RX 9070 XT low usage / FPS drops in Apex Legends (stuck at ~100W, 65% GPU usage)

Enhancing GPU Performance in Apex Legends: Troubleshooting RX 9070 XT Low Usage and FPS Drops

Introduction

Gaming enthusiasts often encounter performance issues that can hinder the gameplay experience. Recently, some users with AMD RX 9070 XT graphics cards have reported unusual behavior in Apex Legends, such as significant FPS drops coupled with low GPU utilization and power draw. This article aims to explore these issues in detail, discuss common troubleshooting steps, and offer insights to help resolve such performance bottlenecks.

Understanding the Issue

In certain configurations, gamers have observed that during intense gameplay segments—particularly in Apex Legends—the FPS unexpectedly drops from high values (~175 FPS) to lower levels (~120 FPS). Notably, these incidents are accompanied by:

• GPU utilization stagnating around 65%
• GPU power consumption plateauing between 90 to 110 Watts, whereas the card’s typical power draw in benchmarks can reach 250–300 Watts
• CPU usage remaining around 65%, indicating no clear CPU bottleneck
• Repeated shader recompilation upon each game launch, suggesting potential cache issues

These symptoms imply that the GPU isn’t boosting to its optimal performance levels during critical moments, resulting in reduced frame rates.

Common Troubleshooting Measures

To address these issues, several users have undertaken extensive troubleshooting, including:

1. BIOS and Hardware Settings Adjustments
2. Enabled XMP profiles for RAM stability
3. Set PCIe to Generation 3
4. Disabled C-States, fTPM, and High Precision Event Timer (HPET)

5. Enabled or disabled Resizable BAR, observing minimal impact

6. Graphics Driver Tweaks

7. Reinstalled the latest AMD Radeon Adrenalin drivers, including using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) in safe mode
8. Experimented with Radeon Chill and Radeon Boost features
9. Adjusted shader cache settings (Enabled, Disabled, AMD Optimized)

10. Reset shader cache periodically to mitigate cache corruption

11. System and Windows Configuration

12. Switched power plan to High Performance
13. Enabled or disabled Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)
14. Disabled Core Parking to prevent CPU core idling

15. Tested with various display options such as FreeSync and V-Sync

16. Additional Testing

17. Undervolted the GPU
18. Tried power tuning options within AMD drivers
19. Disabled Malicious Software Protection (MPO)
20. Disabling ReBAR in