Possible Low Fps With GTX 1070?

[mynametake]

Hi, I think I am having fps issues with my graphics card. This is my first gaming computer and it's an Alienware Aurora r5, which I have had for about a year. When I first got it, I really didn't notice anything involving it's fps, mainly because I think I didn't really play any extreme fps intensive games. I mostly played games like League of Legends or Brawhalla. But I started to play games like Player Unknown Battlegrounds, Warframe, Fortnite, CSGO, Rainbow Six, and so on. I had never had a gaming pc before and I didn't really know what to expect. Needless to say it performed amazing compared to my last rig, but sometimes during the more intensive parts of games the fps would drop and run at a low rate, and the game would look and "feel" rough. In Warframe it will sometimes go all the way down to 30 fps. In Fortnite, at very low graphic settings, it would go up to 200+ (160-170 average) in clear areas, away from towns or other places, which is very nice, but as soon as I go to a town or a more graphic intensive area, my fps will drop all the way from 200 or 170 to 100 or 60. I understand that fps drops are common, as long as they are not huge or affect performance, but these drops seem to actually affect my pc's performance. I can't say I'm positive on this, but I think that Fortnite isn't nearly as fps demanding as some of the games I play, like Warframe. But a big factor in this too is that I use 144hz monitor, which explains of course why my game (Fortnite in this case) feels so rough when I play and the fps drops below 144. But I would think that a rig like mine could handle most games at 144hz with no big issues. A lot of my friends have the same rig or even a worse rig and still run the game (Fortnite) just fine (not all of them have 144hz monitors, but one does and he has a gtx 1060 and it runs perfectly fine for him). In the end though, despite if it may or may not have a very efficient card, it's still better than the rig I used to have. But this pc didn't come cheap and I just want to make sure that I'm basically getting my money's worth. Besides all of that, the main thing that made me even write this is this benchmark: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/8828469 It says that my graphics card is performing way below expectations (everything else as shown runs perfectly). I'm not sure if this is just some kind of dupe of some sort or false information, but I'm just wondering what the possible cause of this could be and if I should worry about it.

Specs:

PC: Alienware Aurora R5

Graphics Card: Gtx 1070

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz

RAM: 16GB

If you need more info for specs just ask!

Ps. If it isn't obvious enough, I'm not exactly the most tech savvy guy in the world, so sorry if this whole thing seems stupid 😵

 

[Tolis_GR]

Did you see that message from user bench?
"Sub-optimal background CPU (20%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy"
Considering the fact that this is a pre-built system, i am sure it is very badly optimized and runs a lot of useless applications in the background. Open task manager and check the processes that are eating up cpu resources. Personally i would wipe out everything and start from scratch.

 

[mynametake]

Did you see that message from user bench?
"Sub-optimal background CPU (20%). High background CPU reduces benchmark accuracy"
Considering the fact that this is a pre-built system, i am sure it is very badly optimized and runs a lot of useless applications in the background. Open task manager and check the processes that are eating up cpu resources. Personally i would wipe out everything and start from scratch.

Alright will do. Also I have noticed this as well a little bit, but I wasn't sure if 20% was something to be worried about or at least consider a possible interference with the benchmark. Also I guess I forgot to put this in the specs but I have Windows 10, so it does run a lot background stuff. I guess I just need to find out what tasks I can end safely. Thank you for your input!

Edit: Ok so I removed a couple apps running in the background that were Microsoft based, like calendar, etc. This is the results I got from the benchmark this time. http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/8828469 It seems to be about the same as last one. Also, by starting out from scratch do you mean like some kind of factory reset?

 

[Tolis_GR]

Normally Windows 10 shouldn't give any cpu usage while idle, i.e 1-2%. Now we should have a look at the gpu. Are you on the latest drivers? Have you checked in Nvidia control panel that the gpu is not in some power saving mode? You may have to tweak some options there. This gpu should normally have boost profiles to super clock the core and memory clock. Also check in Power Management that your pc is not using the Power Saving profile.
Download Heaven Benchmark which is free, use Extreme preset, 1080p, full anti-aliasing and mark your score.

 

[mynametake]

Normally Windows 10 shouldn't give any cpu usage while idle, i.e 1-2%. Now we should have a look at the gpu. Are you on the latest drivers? Have you checked in Nvidia control panel that the gpu is not in some power saving mode? You may have to tweak some options there. This gpu should normally have boost profiles to super clock the core and memory clock. Also check in Power Management that your pc is not using the Power Saving profile.
Download Heaven Benchmark which is free, use Extreme preset, 1080p, full anti-aliasing and mark your score.

My drivers are update, 397.64 for Nvidia, and my power setting mode in Nvida is set to high performance (as well as texure quality and the over all preview). But I did check power management and it was set to balanced. So I changed that to high performance. I did notice a difference, but not so much in the fps. The fps was still basically the same, really low in texture oriented areas and really high in clear areas, but those drops didn't affect my quality as much anymore. It didn't get super rough like it usually does. So the high performance power plan has helped. As for my Heaven Benchmark scores: file:///C:/Users/mynam/Downloads/Heaven%20Score/Unigine_Heaven_Benchmark_4.0_20180520_1031.html

Also I ran UserBenchmark again to see if the results changed at all with the different power plan, but no luck. Still "performing way below expectations", but thanks for your help so far!

 

[Tolis_GR]

I cant see the result of the benchmark. Can you write it down here?
I don't think your gpu is your issue here, despite the fact that it "underperforms" (this is relative to other 1070's). With that gpu you should max out quality settings to make your gpu work harder and release the load of the cpu (cpu renders frames and queues them waiting for the gpu to display them). Just max out your settings on games.
2-3 more things: Check your temperatures for cpu and gpu. You can use MSI Afterburner or a similar program to check temps while gaming. If they are too high, they maybe underperform.
Check your cpu/gpu usage when you are having those deep drops (i.e to 60 fps). You must monitor whether the cpu or gpu maxes out its usage, (100% or near).
Please have a look at your psu make and model and post it here. I assume it is crap.
Go to Task Manager, hit performance then CPU and check if hyper-threading is enabled. In that case you should read 4 cores and 8 logical processors

 

[mynametake]

I cant see the result of the benchmark. Can you write it down here?
I don't think your gpu is your issue here, despite the fact that it "underperforms" (this is relative to other 1070's). With that gpu you should max out quality settings to make your gpu work harder and release the load of the cpu (cpu renders frames and queues them waiting for the gpu to display them). Just max out your settings on games.
2-3 more things: Check your temperatures for cpu and gpu. You can use MSI Afterburner or a similar program to check temps while gaming. If they are too high, they maybe underperform.
Check your cpu/gpu usage when you are having those deep drops (i.e to 60 fps). You must monitor whether the cpu or gpu maxes out its usage, (100% or near).
Please have a look at your psu make and model and post it here. I assume it is crap.
Go to Task Manager, hit performance then CPU and check if hyper-threading is enabled. In that case you should read 4 cores and 8 logical processors

So here is the benchmark:

FPS: 79.9
SCORE:2013
MIN FPS: 8.9
MAX FPS: 167.3

System:

Platform:Windows NT 6.2 (build 9200) 64bit
CPU Model:Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40GHz (3407MHz) x4
GPU ModelIntel(R) HD Graphics 530 23.20.16.4849/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 24.21.13.9764 (4095MB) x1

Settings:

Render: Direct3D11
Mode: 1920x1071 8xAA windowed (I don't know why its says 1071, I ran it at 1080)
Preset Custom (When I hit the extreme preset it wouldn't let me change resolution, so I changed the resolution before I benchmarked it)
Quality Ultra
Tessellation: Extreme

Alright I'll max out settings in the games and Nvidia as well. I'll also monitor and check the CPU and GPU usages and temps. As for the psu model, could you tell me how I could check that out? I looked it up a little bit and a lot of the ways suggest opening the pc and checking. I can do that, but it would be better if I could check somehow without opening my pc. Also there are 4 cores and 8 logical processors, so I guess that means hyper threading is enabled. I'll give you the usage and temp results soon.

 

[mynametake]

I cant see the result of the benchmark. Can you write it down here?
I don't think your gpu is your issue here, despite the fact that it "underperforms" (this is relative to other 1070's). With that gpu you should max out quality settings to make your gpu work harder and release the load of the cpu (cpu renders frames and queues them waiting for the gpu to display them). Just max out your settings on games.
2-3 more things: Check your temperatures for cpu and gpu. You can use MSI Afterburner or a similar program to check temps while gaming. If they are too high, they maybe underperform.
Check your cpu/gpu usage when you are having those deep drops (i.e to 60 fps). You must monitor whether the cpu or gpu maxes out its usage, (100% or near).
Please have a look at your psu make and model and post it here. I assume it is crap.
Go to Task Manager, hit performance then CPU and check if hyper-threading is enabled. In that case you should read 4 cores and 8 logical processors

Alright sorry this took so long! I've been pretty busy so I'm sorry I didn't get this in sooner. So I used after burner and monitored my pc during Fortnite. The temperatures of my CPU and GPU stuck around 70-80 and didn't fluctuate too much. But what I noticed is that my CPU and GPU usage was only around 30-60, 50 on average. Also when I went to the towns and texture demanding areas like you said, my GPU usage and CPU usage would drop, but my temps would stay the same. It's almost like the more demanding something is the less my pc puts out? Anyways if you want something more specific, just ask! Ok so I just did another test, with all of the Fortnite settings on epic, and the GPU usage went up much higher, but it would still drop from 90 to 70 when in graphic intensive areas. As for my CPU, it would stick around 50 and 60 still, but would drop in graphic intensive areas. One more thing, I looked up what psu that a Alienware Aurora R5 has, and opened my pc as well to check. I have a Corsair H60 for my psu. Also I lied about one more thing, I monitored my pc while playing Warframe, my GPU usage is 20-40% and my CPU is 30-50%. On epic settings.

 

[Tolis_GR]

Ok, first of all your gpu underperforms indeed compared to most 1070s. Still i don't think that this is the problem here. It's normal that the gpu won't boost to 100% for many games because it has much power. Cpu usage is also normal. The problem is the cpu usage shouldn't drop. There are some things you may try: Download cpu-z and mark the model of your motherboard, post it here.
Configure your bios settings: In boot screen press repeatedly Delete to enter bios. There are several tweaks to boost performance like Ram frequency, cpu turbo boost, possibly cpu frequency as well can be boosted. Tell me the model of your mobo and we may set it up.
After configuring bios, i would try 2 things: Clean install of Windows, then try another psu. What you mentioned as Corsair H60 is your cpu cooler and not your power supply. Your power supply sticker should be visible either by removing the left side panel or the right.

 

[mynametake]

Ok, first of all your gpu underperforms indeed compared to most 1070s. Still i don't think that this is the problem here. It's normal that the gpu won't boost to 100% for many games because it has much power. Cpu usage is also normal. The problem is the cpu usage shouldn't drop. There are some things you may try: Download cpu-z and mark the model of your motherboard, post it here.
Configure your bios settings: In boot screen press repeatedly Delete to enter bios. There are several tweaks to boost performance like Ram frequency, cpu turbo boost, possibly cpu frequency as well can be boosted. Tell me the model of your mobo and we may set it up.
After configuring bios, i would try 2 things: Clean install of Windows, then try another psu. What you mentioned as Corsair H60 is your cpu cooler and not your power supply. Your power supply sticker should be visible either by removing the left side panel or the right.

Alright so my motherboard model is 01NYPT. Also when you say my card under performs more than most GTX 1070s, but that isn't the problem, does that mean that I don't need an insanely good GTX performance for it to run alright? Sorry if the question is kinda dumb but I'm just kinda curious. I'll also check my psu and give you the model soon.

 

[mynametake]

Sorry I've been gone for so long but I think I found the solution. I did a clean install of windows like you suggested and started up Fortnite without downloading anything else or changing the nvidia settings. The quality seemed a lot better and the fps more stable. So once I saw it was functioning better I went and changed the settings in the nvidia control panel to emphasize performance and my power plan to high performance. But once I changed my settings, I noticed that I was started to get less fps and I was getting those rough fps drops again. I then changed them back to what I had before and I was back to smooth gameplay again. So I went out on a limb and changed my power plan to balanced and my nvidia power plan to optimal power and my texture quality to high quality (everything else I really didn't touch). My game then ran even smoother. I think that you were right in thinking that my psu was trash. It seemed that trying to switch my pc to emphasize performance caused more fps lag and drops, which I guess would mean that the power supply can't generate enough power or isn't good enough for the demand that the performance settings place on it (honestly I'm taking a guess here, I really don't know if this speculation is accurate or not). Either way, it seems to have improved a lot.

 

[Tolis_GR]

Glad to hear. It's just a speculation by my side as well but tweaking settings to optimize your system is the first thing one may try. Usually psu problems or insufficient power you give artifacts, shut downs, restarts and errors, so i am not certain if the psu was the culprit, although it may be.
Now that you have a clean install you can easily identify the cause of performance drops. I am not quite familiar with Nvidia but there are settings that hugely impact performance. Try to familiarize with them and you should be good.