[Troubleshooting] New Build 980 Ti/GT 610 FPS drop when using second monitor.

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

I've recently built a new rig, and I'm having severe FPS drops on my main monitor while I pull up anything on a browser on my second monitor.

Both of my monitors are DVI only (overclockable version with single input) Both are running at 96hz via dual link DVI. The MSI 980 Ti only has one, so I specifically bought a second video card just for my second monitor. Main monitor into the 980 Ti, my second into the GT 610.

I've wiped the drivers clean, reinstalled everything clean in safe mode, disabled Aero, enabled multi GPU/maximum performance settings in control panel etc. Still having an issue.

Right before the 980 Ti, I had a 970 with 2 Dual Link DVI ports, and obviously didn't have any issues. I thought I'd be able to run two different video cards without an issue, but I think that's the culprit and don't know what to do.

Specs:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3KJQsY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3KJQsY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($146.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($127.21 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($161.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($161.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($679.95 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 OEM (64-bit)
Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor
Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor

I wanted to avoid having to use one of those expensive active DP to DVI adapters, and I didn't want to use the Gigabyte G1 980 Ti because the so called coil whine would drive me nuts.

Thoughts?

 

[bystander36]

How much do the FPS drop? I can see 1-3 FPS due to driver overhead to run both GPU's, but if it is more than that, something may not be right.

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

I go from 100+ to ~40. It's definitely not right. Extremely chopping and noticeable. I've googled everything, and I'm out of ideas.

 

[bystander36]

Are those drops while gaming, or are you saying you are going from 100+ FPS with 1 monitor and GPU, to 40 FPS with 2 monitors and GPU's?

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

Are those drops while gaming, or are you saying you are going from 100+ FPS with 1 monitor and GPU, to 40 FPS with 2 monitors and GPU's?

Gaming on monitor 1 with the 980 Ti and 100+ FPS. Open up browser on second monitor, and my frames on monitor 1 immediately drop to an unplayable 40.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Could your 980ti be throttling when you start doing desktop work? Like it's in adaptive mode so it drops from running at full speed to minimum speed when it sees you browsing and it kills performance? Maybe open MSI Afterburner or something else that shows what frequency your card is running at and see if it dips at that point? You might need to set "Prefer Maximum Performance" in the Nvidia control panel.

 

[pj-]

Is your browser GPU accelerated? Maybe it is stealing time from the game

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

I've got it set to maximum performance, and multiple display performance in the nvidia control panel. Didn't seem to make a difference.

It definitely seems throttled but I don't know why. I've tried running in Firefox/Chrome, same issues both browsers.

 

[pj-]

The internet suggests "Might wanna go into nvidia Control Panel under 3D settings and change Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration to 'single display performance mode'."

 

[Innokentij]

Maybe stupid question, but is it only if u loose focus on first monitor? If so that is normal, if it's while u have a web broweser open on monitor 2 but use monitor 1 then it's a problem.

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

They are not, I have tried everything without any luck.

I think I'm going to just replace one of the monitors with one of the new 1440p 144hz IPS soon anyway.

I did discovering something interesting.

Using a single monitor connected to the 980 Ti. If I have a browser up, twitch/youtube up and running, and tab over to my game. Still have a FPS throttling. The second I change to another tab in my browser, or minimize it. The throttle goes away.

 

[PrometheuSBoxeR]

I've raised a ticket with the nVidia rep. They couldn't figure it out either so they had it escalated.

I've ran GPU-Z and logged some information to see what happens when I'm gaming with a video, and gaming without.

Essentially three things changed, when I turned the video on.
Memory controller load % went from ~24 to ~5
Bus interface load % went from ~13 to ~6
Power Consumption [% TDP] went from ~60 to ~37

Clock, memory, temperature, and GPU load remained relatively constant.