Issue with reduced frame rate when turning on on-screen performance overlays.
Issue with reduced frame rate when turning on on-screen performance overlays.
During recent tests of my CPU's undervolt configurations, I encountered an unexpected problem. Whenever I activate the on-screen performance overlay—whether it's the NVIDIA or MSI Afterburner interface—I notice a noticeable drop in my in-game frame rate.
Here are the recorded FPS figures:
- Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, no RT, all low settings, overlays off): AVG FPS 188, MIN 150, MAX 225
- Cyberpunk 2077 (same settings, overlays on): AVG FPS 179, MIN 144, MAX 212
- R6 Siege X benchmark: AVG FPS 405, MIN 360, MAX 456 (all low settings, overlay off), AVG 375, MIN 330, MAX 423
- R6 Siege X benchmark: AVG FPS 1080p, overlay off, MIN 360, MAX 456, AVG 375, MIN 330, MAX 423
The decline is consistent and repeatable across multiple trials. Even when running the benchmark without the OSD, the FPS drops similarly. I've tried several fixes—reinstalling MSI Afterburner, resetting OSD settings, disabling power monitoring, reinstalling drivers via DDU, rebooting with a bootable USB, and ensuring no background processes were running. None of these steps resolved the issue. It appears this performance loss is reliable and shouldn't occur on a modern system.
Modern? No.
Ryzen 5000-series were launched in 2020. And while your specific CPU was released in 2024, the underlying platform, namely AM4 socket, is still somewhat old.
If you'd have Ryzen 9000-series (like i have), it would be different story.
Powerful? Not quite.
Again, you're running older generation CPU and it isn't considered powerful.
E.g here is performance comparison between my CPU and your CPU,
link:
https://technical.city/en/cpu/Ryzen-7-57...-7-9800X3D
Easy 50% diff.
As of what you're seeing is normal. Since OSD still needs some CPU compute power to run itself. Or are you thinking that OSD runs on thin air?
Also, your FPS drop isn't significant. It is in the expected range of running OSD.
From 188 FPS to 179 FPS = 5% diff.
From 405 FPS to 375 FPS = 7% diff.
Sizeable would be 20% or more diff.
Your FPS reduction is within normal parameters.
I didn't note the make, model, and age of your PSU. I would recommend testing on a more concurrent platform, such as a B650 or B550 chipset, to compare results. If improvements occur, it may indicate the issue lies with your current setup.
It's nice to hear that everything is fine! I wasn't anticipating a 30FPS decrease when turning on the OSD in a game like R6 Siege.
The higher the FPS you achieve, the greater the drop in terms of FPS. However, when considering the percentile value, the change isn't significant.
For instance, if you reach 1000 FPS and experience a drop of 50 or 70 FPS, it appears substantial, but in percentages it's around 5% or 7%.
The same applies if you hit 100 FPS, resulting in a drop of 5 or 7, while the percentile stays consistent.
Also, your monitor's resolution is 165 Hz, which means any FPS above that won't be visible (the display won't show it). Therefore, you won't actually lose anything with OSD.