High GPU load after 1.12 Update

[Can't fit through hatch]

Greeting fellow Kerbonauts! I recently updated to Version 1.12 after most mods switched versions, but I noticed that my GPU(NVIDEA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti) load is unusually high since then. Before I was running on 1.10 with quite a few mods and had no issues. But now, both with and without mods, my GPU reaches up to 90% load and has to kick on the fans to a level I simply do not experience in other games that should in theory be way more demanding. The weird thing is, that even with 99% usage and almost worrying temperatures the game runs smoothly which makes the thing very weird, if my GPU would struggle because of any real load I would certainly suffer from performance issues, but I don't! In all my tests (launching a 3 part rocket on kerbal) with 3 clean installs, the issue persisted, both with and without mods. This only happend when launching a rocket, the menues and VAB were completly calm. And yes, my drivers are updated and frame limiting is active.

Is it a problem with my GPU or is there any Graphics option in KSP that is way more demanding than it should be? I really just want to play KSP without my GPU rivaling the noise level of a Panther Engine!

 

 

[Serenity]

15 hours ago, Can't fit through hatch said:

Is it a problem with my GPU or is there any Graphics option in KSP that is way more demanding than it should be? I really just want to play KSP without my GPU rivaling the noise level of a Panther Engine!

Is your 3060 EVGA? I read this interesting article for an unrelated game https://www.pcgamer.com/evga-confirms-new-world-rtx-3090-rmas/

Try turning Vsync on and/or limit your max fps, cap them to around 60 and see if it helps.

Most mods affect mainly CPU but i guess maybe some visual ones may affect GPU, its not really bad if GPU is utilized but i understand the worry.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Serenity

[Can't fit through hatch]

I don't have an EVGA and I already played around with Vsync and Frame limiting, sadly it didn't help. And while mods make the issue worse, I also experience an unusal amount of heat and GPU usage in Vanilla. I tried just ignoring it yesterday since the game ran fine but I don't feel comfortable with my GPU screaming around at up to 90°C when it did just fine before I updated.

[Serenity]

3 hours ago, Can't fit through hatch said:

I don't have an EVGA and I already played around with Vsync and Frame limiting, sadly it didn't help. And while mods make the issue worse, I also experience an unusal amount of heat and GPU usage in Vanilla. I tried just ignoring it yesterday since the game ran fine but I don't feel comfortable with my GPU screaming around at up to 90°C when it did just fine before I updated.

That's so high, isn't that close to the safe limit of that card?

Do you have any ''heavy'' games to see if it still reaches such high temperatures just in case its a problem with your overall cooling or overclocking etc.

I haven't seen many posts with this problem, hopefully its something else and not the games fault.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Serenity

[Can't fit through hatch]

Exactly, this is the safety limit and no, for the graphic hungry games it doesn't reach that high (the only thing that gets close is Warhammer IIs horribly optimized campaign map, but that's a known issue) and before I updated, it ran normal on KSP as well. The weird thing is also that it sometimes instantly jumps to 99% usage when I load into the Launchpad and then stays there. And even a heavily modded KSP should't strain a 3060 like this and I can say that with confidence since it never did that before. I really don't know what could cause such an overreaction from my GPU, since the game runs smoothly I still suspect that KSP somehow demands ressources it doesn't need. But I don't know much about tech so I ultimatly have no idea.

[Can't fit through hatch]

I have just confirmed that it's a game problem, I reset the options, changed only the resolution and ran the game with all my fancy 4k mods and my GPU was running at a comfortable 40% load and barely getting warmer. So somewhere in the graphics settings is an option that demands significantly more ressources than even the most power hungry of mods which should not be happening I think. I will try playing around with the options to isolate the problematic one and report back.

Edit: I found the issue: The "Reflection Refresh Mode" Option cannot be higher than medium. So in summary: When switching "Reflection Refresh Mode" from "Medium" to "Every Frame" the GPU usage jumps up  by 30-40% on my NVIDEA Geforce RTX3060Ti, I will ofc just keep it on medium and enjoy the game but if this issue is reproduceable it might be worth fixing (if possible).

Edited August 2, 2021 by Can't fit through hatch
Found the Problem

[archiebald]

On 8/3/2021 at 5:03 AM, Can't fit through hatch said:

I have just confirmed that it's a game problem, I reset the options, changed only the resolution and ran the game with all my fancy 4k mods and my GPU was running at a comfortable 40% load and barely getting warmer. So somewhere in the graphics settings is an option that demands significantly more ressources than even the most power hungry of mods which should not be happening I think. I will try playing around with the options to isolate the problematic one and report back.

Edit: I found the issue: The "Reflection Refresh Mode" Option cannot be higher than medium. So in summary: When switching "Reflection Refresh Mode" from "Medium" to "Every Frame" the GPU usage jumps up  by 30-40% on my NVIDEA Geforce RTX3060Ti, I will ofc just keep it on medium and enjoy the game but if this issue is reproduceable it might be worth fixing (if possible).

This is good information,  I just built a new system based on an i5-11600, Nvidea RTX3080 and 32GB of Ram  so I didn't expect any issues.

I then gleefully cranked up everything in the graphics compared to my previous potato and have been very, very impressed with the new views I have of KSP....until that is I went outside on Kerbin, or switched to one of my Rovers on a planet with atmosphere (no problems anywhere else though).  Even though I am running Scatterer, I was surprised when the cooling fans started screaming. 

I had already set max frames to 60 since I only have a 60Hz refresh on my 4K monitor, but I remember selecting "Reflection Refresh Mode" to "Every Frame", not knowing the consequences so I will be toning this down tonight when I get home.

I will report back later.

[archiebald]

Just tested this tonight and I can confirm it completely solved the issue of load on the GPU.  Was on Every Frame, changed it to Medium and all is good in the world.