GSYNC lowering GPU Usage Resulting in Lower FPS?

[GhostFace0621]

I'm not sure if this is just me on here but I've noticed something very annoying these past couple of days. This is true to all of the games that I play. I've got a 7700K overclocked to 4.9 GHz and two GTX 1080s overclocked to 2.1 GHz.

GSYNC OFF in Witcher 3: GPU usage are pegged at 99% giving me around 130 - 140 FPS wherever I go in the game. Even in the most demanding city in game which is Novigrad.

GSYNC ON in Witcher 3: GPU usage is around 80% - 90% and I get around 120 FPS max and it wouldn't even go higher than that. Sometimes, I even dip down to 89 FPS, which is really annoying.

I know that it's still above 60 FPS, but my point is, my GPU isn't being utilized to it's maximum potential with GSYNC enabled and I'm at my witts end. Here are the things that I've done to try and fix this problem:
- Uninstalled drivers using DDU and reinstalled latest ones.
- I also tried rolling back 3 drivers back to no avail.
- Reinstalled Windows 10 install and reinstalled the games and still nothing.
- Reseated the GPUs and the HB SLI bridge
- Reseated theh RAM

None of these methods worked. The ONLY solution I've found is disabling GSYNC. Which makes the whole module pointless.

Please, if anyone is having this same problem, have you done anything to try and relieve this?

 

[Kanan]

Sounds like a really special problem, try Nvidia or Witcher 3 support.

 

[jboydgolfer]

If I may offer up my humble advice. I find that when ever a problem reveals itself in regards to a video card if you're running crossfire or SLI it only complicates the situation. Remove one of the video cards,and see if you can replicate the issue that way(running a single gpu). I'm willing to bet that you won't be able to. I look forward to finding out if I'm right or wrong ,hopefully the former.

 

[Kanan]

If I may offer up my humble advice. I find that when ever a problem reveals itself in regards to a video card if you're running crossfire or SLI it only complicates the situation. Remove one of the video cards,and see if you can replicate the issue that way. I'm willing to bet that you won't be able to. I look forward to finding out if I'm right or wrong ,hopefully the former.

Yeah it's probably a special SLI/Gsync driver problem. AMD is fixing issues like that all the time @ Freesync/Crossfire/Fullscreen/Max window and whatnot. In the end, SLI/CF makes everything complicated and produces errors en masse.

 

[FR@NK]

GSYNC OFF in Witcher 3: GPU usage are pegged at 99%

GSYNC ON in Witcher 3: GPU usage is around 80% - 90%

This looks normal. The minimum time between frames with gsync on is capped at ≈7ms which will cause reduced GPU usage any time the frame gets drawn faster then this.

 

[GhostFace0621]

If I may offer up my humble advice. I find that when ever a problem reveals itself in regards to a video card if you're running crossfire or SLI it only complicates the situation. Remove one of the video cards,and see if you can replicate the issue that way(running a single gpu). I'm willing to bet that you won't be able to. I look forward to finding out if I'm right or wrong ,hopefully the former.

I have done these. Both of the cards run at 99% load all the time if there is only one.

Yeah it's probably a special SLI/Gsync driver problem. AMD is fixing issues like that all the time @ Freesync/Crossfire/Fullscreen/Max window and whatnot. In the end, SLI/CF makes everything complicated and produces errors en masse.

I really wish that Nvidia focused on this more than releasing a new Titan GPU. Quite annoyed right now really.

This looks normal. The minimum time between frames with gsync on is capped at ≈7ms which will cause reduced GPU usage any time the frame gets drawn faster then this.

So I shouldn't be worried then? But here's one more thing, shouldn't the GPUs be utilized 99% or until they hit the frame cap?

 

[FR@NK]

shouldn't the GPUs be utilized 99% or until they hit the frame cap?

The closer you get to the frame rate cap the less GPU utilization you will get. With a SLI setup, frame pacing will decrease the utilization even more and reduce the frame rate abit to avoid any micro stuttering.

Doesnt the game look and feel smoother with Gsync on even though you are only getting 100fps compared to 130fps with no sync?

 

[jboydgolfer]

I have done this

so You are able to replicate the problem Even when you have only a single GPU installed in the PC?? or does it go away when only one is installed? i dont mean just remove the SLI bridge, i mean actually uninstall the 2ndary GPU entirely. i just want to make sure im clear on what your saying.

 

[erixx]

Hi, mate. I am also a G-Sync user here.
What's your monitor frecuency? Maybe 120 Hz?

G-Sync limits the provision of frames to the monitor capacity, so it is only "as per design" to create less frames (so less intensive GPU usage). The room that this leaves is for you to turn up the details, view distances, etc. in the game. More stuff but at a fixed frame rate. ; )

 

[r9]

With any sync you can drop frames to the desired FPS but can't force the GPU outperform its maximum.
So its sound about right to me.

 

[newtekie1]

Any type of syncing technology is going to lower the framerate and GPU utilization. The whole point is to only render a frame at the exact time the monitor can display it. Gsync(and Freesync) all the monitors refresh rate to be adjusted on the fly to allow the best possible mating of rendering frames to monitor displaying them. But it can only go so far. The syncing still causes the GPU to wait on the monitor to be ready, and this cause lower framerates and hence lower GPU utilization.

IMO, turn the framerate counter off. You're mind gets too caught up on the framerate to notice that even at the lower framerates, the gameplay is smoother with no tearing and the input lag is non-existent.

 

[thesmokingman]

^^This. If you are hitting your smoothness target, that's all that matters. Utilization is meaningless if it hampers smoothness so placing it as a barometer is again backwards.

 

[BiggieShady]

The minimum time between frames with gsync on is capped at ≈7ms

120 Hz is 8.33 ms per frame

What's your monitor frecuency? Maybe 120 Hz?

His gsync monitor goes up to 165 Hz

so You are able to replicate the problem Even when you have only a single GPU installed in the PC??

Nope, he said single gpu is at 99% usage ... prolly needs to reduce resolution to hit those framerates on 1 gpu anyways

I find that when ever a problem reveals itself in regards to a video card if you're running crossfire or SLI it only complicates the situation.

Yeah, smells like effect of SLI frame pacing combined with high fps gsync, although I'd never call it a problem

 

[FR@NK]

120 Hz is 8.33 ms per frame

165Hz is ≈6ms per frame

 

[jboydgolfer]

Nope, he said single gpu is at 99% usage ... prolly needs to reduce resolution to hit those framerates on 1 gpu anyways

Yeah i saw that, but i just wanted to clarify for certain.

I agree it seems like frame pacing,

 

[BiggieShady]

165Hz is ≈6ms per frame

Are you saying although panel can refresh in 6 ms, gsync is limited at around 7 ms? I was pointing out that OP is at 8.33 ms and that silly 1.33 ms difference that bugs him is due to SLI pacing.

 

[jboydgolfer]

Are you saying although panel can refresh in 6 ms, gsync is limited at around 7 ms? I was pointing out that OP is at 8.33 ms and that silly 1.33 ms difference that bugs him is due to SLI pacing.

I think since there's a physical connection between the two video cards people tend to forget that there is some delay in SLI, GPU's communication.

 

[Black Haru]

Hang on... iirc the way gsync works is two way comunication between the monitor and the gpu so that the monitor only updates when there is a new frame ready. All gsync monitors have a range in which this function works, usually it's a minimum of arpund 30fps up to the monitors max refresh rate. But if ypur monitor caps lower than that with gsync, wouldn't it comunicate back to the gpu to throttle it back to the limit?

 

[newtekie1]

Hang on... iirc the way gsync works is two way comunication between the monitor and the gpu so that the monitor only updates when there is a new frame ready. All gsync monitors have a range in which this function works, usually it's a minimum of arpund 30fps up to the monitors max refresh rate. But if ypur monitor caps lower than that with gsync, wouldn't it comunicate back to the gpu to throttle it back to the limit?

I don't think there is any two way communication. I believe the way it works is the GPU controls the refresh rate of the monitor, so that the monitor refreshes when there is an image ready. It basically varies the monitors refresh rate on the fly to exactly match the framerate(instead of adjusting the framerate to match the monitors refresh rate).

The two still have to be in sync, and that induces overhead.

 

[Vya Domus]

Less frames are drawn = lower GPU utilization.

Why is this so baffling ?

G-Sync limits your frame rate to whatever refresh rate your monitor has. In addition to that I am sure G-SYNC still introduces some performance hit in order to maintain sync between the monitor and the GPU. I see nothing out of the ordinary here.

 

[Papahyooie]

This is exactly what GSync is supposed to do... lower the framerate (and by proxy, GPU utilization if your GPU's are overpowered) to match the monitor's refresh rate, and conversely, to lower the monitor's refresh rate to match the GPU's framerate if the framerate dips below the monitor's max refresh rate.

What's the problem?

 

[BiggieShady]

What's the problem?

We kinda stopped calling it a problem also with gsync only the gpu controls when display does its refresh, display can do 165 Hz but gsync tops out at 120 Hz here and only in SLI ... it's curious because several factors are in play such as gsync overhead and SLI frame pacing that driver does to combat micro stuttering ... and as usual the rest of the TPU is interested in this topic much more than the OP

 

[Tsukiyomi91]

I dun see G-Sync a problem unless OP sees it as one. Any game turned up to Max while hitting over 60fps is more than enough for most folks IMO...

 

[erixx]

Gaming is getting complex again these days with all this monitor related birdshit after nearly 2 peaceful decades since Glide/DirectX bloodbaths

 

[Vayra86]

If you're being realistic, when you can hit above 100 FPS consistently with any setup, Gsync becomes a problem rather than a solution.

Remove Gsync, use Fast Sync, and you're tear free and maximizing FPS. If your FPS fluctuates too much, use Gsync and accept what it does for you

But this whole thread is the perfect practical example of why I'm convinced Gsync is worthless for any high end rig. OP has also concluded that effectively Gsync is pointless right there in the TS. Too bad it took a purchase of it to get there