Guild Wars 2

Hi!, i have a really strange problem that has caused me to stop playing for a half year or so.
As you can see in the picture my computer can handle the game fine, even in 4k but after random time the problem kicks in and both my GPUS gets 100% usage and my fps drops to around 15fps. All i can do to get back the performance again (in guild wars2, other games run fine) is to restart the computer, but after just a short time i get the fps drop again. I have checked task manager so that no program are using all cpu power or ram, but as you can see in picture the cpu is fine, it isnt maxed while the gpu are.

My Computer specs.
CPU: i7-4790K CPU @ 4.00GHz
Memory: Corsair 16gb DDR3 1600mhz memory
Main-board: Z97 XPOWER AC (MS-7914)
Corsair 1200W Powersupply
GPU: 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Titan Black, EVGA SC (both in x16)
Nvidia Driver: 361.43
Windows 10 Pro Build 10586.63
Game on 250gb Crucial C300 SSD

I have tried different versions of GPU driver.
Tried with lowest settings and lower resolution in game but still get about 15fps.
I have reinstalled the system countless times but problem always comes back.
I have the latest drivers for chipset etc.
Also tested without SLI, even removed one card physically from the computer, but still fps drops.
Tried to reinstall the game and remove the Local.dat….
Got no problems with any other game, just Guild Wars 2.

Anyone got any ideas what it could be and how it can be fixed?
Thanks in advance for any answers.

I think at least one of your videocards is throttling, 3 reasons to think so :
- a 780 throttles above 80c unless you set a higher temp.
- load of the cpu remains the same but videocard’s go from 58%load to 95% suggesting a lower clock(strange cause you see 1124MHz/3499Mhz : is this the setting or the real measured value?)
- after you restart the cards, they will be a little bit cooler but probably go to throttle again when the load is applied.

another strange thing.
when normal:
card at setting 784/2997Mhz is running 70c
card at setting 1046MHz /3499Mhz is 63c

so i think you should check the first card

to test you could also reduce base clock with 20 % and check if it is still happening.

(other games is no info if the load is not known)
edit : load of cpu is even less main thread going from 62% normal to 41% also suggesting the cpu is waiting.

Well you are right, many other games do not make use of 100% of both gpus and they do not get as hot, but i just tried Dragon Age Inquisition, and both gpus are maxed there, and i don’t notice much difference in fps there when the gpus reach 82c. But what they do at that speed is downclock to 900 something mhz from 1124hz which is the factory overclocked mhz. But i will try to install afterburner and put it at default speed for titan black and fans at 100% to see if that helps anything, thanks.

And BTW, the reported clocks are what afterburner reports too.

First disable Reflections and Shadows, and put Character Model Limit to “Low” or “Medium”. These 3 settings are very cpu intensive, reduce a lot the framerate and add a lot of stuttering.

If not, it could be the PLX chip found in your MB. It adds more pcie lines, but at expenses of more latency. Gw2 is very sensible with pcie bandwidth, even going from 3.0 x8 to 3.0 x16 adds some performance.
Try playing with a single gpu on the pcie slot 2 (which is the one bypassing the PLX chip).

It could also be a driver issue. Nvidia has had tons of problems in Gw2 since the started launching W10 compatible drivers. You could try some drivers pre W10.

Eldric.2109:

… and i don’t notice much difference in fps there when the gpus reach 82c. But what they do at that speed is downclock to 900 something mhz from 1124hz which is the factory overclocked mhz….

Well you right also, the drop in clocks isn’t that big too explain the sudden gpu load (50% to 100%). Somehow, as you only experience it after a while it seams temperature related or a broken driver or mem leak, …
Are you using the 64bit client?

Yes, i am using 64bit, but it started before 64bit was available. But i have been playing the whole evening now with fans at 100%. So maybe something happens with the drivers once they start to throttle?, because once i get the fps drops it wont go away until i restart the computer. Even if i shutdown guild wars 2 and the computer goes idle for an hour or two, it will still be there when i launch the game with cool graphic cards. But hopefully i can solve it by making a fan curve with afterburner so it never throttles and can play again, thanks for the tip, i will try a few days and see if its solved.

Also Ansu i have tried playing with just 1 card in slot 2, but it did not help. Everything points at right now that its something to do with some issue with gw2 and throttling. Thank you for trying to help though.

Any chance this happens when you open the map and then exit? I was in HoT zones earlier and when I opened the map my FPS got very bizarre.
Even when I exited back to the game the effects did not go away. I eventually just ignored it. It was pretty awful.

And today its back again, even though i use 100% fan so it don’t get any hotter than 67c…
Don’t think its related to the map, but since its random when i get it, i don’t know. I Guess i have to wait another half year and then try again….

Ok, problem is solved, it was overheating of the PLX chip, i put a fan directly on it and it works perfect, just in case someone else have a similar problem….