Question Low GPU usage causing fps drops

GabrielAbarca

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Oct 12, 2016
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Everything was fine a day ago, then today I suddenly started getting really bad performance on games. I got 40 fps on League of Legends and I'd get more on that with an Intel HD Graphics, so it doesn't really make sense.
After checking a few things, I realized that the gpu usage was really low. I checked if it was getting enough power supply, updated the drivers, even changed the cables that connect it to the power source and it's still the same.
I know the gpu usage shouldn't be maxed out all of the time, but it should be higher if I'm getting bad performance, especially on a game like League, in which I was getting 40 - 50 fps with close to 20% gpu usage. I've done some benchmarks and the usage is changing constantly, the higher it got was 66%

Quick update: I was searching for things that could be malfunctioning again and I found out that my cpu is running on 100°C without anything opened so I guess the problem is there
Would replace the thermal paste help? I have this cpu since 2014 and I don't remember doing it...

Gtx 1060 6gb
I7 4770
8Gb RAM
ASRock Z87M Pro4
Ocz 700W
 
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While reading your story, my first incline was to say your CPU was most likely overheating and throttling, causing the performance drops.

Seems like you confirmed that. So the next step...

Replacing the thermal paste can help, provided the CPU fan is still working fine and the paste has degraded.
There's also a chance you might need to lubricate your fan for it to run smoothly.
Lastly, your heat sink might simply be so full of dust that barely any air passes through it anymore, causing things to heat up. I don't think this one is likely though, since this doesn't cause the problem from one day to the next.
 
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GabrielAbarca

Distinguished
Oct 12, 2016
7
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18,510
While reading your story, my first incline was to say your CPU was most likely overheating and throttling, causing the performance drops.

Seems like you confirmed that. So the next step...

Replacing the thermal paste can help, provided the CPU fan is still working fine and the paste has degraded.
There's also a chance you might need to lubricate your fan for it to run smoothly.
Lastly, your heat sink might simply be so full of dust that barely any air passes through it anymore, causing things to heat up. I don't think this one is likely though, since this doesn't cause the problem from one day to the next.
Thanks for the reply
I bought a new cpu cooler, it should arrive in a couple of days. When I replace it I'll make sure to check if there ain't dust inside the cpu, i don't really think there is though, i've cleaned my pc several times
Hope that will solve it!