Question Idle GPU Clocks when gaming

[Moiz.A]

I installed Win10 21H2, and now my GPU is getting Stuck at 400Mhz core clock and low GPU voltage, after restarting pc they change back to Normal but after running games it changes back to idle. I wasn't having any issues with Win10 10240 version or Win7 and Win8.1 but in these versions of windows SharedSystemMemory is only 4GB in Total. I get about 8GB Shared System Memory with Latest Win10 version or any version above 10240. The GPU is not Overclocked (stock OC).
Tried Power Options from Nvidia control panel and Windows but it still gets stuck at Idle clocks, temperature is not the issue. Nvidia Driver 391.35 (its the latest for this gpu).


System :
Corei5 750 2.6Ghz ~ 3.3Ghz
14GB DDR3 1660Mhz
GTX 550ti Cyclone II
CorsairCX430M Power Supply
P55A-UD4P (rev.1) Motherboard
Windows 10 21H2

I really hope somebody can help me out this is clearly a Software issue.

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

That is a very outdated GPU, it most likely worked better on Win 7 and 8.1 because those are older operating systems, you should think about getting a new GPU, it says your driver date is 2018, also why are you using such an old windows version?

 

[Moiz.A]

That is a very outdated GPU, it most likely worked better on Win 7 and 8.1 because those are older operating systems, you should think about getting a new GPU, it says your driver date is 2018, also why are you using such an old windows version?

Thanks for the reply, Well I didn't have an SSD before, that is the only reason I was using older versions.
IF the GPU is the issue I will replace it then, but then why cant it work with latest windows?

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

Thanks for the reply, Well I didn't have an SSD before, that is the only reason I was using older versions.
IF the GPU is the issue I will replace it then, but then why cant it work with latest windows?

The GTX 550 ti was released in 2011, during that period Windows 7 was a popular operating system, also it says you are on the latest GPU driver but in GPU-Z it shows that you are on a 2018 driver, most likely because your GPU only supports up to that driver update, therefore if the driver is from 2018 and you try using the latest operating system versions, I would imagine this is why it would cause problems.

Either way, it is a 11 year old GPU, better to change it out. Equally your CPU is from 2009.

I think in my opinion, you're better off refreshing the whole system (if you have the cash ofcourse) but my judgement is that it's due to your dated hardware that you are getting issues with clock speeds.

The GPU clocks are not going up when playing games right?
Because when you are on the desktop it's supposed to be low because the GPU isn't really being used.

Alternatively, you can try downloading MSI Afterburner and trying to overclock the GPU yourself / set a custom config.

 

[Moiz.A]

The GTX 550 ti was released in 2011, during that period Windows 7 was a popular operating system, also it says you are on the latest GPU driver but in GPU-Z it shows that you are on a 2018 driver, most likely because your GPU only supports up to that driver update, therefore if the driver is from 2018 and you try using the latest operating system versions, I would imagine this is why it would cause problems.

Either way, it is a 11 year old GPU, better to change it out. Equally your CPU is from 2009.

I think in my opinion, you're better off refreshing the whole system (if you have the cash ofcourse) but my judgement is that it's due to your dated hardware that you are getting issues with clock speeds.

The GPU clocks are not going up when playing games right?
Because when you are on the desktop it's supposed to be low because the GPU isn't really being used.

Alternatively, you can try downloading MSI Afterburner and trying to overclock the GPU yourself / set a custom config.

Tried MSI afterburner, I could play a game but if I decide to ALT-TAB or close the game the GPU would be stuck at 400Mhz instead of 950Mhz core clock. I found out a lil application that can restart GPU driver without restarting PC after using it the core clocks were back to Normal but after playing games or alt-tabbing it would again get stuck. I downloaded the CRU utility (Custom Resolution Utility) and there were two applications restart.exe and restart64.exe these restarted the gpu driver? maybe but the clocks went back for sometime. Thanks for replying.

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

When you alt-tab with the game open, it goes to 400Mhz right, so when you go back into the game is it 950mhz?
Do you have a second monitor that you can put msi afterburner on and then you can see the Mhz when you're in game.

But if it's at 400mhz on desktop, this is normal since the system doesn't need to use a high clock rate, only when you get into games, it goes up.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Are you overclocking the GPU?
During the 400/500/600 series GPUs the driver would default to 400mhz every time an driver/GPU error was detected.
At that time the only "FIX" was a restart of the machine and driver.

 

[Moiz.A]

Are you overclocking the GPU?
During the 400/500/600 series GPUs the driver would default to 400mhz every time an driver/GPU error was detected.
At that time the only "FIX" was a restart of the machine and driver.

I have not performed any Overclocking on the GPU.

 

[Moiz.A]

When you alt-tab with the game open, it goes to 400Mhz right, so when you go back into the game is it 950mhz?
Do you have a second monitor that you can put msi afterburner on and then you can see the Mhz when you're in game.

But if it's at 400mhz on desktop, this is normal since the system doesn't need to use a high clock rate, only when you get into games, it goes up.

No when I alt-tab the core-clocks goes to Idle (I used GPU-Z and MSI Afterburner to see that) and when I go back to the game the clocks would be still at 400mhz because MSI Afterburner OSD would show me.

 

[Moiz.A]

So currently I have switched back to Windows10 1507 (ver 10240 from 2015) and This is the only Windows10 where my GPU wont get stuck at Idle Clocks no matter how much I Alt-Tab.
The versions of Windows10 I have issues are : 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, 21H1, 21H2 (in all these versions the gpu would get stuck at idle clocks and not go to normal even in game)
Also in game the GPU usage would get 100% but still be stuck at 400mhz instead of 950mhz.
Now I dont really like this windows because I cannot even install Netframe 4.8 or play some of the other games. I just want to use atleast windows 1709 or 1909

 

[NerdyComputerGuy]

I think you should just upgrade your GPU or your entire computer, it's pretty dated.

Using a 2015 version of Windows 10 opens you up to a ton of security vulnerabilities.

If it's only happening in the newer version of Win 10 then it's most likely the GPU is too old and so there is this bug, the GPU is 11 years old, it's ancient at this point 😀

It was released before Windows 10 was even released.

 

[Moiz.A]

I think you should just upgrade your GPU or your entire computer, it's pretty dated.

Using a 2015 version of Windows 10 opens you up to a ton of security vulnerabilities.

If it's only happening in the newer version of Win 10 then it's most likely the GPU is too old and so there is this bug, the GPU is 11 years old, it's ancient at this point 😀

It was released before Windows 10 was even released.

I got a friend who uses a 560ti phantom on Win10 (21H2) and he has no issues whatsoever and he has the same Driver version aswell the highest for 500 series (391.35), Maybe my gpu is dying. Anyways I appreciate your help! I will borrow his gpu to see whether my GPU is dying or my PC.

 

[Moiz.A]

Even after using a Different GPU the clocks are just stuck at idle, Now its the same Driver version but latest windows. My friend does not have this issue but I do on my PC with his GPU... It wont comeback from Idle clocks no matter what I do only restarting the PC or the driver helps...

 

[Unolocogringo]

Like I said before.
That is usually caused by errors. Whether it be caused by memory errors or GPU errors or PCIE slot errors.
I ran dual GTX460s and dual GTX 650TI boosts. That is there behavior when an error occurs.
Since his card produces the same result in your machine it is probably memory errors or PCIE slot errors.
Test with Furmark or OCCT with error checking enabled.
And test your ram with MEMtest.

 

[Moiz.A]

Like I said before.
That is usually caused by errors. Whether it be caused by memory errors or GPU errors or PCIE slot errors.
I ran dual GTX460s and dual GTX 650TI boosts. That is there behavior when an error occurs.
Since his card produces the same result in your machine it is probably memory errors or PCIE slot errors.
Test with Furmark or OCCT with error checking enabled.
And test your ram with MEMtest.

Alright right now i've found out Nvidia's driver version 314.22 CAUSED NO ISSUES! NOT EVEN GOING IDLE ON THESE DRIVERS on win10 latest. i'll try memtest. On latest drivers GPU runs at PCIe x16 2.0 @ x16 2.0 for a bit when i run games it switches to PCIe 1.1 @ x16 1.1 when running older Drivers like 314.22 this does not happen.. bus interface does not change to 1.1

 

[Moiz.A]

I can see my Mhz in game, don't have a spare monitor. I think my Motherboard is the issue it has no Options for setting PCI-e speeds. Some people also have this issue where PCI-e speeds would just get
stuck at 1.1 speeds. I've got two PCI-e slots and I have tried both of them and the bus interface would get stuck at 1.1 speeds IF i open games or alt-tab out of them. Is there any way to Force gen2 speeds on windows since I don't have the option in BIOS ?

Stuck at Idle (before driver restart)

Stuck at Idle (before driver restart)

Back to normal clocks/bus interface (after restarting driver or pc)

Back to normal clocks/bus interface (after restarting driver or pc)

but its a temp fix sometimes it returns to idle clocks/bus interface when playing games and would just get stuck.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Some driver versions do not push the GPU as much as others.
Your clock drop to 405mhz is a driver default. Any time the driver detects an error you drop to 405mhz.

If it were my card I would do a re-paste and re- pad at this point.
That era card did not have temperature sensors on the memory chips and just a few in the die itself.
Could be overheating a memory chip or just a part of the die paste has dried out.

You also have a slightly overclocked card with a small under-voltage.
Default clocks/ voltages were 822/1.025v range.
Yours are 835/1.000.
Also considering age a .0125- .025 voltage bump may make it stable. But keep an eye on temperatures.

 

[Moiz.A]

That clock drop to 405Mhz only happens to me on my PC with the 550ti and the 560ti. I tried those voltages but it still dropped to 405Mhz. I was watching a YT vid and all that time it did not drop when I launched a game it decided to drop to 405Mhz.. and after that it would be stuck at that freq. I'm guessing its the Motherboard which is at fault because I had an ASUS board with GTX 750 and at that time I had win10 1909 and had no issues.
I tried re-pasting the thermals dropped a lil bit but still goes back to that weird issue.

 

[Moiz.A]

Well my issue has disappeared.. I have no idea what fixed it but I borrowed and installed a MSI GTX960 in my PC just to see if It will work Windows automatically installed the driver 388.13 for it and I played Darksouls3 for 2hours and kept ALT-tabbing every 10mins to see whether the card would get stuck at IDLE clocks just like my other two cards. Fortunately it did not and I sent it back to my Friend and installed my GPU and windows once again automatically installed 388.13 driver and my GPU(s) are no longer getting stuck at IDLE clocks no matter what.

Also does anybody know any UEFI supported LGA1156 motherboards?

Edit : Theres another way to FIX gpu clocks at IDLE like mine was 405 instead of 835 while gaming is to use Nvidia Inspector