abnormal gpu throttle, GTX 770M overclocking

Hi

i have acquired a 770M which replaced my former 560M in my medion erazer x7813
the 770M was a clevo purchased in china, it is now flashed with the MSI vBios from techpowerup.

however when gaming under heavy load, i sometimes get throttling, and the temps don't seem to be the problem...
here is what i mean:


notice the gpu load going down by 50%

for info:
-these are supposed to be my stock clocks
-i never reach my max TDP on my gpu
-my motherboard supports PCI-E 2.0 while the 770m can run at 3.0 (however, i have read that 3.0 only gives 1-3% of performance+ )
-my cpu is a i7-2670QM with TDP =45W, and 770M with TDP of 75W. and my PSU delivers 180W


sooo, it seems that temperature isn't the problem, it never goes beyond 65°C

overclocking makes this happen more often,and still below 65°C

so, what could be the problem?
thank you

 

What does it say under PerfCap Reason?

 

i once have the reading in perfCap reason on a previous version on gpu-z, but now, all it says is "Util"
i will try to find again the version of gpu-z that gave the reading

edit: actually, it seems to be linked to drivers delivering this functionality

 

Which games and situations does this happen in and have you verified that CPU isn't overheating/throttling?

 

i happened a few times in wolfenstein: the new order
and a lot in ac unity (i know, i don't meet the requirements but still, =p the problem is here)

what software can i use to know if there is throttling happening?
cpu-z and realTemp don't give graphs readings =\

 

You can log using ThrottleStop or use RTSS OSD with HWiNFO64.

 

okay, i used throttlestop and cpu doesn't seem to be the problem

(if i understood well, throttling is indicated if ckmod and chipm are below 100%, and those values do never go below that...)

i do notice that when cpu temps never go over 80°C..

here is the log, you can notice the gpu throttling at 1:12:26,

edit1: actually, there is nothing indicated during the throttling on gpu-z

 

Not necessarily. Can you use the OSD to check per thread utilization and clock speed of your 2670QM in-game when the GPU load drops?

 

well this is awkward...
i was not able to reproduce a situation of throttling with all the monitoring tools enabled, (with all cpu threads readings on graphs on OSD)

i have however noticed some things:
- throttle did not occur above 70°C on gpu-Z
-the prioritize temperature checkbox seems to have an impact (even if it's set at 90°C with or without the checkbox checked)

i will try again and post how i am handling this problem soon , thank you for your help =)

 

i seems that these happens less often when i put windows in performance mode, and when i augment the voltage of the card a bit

 

Whoa. Your CPU is throttling like mad. You see this?

Spoiler

2014-11-15 01:12:22 28.00 62.9 100.0 100.0 0 73 1.2360 37.7
2014-11-15 01:12:22 28.00 61.6 100.0 100.0 0 75 1.2360 34.4
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 62.5 100.0 100.0 0 76 1.2360 37.4
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 63.7 100.0 100.0 0 74 1.2360 36.9
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 68.1 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 37.5
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 65.7 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 38.5
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 73.0 100.0 100.0 0 73 1.2360 37.7
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 74.1 100.0 100.0 0 77 1.2360 38.5
2014-11-15 01:12:23 28.00 71.5 100.0 100.0 0 74 1.2360 39.1
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 69.3 100.0 100.0 0 74 1.2360 40.5
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 66.1 100.0 100.0 0 74 1.2360 36.7
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 73.2 100.0 100.0 0 75 1.2360 39.4
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 60.9 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 35.6
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 62.8 100.0 100.0 0 74 1.2360 38.1
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 58.9 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 39.3
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 63.3 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 33.5
2014-11-15 01:12:24 28.00 64.6 100.0 100.0 0 72 1.2360 36.2
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 51.5 100.0 100.0 0 76 1.2360 37.0
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 62.7 100.0 100.0 0 73 1.2360 36.2
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 70.3 100.0 100.0 0 75 1.2360 39.5
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 69.7 100.0 100.0 0 77 1.2360 40.0
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 74.1 100.0 100.0 0 75 1.2360 39.2
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 67.9 100.0 100.0 0 78 1.2360 40.4
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 63.6 100.0 100.0 0 77 1.2360 33.8
2014-11-15 01:12:25 28.00 71.5 100.0 100.0 0 73 1.2360 40.6
2014-11-15 01:12:26 20.95 61.4 100.0 100.0 0 67 0.7505 31.4
2014-11-15 01:12:26 8.00 88.3 100.0 100.0 0 65 0.7555 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:26 8.00 87.7 100.0 100.0 0 64 0.7555 8.6
2014-11-15 01:12:26 8.00 90.9 100.0 100.0 0 64 0.7555 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:26 8.00 94.0 100.0 100.0 0 63 0.7555 10.1
2014-11-15 01:12:26 8.00 89.6 100.0 100.0 0 63 0.7555 9.3
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 91.6 100.0 100.0 0 62 0.7555 9.4
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 96.0 100.0 100.0 0 62 0.7555 9.8
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 92.7 100.0 100.0 0 62 0.7555 8.7
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 94.7 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.5
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 94.4 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.5
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 95.0 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 10.1
2014-11-15 01:12:27 8.00 97.8 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 88.4 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 91.8 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 86.9 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 8.2
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 92.7 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 10.1
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 98.0 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.5
2014-11-15 01:12:28 8.00 93.0 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 91.9 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.8
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 97.6 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 8.6
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 78.4 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.4
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 90.8 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 99.8 100.0 100.0 0 61 0.7555 8.8
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 98.2 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 10.2
2014-11-15 01:12:29 8.00 92.4 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.4
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 92.6 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 8.7
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 89.1 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 91.9 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 10.0
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 90.6 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7555 9.4
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 88.7 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 8.9
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 94.2 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:30 8.00 93.3 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 10.0
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 91.7 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 9.0
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 94.7 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 9.7
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 77.6 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7555 8.5
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 85.6 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 86.0 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 96.8 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 10.5
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 89.4 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 8.8
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 86.8 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7555 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:31 8.00 87.5 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 9.3
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 88.5 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7555 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 88.5 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 74.1 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 9.3
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 94.0 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 8.9
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 98.6 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 10.1
2014-11-15 01:12:32 8.00 95.9 100.0 100.0 0 60 0.7605 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:33 8.00 92.2 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 9.8
2014-11-15 01:12:33 8.00 51.8 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 8.3
2014-11-15 01:12:33 8.00 62.9 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 8.8
2014-11-15 01:12:34 8.00 85.4 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:34 8.00 91.7 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 8.9
2014-11-15 01:12:34 8.00 91.5 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 10.2
2014-11-15 01:12:34 8.00 90.1 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 8.2
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 92.1 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 98.2 100.0 100.0 0 59 0.7605 9.6
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 84.9 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 8.8
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 85.1 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 9.1
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 79.1 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 9.2
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 73.2 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 8.1
2014-11-15 01:12:35 8.00 70.7 100.0 100.0 0 58 0.7605 8.4
2014-11-15 01:12:36 8.00 62.1 100.0 100.0 0 57 0.7605 8.5
2014-11-15 01:12:36 8.00 61.9 100.0 100.0 0 57 0.7605 8.2
2014-11-15 01:12:36 8.00 55.0 100.0 100.0 0 57 0.7605 8.0
2014-11-15 01:12:36 8.00 63.9 100.0 100.0 0 57 0.7605 8.4
2014-11-15 01:12:36 8.00 59.2 100.0 100.0 0 57 0.7605 8.2
2014-11-15 01:12:36 26.19 42.0 100.0 100.0 0 64 1.2360 30.3
2014-11-15 01:12:36 28.00 44.1 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 30.2
2014-11-15 01:12:36 28.00 49.9 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 34.3
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 48.5 100.0 100.0 0 68 1.2360 35.9
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 47.8 100.0 100.0 0 68 1.2360 30.7
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 46.9 100.0 100.0 0 68 1.2360 33.7
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 36.0 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 29.3
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 35.5 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 30.0
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 35.9 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 30.5
2014-11-15 01:12:37 28.00 37.2 100.0 100.0 0 67 1.2360 30.0

That's your multiplier dropping from 28 (2.8 GHz) all the way down to 8 (0.8 GHz). This is the infamous Sandy Bridge 800 MHz throttle bug.

What you need to do is set Windows power plan to High Performance and set Minimum Processor State and Maximum Processor State both to 100%.

Then, open ThrottleStop and follow these settings. Check Set Multiplier and adjust it as high as it goes, but make sure you uncheck BD PROCHOT (unlike in my screenshot). Don't forget to Turn On ThrottleStop at the bottom right.

 

woah ! i did not see that !
thank you, i went through an hour gaming session without throttling and the overclocking was stable,

=)

 

You're welcome, happy that helped.

Lemme just take a minute to explain what some of the numbers in the ThrottleStop log mean. Hopefully, if you ever run into similar problems again, you'll be able to troubleshoot them yourself.

Code:

2014-11-15 01:12:25 [B]28.00[/B] [COLOR="#008000"]67.9[/COLOR] 100.0 100.0 0 [COLOR="#FF0000"]78[/COLOR] [COLOR="#FF8C00"]1.2360[/COLOR] [COLOR="#0000FF"]40.4[/COLOR]
2014-11-15 01:12:29 [B]8.00[/B] [COLOR="#008000"]99.8[/COLOR] 100.0 100.0 0 [COLOR="#FF0000"]61[/COLOR] [COLOR="#FF8C00"]0.7555[/COLOR] [COLOR="#0000FF"]8.8[/COLOR]

Black is your multiplier. Your CPU's base clock (BCLK) is 100 MHz, which doesn't change. Multiplier times BCLK gives you your current CPU clock speed, e.g. 28 x 100 MHz = 2800 MHz (2.8 GHz).

Green is your CPU load %.

Red is your CPU temperature.

Orange is your CPU voltage.

Blue is your CPU idle %.

The first line is during normal operation. The second line is when your CPU is throttling.

When it throttles, you notice that multiplier, temperature, and voltage all drop sharply. CPU load % goes way up because your CPU needs to work a lot harder to get the same amount of work done since it is limited to just 800 MHz. Inversely, CPU idle % goes way down because your CPU is much more busy than before.