My GPU (NVIDIA GTX 1080) instantly jumps to 0% utilization when input is given

Discussion in 'Videocards - NVIDIA GeForce' started by Usatei, Oct 15, 2020.

  1. Usatei

    Usatei Guest

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    Greetings. Currently, I am trapped in a corner on what to do for this problem that appeared so suddenly. Quite literally overnight, my pc went from one that could run whatever I'd like to at least 60 fps to now something that isn't able to even consistently run a single game.

    The main problem centers around the idea of input, which includes moving the mouse and hitting keys, that causes the lag. When I don't touch anything, the game (using War Thunder as the example) on low graphics will speed up to around 151 FPS; on max settings, around 80 FPS. Lag extends beyond video games as well, to include anything which has "GPU 0 - 3D" in task manager (as in input in these programs also lags). Moving the window on said programs will lag them out, and sometimes crash whatever I move. GPU utilization will coordinate with how much input is given; moving my mouse across the screen will jump it to 0%, but keyboard input will only dock it about 10% per press. CPU utilization does not correspond, but I can attach it in a future post if needed.
    MSIAfterburner_2020-10-15_14-24-49.png
    War Thunder is initialized using the launcher; I do not touch the keyboard until the game has booted up and utilization sits at around 67%. During the time of no input, at max graphics, the game works at a crisp 60 FPS. The first 30 seconds of the game being open correspond to pressing different keys, then the very dramatic cliffs in the middle correspond to moving my mouse. The last section is only very gentle, slight mouse movement.
    MSIAfterburner_2020-10-15_14-30-47.png
    Power Usage (percentile). Directly corresponds.
    MSIAfterburner_2020-10-15_14-37-01.png
    From top to bottom: Power limit, Voltage limit, and no load limit. Upper value is 1, bottom value is 0. Directly corresponds?
    Smaller details I've noted:
    Everything is now locked at 60 FPS, despite being able to reach much higher normally.

    I have two monitors, and I am unsure if scaling on my display/GPU is causing some of the issue, despite extensive testing with no results. Both monitors (sadly) have a limit of 60 Hz, but I only suggest this as a cause because of the sudden restriction on the FPS despite only a few days ago running at much higher rates, regardless of monitor limit. One (main) uses a Displayport, the other a HDMI. I have had issues in the past and today as well with the 2nd monitor automatically locking to 59 Hz, seeming for no reason.

    Virtualization is enabled, but I am entirely unsure how to disable it (my BIOS has seemingly locked me out of being able to do much with it; I think I need administrator rights to let me access more options, but I am entirely unsure. BIOS version is Acer R01-A4 ver 2.17.1255; BIOS upgrade seems impossible because in quote from Acer "The R01 and R02 BIOSes are for different motherboards"). Hyperthreading is another option I have enabled, but I am unable to touch. The real question is: do I flash my BIOS in hopes of accessing more options, or work around it if this is the cause of all my troubles?

    Programs that have hotkeys assigned to them for use, such as ShareX (what I used to capture these screenshots) no longer respond, unless I bring them to the foreground.

    Updates (I can only assume occurred over night that could have broken everything) include 1. "Intel - SoftwareComponent - 1.61.251.0" and 2. "Intel - SoftwareComponent - 1.38.2020.805". I am entirely unsure how to remove them for debugging purposes, but I assume Windows automatically groups these as "optional updates" and I am unsure why or how they were installed. I only know that they were installed sometime on the day I discovered that I couldn't use my pc anymore.

    I have a bunch of random drivers, but I am unsure what to do about the extra ones. Disabling them does not affect anything (except for the one that corresponds to the mouse/keyboard I have), however I still find it strange that they exist.
    mmc_2020-10-15_12-02-59.png
    Small side note: I have my region and language (not default language, just what unicode programs are read in) in Japanese, because of the ability to play games in the format being otherwise impossible without doing so.

    Specs:
    Intel Core i7 6700 @ 3.40GHz, automatically overclocked to 3.70GHz. (8 cores)
    RAM is 16.0GB 1063MHz (15-15-15-36)
    Motherboard is for a prebuilt, Acer Predator G3-710 (U3E1)
    PSU is a LITEON 7501-5 @500 watts
    mmc_2020-10-15_14-03-28.png
    Mouse is "Endgame Gear XM1"
    Keyboard is a Corsair Strafe RBG MK.2
    Windows 10 Home (64x)

    I have tried:
    >Plugging in my mouse into different slots, reinstalling it's drivers, and trying another mouse
    >Reinstalling the GPU Drivers using DDU to the original version of the 1080 released at launch, then the latest version, and then the version behind the latest version
    >sfc /scannow, DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth, chkdsk
    >Checking for Malware
    >Checking the polling rates of my keyboard (now at 125) and my mouse (somewhere around 125)
    >Using MSI Ulti to prioritize my GPU
    >Rolling back my PC to a previous date
    >Testing options in the Nvidia Control Panel; using NvidiaProfileInspector (disabled vsync, gsync, ect. and tried again with them just to make sure)
    >Updating all of my drivers
    >Banging my head against a wall

    Any help at all is greatly appreciated. I would just try reinstalling Windows, but I am currently unable to do so as I live out in the middle of nowhere, and all my SSDs are at least halfway full. If I can't do anything about this, it's going to be quite a while until I get to play with my friends again. Thank you for even reading this far.
     
  2. Astyanax

    Astyanax Ancient Guru

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    uninstall tuesdays security update, this is sounding like the time microsoft broke destiny 2 in the same way (fps drop on mouse movement)
     
  3. Usatei

    Usatei Guest

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    After some thorough investigation and experimenting, the "general" update KB4576478 and KB4571756 are unremovable (both automatically reinstalled, regardless of my settings of telling Windows to automatically stop installing things), but I removed the security update you speak of first, but that didn't change anything. KB4579311 and KB4578968 are gone. My pc isn't giving me the option here to go back to an update, but here's everything that was installed before I removed anything.
    ApplicationFrameHost_2020-10-15_19-25-10.png
    Unless you mean the Defender updates...
    ApplicationFrameHost_2020-10-15_19-25-26.png
    I can't find any way to remove these, despite all being the same version. I did go in and disable a majority of Defender's abilities, which actually resulted in higher speeds on my system in general.

    In addition, I took my PC apart and dusted everything over. I checked my memory using the Windows application, but it found nothing wrong with my HDD. Unplugging one of my monitors gives slight but irrelevant amounts of relief when tested again, so internally I am quick to imply that this may be an issue with power. After dusting it out, I can now navigate in game with lag when I move my mouse, but at 60 fps if moved slow enough??? My hypothesis currently is that something, a bug, ect. crawled into my GPU and now when I input, the physical blockage halts the GPU (which is why the wattage jumps), but I could be wrong. I am delirious enough to try taking my GPU apart for a better look, so wish me luck.
     
  4. Astyanax

    Astyanax Ancient Guru

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  5. Usatei

    Usatei Guest

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    After installing this program, I won't deny in that I am amazed at how detailed and useful it is for trying to find out the specifics of what is happening, but I can't make much sense of it.
    For starters, I couldn't get the program to work with War Thunder; anything with a launcher attached to it failed to even start while attached. Instead, I switched to gzdoom, an engine used as a source port for Doom 1 and 2. Running multiple tests in Hardware (OpenGL) and the software options, there's not much of a difference in results. Here's what I found:
    nsight-sys_2020-10-16_15-57-24.png
    I did not start the test until I was in game, and able to lag it. It seems that the issues in CPU frame duration directly tie in with OpenGL API calls to "SwapBuffers", this is labeled as "Buffer present operation accumulated time in frame" under Frame Health. This cuts into "Wait for idle accumulated time in frame", tied to "glFinish", which corresponds to extensive moments of lag afterwards, until the OpenGL API activates again and attempts to do something. SwapBuffers is marked in blue, under the red sections of CPU frame duration, and when it ends it pops up in either Frame Health or Stutter. There's also extensive CPU and GPU queueing going on during the stuttering, which goes away with "glDrawArrays". Another thing that seems important is the existence of continuous, sometimes infinite lines of "virtual memory" being labeled under "blocked state".
    nsight-sys_2020-10-16_16-24-41.png
    Here's a more generalized view. If you'd like me to attach the report physically, just ask.
    nsight-sys_2020-10-16_16-26-51.png
    The only other thing I noted was the existence of nodes just labeled nothing but "VSYNC", peppered all over the place, despite the fact that I have VSYNC locked as "forced off". It does not seem to coordinate with anything happening, but I have made sure that it does not affect the current outcome I'm getting as a whole.

    Did just as you asked and tried it on multiple games, but me unplugging my keyboard failed to make a difference. I did however notice that the lag when pushing keys is basically gone or negligible now.
     
  6. Astyanax

    Astyanax Ancient Guru

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    Big yikes there on the system cpu usage, this should be <2% at just about all times on a system with 4+ cores unless you're doing some crazy crap with kernel paging on a data heavy system.

    @mbk1969 do you reckon use your Simple way to trace DPCs and ISRs here?

    Need to see whats going on in that system process

    If you're like me and prefer to dig yourself, heres basically what i'd be doing

    https://superuser.com/a/1164299
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2020
  7. mbk1969

    mbk1969 Ancient Guru

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  8. Usatei

    Usatei Guest

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    Since you have posted this, I have been immersed in trying to dig as hard as I can into the problem itself. I have found several things that I do not understand, but may provide clues as to what is going on. However, first - I have a new development that has greatly helped my problem.
    I went over to a friend's house and he let me borrow his mouse. There isn't much of a difference, only that the voltage rating on my original reads "5v=150mA" and his reads "5v=100mA". When I plugged it in, I discovered that my mouse no longer lagged nearly as bad. The problem still persists, but in an entirely different way.
    Below is something that I simply cannot put into words. Noone, out of all the trudging I have done through the internet trying to find people with the same/similar issues, has encountered anything like this.
    https://files.catbox.moe/2hxzwq.png
    As you can see, I loaded up the main menu for War Thunder and began to mouse around. Lag only really spiked when I went over the area I have marked in red, but it still persisted overall (but nowhere close to the original amount it was doing so at first). Left and right clicking the area in red also causes great amounts of stuttering. Nsight reads this as "stuttering" still, with nothing really changed. Tabbing out and mousing over the area renders no lag what so ever, the game still runs at 60 FPS. Windows Performance Analyzer, I think, gave much more insight.
    wpa_2020-10-17_17-56-08.png
    aces.exe is War Thunder's main executable, which is unlaunchable without EasyAntiCheat.exe; My focus lies on the confusion behind what is eating my CPU, which is probably chrome (in teal), but that did not make much of a difference with it closed completely in separate tests. It seems GPU usage directly spikes with CPU usage here, but only on the affected program being used by the GPU. Here's the more refined graph, which shows me:
    At the times of absolutely no activity on the GPU, nothing is being process by the CPU that does not include whatever i'm trying to actively load. It is like a blank area, but the most interesting thing lies in the start of aces.exe (War Thunder's executable) only beginning when dwm.exe stops it's load on the CPU. Since csrss.exe is directly linked with dwm.exe, this tells me that the problem may lie with explorer.exe. I changed some settings, but that didn't do anything.
    All I can currently tell is that when I go over this specific area, my GPU cannot operate. The spikes of lag are seemingly not associated with any program, or not having enough CPU to process, but rather an absence of the ability to process anything when the mouse goes over this specific area. This does not explain why my mouse moving in general only slightly lags my game - I have no sort of "DPI scaling" or "polling" options like a majority of the people with similar problems have, nor do I know really how to edit these. The only thing I really learned was that my GPU's clock visibly decreases when mousing over that area.
    https://files.catbox.moe/5ovl35.jpg
    The most confusing thing out of everything I have seen all day is the persistent value of "?!?", present in aces.exe and system(4). I'm unsure what this signifies, but the above report is one where I tabbed into the game, before quickly moving my mouse to the point in which the game crashes (all the reports I have made in Windows Performance Analyzer typically lag everything incredibly hard, the game is set to automatically crash when a freeze is detected). I might just drive to go get another mouse for more testing.
     
  9. Astyanax

    Astyanax Ancient Guru

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    You should stick to Quake, that showed high system utilisation which is the container for all drivers and kernel tasks.


    Mouse polling is purely Interrupts. Every inch that the mouse moves across the screen has registered thousands of interrupts to get that far.
     
  10. Usatei

    Usatei Guest

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    Ran and got a new mouse - even though I don't quite like how it feels vs my old mouse, I got a g502 Hero from Logitech. I did this for the sole purpose of having software that wasn't something that had a threat of completely trashing my PC if I edited it wrong, and that the software that comes with it lets me edit DPI and polling rate at a whim. Perfect for testing.
    Sure enough, the polling rate fixed half of the issue. On automatic, the mouse had it set to "1000", while everything else read it as if it was going 125 (such as in my browser), and after switching it I got very similar results to the other mouse I tried but with greater outcome (the stuttering present when moving my mouse in general that was there before has disappeared). Now the game runs at 60 fps really no matter what, and only suddenly drops when I mouse over very specific areas (basically the same as what I posted above, I didn't notice a difference). The greatest news is that I can now possibly play something, but I still struggle with this random area in my screen that makes my GPU die and it's a little obnoxious, but at least everything is useable now. Going to go have it looked at by a professional today, it may just be a problem with the signal being read by my computer.
     

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