[SOLVED] Low GPU and CPU usage and incosistent fps with Ryzen 7 3700x + EVGA FTW 3 3080

[MessinWithLarry]

I recently built myself a new computer that contains a Ryzen 7 3700x and EVGA FTW 3 3080, but I have found it to be underperforming and very inconsistent in certain cases. For example when playing Minecraft with BSL shaders and a light resource pack (Faithful x32) I only get about 40-50 frames while at my base which is not huge by any means. I also see around 10-15% CPU usage and 15-20% GPU usage. However, going to the nether yields similar around 200-250 frames with around 40% GPU usage and similar CPU usage, with the GPU usage going up and down with the frames. Going to the end is about the same usage as my base but 60-80 frames. My girlfriend who is running a GTX 1060 6GB with a ryzen 5 2600 yields the same if not better frame rates with the exact same shaders (especially at our base). GPU Z's perfcap reason says idle in the overworld and end but VRel in the nether when the GPU usage goes up. Other cases of this are in 7 days to die where I get 90-100 frames outside with 30/50% CPU/GPU load respectively, 120-130 frames while inside with 30/65% load, but going to the trader gets me about 30-40 frames with very low usage as well. I also only get about 60 frames in dead by daylight averaging 40% gpu usage and 10-15% cpu usage. Some VR games like Blade and Sorcery can also drop to 40 frames at times on my valve index.

Yet when I run a benchmark like superposition, it manages to max out the GPU load and score quite well (6193 on 1440p with extreme shaders and high textures). My userbenchmark scores are good, but it does say that my graphics card is underperforming. Currently I suspect it might be a combination of poor game optimization in some scenarios, but also how I have my graphics card plugged in. Since the FTW 3 is a triple 8 pin, but I only have 2 double 8 pin pcie cables, one of them is ziptied below the gpu not connected to anything. Certainly not ideal or pretty, but it was all I had to work with. I can provide any more information if necessary but this is everything I thought to provide. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[ttower2020]

Some may be poor optimization like you said. Minecraft, for example, uses primarily one CPU core, and is not a demanding game, so the base code is not designed to try to extract 100% of high power equipment. Also, the 3080 is still relatively new, so older games, or games that have less reason to use all that power, may be running slower.

Do you mean that you are only powering the GPU with 2 out of the 3 8-pins it requires? If you have any empty pins on the GPU, this is not a good situation for high load. Also, what PSU do you have, Make/Model/Wattage

 

[MessinWithLarry]

Some may be poor optimization like you said. Minecraft, for example, uses primarily one CPU core, and is not a demanding game, so the base code is not designed to try to extract 100% of high power equipment. Also, the 3080 is still relatively new, so older games, or games that have less reason to use all that power, may be running slower.

Do you mean that you are only powering the GPU with 2 out of the 3 8-pins it requires? If you have any empty pins on the GPU, this is not a good situation for high load. Also, what PSU do you have, Make/Model/Wattage

No I have all three 8 pins connected, but its via 2 double 8 pins which means the last eight pin is not connected anywhere like this.

My PSU is a Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 PE 850 W 80+ Gold

 

[ttower2020]

I see about the PSU connections. Yes, that is fine. The end that is not plugged in will not hurt anything, as long as nothing is shorting the exposed pins. I myself have extra PCIe PSU cable ends not plugged in. As for the PSU itself, how old is it? Thermaltake are not good PSU manufacturers, and if the unit is older, like 3+ years especially, then it could be providing power issues. is you have any other odd issues, like random black of blue screens, stutters, or freezing, replace the PSU immediately with a high quality unit, like the Corsair RMX 850, for example.

 

[MessinWithLarry]

I see about the PSU connections. Yes, that is fine. The end that is not plugged in will not hurt anything, as long as nothing is shorting the exposed pins. I myself have extra PCIe PSU cable ends not plugged in. As for the PSU itself, how old is it? Thermaltake are not good PSU manufacturers, and if the unit is older, like 3+ years especially, then it could be providing power issues. is you have any other odd issues, like random black of blue screens, stutters, or freezing, replace the PSU immediately with a high quality unit, like the Corsair RMX 850, for example.

PSU is brand new with no other issues like blue screens

 

[Phaaze88]

I see a combination of things:
1)Minecraft is heavily cpu thread bound. 10-15% is like, 2 threads? Gpu is a little better off, what with all the mods, and RTX On.
Some areas are harder to render than others - that's normal.

2)The Gpu-Z idle: with the right 'pack', it probably won't idle as much?
VRel: means the core is unable to step up to the next voltage bin on the Boost curve because the core will become unstable, thus limiting maximum Boost clock. Generally it's nothing to be worried about, as all cards will run into one cap or another.

3)Superposition results mean your card works at least, but your games aren't programmed like that at all.

4)The userbenchmark: this site sucks because your hardware isn't just being compared to FE 3080s, but ALL 3080s - overclocked, overheating, beta vbios, you name it.
But as long as your score is within 10% of the average, it should be fine... that's not happening here, and I suspect it has to do with the 'low' power budget and possibly the Vrel you saw previously.

5)That card's power limit is a low 400w.
Ok, I'm being sarcastic about the low thing. Ampere's power efficiency is crap; these cards suck some power.
After enough complaints from customers, it looks like EVGA released a 450w bios; the 400w limit was way too easy to hit.
BUT, the higher power limit doesn't help everyone, as it also makes the card run hotter.
So for folks already pushing like 80C on this card, the higher power limit bios might not help too much; the cooler the card runs, the higher the sustained clocks are - bar things like power and voltage, anyway.


TL;DR: The card is fine. The higher power limit bios might help - don't expect a miracle though.
Maybe try playing around with your ingame settings some more?

 

[ttower2020]

PSU is brand new with no other issues like blue screens

Ok. It will be fine, most likely. But, do keep in mind it will probably not last as long as a high quality PSU. I dont think I would bother replacing it now, but in the future I would.