What's Going On Here?

[ronbo613]

I've got a bit of a problem and I don't know if it's a CPU, graphics, software or some other issue but I'll throw it out here.

I installed GRID Autosport video game from Steam. With my system, I figured I'd be able to at least, run it at 1920 x 1080 at medium settings on my computer monitor and medium to high settings on my TV via HDMI at 1280 x 720. No such luck. I cannot get the game to run smoothly unless it is set to 800 x 600 at Ultra Low settings and MSAA off. Any higher than that and the game is so choppy that it's unplayable.

When I run the game's benchmarking program, at 1920 x 1080 on High settings, it runs 40fps(avg) with a minimum of 29fps and max of 78fps. At 1280 x 720 on Low, it runs 88fps(avg), 44fps minimum and 136 maximum. On either of these settings, the game is so choppy it's hard to watch. It actually seems worse at the lower resolution and higher framerate. The only setting that runs smoothly is 800 x 600 Ultra Low where it churns out 213fps(avg), 166fps minimum and 257fps max. I've been away from computer gaming for awhile, but shouldn't 30fps be enough to squeak by and surely 60-80fps should be enough to play a video game?

Kind of scraping for answers so I ran the Unigine Benchmark at 1920 x 1080(FPS: 29.6, Min: 16.4, Max: 55.1, Score: 746) and 1280 x 720(FPS: 46, Min: 18.3, Max: 108.6, Score: 1159) on my 1920 x 1080 computer monitor. Once again, the lower resolution seems more choppy.

What's going on here? Is my CPU choking? Seeing worse playback at lower resolutions and higher framerates has got me baffled. I'm not really sure where to go from here. I emailed the game developers but haven't heard back.

Any ideas? I'd love to hear them.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Try check GPU and CPU load while you play it. It seems your game behave very oddly outside the benchmark.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Open GPU-Z see what the PCI-E is running at, do you over clock at all? I think your board is a PCI-E 2.0 but your GPU is 3.0, not sure if you can free it up or not seems your getting throttled by the board.

 

[ronbo613]

Open GPU-Z see what the PCI-E is running at, do you over clock at all? I think your board is a PCI-E 2.0 but your GPU is 3.0, not sure if you can free it up or not seems your getting throttled by the board.

The motherboard PCI-E x16 and the GPU is PCI-E 3.0. I assumed I was not going to get 100% of the video card capability but did not expect it would not run at all.

 

[Termie]

The benchmark scores seem fine, but you report that the visual are off. This isn't a standard performance issue.

Do you have another cable you can try? Any issues on the Windows desktop? Did you previously have another card installed, and if so, what was it and how was performance with it?

Do you have any other games besides Grid and Unigine you can try? How about running 3DMark Firestrike?

 

[ronbo613]

The benchmark scores seem fine, but you report that the visual are off. This isn't a standard performance issue.

Do you have another cable you can try? Any issues on the Windows desktop? Did you previously have another card installed, and if so, what was it and how was performance with it?

Do you have any other games besides Grid and Unigine you can try? How about running 3DMark Firestrike?

You mean the cable from the video card to the monitor? The graphics performance was the same when I ran the game on my 720p TV with a brand new HDMI cable so I don't think it's any of the cables. No problems with my computer or with the previous EVGA nVidia GT 640 graphics card. It was a decent video card, not a gaming card by any means so I never played any games with it. Maybe I'll stick it back in and see if it outperforms the 750 Ti.

The only non Steam PC game I have is Battlefield 2. I plan to install it and see how it runs. The other game I have from Steam is CounterStrike, I don't think that's a good game to check for graphic performance. I downloaded 3DMark11, but I'm not sure how to interpret the benchmarks I already have.

Before I bought the ASUS video card, I emailed ASUS and asked them if the PCI-E 3.0 card would work on my PCI-E motherboard. They said it would, but I could expect 15-20% under the card's stated performance specs.

 

[AntonioHG]

The motherboard PCI-E x16 and the GPU is PCI-E 3.0. I assumed I was not going to get 100% of the video card capability but did not expect it would not run at all.

PCIE 2.0 @ 16x shouldn't hold you back at all...

Check you CPU/GPU load like the previous person said. You can also try OCing to 3.2+GHz and see what happens to your fps.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Yeah, PCI-e 2.0 x16 only starts holding back 980s and even then it's like 5%. The card should work fine. The problem isn't one that should be happening like a heat limitation or just being underpowered.

 

[ronbo613]

Check you CPU/GPU load like the previous person said. You can also try OCing to 3.2+GHz and see what happens to your fps.

I plan to run the game on one monitor and have the Windows 7 Resource Monitor open on the other to check the CPU performance, is there a better program to check the CPU/GPU performance while the game is running? I planned to do a mild overclock on the CPU but wanted to see how it ran stock. I wonder if the Turbo Boost is "going on and off" and causing the stuttering. Maybe turning off the Turbo and overclocking a bit would help.

The problem isn't one that should be happening like a heat limitation or just being underpowered.

I don't think heat is a problem. I have an aftermarket cooler on the CPU and while running the Unigine benchmark, the GPU was steady at 50°C.

I think I may have found the problem. I downloaded the ASUS GPU Monitor and can see that the GPU is running at 98% at the desktop, basically maxxed out at idle. Now I have to figure out what is using all the GPU when nothing is running.

With the GRID Benchmark running, the CPU was at about 27-30% usage and 101% max frequency. At any given time, usually three of the eight CPU cores were basically idle.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[ronbo613]

This is crazy. The GPU usage goes to 98% idling at desktop. When I start the Task Manager to look for a problem, the GPU usage drops to 0. When I close the Task Manager, GPU usage goes back to 98%.

I uninstalled the nVidia display drivers because when I installed the new video card, Windows reinstalled the old drivers when I restarted the computer with all the options. I disabled the auto driver install via gpedit.msc, then installed the latest nVidia drivers without the 3D Vision and nVidia Experience. The only nVidia thing running is the nVidia Control Panel which cannot be disabled. I ran Process Explorer but didn't see anything unusual.

If I run the GRID Autosport benchmark with the Task Manager open, it runs 1920 x 1080 on High settings with 80fps, smooth as silk. Close the Task Manager, the GPU usage shoots back up to 98% with nothing running.

Something fishy is going on. Why would having the Task Manager open have anything to do with graphics performance? I'm going to run a virus scan, maybe that will turn up some clues.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Maybe you have some mining malware that exploits your PC.

 

[ViRGE]

Maybe you have some mining malware that exploits your PC.

It's kind of a crackpot theory, but in this situation it's just crazy enough that it could be right. The unusual GPU usage points to something else tapping the GPU, which could definitely cause what the OP is seeing.

 

[ronbo613]

It's kind of a crackpot theory, but in this situation it's just crazy enough that it could be right. The unusual GPU usage points to something else tapping the GPU, which could definitely cause what the OP is seeing.

I ran MalwareBytes in Safe Mode and an in-depth scan with NOD 32 and found nothing. Something is causing the GPU to spike at idle and stop dead when the Task Manager is open. None of the processes look suspicious. I guess I'll try killing the processes one by one until something happens.

This really sucks.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

For shits n giggles can you place the GPU in another PCI-E slot, at least narrow down that it isn't the socket?

 

[ronbo613]

For shits n giggles can you place the GPU in another PCI-E slot, at least narrow down that it isn't the socket?

I don't think it's a hardware issue because the video card works fine. There's something else going on.

At desktop, the GPU use is 98%. When I open the Task Manager, it drops to zero. When I close the Task Manager, it goes back to 98%. Same thing happens when I run Process Explorer(procexp.exe). How am I going to be able to find what's wrong because whenever I open a program that identifies running processes, whatever is causing the problem shuts down? I don't even know what I'm looking for.

 

[KingFatty]

Did you see this weird behavior under safe mode?

Or does the 98% GPU usage only happen when you are not in safe mode?

 

[Termie]

Well, you could just set Process Explorer to run at startup - that would be a fix, if not entirely a solution.

 

[Black Octagon]

Not normal at all. I would seriously consider reinstalling Windows. Sound like a hassle? Then maybe it's not so much of an unattractive proposition after all to simply try another PCIEe slot, as was already suggested...

 

[Keysplayr]

Old hard drive available?

 

[Ed1]

Run, install MSI AB 4.0 and hit the "I" button on main menu , it will list any 3d processes running that could be hitting GPU% .
Its good program to monitor GPU data and OC , best IMO .

LGS is know to use GPU if you have "enable enhanced graphics" on, turn it off and any option under graphics .

 

[ronbo613]

Did you see this weird behavior under safe mode?

Or does the 98% GPU usage only happen when you are not in safe mode?

The GPU monitoring software doesn't work in Safe Mode so I can't tell, but I would guess that it doesn't happen in Safe Mode and here's why I think that. If there is some kind of malware, it's being used to steal my GPU and it's got to be going somewhere. I unplugged my network cable and the GPU usage goes to zero. So I am sending in the Hosts file hijack team to see what's up.

I really do appreciate all the input, thanks

 

[Black Octagon]

You disconnect the LAN cable and it goes away?! What the heck is that? Trojan Horse that uses other people's GPUs for mining or folding perhaps?

 

[ronbo613]

The hosts file is clean.

I'm running out of ideas.

 

[Dankk]

I would clean and repair the OS as thoroughly as you possibly can without actually reformatting.

Look at your Windows startup program list and uncheck all unecessary software, uninstall any fishy programs/adware, uninstall all browser plugins and extensions, run full Malwarebytes scan in safe mode, run full scan with Bitdefender (free trial), uninstall network drivers, uninstall graphics drivers, run DDU, run CCleaner (clean both temp files and registry), do an sfc /scannow Windows integrity check, do another virus scan, then re-install your drivers... I don't know what else I'm missing but I would basically turn everything upside down.

 

[Summerfun]

Try running Roguekiller. I have had a bitcoin trojan that i could not find with any other program, but Roguekiller found it.