[SOLVED] Underperforming RTX 2080 Ti and control panel not showing 144Hz option for monitor

[ArchitSahu]

Hi.
My PC specs:
i9 9900k at 4.7Ghz
Corsair H100i RGB Pro
MSI Z390m MPG Gaming Pro AC
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB DDR4 2666 Mhz
A.Data M.2 SSD - 256 GB
1 TB WD Blue
Zotac RTX 2080Ti Twin Fan
Seasonic Focus Plus 750W PSU

Monitors:

1. Dell S2719DGF - 1440p, 144Hz, Freesync with GSync Compatability
2. LG 22MK430H - 1080p, 75Hz, Freesync

I have the Dell monitor connected to the 2080Ti using display port cable, specifically this one: link. The LG monitor is connected to an HDMI switcher to my 2080Ti using a spare HDMI cable. The HDMI cable that came with the Dell monitor is plugged into my PS4 to the HDMI switcher to the LG monitor.

Issues:
After switching to 1440p, the first thing I did was to check that 1440p 144hz was enabled. Going into the Nvidia Control Panel, the 1440p resolution was selected, but I was unable to change the refresh rate for the Dell as the only option available was 60Hz. Conversely, I had the option to switch the LG monitor to 75Hz within the control panel. I read online that the
lone display port at the back of the card is not the high bandwidth option, so I switched the cable to one of the other ports sandwiching the HDMI cable, as seen in the picture (sidenote: the gpu in the picture is not the same model as my card but it has the same port alignment so I added it in for reference).

Switching it to one of the lower ports still did not show the 144hz option, either in the Nvidia Control Panel or the Windows Settings Display tab. So as a last resort, I decided to set a custom resolution through the Nvidia Control Panel, manually adjusting the refresh rate to 144Hz. Upon clicking apply, both my monitors went blank and I had to hard reboot the PC after a period of time. Upon coming back, the 144Hz option is now there, and the monitors OSD frame counter also displays 144Hz, but I now have to manually switch to 144Hz every time I log in, and sometimes the 144Hz option is not there meaning I have to redo the whole custom resolution process. Another thing I want to note is that I really cannot make out the difference between the 144Hz and 60Hz, and I have experienced an 1440 144Hz gameplay experience before.

Would this be a problem with my cable, the one I linked above? Should I use the HDMI cable that came with the Dell monitor? The manual says it is HDMI 2.0, but I thought DisplayPort would be better for 1440p 144hz?

2nd Issue:
Another issue I am facing is that I am getting below-average performance on games. Ill make a list here:
GTA V - Ultra all - 1440p - 70 to 110 FPS with drops to 45 to 60 sometimes - GPU temp at 65 - 71C and CPU temp around 60C
Apex Legends - Ultra - 1440p - 70 to 90 FPS - GPU temp at 80 - 82C (this is really high for something the GPU should power through) and CPU temps between 50 to 60C
BF4 - Ultra - 1440p - 65 to 85 FPS (it varies wildly in between) - GPU temp around 70 - 75C - This seems to be very poor performance for an RTX 2080 Ti
Overwatch - Ultra - 1440p - 59 to 60 FPS - GPU Temp around 80C - Despite setting a custom limit of 300 FPS, turning off Vsync etc, the FPS counter does NOT go past 60, and rapidly flickers between 59 and 60. The monitors OSD FPS counter also shows that it is between 59-60.

So from the games I have tested so far, it seems Overwatch and Bf4 are the worst hit. I am completely stumped as to why they are performing so poorly. Any ideas?

Any suggestions for the issues I have listed would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ArchitSahu]

Anybody?

 

[Phaaze88]

Have you already tried DDU to reinstall the new driver?

Does performance change when you unplug the 1080p monitor?

 

[ArchitSahu]

I tried DDU, but I have not yet tried unplugging the 1080p monitor. As it stands, I am seriously considering that the display port cable I bought maybe a scam and will try out the HDMI cable that came with the Monitor as that is certified HDMI 2.0. But that would not fix my underperformance issues.

Ill try DDU again once I get back home.

 

[Phaaze88]

The reason I'm suggesting unplugging the 1080p monitor is due to this: View: https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/atl1gm/regarding_the_whole_144hz60hz_dual_monitor_setup/

Problem: There lies a frame sync issue concerning multi-monitor setups of differing native refresh rates. Different resolutions is fine though.
Solution: There are a number of workarounds in that thread, but only one of them has proven consistent - having monitors of the same refresh.

 

[ArchitSahu]

The reason I'm suggesting unplugging the 1080p monitor is due to this: View: https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/atl1gm/regarding_the_whole_144hz60hz_dual_monitor_setup/

Problem: There lies a frame sync issue concerning multi-monitor setups of differing native refresh rates. Different resolutions is fine though.
Solution: There are a number of workarounds in that thread, but only one of them has proven consistent - having monitors of the same refresh.

Hmm, I see. But I do not see any stuttering when playing. And for overwatch, if I change it to custom FPS and increase the limit to 300 should it not display 300 FPS then or at least above 60, regardless of the Hz of the monitor? Not to mention that my secondary display is at 75Hz, so should it have not displayed 74-75FPS then?

Also, if my 1080p monitor is plugged into a HDMI Switcher, and I switch it to another input, would that count as unplugging?

 

[Phaaze88]

1)Well yeah... but does it stay there though?

2)Yes. But the gpu having to refresh screen 1 at 144, or 300, and screen 2 at 75, at the same time, is causing it to... 'trip over itself' of sorts. Kinda like people of vastly different heights doing a 3-legged race?

3)I'll word it this way: Only the Dell monitor should be plugged into the gpu.

 

[ArchitSahu]

1)Well yeah... but does it stay there though?

2)Yes. But the gpu having to refresh screen 1 at 144, or 300, and screen 2 at 75, at the same time, is causing it to... 'trip over itself' of sorts. Kinda like people of vastly different heights doing a 3-legged race?

3)I'll word it this way: Only the Dell monitor should be plugged into the gpu.

Okay, so I just got backed and just tried OW with only the Dell plugged in, using the HDMI cable that came with Dell monitor. First, on Nvidia Control Panel there is now an option to switch to 144hz, but whether this is because of the Custom Resolution I set or because it detected 144Hz, I dont know.

As for OW, I tried running it and it has increased by a mere 10fps, now bouncing between 60 to 70. I am not sure where to go from this apart from DDU or something drastic.

EDIT: Just tried BF4, now FPS is between 60 and 70 only. Not even crossing 100

EDIT 2: I found the issue. It turns out my Resolution Scaling was set at 200% for all my games, thus the performance was actually for a resolution 2 x 1440p monitor (if I understand that correctly). Turning it down to 100% has see a definite increase in FPS across all my games. 144Hz is now working properly as well. I will see how well this solution works for the next few days before selecting answer. Thanks @Phaaze88.

 

[Phaaze88]

That one had slipped my mind.
Is it one of those cases where people turn on DSR - either by mistake or curiousity, and forget to turn it off? Because I don't think it's enabled by default.

 

[ArchitSahu]

It actually may be DSR, and something I may have enabled by mistake. But the resolution scaling I was talking about is in-game. Across all my games, they had been set at 200% by default, and turning it down to 100% gave me a nearly 80 FPS increase across all my games. Except for GTA V, which does not have an option for Resolution Scaling but has something called Frame Scaling and leaving that at normal (i.e. 100%) did not affect performance; I will have to play around with settings for that game to maximize FPS.