GPU is underperfoming/ low gpu usage (please help, i'm desperate :( )

[lawnrabbit]

Hi fellow users. Before i start, i'd like to say that i'm not very good at computers, so i may not know or understand some computer terms.

Here are my specs:
CPU: intel core i7-3517U @ 1.9ghz (4 CPUs), ~2.4ghz
GPU: Nvidia geforce gt 635m 2gb
8gbs of ram.

I've been having gaming issues lately concerning the fps. I play dota 2 quite a lot, yet i can't run it without having these stuttering lags. It would be smooth for a few seconds or a few minutes, then the fps would drop up and down which is very very annoying. I thought i set my graphic settings too high but the mini lags persist even at the lowest settings. I also tried to search for how nvidia gt 635m performs on dota 2 via youtube and i find that people actually play the game smoothly on high settings.

So i tried doing a couple of tests using GPU-Z and i found that my gpu load is only at 40-50% which i guess is very low. the temperature is ~75 degrees and the clock is somewhere at 600mhz. I have also updated my nvidia to the latest version (320.49) but it still lags.

I also checked my cpu usage via task manager and surprisingly its only 20-30% while running dota 2. Is that normal? i don't think its a cpu bottleneck problem because my processor is decent.

So is there any way of increasing my gpu usage? thanks for your help.

 

[Jaydip]

Hi fellow users. Before i start, i'd like to say that i'm not very good at computers, so i may not know or understand some computer terms.

Here are my specs:
CPU: intel core i7-3517U @ 1.9ghz (4 CPUs), ~2.4ghz
GPU: Nvidia geforce gt 635m 2gb
8gbs of ram.

I've been having gaming issues lately concerning the fps. I play dota 2 quite a lot, yet i can't run it without having these stuttering lags. It would be smooth for a few seconds or a few minutes, then the fps would drop up and down which is very very annoying. I thought i set my graphic settings too high but the mini lags persist even at the lowest settings. I also tried to search for how nvidia gt 635m performs on dota 2 via youtube and i find that people actually play the game smoothly on high settings.

So i tried doing a couple of tests using GPU-Z and i found that my gpu load is only at 40-50% which i guess is very low. the temperature is ~75 degrees and the clock is somewhere at 600mhz. I have also updated my nvidia to the latest version (320.49) but it still lags.

I also checked my cpu usage via task manager and surprisingly its only 20-30% while running dota 2. Is that normal? i don't think its a cpu bottleneck problem because my processor is decent.

So is there any way of increasing my gpu usage? thanks for your help.

looks like a throttling issue to me.What are your cpu temps?

 

[lawnrabbit]

looks like a throttling issue to me.What are your cpu temps?

Sorry, as i said before i'm not very good with computer terms.... what is throttling?

My cpu temp while idle is 50 - 60 degrees while gaming its 70-85 degrees. Am i overheating?

Thing is, i've seen my friend play dota 2 on his laptop (which has lower specs than mine) and it would be hot as hell but the gameplay is still smooth, no lags at all. On the other hand, me with the more superior laptop, would lag even on low which doesnt make sense. These lags are stuttering lags, not constant lags. It confuses me honestly.

 

[wilds]

You could be throttling due to being power constrained. Download AIDA64 and then find the power supply sensor. You can even enable the AIDA64 gadget and turn on only the PSU sensor to have a little widget. Monitor this while playing a game in windowed mode. Keep your laptop fully charged and plugged in. If throttling occurs when it reaches a certain number, then I recommend downloading ThrottleStop.

ThrottleStop lets you clamp down on Intel's TurboBoost which could be why you are throttling. I also recommend watching task manager monitor individual threads; not the overall CPU usage. If you are bottlenecked on one core overall, it wouldn't report 100%.

In a game, lower your CPU clockspeed to a point where you are still at 100% GPU usage, but not maxing out your clockspeed.

Both programs are pretty easy to use and guides are freely available on the internet. Good luck!

 

[Schmide]

Dota 2 isn't going to stress that computer very much at all. You're most likely experiencing network lag.

The things to slove:

Is someone else on your network downloading or watching movies?

Are you in a crowded wireless area?

Try gaming connected directly to your hub with a ethernet cable.

While playing, open up your console and it will display the server IP.

Then check your packet loss with winMTR.

 

[lawnrabbit]

You could be throttling due to being power constrained. Download AIDA64 and then find the power supply sensor. You can even enable the AIDA64 gadget and turn on only the PSU sensor to have a little widget. Monitor this while playing a game in windowed mode. Keep your laptop fully charged and plugged in. If throttling occurs when it reaches a certain number, then I recommend downloading ThrottleStop.

ThrottleStop lets you clamp down on Intel's TurboBoost which could be why you are throttling. I also recommend watching task manager monitor individual threads; not the overall CPU usage. If you are bottlenecked on one core overall, it wouldn't report 100%.

In a game, lower your CPU clockspeed to a point where you are still at 100% GPU usage, but not maxing out your clockspeed.

Both programs are pretty easy to use and guides are freely available on the internet. Good luck!

Sorry but i find this a bit hard to understand. Could you do a step by step guide as if you're explaining a baby on a computer? :s

i downloaded throttlestop but it looks very confusing. I dont really know what these numbers mean.

Thanks for your help.

 

[bononos]

Throttling means the cpu will slow down when it gets too hot or when it consumes too much power. Laptops might throttle the cpu to lengthen battery life. I think throttlestop removes the power limit on the cpu.

 

[Schmide]

Even fully throttled his system wouldn't lag as much as the OP described.

 

[justin4pack]

I had a similure issue with a sager laptop. When I would hit 75c my GPU would throttle to half load. I used MSI after burner to monitor temps and loads. All I had to do was replace the thermal paste on the GPU. It was all crusty.