Additional Data Needed Regarding GPU Utilization Issues

[Enkrateia]

Greetings!

We are aware of the concerns regarding GPU utilization that you have been reporting, especially since update 4.3. We have escalated the concerns so far for further investigation; however, the data we were able to provide was not enough to conduct an investigation. We are currently in the process of gathering information and passing along these details along so we can find a proper resolution. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work to investigate the issue. We are asking that you provide the following information:

Date & Time:
Frequency:
World Name:
Character Name:
Party or Solo:
In-Game Time:
Area and Coordinates:
Steps:
1.
2.
3.

GPU performance change before and after you started having the issue:

GPU:
Driver Version:
CPU:
RAM:
Hard Drive:
OS:
OS Version:
Graphics Settings:
FPS Limit: (System Configuration > Display Settings > FPS Limit)

We have compiled a few of the threads into this sticky thread so all of the relevant information can be in one place. If any of you are having an issue related to this thread, post them here instead of creating a new thread so we can find the information more easily. We will also move new threads about this issue to this thread to better collect the data.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to help try to resolve this trouble.

LGM Enkrateia

[AshlikeSnow]

Idk if this is related but I run a Titan xp sli sandwich and today I noticed that my gpu temps went up unusually higher than normal.

[dark494]

This started since 4.2. No idea why but they've refused to acknowledge it.

[Mynaria]

Can confirm, on a nvidia 970 gtx, gpu load is at 99% and temps at 76C which isn't the norm for me. I'm currently on Win 10 and using the latest driver version 397.64, where before I had Win 7 & 388.13. I heard of people having higher temps and such with newer drivers, latest drivers aren't always the best imo, as they can possibly have various problems depending on configuration. I'm going to go back to earlier drivers via clean install w/ DDU and see whether temps+utilization changes.

[AtrumStarstryder]

I have also being having a similar problem since 4.2 as well - using a GTX 980, when I enter certain cutscenes (and also noticed it happen with RDM LB3 animation) the game suddenly becomes very choppy for the duration of whatever animation or scene is playing out - I thought it might just be a problem with FF itself since 4.2 after trying a number of things and hoped it would be fixed by 4.3 but no joy.

Notes for the problem:

• I have no problems on any other game - only FFXIV
• I originally thought it might be due to some recent graphical updates, I put all the settings from Maximum down to minimum as a test - no difference
• Tried in windowed/full screen etc - no difference
• Saw a couple of similar threads where an Uninstall/reinstall of FFXIV was recommended so I did this - no difference
• Checked that I had latest WIN10 64-Bit graphics driver for a GTX 980, already had the latest driver and have no options to roll back, so as an extra precaution I uninstalled all Nvidia drivers and software then reinstalled just to make sure - no difference

The GTX980 blows FFXIV's graphics out of the water on Max settings and always has done even with the improvements they added in 4.0, but as the test above suggests where I reduced all graphics to minimum and it still didn't work (not to mention I am using other games with much higher graphical requirements with no problem), I can only conclude something has gone wrong in the background that is affecting perhaps some Nvdia graphics card users??

[linnyxito7]

I've had this problem since the patch as well. I usually limit my framerate to 60 fps, and the game runs very smoothly like that. Since the patch the game has been dipping to around 40 fps many times a minute.

Things I tried:
Cleaning the fans of my computer
Checking all drivers (they are all up to date)
Changing settings in NVIDIA Control Panel
Overclocking the graphics card
Restarting the game
Restarting the computer
Shutting down other apps and programs (and game mode)
Switched between DirctX9 and DirectX11 at game startup (the problem persisted in both)
Changed fps way settings in the game between 15 fps to 120 fps (the fps still dropped/skipped many times per minute, whether the fps was high or low)
Changed the graphics settings from lowest to highest, and back to lowest

None of the above helped: Even at low settings, the fps will suddenly dip. This didn't happen before the patch. If I try to use skills or spells at the same time as the fps skip/dip, the action doesn't go through and I have to use the skill/spell again.

[GunksFoy]

I noticed this yesterday as well. Also using a GTX 1070 and my fps dropped to 21. Restarted the client and it seems better today.

[Mynaria]

Dropping drivers from latest to former 388.13 didn't seem to do anything, I just wanted to get that out of the way. However, setting a frame rate limit with 1/1 put my temps and gpu usage back down: https://i.imgur.com/RsuRvUk.png (from another post). Mine's set to my monitor's 60hz refresh rate, so it doesn't really bug me if I can't get high fps. I mean, you can get higher frames and less input lag with uncapped, but is that really necessary for a tab target mmo, even at the 90th+% percentile of raiders? This isn't an action mmo/fps.

For people having issues with the frame rate limiter; it works on borderless windowed for me, i'm on Win 10 x64 enterprise (1803), but I have overlays, Win 10 game bar, game dvr, and full screen optimizations disabled. Be sure to check if that stuff is on, it could cause issues. I also have "limit frame rate when client is active" unchecked, that worked oddly for me in the past with my fps dropping below of what it should be, swapping from borderless windowed back to full screen did some weird stuff for me in the past.

Could also be some versions of windows causing issues for g-sync users, as its done in the past, dealing with the different combinations of FFXIV, driver versions and Win 10 updates is a chore, lol.

[duvvvv]

thanks to this thread, I took notice of my GPU (GTX 1060), and realized it's also at 100% usage when running this game at an alarming 83c temp.
my issues usually involve my ISP so I kinda ignored the GPU side til now.
I guess I'll tweak my settings and see if it persists.

[Einmimiria]

Good afternoon and thank you for posting on the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

To get a better understanding of the issue, I'd like to ask a few questions:

1) What Graphics Card are you using?
2) What is the resolution, graphical setting, and frame rate you are getting (both pre and post patch)?
3) Some of you have reported major dips in frame rate, does your GPU utilization reach 100% at this time?
4) Does this happen constantly or is it restricted to only a few areas?
5) Is this accompanied by any graphical glitches?
6) Please list everything you have tried to alleviate the issue

We hope we can be of assistance in helping you enjoy the exciting world of Final Fantasy XIV!