Low FPS when gaming
Low FPS when gaming
Ah, during those temperatures it's quite likely your CPU is throttling. When it consistently reaches the high 80s and above, the CPU will reduce its clock speed to stay within its thermal limits. This often leads to a significant drop in FPS. I've noticed this happens at the start of games when the CPU isn't as hot.
You might consider using a laptop cooling pad to improve airflow under your device. Alternatively, you could try undervolting your CPU, which lowers voltage and heat output, allowing it to run faster for longer periods. Have you cleaned any internal components recently? This could be beneficial.
The power plans shouldn't negatively impact your PC, but I recommend opting for the high-performance profile rather than Ultimate, as it keeps all sleep states active for various hardware parts. (more suitable for desktops).
After reviewing GeForce experience, using DDU to uninstall the GPU driver and then installing it with 'Custom - Clean install' options is a good next step.
I attempted to uninstall the driver using DDU and reinstall it, but it didn’t resolve my problem. I already have a cooling pad, and when I began using it, I noticed it reduced the frequency at which my fans reached maximum speed. To me, the pad seems to be functioning properly.
I can hear that my CPU gets too hot, particularly during benchmarking, yet I’m confused about three points if my CPU is faulty because of overheating or early wear:
- Why the demanding benchmark animation ran smoothly while my games showed low FPS? It was 64 FPS minimum when I currently have a maximum of 12 FPS during gaming.
- Why does my issue appear right away when loading a game save? During the benchmark test, the fans didn’t reach maximum speed at the start. I don’t have a continuous CPU temperature reading, but the GPU’s maximum temperature wasn’t reached immediately. I truly believe the CPU hasn’t had time to reach an uncomfortable temperature while I’m already experiencing the FPS drop.
- Why did my problem suddenly appear from one day to the next, without any gradual decline in FPS?
I resolved the problem by removing the Citrix software, which was causing issues when connecting to my work remotely. Now my games are running normally again. There’s a discussion about this on the site if anyone is interested.
Some users reported low gaming performance after an update from Citrix Workspace. I installed an update on Saturday and noticed the issue disappeared once I uninstalled Citrix. I found a virtual graphics card in the device manager, but trying to deactivate it without Citrix didn’t fix the problem, leading me to believe it might not be the main cause. It seems working with an older version of the software would resolve it.
I think the reason it affected gaming more than benchmarking was due to internet connectivity. Since I play games on Steam, my computer tries to connect to the internet even when in airplane mode. For remote connections, Citrix also needs internet access. However, the benchmark tests were local and didn’t require an internet connection. It’s possible that Citrix interfered with the full activation of my graphics card during a game session.
Thanks to everyone for your help, especially Keith12.
Excellent. Glad you found the culprit. Funnily enough, my partner has been temporarily using my gaming PC for work, and has been using Citrix receiver for that. However, I've noticed some very odd behavior with at least to start up apps, not starting up! Uninstalled Citrix, issue gone. Don't figure.