djhz2001

Prominent
Jan 24, 2020
16
0
510
Hello,

My graphics card is not drawing enough power, and it is hurting graphics performance. Does anyone know of possible causes?

So my system is as follows:

MSI Z170 Gaming M7 ATX board
Intel i7-6700K CPU (running at stock speed)
NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPU
Corsair 750W Gold Ranked PSU
Corsair RAM 2x16 GB at 3 GHz

This problem occurs sometimes, and I notice it when I play games. The sign that the problem is occurring is that the fps is much lower than normal when playing games, and the video card clock and usage goes to maximum, but the amount of power drawn by the card remains at about 50% or less (normally it would be closer to 100% when needed). Other times there is no issue, and I can play games normally. When the problem appears, sometimes it will disappear after a day of having the computer on, sometimes it will show up after having the computer on for a while, and sometimes it will disappear after restarting windows 10. However, sometimes the problem does not go away for a few days no matter how many times I restart windows.

I have had this issue for at least year and a half. At times, I thought it was other programs interfering with the game, so I seemingly got rid of the problem by disabling the programs I thought were the cause, only for the problem to return later. I already ran out of potential programs that may be causing conflict. I read from another forum on a question where something similar was happening, and the person solved the problem by going to BIOS and changing PCI settings from [Auto] to [Gen3]. I did the same, but this has had no effect. I also considered corrupt files from Windows, so I repaired windows from an ISO file, but the problem did not go away. I should also mention that I have done countless fresh installations of the graphics drivers, yet the problem does not go away. Finally, though I can't rule out a PSU issue, I don't think it is an issue of insufficient power supply since I can still overclock my CPU to 4.7 GHz (should require even more power draw) and play games normally when the issue in question is not occurring or when it is occurring. Does anyone have any idea of what this could be? I read somewhere that this issue may be a sign that my graphics card may be dying, but unfortunately I can't do anything about that right now given the unavailability of graphics cards at the moment. It would help me if anyone here can think of another thing I can try to solve this problem. Thank you for your help in advance.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Solution
Did you tinker with anything in Nvidia Control Panel?
  1. If not, then update your graphic card.
  2. If the issue persists after the GPU Update please DDU the drivers and install again.
  3. If possible please share UBM Performance Screenshot and if possible also try to benchmark your GPU in Heaven BenchMark and 3DMark and check if the performance is comparable to other 1070s on the user list and share the screenshot.
  4. If the issue still persists insert the GPU in any donor PC and check if the issue persist.
  5. If all above solutions failed then the problem might be with PSU being degraded and inefficient to deliver enough power or the GPU be the possible and required to be sent for RMA it is still under warranty.

-(@_@)

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
BIOS version for your motherboard? What OS version are you on for Windows 10? Ideally you should be on version 21H1. You can also source the installer for your OS from Windows using Windows Media Creation Tools. Age of your PSU in the build? You might want to see if your issue is resolved by using DDU then using the latest GUP drivers installed in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.
 

djhz2001

Prominent
Jan 24, 2020
16
0
510
BIOS version for your motherboard? What OS version are you on for Windows 10? Ideally you should be on version 21H1. You can also source the installer for your OS from Windows using Windows Media Creation Tools. Age of your PSU in the build? You might want to see if your issue is resolved by using DDU then using the latest GUP drivers installed in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.
Hello,

To answer some of your questions. I already tried uninstalling drivers using DDU multiple times (had no effect), but I never tried installing the drivers as administrator though (worth a try, will update you later). The BIOS version of my motherboard is the original (I never updated it). My Windows 10 version is 21H1. My PSU is 5 years old, as old as this computer. I have had HP and other commercial brand desktop PC before this one, and never has a PSU failed despite using those PC for more than 6 years (11 years in one occasion), and since the PC is not turning off by itself, I never considered my current issue to be due to the PSU. Let me know your thoughts.
 

djhz2001

Prominent
Jan 24, 2020
16
0
510
BIOS version for your motherboard? What OS version are you on for Windows 10? Ideally you should be on version 21H1. You can also source the installer for your OS from Windows using Windows Media Creation Tools. Age of your PSU in the build? You might want to see if your issue is resolved by using DDU then using the latest GUP drivers installed in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

Hello,

I just uninstalled all graphics drivers using DDU's latest version, then proceeded to install the drivers as administrator and selected the option to perform a clean installation right after the computer restarted. Sadly, this had no effect. I noticed something else that, now that I realized it, it may be another symptom as well. After uninstalling the graphics drivers and going back to the Windows login page, I noticed that the graphics were slow and stuttering. This never happened before. I also noticed that scrolling on some websites seems to be slower at times long after the website had loaded. My internet speed connection is fast, so this scrolling issue is unlikely to be related to internet connectivity or speed. For instance, I am now experiencing the issue. Just to recap, fps is severely impacted, and the GPU clock and usage appears is at maximum, but GPU power draw remains at 50% or lower. Thanks for your suggestions in advance.
 

SoumithCS

Reputable
Oct 6, 2020
96
15
4,565
Did you tinker with anything in Nvidia Control Panel?
  1. If not, then update your graphic card.
  2. If the issue persists after the GPU Update please DDU the drivers and install again.
  3. If possible please share UBM Performance Screenshot and if possible also try to benchmark your GPU in Heaven BenchMark and 3DMark and check if the performance is comparable to other 1070s on the user list and share the screenshot.
  4. If the issue still persists insert the GPU in any donor PC and check if the issue persist.
  5. If all above solutions failed then the problem might be with PSU being degraded and inefficient to deliver enough power or the GPU be the possible and required to be sent for RMA it is still under warranty.

-(@_@)
 
Solution