cuda = card won't "upclock" when running 3d game

Questions and Answers : GPU applications : cuda = card won't "upclock" when running 3d game

Author	Message
bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 940852 - Posted: 17 Oct 2009, 18:55:40 UTC
	I could not find another thread with this information - sorry if I've repeated an existing problem. I have a gtx260/216 card in my computer. When I run Seti/Cuda apps, I cannot run my 3d games with full benefit of the card's capabilities. EVGA precision shows that I'm running the card at 2d speed (300/600/100) instead of 3d speed (721/etc///) and of course the frame rate is noticibly HORRIBLE. I am running using BOINC 6.6.36 on XP64, latest Nvidia driver (191xxx?). Seti task says " enhanced 6.08 (cuda)" Any help? ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 940852 ·

Ageless Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 11633 Credit: 1,986,817 RAC: 4,182	Message 940913 - Posted: 17 Oct 2009, 22:31:31 UTC - in response to Message 940852.
	As per my FAQ on this subject (and lots more): My system slows down when I run CUDA. I can't work like this! When your system runs CUDA tasks, the GPU is saturated with whatever task it is doing. A large portion of your video RAM is being used by this task as well. So of course things will slow down. The GPU draws everything that you see on your monitor. If at the time it is busy with a lot of calculations on all its internal processors, it won't have time to draw the screen. 3D gaming will also try to saturate the GPU, so you cannot have both CUDA and the game occupy the same space at the same time. Seti has at this time tasks that have a very low angle range (VLAR) which will slow down when they are being calculated on the GPU. This slowdown will also have its effect on your computer. A fix for this is forthcoming in a next version of the science application. The official advice is: - If you have a dedicated gaming rig, then do not run BOINC/CUDA at the same time you are playing your game, or only run it when you aren't gaming. - When you love to watch DVDs, do not use BOINC/CUDA at the same time. This will impact your viewing experience. (stutters, slow-downs) - When using a screen saver, remember that the GPU is used to render the screen saver's graphics. Just do not use a screen saver and turn off your monitor before you leave, or let it go to blank. ____________ Jord - BOINC FAQ Service - BOINC User Wiki Real is just a matter of perception.
	ID: 940913 ·

Fred W Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 13 Jun 99 Posts: 2524 Credit: 11,954,210 RAC: 0	Message 940943 - Posted: 17 Oct 2009, 23:30:54 UTC
	But unfortunately Jord's reply does not address the issue of why the GPU is not running at full lick though. IIRC, with EVGA Precision (and other tools) you can fix the speed at the 3D rate? - Can't verify this ATM as I am still waiting for my GTX295 to come back from RMA (and the manufacturer's report is FNF, wouldn't you know it...). F. ____________
	ID: 940943 ·

Ageless Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 11633 Credit: 1,986,817 RAC: 4,182	Message 940950 - Posted: 17 Oct 2009, 23:50:40 UTC - in response to Message 940943.
	But unfortunately Jord's reply does not address the issue of why the GPU is not running at full lick though. That depends on what the OP is asking. "When I run Seti/Cuda apps, I cannot run my 3d games with full benefit of the card's capabilities." I answered that one. If "EVGA precision shows that I'm running the card at 2d speed (300/600/100) instead of 3d speed (721/etc///) and of course the frame rate is noticibly HORRIBLE." is just a continuation of the former sentence, then I addressed it as well. The GPU is saturated with the work you're doing for CUDA. There is no way for the GPU to drop some of the work and go calculate what your 3D game is trying to do and show. Quite easily tested: Exit BOINC completely and start the game. When that fixes all the aforementioned problems, including the 2D/3D speed measurements, you know not to run games when CUDA is running. Or to use the "<exclusive_apps> tag in cc_config.xml" that I explained about in that same FAQ. ____________ Jord - BOINC FAQ Service - BOINC User Wiki Real is just a matter of perception.
	ID: 940950 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 940990 - Posted: 18 Oct 2009, 2:47:50 UTC - in response to Message 940950.
	bonic and seti and einstein are all set to "not run" when the computer is active. Sorry for omitting that piece of info. I do NOT allow the application to run unless the PC is idle for 10 minutes or more. John ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 940990 ·

Ageless Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 11633 Credit: 1,986,817 RAC: 4,182	Message 941087 - Posted: 18 Oct 2009, 12:45:45 UTC - in response to Message 940990.
	When you check with Windows Task Manager, is boinctray.exe still running? ____________ Jord - BOINC FAQ Service - BOINC User Wiki Real is just a matter of perception.
	ID: 941087 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 941238 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 3:28:43 UTC - in response to Message 941087. Last modified: 19 Oct 2009, 3:31:58 UTC
	tray and mgr are both running. SETI and EINSTIEN are not. Even suspending SETI in BOINC does not help. Ending BOINC does not help. Only after a fresh REBOOT can I run the game at full speed. side note - where does one put info to make signature? I looked in my "account" link and saw nothing... thanks.
	ID: 941238 ·

Ageless Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 11633 Credit: 1,986,817 RAC: 4,182	Message 941246 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 4:02:27 UTC - in response to Message 941238.
	tray and mgr are both running. SETI and EINSTIEN are not. Um, hold on... First things first. Double check: Do you have these three running? - boinc.exe - boincmgr.exe - boinctray.exe Or only boinctray.exe and boincmgr.exe? Can you please try BOINC 6.10.13 (the latest BOINC release candidate) to see if it does things better? (Before people complain, yes 6.10.14 is the newest, but it may have unwanted side-effects to the CUDA-is-here/CUDA-is-lost detection and therefore not necessarily good for a release candidate). side note - where does one put info to make signature? I looked in my "account" link and saw nothing... Your Account->Message boards and private messages->Signature for message board posts. Don't forget to save changes with the Update button at the bottom of that page. ____________ Jord - BOINC FAQ Service - BOINC User Wiki Real is just a matter of perception.
	ID: 941246 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 941312 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 11:13:42 UTC - in response to Message 941246.
	tray and mgr are both running. SETI and EINSTIEN are not. Um, hold on... First things first. Double check: Do you have these three running? - boinc.exe - boincmgr.exe - boinctray.exe Or only boinctray.exe and boincmgr.exe? All three. -boinc.exe32 - 17,976k -boincmgr.exe32 - 2,672k -boinctray.exe*32 - 2,688k Can you please try BOINC 6.10.13 (the latest BOINC release candidate) to see if it does things better? (Before people complain, yes 6.10.14 is the newest, but it may have unwanted side-effects to the CUDA-is-here/CUDA-is-lost detection and therefore not necessarily good for a release candidate). Sure. I'll try (just about) anything once... <GRIN> side note - where does one put info to make signature? I looked in my "account" link and saw nothing... Your Account->Message boards and private messages->Signature for message board posts. Don't forget to save changes with the Update button at the bottom of that page. Thanks!
	ID: 941312 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 941314 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 11:30:22 UTC - in response to Message 941312.
	installed the suggested version, and 'upgraded' to the 64 bit version while I was there... no immediate difference noticed... will report later after I can reboot the computer and such. Nice that the upgrade finds the local directories, but disturbing that it re-sets the local 'statistics' graphs... ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 941314 ·

Ageless Send message Joined: 9 Jun 99 Posts: 11633 Credit: 1,986,817 RAC: 4,182	Message 941315 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 11:44:03 UTC - in response to Message 941314.
	but disturbing that it re-sets the local 'statistics' graphs... That bug is fixed in 6.10.14... it seems to have been there during the whole 6.6 range. ;-) ____________ Jord - BOINC FAQ Service - BOINC User Wiki Real is just a matter of perception.
	ID: 941315 ·

Wembley Volunteer tester Send message Joined: 16 Sep 09 Posts: 415 Credit: 879,818 RAC: 0	Message 941336 - Posted: 19 Oct 2009, 14:11:44 UTC
	What rules are you using in your overclocking app to change the speed on your card? Sounds like you are running your card slow to crunch CUDA wu's and then you are expecting it to run fast for your game. Sounds like you are missing a rule to switch it up. Most people don't bother with different rules and just crank their card up to full speed 100% of the time. Just make sure your fan is running 100% also.
	ID: 941336 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 941680 - Posted: 21 Oct 2009, 4:38:44 UTC - in response to Message 941336.
	What rules are you using in your overclocking app to change the speed on your card? Sounds like you are running your card slow to crunch CUDA wu's and then you are expecting it to run fast for your game. Sounds like you are missing a rule to switch it up. Most people don't bother with different rules and just crank their card up to full speed 100% of the time. Just make sure your fan is running 100% also. I'm not using any 'rules' to control the card for CUDA specifically. in 2d mode, the card clocks 300/600 mem 100 my 3d clocks are set for 710/1530 mem 1100 When SETI/Bonic pauses due to system activity, I get 400/700/200 reported by EVGA precision AND riva tuner... and the performance of the games indicates that this is likely very accurate - crappy frame rates, etc. I rebooted, finally, and now we shall see... ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 941680 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 941951 - Posted: 22 Oct 2009, 11:27:24 UTC - in response to Message 941680.
	Ok guys. Even with the newer version BONIC client, this happens. After a fresh reboot, I can load the games and play full speed. When CUDA jobs have run on the GPU, however, the computer comes out of idle fine, windows apps work fine, but, 3D apps/games clock at 400/799/297 (this is the same as my previous post, I just had the number off by a little...) So there is NO CHange. John ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 941951 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 942367 - Posted: 23 Oct 2009, 20:52:40 UTC - in response to Message 941951.
	Anyone? Help? ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 942367 ·

FireGate_13 Send message Joined: 10 Feb 03 Posts: 106 Credit: 304,540 RAC: 0	Message 944529 - Posted: 2 Nov 2009, 2:41:04 UTC - in response to Message 942367.
	Try rivatuner and tell us if something changed ____________ Firegate_13 Was Here! BeWare! Patras Wireless Metropolitan NetWork
	ID: 944529 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 944530 - Posted: 2 Nov 2009, 3:06:05 UTC - in response to Message 944529.
	Try rivatuner and tell us if something changed I'm using the EVGA Precision tool, but I do have RivaTuner loaded. So, what shall I look for? None of the "set" clock values appear to be changed. But After running CUDA, the card will not clock up past the lame 400 level previously posted. ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 944530 ·

FireGate_13 Send message Joined: 10 Feb 03 Posts: 106 Credit: 304,540 RAC: 0	Message 944587 - Posted: 2 Nov 2009, 8:44:00 UTC - in response to Message 944530.
	In Rivatuner make sure 2D AND 3D clocks are your maximum you want. (check if there is a low 3d settings too). ____________ Firegate_13 Was Here! BeWare! Patras Wireless Metropolitan NetWork
	ID: 944587 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 944607 - Posted: 2 Nov 2009, 13:26:38 UTC - in response to Message 944587.
	Hmm. that provided a little insight... after CUDA the system is using "low power 3d" setting, not performance 3d, as defined in RivaTuner. Since I've been using evga prescision, I think I'll REMOVE riva from the system and see what happens. I'll post again tomorrow. John ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 944607 ·

bigjohn Send message Joined: 3 May 01 Posts: 20 Credit: 2,960,298 RAC: 1,907	Message 945022 - Posted: 4 Nov 2009, 12:25:47 UTC - in response to Message 944607.
	Well, not sure which of these two things fixed it... but: 1 - removed riva tuner, leaving just EVGA Precision running 2 - upgraded BOINC to .17 Now I can play AFTER cuda apps have run! Thanks for the help guys. john ____________ Help fix the economy - FAIR TAX! Pledge, to preserve your liberty and mine!
	ID: 945022 ·

Questions and Answers : GPU applications : cuda = card won't "upclock" when running 3d game