Usage of GPU decreases in games and other strange occurrences
Usage of GPU decreases in games and other strange occurrences
Hello,
System details:
GPU: RTX 5080 OC
CPU: AMD 9950X3D
RAM: GSKILL Trident Neo RGB 6000MT\s CL30
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E - BIOS version 1605 (as of 722)
CPU Cooling: Silverstone IceMyst 360mm w/3 support Mobo cooling fans, Thermalright TF9 Past and V2 contact frame
Case: Phanteks XT Pro Ultra with 4 M25-120 extra inlet fans
Storage: Crucial T705 2TB on a dedicated Gen5 m.2 slot. 911 GB free
PSU: NZXT C1500 Platinum ATX 3.1
Monitor: ASUS Rog Swift OLED 34" pg34wcdm 240hz, firmware updated
Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling: Active for DLSS Framegen
Optimizations for Window Games: Enabled
HDR: Disabled
Display Refresh Rate: Set to Maximum (239.98 hz)
Currently, all BIOS settings are at default. PBO and Expo are not active, though I previously encountered issues with those options. The GPU isn’t being overclocked at the moment.
I recently assembled this PC and faced some unusual problems. Initially, I struggled with most of these issues on the old motherboard. After switching to the new one listed above and performing a clean Windows installation, I updated all drivers, chipsets, BIOS, and firmware. Here are the recurring problems I encounter, along with the games affected:
- Space Marines 2: During matches, GPU usage drops to 40–60%, causing the game to lag and stutter around 40fps, which becomes nearly unplayable.
- Dune: Awakening: The monitor flickers significantly. Enabling Anti-Flicker helped a lot, likely disabling GSYNC. Another issue is that using the in-game bug reporting system causes the game to freeze, stay frozen for about 5 minutes, and then crash with a Crash Report window. This also occurs in Space Marines 2, but far less frequently—about 10 times less.
- Dota 2: The game freezes immediately after I move my mouse after a match, preventing me from joining. If I don’t interact with the mouse, does it freeze? Initially, disabling EXPO resolved the problem, but after updating the BIOS to default settings, it reappeared.
I’ve checked all game files, reinstalled the titles, tried older drivers, used OCCT without errors, applied a shader cache of 100GB, and exhausted all options. CPU usage typically stays between 20–28% during gameplay, spikes when loading games, but remains normal during these errors. GPU and CPU temperatures rarely exceed 65°C, while the motherboard rarely surpasses 40°C.
Any suggestions?
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
Turn off the iGPU in BIOS. Next, employ DDU to eliminate all GPU drivers (intel, AMD and Nvidia) during Safe Mode, then install the newest GPU driver from Nvidia's support site using an elevated command—right-click the installer and select Run as Administrator.
And did you perform a clean Windows installation?
Where did you obtain the installer for your OS? Did you rebuild the installer to avoid a faulty one? Did you install the OS in offline mode?
I decided to try it, thinking it was a new setup. I made a Media Creation Tool and downloaded everything straight from Microsoft. Mostly it was done because I changed motherboards, which should have been the reason. I don't remember doing anything online or offline—I think I bypassed the PIN reset because it was acting odd. The dialog box for setting the pin wouldn't open.
The best approach is to download drivers to a USB drive. I usually run Windows on a local account without WiFi or internet for driver installations just to avoid conflicts, and Nvidias drivers are also extremely problematic.