gpu power usage issue

[SirWalterDayton]

The game normally runs fine, 55-65 fps and uses 270-300 watts (uses about 100-115% power based on MSI afterburner) on my GPU but randomly when i load up the game it'll use 180-200 watts (uses around 75% GPU power based on MSI afterburner) and my fps will be 40-50 fps. Restarting the game doesn't fix it but restarting my PC does. Tests are all done in the same spot and time of day/weather.

I tried metro exodus and got my usual fps and my GPU power usage is 270-300 watts like normal but reloading RDR2 I see barely 200 watts being used so it seems to be red dead with the issue. I did a benchmark run on 3dmark and got 10,000 for GPU score which is what i normally get. I've been having this issue for months now with each game update not fixing it and multiple drivers over the last few months with no change. As of right now i'm using the latest Nvidia drivers and latest install of red dead on the Rockstar launcher.

Specs
R7 3700x
GTX 1080TI 11GB
16GB DDR4 3000Mhz
RDR2 is on a Samsung 860 Evo SSD
750 PSU
Temps never reach past 70c when this issue happens on the GPU and about 60C on the CPU
Ram usage is 9-10GB in game, and around 6GB on Vram.
GPU clock speeds are normal at 1911Mhz and 5500Mhz for the Vram, and GPU usage is at 100% even when the issue is happening so I'm not sure why the power usage/FPS is so low on random game boots.

Wondering if anyone else experiences issues where the game runs 10-15FPS lower then usual. This is the only game I've seen do this all other games run normal with normal usages.

[ScareCrow]

where do you see watts usage in msi afterburner?

Does your fans spin hard when it happens? maybe your GPU is throttling or something? since it never goes past 70 it means your GPU tries to remain below 70

[Starbarian]

Try running GTA online see if you are getting the same issue.
What is your power setting in control panel?

[SirWalterDayton]

Originally posted by ScareCrow:

where do you see watts usage in msi afterburner?

Does your fans spin hard when it happens? maybe your GPU is throttling or something? since it never goes past 70 it means your GPU tries to remain below 70

I can enable the MSI Afterburner on screen display to show GPU power usage percentage and watts. I'm pretty sure its a rough estimate since it jumps between 270-300 watts in games normally but when i'm experiencing the low fps issue my wattage is reading at barely 200. I have the temp limit set to 89C in afterburner and it doesn't have issue running at 79c in metro exodus when i switch to that game to test if it has the same issue which metro doesn't show any issues or fps drop.

It seems like RDR2 sometimes doesn't wanna work with the driver correctly since its not every time I launch the game only sometimes and only so far with RDR2 and the only fix is restarting my PC which id assume resets the driver in some way since it'll use my GPU power normally at 270-300 watts. Next time I experience the issue i'll take a screen shot but my GPU usage and clocks are all at 100%/ normal clocks so i'm unsure why i'll see around 100 watts less usage randomly in RDR2 with a 10-15FPS drop.

[SirWalterDayton]

Originally posted by Spectre Synth:

Try running GTA online see if you are getting the same issue.
What is your power setting in control panel?

My power limit is set to 120% in afterburner and currently I've got RDR2 modded so i'd have to remove my mods to test online. Its been happening before I even modded the game, only modded it about a week ago and this has been happening randomly for months. Been playing it more lately so I've noticed it more than in the past.

[CunkFeatures]

Originally posted by Dayton002:

It seems like RDR2 sometimes doesn't wanna work with the driver correctly

Vulkan/DX12, the game talks directly to the HW, not the driver like older APIs.

[Starbarian]

Originally posted by Dayton002:

Originally posted by Spectre Synth:

Try running GTA online see if you are getting the same issue.
What is your power setting in control panel?

My power limit is set to 120% in afterburner and currently I've got RDR2 modded so i'd have to remove my mods to test online. Its been happening before I even modded the game, only modded it about a week ago and this has been happening randomly for months. Been playing it more lately so I've noticed it more than in the past.

Hmm the only other Things I can think of is CPU bottleneck or CPU is busy with other Background applications. Or you PSU cannot keep up with the power demand and needs to roll back to protect itself.

Did you use daisy chain power cable for you GPU? It's recommend that you don't.
Also how the GPU VRM temps? If it's close to 100c you might want to add some heatstinks to the VRM chip.

[SirWalterDayton]

Originally posted by Spectre Synth:

Originally posted by Dayton002:

My power limit is set to 120% in afterburner and currently I've got RDR2 modded so i'd have to remove my mods to test online. Its been happening before I even modded the game, only modded it about a week ago and this has been happening randomly for months. Been playing it more lately so I've noticed it more than in the past.

Hmm the only other Things I can think of is CPU bottleneck or CPU is busy with other Background applications. Or you PSU cannot keep up with the power demand and needs to roll back to protect itself.

Did you use daisy chain power cable for you GPU? It's recommend that you don't.
Also how the GPU VRM temps? If it's close to 100c you might want to add some heatstinks to the VRM chip.

no I've got 2 separate cables for my GPU. If that was an issue wouldn't metro exodus have the same issue. Ill exit RDR2 and run metro without an issue using 270-300 watts and go back to RDR2 and experience the same issue. Both using 100% of my GPU

[Starbarian]

Originally posted by Dayton002:

Originally posted by Spectre Synth:

Hmm the only other Things I can think of is CPU bottleneck or CPU is busy with other Background applications. Or you PSU cannot keep up with the power demand and needs to roll back to protect itself.

Did you use daisy chain power cable for you GPU? It's recommend that you don't.
Also how the GPU VRM temps? If it's close to 100c you might want to add some heatstinks to the VRM chip.

no I've got 2 separate cables for my GPU. If that was an issue wouldn't metro exodus have the same issue. Ill exit RDR2 and run metro without an issue using 270-300 watts and go back to RDR2 and experience the same issue. Both using 100% of my GPU

I notice my machine runs much hotter when I play RDR2 compared to Metro. (Srsly I owned the game, check my profile Achievement)
I assumed RDR2 drains much more power then Metro.
At this point you have observe everything not just a few senors and throw whatever sticks you can find.