So you've got yourself a Dodge Viper for a GPU but it's driving your games like a Prius and you can't figure it out right? This tutorial is going to be a simple walk-through to help you do some super easy troubleshooting which for the most part should resolve your issues. For the PC pro's this guide is likely not going to offer you anything you didn't already know, but I guess could work as a reminder.
1) Power
Let's start with the absolute most basic need of a GPU, is the card plugged firmly into the PCI port on the motherboard and do you have the proper VGA cables running from the power supply to the GPU.
2) Drivers
Have you downloaded the most recent drivers for your GPU?
Did you scrub your computer of the old GPU drivers first? Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller By following this link
3) Resolution and refresh rate
Did you check your resolution and refresh rate in windows? Programs like Nvidia Control Panel have their own settings and can conflict with windows settings in rare instances. If you're gaming on a 1080p @ 165Hz monitor for example, Windows may default your settings to 1080p @ 60Hz. Going into the specific control panel will allow you to check to make sure your monitor is dialed in into a setting that gives you the best viewing experience. Maybe you're using a smaller card such as a 1060 3GB, but your monitor is trying to display 1440p @ 144Hz, you are definitely going to have poor FPS since that card just can't handle massive games like Witcher 3 on ultra at those settings.
Another thing I often see is that some games come default with an FPS lock which prevents the game from going over a certain FPS. Make sure you disable this setting.
4) "Optimize" my games for me or automatically
I absolutely despise these automatic settings. They always seem to be set so poorly for no reason. Prime example, one of the games I was trying to play on a native 1440p monitor at that resolution, Geforce Experience kept trying to scale the game up to 4K on my old EVGA 980. This made no sense. I disable all of these features whether it's from the GPU software or in game itself. The best way to 'optimize' your gaming experience is to manually spend the 5 or 10 minutes going through the in game options and learning what each setting is and what effect it actually has on your experience.
This guide goes pretty in depth to explain on a base level, what you need to understand about the most common graphic settings.Getting a great GPU and cranking the settings to ultra is great, but understanding what each setting is will help you in the long run as your GPU will eventually not be cutting edge and you will eventually have to dial back some settings unless you have tons of money to just keep throwing at GPU upgrades every couple of years.
5) Benchmarking and diagnostics
This section will be the longest because you have moved from very basic troubleshooting and into diagnosing issues.
Both AMD and Nvidia have their own graphics control software, but pretty much every AIB Partner (Asus, EVGA, Galax, MSI, Etc.) has some sort of software kit that will allow for some overclocking and monitoring of the GPU for everything from voltages, clock speeds and thermals, to the fan speeds and RGB lightning if applicable. Those are great tools because you can compare your GPU's current voltage and clock speed to the numbers expected for your GPU to see if there is an issue right from the top without spending the time to run benchmarks.
MSI - Afterburner is the most common GPU monitor tool that allows for tons of customization
GPU-Z is another great GPU monitoring tool, however this tool doesn't have the options to change GPU settings, it's merely a data sheet.
Running one of these types of monitors is important, and should be done frequently. You can run these in the background while you bench test your GPU as well just to keep a record of whats going on while you are running the test.
Benchmarking the GPU is completely subjective as to which test you decide to run. Ask any person familiar with GPU's which test you should run, and you will get a ton of different answers. I've found that running a couple of different tests gives me the best results because each test kind of seems to touch on different points. I like to review the data from all the tests and come up with an average as opposed to running one test and just going with those numbers.
3DMark is a fantastic starting point. There are tests for every level from Directx12 gaming PC's to Android and iOS.
UNIGINE are also widely used among bench testers.
Userbenchmark - GPU is a great simple lightweight tester that will compare your results with the average of other testers and will show you apples for apples what your performance looks like against people with the same GPU as you.
Userbenchmark - Test This tool will scan your entire system to diagnose potential hardware malfunctions and can also recommend upgrades.
After running the bench marks a few times and getting your results, try to take in as much of that information as you can and record it. Assuming you read through this entire post you have to understand that asking general field questions about GPU performance are going to lead to people asking you to do these things anyway. Performing these tests can prepare you to ask a more in depth question which can help you get answers that are more accurate to your situation.
One of the best tools you can use as well is simply looking at Event Viewer and viewing your System Log to look for warnings or errors within your system.
6) Common GPU failure signs
BSoD
Artifacting (A common term used to describe visual discrepancies)
Monitor going blank or shutting off
System shut down
Loud fan noises coming from the GPU
Constant Driver failures
7) I've done all of this and I still need help
Well, at this point you need to post your question on the forums. Explain the process you followed and give as much detail as you can.
We need to know the following information:
Make sure to include as much accurate and thorough information as possible.
1) Power
Let's start with the absolute most basic need of a GPU, is the card plugged firmly into the PCI port on the motherboard and do you have the proper VGA cables running from the power supply to the GPU.
2) Drivers
Have you downloaded the most recent drivers for your GPU?
Did you scrub your computer of the old GPU drivers first? Download DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller By following this link
3) Resolution and refresh rate
Did you check your resolution and refresh rate in windows? Programs like Nvidia Control Panel have their own settings and can conflict with windows settings in rare instances. If you're gaming on a 1080p @ 165Hz monitor for example, Windows may default your settings to 1080p @ 60Hz. Going into the specific control panel will allow you to check to make sure your monitor is dialed in into a setting that gives you the best viewing experience. Maybe you're using a smaller card such as a 1060 3GB, but your monitor is trying to display 1440p @ 144Hz, you are definitely going to have poor FPS since that card just can't handle massive games like Witcher 3 on ultra at those settings.
Another thing I often see is that some games come default with an FPS lock which prevents the game from going over a certain FPS. Make sure you disable this setting.
4) "Optimize" my games for me or automatically
I absolutely despise these automatic settings. They always seem to be set so poorly for no reason. Prime example, one of the games I was trying to play on a native 1440p monitor at that resolution, Geforce Experience kept trying to scale the game up to 4K on my old EVGA 980. This made no sense. I disable all of these features whether it's from the GPU software or in game itself. The best way to 'optimize' your gaming experience is to manually spend the 5 or 10 minutes going through the in game options and learning what each setting is and what effect it actually has on your experience.
This guide goes pretty in depth to explain on a base level, what you need to understand about the most common graphic settings.Getting a great GPU and cranking the settings to ultra is great, but understanding what each setting is will help you in the long run as your GPU will eventually not be cutting edge and you will eventually have to dial back some settings unless you have tons of money to just keep throwing at GPU upgrades every couple of years.
5) Benchmarking and diagnostics
This section will be the longest because you have moved from very basic troubleshooting and into diagnosing issues.
Both AMD and Nvidia have their own graphics control software, but pretty much every AIB Partner (Asus, EVGA, Galax, MSI, Etc.) has some sort of software kit that will allow for some overclocking and monitoring of the GPU for everything from voltages, clock speeds and thermals, to the fan speeds and RGB lightning if applicable. Those are great tools because you can compare your GPU's current voltage and clock speed to the numbers expected for your GPU to see if there is an issue right from the top without spending the time to run benchmarks.
MSI - Afterburner is the most common GPU monitor tool that allows for tons of customization
GPU-Z is another great GPU monitoring tool, however this tool doesn't have the options to change GPU settings, it's merely a data sheet.
Running one of these types of monitors is important, and should be done frequently. You can run these in the background while you bench test your GPU as well just to keep a record of whats going on while you are running the test.
Benchmarking the GPU is completely subjective as to which test you decide to run. Ask any person familiar with GPU's which test you should run, and you will get a ton of different answers. I've found that running a couple of different tests gives me the best results because each test kind of seems to touch on different points. I like to review the data from all the tests and come up with an average as opposed to running one test and just going with those numbers.
3DMark is a fantastic starting point. There are tests for every level from Directx12 gaming PC's to Android and iOS.
UNIGINE are also widely used among bench testers.
Userbenchmark - GPU is a great simple lightweight tester that will compare your results with the average of other testers and will show you apples for apples what your performance looks like against people with the same GPU as you.
Userbenchmark - Test This tool will scan your entire system to diagnose potential hardware malfunctions and can also recommend upgrades.
After running the bench marks a few times and getting your results, try to take in as much of that information as you can and record it. Assuming you read through this entire post you have to understand that asking general field questions about GPU performance are going to lead to people asking you to do these things anyway. Performing these tests can prepare you to ask a more in depth question which can help you get answers that are more accurate to your situation.
One of the best tools you can use as well is simply looking at Event Viewer and viewing your System Log to look for warnings or errors within your system.
6) Common GPU failure signs
BSoD
Artifacting (A common term used to describe visual discrepancies)
Monitor going blank or shutting off
System shut down
Loud fan noises coming from the GPU
Constant Driver failures
7) I've done all of this and I still need help
Well, at this point you need to post your question on the forums. Explain the process you followed and give as much detail as you can.
We need to know the following information:
VRAM Usage
Voltages
Clock Speed
Monitor Resolution
Min/Max FPS
Graphic settings
Which bench tests you ran
Which version of Driver you have installed
Any hardware or software changes made
Was the GPU ever working properly
Any settings changes made
Make sure to include as much accurate and thorough information as possible.
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