Question My GPU's utilization is almost always at 100% for no reason. Is this normal?

[Daniel9923]

I have been experiencing some issues with my GPU lately. It runs at 0% or 100% and spikes quickly and dramatically. I have already run an antivirus that came up empty, so I don't think I have any viruses. When idling, it spikes between 0% and 80%, and running any game keeps it at 100%.
My specs are AMD Ryzen 5 5600G CPU
B55-A Pro Micro-Star International Motherboard
32 Gig DDR4 4 sticks RAM
Radeon RX 580 Series GPU
All components are brand new except for the GPU and 2 sticks of RAM, which were tested/used by the tech report. If anyone has an answer or solution to this issue, I would appreciate a response as soon as possible. This problem has been quite frustrating for me.

 

[rgd1101]

brand and model of the psu?
check the gpu temp?
ssd usage?

 

[Daniel9923]

PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GT, 80 plus Gold 650W
GPU temp 113° idling 136°-147° running games.
SSD: Disk C: 1% idling 80% booting up games and 40% running them Disk D: 0% idling 40% booting up games 2-50% running them

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Those temps on the video card are very high. No wonder it’s spiking. Any temp over 90 degrees C is considered high on a gpu imo.

 

[Daniel9923]

Sorry for the confusion those are in °F
The Celsius is 45°C idling and 57°-63°C running games

 

[Phaaze88]

My guess is Wallpaper Engine, or some similar app, that runs on the desktop. You'll have to narrow it down from what you've installed in the PC. It probably shows up in Task Manager/Processes.

 

[Daniel9923]

Disabling my wallpaper engine helps with idling utilization but running any game still keeps it at 100%

I think that the slightest processing power on my GPU overloads (games, videos, wallpaper engine, etc.) it which is odd because I'm pretty sure that it's a decent GPU

 

[Daniel9923]

Update:
After plugging my monitors into my motherboard (using my CPU graphics) my GPU was still being utilized yet nothing was plugged into it.

 

[Phaaze88]

What application is using the gpu to make this happen? Does task manager not show the abnormal activity?
If it isn't showing anything, then I can't help but assume something malicious is at work, designed to go into hiding when the user tries to monitor task manager.

 

[Daniel9923]

My task manager doesn't show what apps are using the GPU in Windows 11 😑

 

[Phaaze88]

Then I'm stumped, short of trying a free Malwarebytes scan. It can catch apps that may slip past anti virus programs.

 

[Daniel9923]

Then I'm stumped, short of trying a free Malwarebytes scan. It can catch apps that may slip past anti virus programs.

I already tried that

 

[Daniel9923]

Update:
Task manager, AMD Adrenaline Edition, and the Dev home have very conflicting utilization metrics. Which one is the most reliable?

 

[Phaaze88]

Should be Adrenaline - although I've never used dev home.

 

[AverageCheapskate79]

My task manager doesn't show what apps are using the GPU in Windows 11 😑

I'm reading and right there with ya lol, nearly identicl builds and OS.. it seems like Win 11 went ape over security.. anything for a buck huh

 

[Daniel9923]

Should be Adrenaline - although I've never used dev home.

If that's the case, then my GPU is still going AWOL

 

[Daniel9923]

Update:
Is it normal when restarting your computer to have unnamed apps preventing shutdown? Those "apps" might be the viruses keeping my utilization high

 

[Phaaze88]

No, that is not normal.

 

[SkyNetRising]

All components are brand new except for the GPU and 2 sticks of RAM, which were tested/used by the tech report.

You said - your system is new.
Did you reinstall windows or used OS drive from a different computer?

New system requires windows reinstall.
If you try to avoid it, you get several issues:

boot mode compatibility - system doesn't boot,​

driver incompatibilities - crashes/bsods/bad performance,​

windows activation issues.​

 

[Daniel9923]

You said - your system is new.
Did you reinstall windows or used OS drive from a different computer?

New system requires windows reinstall.
If you try to avoid it, you get several issues:

boot mode compatibility - system doesn't boot,​

driver incompatibilities - crashes/bsods/bad performance,​

windows activation issues.​

I bought windows new for my PC. At the moment I'm trying to upload my files to one drive so as to wipe my drives and uninstall and reinstall windows

 

[Daniel9923]

After figuring out how to see GPU stats in Task Manager and checking nothing abnormal is going on (GPU is running at 2%) but running games uses 100% of my GPU

 

[COLGeek]

What games are you playing? At what resolution? And, at what typical level of graphics settings?

When the GPU is at 100% in games, what level is your CPU at?

 

[Joseph_138]

You might have something running in the background that you are not aware of that is using the GPU. You should do a malware scan.

 

[thestryker]

Task manager is awful for checking GPU usage.

GPU-Z is a good program to use as it doesn't integrate with anything and just polls the sensors.

MSI Afterburner is also very good, but it has many GPU controls so for troubleshooting I'd lean towards GPU-Z.

HWInfo and HWMonitor are good general use monitoring software.

 

[Daniel9923]

What games are you playing? At what resolution? And, at what typical level of graphics settings?

When the GPU is at 100% in games, what level is your CPU at?

For some reason the system won't let me put a list of games without it saying it's spam like content sooooo I can't give a list of games, sorry :/
The resolution is 2560 x 1440 I usually have my graphics as high as possible while still keeping the game running 60+ FPS so I either have it at the highest graphic setting or one or two notches down
My CPU is running at 15% the highest I've seen it go (besides booting up the game) is 40%