SLI GPU USAGE BELOW 75% in several games - Please help :(

[cyraeth]

I would like to apologize in advance for the terrible English you are about to read right now.

Right, so am currently experiencing an issue with several games regarding the SLI GPU usage of my GTX 680s, (more precisely BF4, GTA 5, Metro last light). I’m using EVGA Precision X to monitor the data (also used MSI Afterburner to see if there was a bug in the first mentioned software).

The monitoring softwares tell me that the usage rarely surpasses 65% in each car, which is kind of annoying considering that I would like to obtain as much power as I can from my video cards.

Here is a list of all the things that I’ve already try, making it easier for you guys to help me out:
- Clean install of drivers (GPU / Motherboard)
- System update for all relevant components and software.
- Set high priority power (maximum performance) in the NVidia control panel
- overclocked CPU up to 4.5GHZ (stable)
- Check temperatures and Fan speeds
- Registry clean up, and CC clean up.
- play with the in game graphic settings (the usage barely varies, even in low settings)
- Utilize Precision X's K-Boost (didnt even worked)
- Remove the video cards, and put them back again (in different order)
- Check the SLI cable for visible damage
- I tried lowering textures due to limited Vram but that was not the issue
- Run Unigine Heavens benchmark and compare to previous result. * Strangely during this benchmark my GPU usage is very good (around 90-95% both cards)
- I can ramp up the usage a bit by turning resulution scaling up, but thats not an "ideal" solution since it also affects the FPS
- went back to the previous driver version (still have the issue)
- Vsinc is off (in game and in Nvidia Control)

I really don’t know what else to do, and honestly I think I didn’t had this problem with BF4 a while ago (not sure though since I don’t remember very well what the GPU usage was a month ago)

I would really appreciate any help you can provide

Specs:

3770k OC 4.5 GHZ ATM (Stable)
2x EVGA GTX 680 2GB SLI
2x 8gb HyperX Ram
850w cooler master power supply
1TB barracuda HD
120gb SSD (boot drive only)
MSI z77 military class III motherboard

EDIT: I’ve been using a Monitoring software for the past year and it is now that the GPU usage caught my attention, meaning that i don’t think I had the problem before.

 

[ShakedG]

I don't understand what is your problem? Low utilization is good. I would be worried if you had FPS drops and such. If you want to max out your GPU then get more demanding games, or turn the graphics settings up.

 

[cyraeth]

The problem relies on the fact that during some very demanding scenes in those games my fps sometimes dips below 60 while still using only 50-60% of its power. I wouldn’t mind if this issue was happening while on Vsync but that’s not the case. (as it was cleared out above) playing at 50 fps during a particular scene knowing my rig is capable of much more is kind of infuriating.

 

[ShakedG]

Try using CPUID HWMonitor. It breaks down all the utilizations i.e GPU, Frame Buffer etc. Also keep in mind that today's games rely much more on VRAM, and so your 2GB of VRAM is bottlenecking your GPU, which is why you cannot reach the full potential of the actual GPU.

 

[cyraeth]

Thank you I’ll try the CPUID HWMonitor as you suggested, now regarding the Vram, I don’t think that’s the issue because as I stated in the opening post I tried lowering all the graphic settings that are Vram heavy (such as textures) with no usage change.

 

[ShakedG]

Thank you I’ll try the CPUID HWMonitor as you suggested, now regarding the Vram, I don’t think that’s the issue because as I stated in the opening post I tried lowering all the graphic settings that are Vram heavy (such as textures) with no usage change.

As you lower your graphics settings, your GPU will be less utilized. Run on maxed settings (or whatever you ran before) but do this: download GPUZ and monitor everything as you play (especially VRAM).

 

[cyraeth]

Will do, I’ll get back to you once I get to try this at home since I am currently at the office.

 

[cyraeth]

Tracked everything, CPU Usage is around 50% ish, and Vram is at 1750mb so its not a Vram cap either....

 

[ShakedG]

Tracked everything, CPU Usage is around 50% ish, and Vram is at 1750mb so its not a Vram cap either....

1750 MB sounds like you are reaching the maximum of your VRAM. So I believe this might be it. I get the frustration, since 2 SLI'd 680s have a GPU that can run really good games, but the VRAM isn't large enough. I have the same issue with my 2GB GTX 760, which has a decent GPU, but I keep capping the VRAM on games (capping is even getting to 90%).

 

[cyraeth]

Hello Nightowl, i kind of disagree, the VRam numbers am getting at the ultra-settings and the card still has 250mb of room which i know is available since it is used in the benchmarks, and if it was an influential factor i don’t think it was responsible for chunking 50% usage of my card specially if it’s not topping at 2024mb.

Nonetheless i really appreciate your feedback

 

[ShakedG]

Maybe you're right, but I don't have any other idea. When you benchmark, does your GPU reach a 100% utilization or is it also at 50-60% while benchmarking?

 

[cyraeth]

Yes both cards stay above the 95% usage, also the temperatures are great, and the scores have been the same since the first time i bought the PC, its only while playing some videogames. Which leads me to believe that maybe some software is interfering with the Card’s performance

 

[ShakedG]

Try using Razer Cortex's boost option, it helps sometimes. Also make sure all drivers are updated, and run a full scan with antivirus and with malwarebytes.

 

[garneroutlaw]

Wondering if you got this fixed? Same issue here. Im RMAing my mobo.