Is there anything wrong with my GPU Volts?

[Kaannyz]

Hello everyone. For the past few months I've had some issues with my GPU (I am using a laptop btw). I used to run games on ultra and easily get consistent 60+ FPS. Now I can't run the same game on low on 10 fps. All I remember is I've tried undervolting once and I kept getting random freezes. I've reset my PC multiple times to fix this issue. I've tried uninstalling my GPU drivers with DDU, reinstalling them, reapplying thermal paste, changing power plans etc. Basically I went thru alot to fix this thing and it still don't budge one bit. Yesterday I installed this GPU-Z program and I believe my volts are pretty low when I'm playing games. Can anyone confirm if this is true or not? And if it is true so then can anyone provide me with a solution?


My specs are:
GPU: GeForce GTX 1650 (Mobile)
CPU: Intel Core i5 10300H
RAM: 16 GB Dual Channel 3200Mhz
SSD: Kingston 1TB M2 SSD

 

[Marcus L]

Used to run them on ultra 60fps with a mobile GTX 1650?
Would help to see a GPU-Z SS on idle as well to compare, GPU chip power draw is 6w, seems low though I'm no expert on those settings and for a laptop GPU also.....
What game is that in question? not really using much vRAM
GPU doesn't look to be running boost clocks and vRAM clocks are lower than on the GPU database also this GPU should be using upto 50w TBP ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile Specs | TechPowerUp GPU Database )

 

[Kaannyz]

The game that I was talking about is GTA 5, also I was getting 55-60 FPS in RDR2 using high settings aswell. I tested RDR2 Benchmark and I got like 8 average FPS. I'm pretty sure I'm not using integrated graphics aswell.

Also this is the idle screenshot:

 

[Marcus L]

GTAV should be using well more than 600MB vRAM and board power and GPU chip power look low, the volts are likely lower than they should be if it was using more power and would usually be around 1-1.2v I would imagine... as to why it's not using what it should be in power draw and vRAM, not really sure, have you tried the NV control panel power settings, I am sure there is a prefer maximum power or similar setting in there, also windows power plan settings might have some things enabled in there you could try changing, not just changing the power plan itself

 

[Kaannyz]

Yeah I use prefer maximum performance on NV Control panel as a global setting. I've also tried adaptive and it doesn't seem to be doing that much. I've also tweaked every windows power plan setting in there so I could get maximum performance. Still didn't work.

 

[bug]

Could an overheating problem, I see your GPU reaches 44C at idle. When was the last time you cleaned your heatsinks?

 

[Kaannyz]

Could an overheating problem, I see your GPU reaches 44C at idle. When was the last time you cleaned your heatsinks?

It's 40 C right now on idle and also it is a laptop. I cleaned my heatsinks 2 days ago and I also reapplied my thermal paste. I screwed them tightly and in order aswell.

 

[skizzo]

Used to run them on ultra 60fps with a mobile GTX 1650?

yea you're not the only one who smells something fishy about that statement. a GTX 1060 (which is better than the 1650 mobile) cannot get even 30FPS at 1080p in RDR2 and this user is going on about getting 60FPS on a weaker piece of hardware

 

[Kaannyz]

yea you're not the only one who smells something fishy about that statement. a GTX 1060 (which is better than the 1650 mobile) cannot get even 30FPS at 1080p in RDR2 and this user is going on about getting 60FPS on a weaker piece of hardware

Here's RDR2 gameplay from my Youtube channel. It's a small clip but it should be enough to show that I used to get good fps.

Greet/Greet/Antagonize

 

[Athlonite]

It's 40 C right now on idle and also it is a laptop. I cleaned my heatsinks 2 days ago and I also reapplied my thermal paste. I screwed them tightly and in order aswell.

Looks like a bad paste job leading to overheating and down clocking of your gpu best bet is to do it again 40c and 54c hotspot is not a good temp for a GPU that's idle

 

[Kaannyz]

Looks like a bad paste job leading to overheating and down clocking of your gpu best bet is to do it again 40c and 54c hotspot is not a good temp for a GPU that's idle

Thank you for your reply man, but I sent this laptop to my manufacturer to fix it and they've cleaned it and they also changed it's thermal paste so is that really the problem? Again I have no other solutions so my best bet is your solution. Are there anything else that might cause this problem?

 

[80251]

What is PWR_SRC voltage and how is it at 19.4V? I've never seen a PSU that supplied 19.4V, so what sources that voltage? The motherboard?

 

[Macro Device]

I assume you've already tried the fresh Windows installation, right..?

 

[error1984]

It not true...you are dreaming.....

 

[Athlonite]

What is PWR_SRC voltage and how is it at 19.4V? I've never seen a PSU that supplied 19.4V, so what sources that voltage? The motherboard?

It's the input voltage of the Power brick or Battery

 

[joemama]

Those numbers seem pretty weird, the temperature isn't high enough to cause throttling, the GPU clock/load both show it running yet the PerfCap reason shows idle, GPU voltage is pretty low as if in idle. Something is definitely limiting the GPU performance.

 

[Kaannyz]

I assume you've already tried the fresh Windows installation, right..?

Yeah, fresh install 3 times. One being from flash the others are from media creation tool.

Also I don't know if this might be the problem but my ac adapter is plugged into a triple plug and then that plug is plugged into a normal europe type plug again I'm just saying I don't know if it's the problem or not. I've used it like this for a long time and had no issue

 

[Macro Device]

Yeah, fresh install 3 times. One being from flash the others are from media creation tool.

Find a way to reset your CMOS. Maybe flash a new BIOS.

If it doesn't help then your GPU is most likely a dead GPU pretending to be a live one.

 

[Kaannyz]

Find a way to reset your CMOS. Maybe flash a new BIOS.

If it doesn't help then your GPU is most likely a dead GPU pretending to be a live one.

I think that fixed it, I'll try installing heavy games tmrw and test it out.

Find a way to reset your CMOS. Maybe flash a new BIOS.

If it doesn't help then your GPU is most likely a dead GPU pretending to be a live one.

After I had done that, I experienced a significant improvement in my laptop's performance. It turned out that there was a loose screw inside my laptop. I was really surprised because I had literally sent this laptop to the manufacturer, cleaned it myself, and even had some IT professionals clean it for me, but none of them had noticed it. The screw was stuck between the two laptop fans and it wasn't moving at all; it was really jammed in there. Now, I'm thinking of uninstalling the laptop drivers, reinstalling them, and discharging any static electricity from my system. Thank you all so much for your assistance and advice

 

[Macro Device]

Congratulations, dude! Glad you made it.

Enjoy your renewed PC.

 

[Kaannyz]

Hello again, everyone. As I've mentioned previously, I reopened my case, and I discovered a screw stuck in the motherboard. After removing it, I was able to play games like Terraria and Dark Souls, which I couldn't do when the issue first appeared. However, I still couldn't play GTA V, even on the lowest graphics settings, let alone RDR2. Since this is a "gaming" laptop, or whatever they call it, I decided to take it to my manufacturer for repairs. It turns out I had a dead GPU (for unknown reasons), so I had to get it replaced. Now everything works fine, and I am 100% sure of that. Once again, I'm really thankful for those who tried to help.

For anyone looking for solutions on the web and browsing forums, here's a list of all the things I tried and what actually fixed the issue. Hopefully, this helps:

Didn't work:

• Reinstalled drivers (without DDU).
• Reinstalled drivers completely (using DDU).
• Reapplied thermal paste multiple times.
• Performed a full cleanup and removed dust.
• Used a thermal pad.
• Downgraded to Windows 10.
• Downgraded to an earlier version of Windows 11 (I'm currently using 23H2).
• Used Windows' built-in memory diagnostic app.
• Replaced my SSD.
• Upgraded my SSD to 1 TB (the old one had 500 GB and was almost full).
• Tried overclocking, which gave me better performance, but my GTX 1650 should be able to handle a 2013 game like GTA V easily, yet it couldn't even run on the lowest graphics settings.
• Tried undervolting after resetting my PC.
• Reset my PC and drivers completely.
• Performed malware scans, just in case.
• Decreased temperatures by using a laptop cooler and a standing fan.
• Updated my BIOS many times, among other attempts listed on the internet.

Did work:

• Sent my laptop for repair, where they replaced the GPU, and that resolved the problem.

If anyone ever mentions "your CPU is bottlenecking your GPU," even for a gaming laptop purchased from a reputable tech company like ASUS, they've likely tested whether it's bottlenecking or not. Just ignore them.