Game at 100% GPU Usage (First Class Trouble)

The first problem I had was that it wouldn't launch due to VCRuntime 140-1.dll error, I found a solution online was to download the Microsoft visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes All in one Package, this worked, it would launch but now it's running 100% GPU usage with loud coil whine.

I have all settings on low at 1080p, if I turn the resolution slider down to 20% the noise is a bit less, but still there.

Specs wise: 12400f, 16gb ram + 1660 super. I tested it on a laptop (Acer Nitro 5) and it's working fine. I've tried verifying game files & am using 528.02 nvidia driver.

More info: When I play this game on my laptop, I'm getting about 40 - 50% gpu usage, 10300h + 1650ti, I asked my friend to check & there's is at about 30% gpu usage, 10400f + 3060.

Update: Sort of fixed the problem, I wound back the driver to 517.48 then launched the game, with only about 35% gpu usage! This is strange because my laptop had the same driver (528.02) and worked fine. I went to game files & changed frameratelimit to 144 & checked read only, launched game & we're back at 100% gpu usage + noise.

Closed game unchecked read only & put frameratelimit back to 60 (default) relaunch & still at 100% usage. Reinstalled the same driver with clean install & left game files unchanged & it's sitting on 35% with no noise. Still not sure exactly what's causing it.

Comments

  • +2

    Coil whine at 100% load is pretty normal depending on the frames it's punching out. The higher the frame count the louder the whine (in some cards). I remember loading up OG Witcher and the loading screens were like 3000 fps and my GPU would scream for that moment.

    What FPS are you actually getting?

    Usually rather than adjusting a resolution slider, setting a frame cap may help.

    (To be clear, GPU running at 100% isn't a problem, in fact it's a good indication you're not CPU bound! Which you definitely won't be with your specs)

    • In menu it's set at 60fps & on my laptop I would cap it at 144fps by saving then changing it to read only because the game file would change to 0.00000 when playing. I also tried setting frame cap in nvidia program settings but still same problem. I don't know why my laptop can run it easily & my desktop can't, think I might be missing something else like with the c++ apps.

      • Is there a bios update available by any chance for your graphics card? Some brands update occasionally.

    • Funnily enough the only time I get coil whine is when scrolling in Firefox while machine learning tasks are running maxing out CUDA on the GPU. Chrome is fine, but for whatever reason each scroll of the mouse in Firefox causes the video card to screech.

  • +1

    Coil whine isn't an indication of a hardware problem. It is however, an issue for your ears as it's annoying to listen to.

    EVGA's website explains what it is https://www.evga.com/support/faq/FAQdetails.aspx?faqid=59535

    Coil whine is simply the vibration of the coil in an inductor as the power passes through it. On a high end graphics card, ten or more large inductors would help provide power to critical components on the card.

    This vibration is similar to running a damp finger around the rim of a wine glass. Every inductor in every electronic device has some coil whine, but the vast majority of inductors whine well outside the hearing range of humans. On occasion, an inductor coil vibrates at a frequency in the range our ear can detect. This is particularly common if your card is processing 3D frames at a high rate, 100 FPS+. Coil whine can be particularly prevalent when in a game menu and no FPS cap or V-sync is enabled. You may notice greatly reduced coil when when enabling V-sync as a result.

    The combination of hardware components in your system can also affect the amount of coil whine you experience. Different motherboards and power supplies tend to have biggest affect, but adding or removing other components can also change the degree of the coil whine heard.

    I fixed my coil whine (on a Vega 64) issue after swapping to a newer / more efficient power supply. So if your PSU is particularly old you might have a good excuse to swap it out for a new one and see if it resolves the problem for you too.

    If that's not an option, put a cap on your frame rate.

    • Power supply is a few months old, (msi mpg a750gf). The only way to cap is to change it in the files then set to read only, because the game keeps changing it to 0.0000 which I assume is uncapped, still doesn't change anything. If I put everything as low as it can go: 1024x768 and 20% resolution it'll drop down to about 50% gpu usage with a tiny bit of noise, but it looks terrible.

  • +2

    100% GPU usage means its working properly.

  • +1

    It's hard to ascertain exactly what your problem is OP but if you have run a game and the GPU is reaching 100% usage then this is completely normal and expected. GPUs are almost always the bottleneck in games.

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