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GPU Caps Viewer 1.63.0

Some VK 3D Demos won't launch and just crash on 4090 laptop (drivers 560.81 SD):

• Vulkan - Mesh Shader / Meshlets
• Vulkan - Shadertoy Geomechanical
• Vulkan - Shadertoy Seascape

💻ASUS Gaming Laptop ROG SCAR 18 (G834JY)
⚙ Chipset: Intel HM770 (Raptor Lake-S PCH), 📈 CPU: i9-13980HX (32 core), 📦 RAM: 32 GB DDR5 5600MHz, 📸 Gfx card: Laptop GTX 4090 256bit (10DE-2757/1043-21FD Rev A1, vBIOS v95.03.2B.00.30), 16GB GDDR6, 💽 OS: Windows 11 Pro x64, 📺 Laptop Screen: G-Sync NE180QDM-NZ2 18" 2560x1600 240Hz, 📺 Ext. Screen through DisplayPort: Adaptive-Sync Mi UWQHD [XMI3444] 34" 3440x1440 144Hz, 🗄 HD: NVMe 6000MB/s, 🔊 Audio: Realtek HD (ALC285) with Dolby Atmos, 🦷 Bluetooth & WiFi: 5.4 + Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160MHz, 🎮 Controllers: 8BitDo Arcade Stick, EasySMX X10 controller, ROG Strix Carry Wireless-BT mouse, 💿 Blu ray: 4K UHD USB Archgon Star, 🎧 Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 BT

Crash log looks like this:

Descrizione
Percorso dell'applicazione che ha generato l'errore:   C:\Users\Luca\Util\GPU_Caps_Viewer\GPU_Caps_Viewer.exe

Firma del problema
Nome evento problema:   APPCRASH
Nome applicazione:   GPU_Caps_Viewer.exe
Versione applicazione:   1.63.0.0
Timestamp applicazione:   65c6337a
Nome modulo con errori:   igvk32.dll
Versione modulo con errori:   31.0.101.4502
Timestamp modulo con errori:   648b38f2
Codice eccezione:   c0000005
Offset eccezione:   002e8861
Versione SO:   10.0.22631.2.0.0.768.101
ID impostazioni locali:   1040
Informazioni aggiuntive 1:   2beb
Ulteriori informazioni 2:   2beba6fb4680d73a8c78ca7c24ccdb46
Ulteriori informazioni 3:   ba76
Ulteriori informazioni 4:   ba767649b53cf7a00bb6ad221821be75

You are running on iGPU (yet the crash should not happen)

To select the dGPU check out
[Windows 11/10] Come impostare l'applicazione per utilizzarla con la grafica discreta

It's a gaming laptop with Optimus and Advanced Optimus: I already tried that and even with GPU only in Advanced Optimus mode (equivalent of MUX switch), ONLY THOSE mentioned above, still crash. All other VK and OGL demos work fine and run always on dGPU of course, so it seems an initialization error for those 3 demos only to me...

Attached logs, launched from Advanced Optimus mode:
vk_meshlets_crash.log is when it crashes (only with: Vulkan - Mesh Shader / Meshlets, Vulkan - Shadertoy Geomechanical, Vulkan - Shadertoy Seascape).
vk_phong.log doesn't crash for example as well as all other demos... and forced to dGPU only with Advanced Optimus (from NVidia panel) still crash!

Log file from my OneDrive: https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApMUGr0cuN39g-ZYDRVa_kQhERRDbQ?e=MZJtzu

P.S.
Just to be clear I already forced "GPU_caps_viewer.exe" to use dGPU from Windows but nothing changes...

Ah! Sorry, didn't get I had to force-select under the Vulkan tab the NVidia gfx card (at default was the Intel iGPU!):



Now VK demos do actually run on dGPU and won't crash.

Is there a way to force NVidia at startup for VK demos?

THE REAL BUG
Uhm... no something is broken in GPU_Caps_viewer.exe with Advanced Optimus: if I don't cycle through the available GPUs at least once in the Vulkan tab, those 3 demos will crash at launch. But if I just switch at least once from 2:Intel <--> 1:NVidia (if starts with Intel selected, I have to switch to NVidia) in the Vulkan tab and THEN run the demos they will no longer crash either by switching to Intel or Nvidia (!!?) at this time...
It seems GPU_Caps_Viewer.exe gets confused at launch and crash if I go directly to Demo section and start 3D Demos: VK meshlets, VK shadertoys demos. Weird!

To recap the issue step by step:
If I a) start GPU Caps Viewer, in the Vulkan page is automatically selected 1: Nvidia GPU, b) I run one of these 3 demos:
Vulkan - Mesh Shader / Meshlets
Vulkan - Shadertoy Geomechanical
Vulkan - Shadertoy Seascape
it crashes badly.
The weird thing is that if I: a) start GPU Caps Viewer, b) change in the Vulkan page f.e. from 1: NVidia GPU to 2: Intel iGPU, c) I run one of the 3 demos... everything runs fine, no crashes, and from this moment on I can even switch back in the Vulkan page from 2 -> 1 and won't crash anymore, as it does directly on startup instead! It's not a "iGPU = crashes, dGPU-only runs fine" issue, it's something broken only with those 3 demos at launch on an Advanced Optimus system. iGPU or dGPU will not be a problem with those 3 demos AFTER I SWITCH AT LEAST ONCE the gfx card in the cycle gadget of the Vulkan tab.



NOTE: if I launch GCV (will start with Vulkan set to 1: NVidia GPU) and directly try another demo, e.g. "Vulkan - Phong Lighting Donut", it does run on dGPU without problems. So the other demos do correctly detect the GPU and won't crash as the 3 demos above, right after GCV has been launched.

Run BIOS (not under Windows) and change GPU mode from iGPU or auto to dGPU only. 

The point is not "how can I run the demos?" (if you read above I've found a workaround cycling through available gfx boards in the Vulkan tab at least once...), the point is fixing the bugs in GPU_Caps_Viewer.exe with Advanced Optimus enabled (and it's the only tool having this kind of crash issues) 

The good thing is that I identified how to reproduce the issue in the message above #6 "THE REAL BUG".  Now devs can try fixing this.

Advanced Optimus in brief: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5097/~/nvidia-advanced-optimus-overview (because many don't even know what it is exactly and know only Optimus).

@DEVS
I can make a video showing the bug if my msg #6 is still confusing.
WinDgb analysis: https://paste.sh/aDkzR7cJ#G0smYQIalO7XKs9koinIJqmU

Hi, the demos in GPU Caps Viewer are in reality GeeXLab demos. Try these demos directly in GeeXLab (you can download the smallest version from this page).

How to test the GPU Caps demos with GeeXLab?
1/ launch GeeXLab
2/ go to the demos folder of GPU Caps. For example with geomechanical:
GPUCapsViewer/gxldemos/vk2-shadertoy/geomechanical/
and drag and drop the main.xml into GeeXLab.
By default, the demo run the on first GPU (GPU with index 0). If you want to run on the second GPU, just edit the main.xml and change on line 13: gpu_index="1"

If the demos work fine with GeeXLab, the bug comes from GPU Caps Viewer and I should take a look at it...

Thanks. Tested: it does run flawlessly from GeexLab by drag'n'drop, no crashes (won't show temp with usual bug "-1.00 degC" but that's another story).
Looks like GCV gets confused on device automatically set at startup in the Vulkan tab and crashes... After I change the cycle gadget at least once, all works fine even if I revert it to what it was at startup (bad pointer right after launch only, when using Advanced Optimus?)

News?
Seems a GCV bug with (Advanced) Optimus and Vulkan tab selection: if I run GCV (default Vulkan selection is 1: Nvidia card) and immediately run 3D Demos: "Vulkan - Mesh Shader / Meshlets" or "Vulkan - Shadertoy Geomechanical", or "Vulkan - Shadertoy Seascape" it crashes badly:

Firma del problema
Nome evento problema: APPCRASH
Nome applicazione: GPU_Caps_Viewer.exe
Versione applicazione: 1.63.0.0
Timestamp applicazione: 65c6337a
Nome modulo con errori: ntdll.dll
Versione modulo con errori: 10.0.22621.4317
Timestamp modulo con errori: e4ff17f1
Codice eccezione: c0000008
Offset eccezione: 000aaafa
Versione SO: 10.0.22631.2.0.0.768.101
ID impostazioni locali: 1040
Informazioni aggiuntive 1: 2beb
Ulteriori informazioni 2: 2beba6fb4680d73a8c78ca7c24ccdb46
Ulteriori informazioni 3: 19d2
Ulteriori informazioni 4: 19d24dfae5863578ac21563da09f7984

Here is a dmp analysis: https://paste.sh/pMvIsru6#BLLMJEtEsif66uFp6VWA8sAn
GCV Log: https://paste.sh/wVEVuZyf#3Uls949-O2TP4ZCYX1XwbD4D

I say it's a GCV bug because if I run it, switch in Vulkan (tab) from 1: NVidia card --> 2: Intel iGPU, and then run one of the 3D Demos mentioned above, it WON'T CRASH anymore. At this point I can also revert back to Vulkan/1:NVidia card, and won't crash anymore: it's like GCV on first loading passes/sets the wrong gfx card for Vulkan.