SLI GPU Usage Issue with G-SYNC

[agentbb007]

SLI GPU Usage Issue with G-SYNC

First off I love Witcher 3, I think it might just be the greatest game I have ever played, and I love how many options this forum has. Now on to the G-SYNC issue.

When G-SYNC is enabled I have lower GPU usage compared to when G-SYNC is disabled. I made this [video]https://youtu.be/CJslE6EQUJI[/video] that shows the difference. I've included my systems specs below. Anyone got any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks
BB

Windows 10 Pro
ROG Swift PG278Q 27" 2560x1440 144Hz
Skylake i7-6700k @ 4.4Ghz with NZXT Kraken X61 Liquid Cooler
SLI GTX Titan X @ 1354Ghz
Asus Maximus VIII Hero Mobo
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 2400 16GB
GeForce Driver 361.43
:geraltsad::readytofight:

 

[Vistula77]

I have SLI GTX 970 and Benq G-Sync monitor. GPU usage is a little lower in full screen mode but I have better frame rates than in windowed mode.

 

[agentbb007]

I have SLI GTX 970 and Benq G-Sync monitor. GPU usage is a little lower in full screen mode but I have better frame rates than in windowed mode.

Thanks Vistula77, so do you have G-SYNC enabled in both windowed and full screen mode? Do you have a GPU Hardware monitor so you can see your GPU Usage? If yes do you find GPU Usage is lower when G-SYNC is enabled? Here is a screenshot of how I have G-SYNC setup, this way I can compare GPU Usage with G-SYNC on in full screen, off in windowed mode.

 

[Vistula77]

Yes, I'm using MSI Afterburner and my settings from NVidia panel are the same as yours. GPU usage with G-Sync turned on is a little lower, but only for first GPU ( ~ 75-80% vs 90-95% ). But anyway, I have much more smooth game with better FPS ( ~ 5-10fps ) when G-Sync is turned on in fullscreen mode. I tried turning on G-Sync for windowed mode in NVidia Panel but it doesn't helped me a lot.

 

[dragonbird]

OK, this may be a dumb question, but what's your fps with G-sync on/off? Correct me if I'm wrong, but as G-sync is synching the GPU with the monitor, doesn't that effectively cap the output to the monitor refresh rate? So if your fps is higher with G-sync off, it would be reduced when you turn G-sync on, in which case you would see a lower GPU usage, which you can make use of by increasing the quality settings?

 

[Vistula77]

I have 144hz monitor refresh rate so in-game FPS is not reduced by it. In-game refresh rate i have set to unlimited. With my GTX 970 SLI setup I have 69 FPS in Novigrad ( rain ) with G-Sync turned off ( windowed mode ) and 64 FPS with G-Sync turned on ( full screen mode ). All settings are maxed to uber.

 

[dragonbird]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, the reduced GPU usage that the OP is seeing is probably due to that slightly lower fps, and is normal behaviour?
And if he's not already maxed out on the quality settings, he can probably increase the quality to make use of that?

 

[Vistula77]

Did you tried enabling G-Sync for windowed mode and you see difference ? I think that this is Nvidia driver issue than game mechanics. Many people reported on Nvidia forum issues with many games about low GPU SLI usage.