Fixing VRAM bandwidth bottlenecks for Gainward RTX 2060 Storm
In the fast-paced alien landscapes of Returnal, my frame rate would suddenly tank from 60fps to 40fps, which is a nightmare when you're dodging projectiles. The 6GB of VRAM on the Gainward RTX 2060 Storm is struggling with modern engines, and I noticed the bandwidth fluctuating wildly between 14GB/s - 18GB/s, leaving the GPU core idling while waiting for data. I tried the driver's 'Performance Mode' first, but the core temp shot up to 82℃, triggering a thermal throttle that made things even worse. I decided to use an overclocking tool to bump the memory frequency by 200MHz and disabled a bunch of useless Windows background image enhancement services. On the RTSS graph, the frame times tightened from a messy 16ms - 25ms range to a much more consistent 16ms - 19ms. I did see some tiny green artifacts on the screen at first, so I backed the clock down by 50MHz to stabilize it. Core temps now sit at 72℃ - 78℃ with fans screaming at 2200 RPM. A 3DMark bandwidth test showed a roughly 8% bump in throughput, which is all I could squeeze out of this old card.
