I recently sold my TUF F15 laptop with an RTX 3050, and the buyer sent me a screenshot showing unusually poor FurMark performance. The GPU reports 100% usage, but VRAM usage is only around 10%, and the frame rate is roughly 10 FPS. I know the RTX 3050 is an entry-level laptop GPU, but that still seems far too low. When I owned the laptop, I sometimes used power-saving modes and limited performance, so I'm wondering whether a software setting, power profile, RAM configuration, or an actual hardware problem could be responsible. What should be checked first?
4 Answers
Check the memory configuration too. If the laptop is running with only one RAM stick, single-channel memory can reduce performance, especially in some games. Both sticks should be detected and operating properly, although that alone probably wouldn’t explain extremely low FurMark results.
The 10% VRAM reading by itself isn’t a problem. FurMark may not allocate much VRAM depending on the resolution and test settings, so low VRAM usage doesn’t mean the GPU is failing. The important details are the actual GPU clock speed, temperature, power draw, and whether the dedicated GPU is being used.
First make sure the laptop is connected to its charger and running in a high-performance mode. A gaming laptop can heavily throttle the GPU on battery or in a power-saving profile. Also check that FurMark is using the RTX 3050 rather than integrated graphics.
Around 10 FPS is still suspiciously low for an RTX 3050, even though expectations should be reasonable for that GPU. Reset any power limits or performance tweaks, then use Display Driver Uninstaller to remove the graphics driver and install a fresh NVIDIA driver. Check Windows and the manufacturer’s performance profile afterward.
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