Low GPU utilization with Ryzen 7600/4070S combo at 4k

[vredhouse]

My rig: Ryzen 7600, 4070 Super, and 32gb DDR5-6000 ram running in dual-channel.

IMy GPU utilization is consistently in the 50s, and when I increase the upscaling (e.g., going from dlss quality to balanced) the utilization drops. Changing the graphic settings from ultra quality to the lowest setting does not impact utilization. I can't imagine I'm CPU-bound, especially because sometimes for no apparent rhyme or reason the utilization briefly shoots up into the 70/80s despite the CPU usage not changing. Nothing else is running in the background that is utilizing the GPU. I've also tried lowering the resolution from 4k to 1440p and it had no impact. I have no experienced this issue with other games.

I've tried disabling/enabling resizeable bar, running the game in compatibility mode, creating a custom power plan, and doing a clean install. I've read that NVIDIA reflex can have a negative impact on this game but I cannot find that setting.

Any recommendations on how to resolve this issue would be appreciated.

[vredhouse]

I opened NVIDIA control panel/Manage 3D settings/Program Settings for HZD and switched "Low Latency Mode" and "Max Frame Rate" from "Use global setting (off)" to "Off" and that seemed to have resolved it. Now my GPU utilization is 100% and I'm getting around 100 fps :)

[Virgo]

I recently played ZD before proceeding with the sequel. I also reported low GPU usage (13600/4070 ti) and all I had to do was remove the reBAR from Inspector to make it work at 99% and stay fixed. Strange that in your case jon worked. Were you able to find a solution in the end? It might be useful to someone

[vredhouse]

Not entirely. It seems like the reBar trick with Inspector only works for me if, every few sessions, I toggle it from disabled to enabled and back, then restart the PC. Not sure why I have to do this.

Now I'm trying to figure out the frequent crashes. Limiting my fps in-game to 60 only seems to allow me to game longer without a crash but this is just annoying...

[Virgo]

This is really strange... After deactivating reBAR from Inspector I didn't have any problems, crashes or anything else, for example stuttering etc (thank God) but PC games, especially in recent years, always amaze me more. They cause so many problems that one ends up spending time looking for a solution to make them run properly rather than enjoying the game.

[Skkooomer Lord]

Out of Vram.

[vredhouse]

I think it's figured out. There were two solutions.

First to resolve the crashes, I reduced my ram from 6000 cl 30 to 4800 cl 30. Because I already had so much overhead running the game, this did not result in any meaningful frame loss.

Second to resolve the low GPU usage, I uninstalled GeForce Experience and then reinstalled it making sure to de-select Optimal Playable Settings, then restarted my PC. It's possible that I didn't need to do a clean installation of GeForce but that's what I did.

Now things run butter smooth every time I boot it up (knock on wood).

[life is dank]

Is it running at poor performance? If not, then it's not an issue. I played this at 4k/dlss quality and max settings at 60hz (ryzen 5800x3d/rtx 3080 10gb) and my pc barely runs the fans past 40%. As long as the fps is solid all is good right?

[vredhouse]

Yeah, performance was poor.

In terms of fps, it was running in the mid-30s, which itself isn't the worst, but it was stuttering a lot. Since fixing the low-GPU usage, I get 70-80 fps at native 4k with no stutters.

No issues with high fan usage during any of my gameplay/testing, either. I'm using an air-cooled SFF setup and CPU maxes around 70 degrees and GPU temps stay below 60 degrees. Not sure how much the fans are running but playing without headphones and the computer next to me, I don't notice the fans.

[vredhouse]

Last post: issue resumed but I found a consistent fix but not the root cause.

After some time, the issue came back. It's resolved by a restart or a full shutdown; it's caused by putting the computer into sleep.

The culprit is some unknown thing that causes this particular game to remain in a lower power state following sleep as indicated by afterburner's display. I doubt it's a PSU issue because I tested Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, and BG3 (all at 4k) following sleep and the issue was not present/ Also, in no circumstances am I anywhere near my PSU's 750w limit.

The solution: either shut down or restart the pc before playing and don't sleep the pc before playing. My mobo doesn't have hibernation so idk how that would affect things.

Also, I experimented with the ram speed more: 4800 and 5200 are stable; anything higher causes the game to crash without a crash report. I can run 6000 in all other games no worries.

Hope this helps someone. Cheers!

[life is dank]

In the nvidia control panel select the game's profile and set the power setting to "prefer maximum performance"

[vredhouse]

Yeah, did that, too. Also had a custom power plan in control panel for high performance.