all who view this in advance!

Edit: This is most noticeable in GTA V and RDR2. I'm getting about 70 FPS on max GTA V settings which I believe is well under other benchmarks. RDR2 has about the same FPS but on regular high settings.

The MB I have is a MPG Z390 Gaming Plus motherboard, and the PSU is a Corsair CX 750M.

I reviewed and compared framerates, and all seems fine. Utilization is seeming much more normal with the MSI Afterburner, and thanks to everyone who pitched in and helped out in such short notice!

 

[MorganPike]

Sounds like your CPU bottlenecked. The 3080 is way overkill for a 1080 display.

So when you say your cpu is 'under load' do you mean it's running at high percentage in task manager while you're gaming?

If you want to really utilize that 3080 you need to invest in a higher resolution display.

You might see more gpu utilization with some newer games (like Cyberpunk) but even that is questionable. 1080 just isn't a lot of work for a 3080.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What MODEL of "750w PSU", exactly?

What motherboard? What motherboard BIOS version?

What Windows version?

Did you reset the BIOS at all, because if you did not, then considering the lack of a change in performance, that's probably a good idea.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Sounds like your CPU bottlenecked. The 3080 is way overkill for a 1080 display.

So when you say your cpu is 'under load' do you mean it's running at high percentage in task manager while you're gaming?

If you want to really utilize that 3080 you need to invest in a higher resolution display.

No. 5% utilization is a problem no matter WHAT resolution you are gaming at, unless you are gaming on a title that is almost completely CPU bound and doesn't use the GPU at all really, and I don't know of many modern games like that. Not for a 5% utilization.

There is something else going on here and a 9700k isn't a bottleneck for ANY modern gaming card. If you can't get it done with 8 actual cores, then there is something else wrong.

 

[MorganPike]

No. 5% utilization is a problem no matter WHAT resolution you are gaming at, unless you are gaming on a title that is almost completely CPU bound and doesn't use the GPU at all really, and I don't know of many modern games like that. Not for a 5% utilization.

There is something else going on here and a 9700k isn't a bottleneck for ANY modern gaming card. If you can't get it done with 8 actual cores, then there is something else wrong.

Like you said, it depends on what he's playing. If he's playing games like csgo on a high hz 1080 display then the cpu could be working. Admittedly, 5% still sounds odd, but It would be interesting to know how it would run at higher resolutions.

Maybe a game that let's you scale the res up? I know some do, not sure what the op might have that would allow that though. I think some UE4 games give that option.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What are the game settings at?

Ultra? High? Low? Custom? For that graphics card at 1080p the in game quality settings SHOULD be set to Ultra everything.

 

[MorganPike]

After making sure you're running at Ultra settings, XB Gamepass currently has Ark Survival Evolved available. Hopefully you can still get your first month for $1. I'm also pretty sure it allows supersampling (running at a higher res than your monitor supports). If you'd like to try this let me know and I'll look closer at it and make sure you can push the sampling above 100%. It's a demanding game, if that doesn't push up your gpu then yeah, you've got a deeper problem.

ME Shadow of War is also on there and I'm pretty sure it allows ss as well, although I'm not sure it's as demanding as Ark.

 

[Darkbreeze]

There are plenty of people running the RTX 3080 at 1080p and seeing more like 50-60% utilization, more even in more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and other very demanding AAA titles. I don't think supersampling is necessary in any situation.

Examples.

70-90%

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/geforce-graphics-cards/5/415510/rtx-3080-low-gpu-usage-in-full-hd/

50-60%

[SOLVED] - RTX 3080 Utilization Issue

Hello, I play warzone alot and had a rx5700xt and now rtx 3080. Both of them are never at 99% utilization and this is causing them to have lower fps(rtx3080 was 120-140 at 1080p) as they are only ever sitting around 50-60%. I used MSI afterburner to see the utilization and fps I have tried...

forums.tomshardware.com

40-60%

New RTX 3080 Low GPU Utilization/Performance

Today I was finally able to get an RTX 3080 (MSI Gaming X Trio), an upgrade from my Zotac Amp Extreme GTX 1080. I have a Ryzen 9 3900X, both the CPU and GPU are just running stock. In Cyberpunk 2077 (I know it's a little buggy, but not to the performance-impacting degree I'm experiencing), I am o...

linustechtips.com

60-90%
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/k2bktl/rtx_3080_low_gpu_usage_in_fullhd_and_95_in_4k/


And those guys are ALL complaining about a lack of utilization, because they don't understand the hardware. So if you are only seeing FIVE percent utilization, it's because there is some other problem happening. It is NOT due to the resolution, super sampling is not the fix and it's probably not even game/title related either.

 

[MorganPike]

I never even insinuated it was a fix. Did you even read my posts?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I did. So, lets figure out the fix for the actual problem before seeing if we can squeeze additional utilization out of the card, is what I'm saying.

IMO supersampling is mostly just gimmicky. I really don't see much point to it except in a few specific situations. Maybe. Certainly it will increase GPU utilization, but to what benefit? It's really not going to look much, if any, better. It's just going to increase utilization for the sake of increasing utilization, and the actual problem will still remain. That's why the problem needs to be addressed first, and then see where you are with that. Plus, there are a lot of monitors out there that really look crappy with SS enabled.

 

[Excrucial]

Like you said, it depends on what he's playing. If he's playing games like csgo on a high hz 1080 display then the cpu could be working. Admittedly, 5% still sounds odd, but It would be interesting to know how it would run at higher resolutions.

Maybe a game that let's you scale the res up? I know some do, not sure what the op might have that would allow that though. I think some UE4 games give that option.

Hi, sorry for the late response, busy this time of year I'll try to stay on top of this. The issue is mainly in games such as GTA V and RDR2, where I'm getting around 70-80 frames on ultra for GTA V and High for RDR2.

 

[Excrucial]

What are the game settings at?

Ultra? High? Low? Custom? For that graphics card at 1080p the in game quality settings SHOULD be set to Ultra everything.

Hi, sorry for the late response. I should have specified the games and settings beforehand, my bad. The games I was mentioning was GTA V and RDR2, I may test some other games in a bit today, but the settings are on ultra for GTA V and High for RDR2. I get about 70-80 frames in both, and if I watch the game on task manager, the utilization of the GPU jumps between .6% and 5% but usually hangs around at the .6%-.7% mark

 

[Excrucial]

What MODEL of "750w PSU", exactly?

What motherboard? What motherboard BIOS version?

What Windows version?

Did you reset the BIOS at all, because if you did not, then considering the lack of a change in performance, that's probably a good idea.

BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case, continuously, for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP, A-XMP or D.O.C.P profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, IF the problem is related to a lack of video signal, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.

Trying a different monitor as well, if possible, is also a good idea if there is a lack of display. It happens.

Hi, sorry for the late response. I'm using a Z390 Gaming Plus MB with a version of 1.60. I've had it for a while now so I'll go ahead and update the BIOS to the new version and get back with you.

My OS is Microsoft Windows 10 Pro version 10.0.18363

 

[Excrucial]

Hi, sorry for the late response. I'm using a Z390 Gaming Plus MB with a version of 1.60. I've had it for a while now so I'll go ahead and update the BIOS to the new version and get back with you.

My OS is Microsoft Windows 10 Pro version 10.0.18363

Oh, and the PSU is a Corsair CXM Series CX750M

 

[Third-Eye]

Hi, sorry for the late response. I should have specified the games and settings beforehand, my bad. The games I was mentioning was GTA V and RDR2, I may test some other games in a bit today, but the settings are on ultra for GTA V and High for RDR2. I get about 70-80 frames in both, and if I watch the game on task manager, the utilization of the GPU jumps between .6% and 5% but usually hangs around at the .6%-.7% mark

You need to run a program like MSI Afterburner in-game overlay to get the actual GPU usage. Taskmanager is only going to show GPU usage at the desktop unless you are playing the games in Windowed mode and even thne it still may not show the correct usage.

 

[Excrucial]

You need to run a program like MSI Afterburner in-game overlay to get the actual GPU usage. Taskmanager is only going to show GPU usage at the desktop unless you are playing the games in Windowed mode and even thne it still may not show the correct usage.

Oh, thanks, I'll give that shot right now and get back with you

 

[Darkbreeze]

Regardless, with an RTX 3080 and a 9700k, you should be getting more than 70-80FPS even on Ultra settings at 1080p. Pretty sure though that you're right about Task manager. Task manager and resource monitor are almost NEVER accurate, and I generally recommend not using them AT ALL, ever.

You will get far more accurate information from using HWinfo (NOT HWmonitor, Speccy, Open hardware monitor, or anything else) and choosing the "Sensors only" option. Disable the "Summary" option.

You can monitor CPU usage, GPU usage, drive usage, memory information, everything basically, from within that HWinfo sensors window.

 

[Excrucial]

Oh, thanks, I'll give that shot right now and get back with you

So I just did that, and GPU usage was in the 90s pretty consistently. I was wrong about the benchmarks, and I guess things are actually normal. Thanks for that tidbit, I had no clue! I guess things are working properly. Thanks!

 

[M3rcy138]

Even though It says 90 percent utilization usage on the 3090 on 1080 p its probably making the processor do most of the work the 3090 was designed for higher frames for 1440 p and 4k gaming alot of people complain that they switch from a whatever card to a 3090 on a 1080 p resolution and they get the same or less fps then they did before its because it barely uses any of it's power for 1080. But if used for 1440 or 4k it easily out performs any other card . I have a couple builds my 2070 super build runs every game on max settings 100 plus fps some even 200 plus aside from a few new titles like cyber punkd assassins Creed Valhalla etc on 1080 p.I would highly suggest upgrading your monitor so you can fully appreciate the 3090s potential .