[SOLVED] Another low GPU and CPU usage thread - Need some advice.

[abellote]

Hi there.

As the title suggests I'm experience this behavior in a lot of games. My GPU usage always stays low (<80%) and my CPU also below 70%.
I use two monitors, one that's 2560x1080 and the other is 1440x900. When I play I get the same fps on both. The only thing that changes is GPU usage that increases, but it stays below 95% all the time.
I've tried almost everything that this (very good) article suggests:
https://graphicscardhub.com/low-gpu-usage/

Here are my specs:
Intel Core2 Quad 8400
4gb RAM DDR2 800MHz
GTX 460 768MB - EVGA OC edition
Intel DG41RQ Mainboard - Chipset G41

I now its an old PC and I'm thinking about upgrading, but if it would run smoother I could squeeze some life of it while waiting for the RTX 3060 =)

Games that I've tried with similar results:
Tomb Raider 2013
Metro 2033
Hitman Absolution
GTA V
Batman Arkam City
Borderlands
Aliens vs Predator -> This one runs fine with 99% GPU usage but only on DX11. Using DX9 gives me a low GPU usage.

Here's a GPU-Z screenshot

https://imgur.com/a/BCwPq90

View: https://imgur.com/a/BCwPq90

The only thing that I found strange is that my GPU reports the BUS interface as 8.0 1.1 and not x16 2.0 as it should. I know about power saving, but hitting the stress test (?) didn't change the bus interface speed. I'm pretty sure that is not the problem, but I'm far from being an expert..

Here's a screenshot of in-game using MSI Afterburner

https://imgur.com/a/a35xTtI

View: https://imgur.com/a/a35xTtI

Things I already tried without success

• Disable HPET on BIOS
• Using DDU and reinstalling nVidia latest drivers
• Using DDU and installing "old" nVidia driver
• Measure my PSU voltage 12V - 12.12V on idle and 12.05 on load - It's a CoolerMaster 460W
• Used Malwarebytes to search for viruses - none found
• Reseated my GPU 2x -checked that every PSU cable was well seated also
• Cleaned all thermal paste on CPU and GPU, reapplied new ones. Cleaned all the fans.

Next thing I'm going to try is to format my SSD and do a fresh windows install, but was looking for some advice first. Any ideas?

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[SteveRX4]

A gtx460 is a very weak gpu. Try just using 1 monitor.

Make sure your CPU and GPU are running as cool as possible. Use the lowest game settings.

 

[RTX 2080]

Hi there.

As the title suggests I'm experience this behavior in a lot of games. My GPU usage always stays low (<80%) and my CPU also below 70%.
I use two monitors, one that's 2560x1080 and the other is 1440x900. When I play I get the same fps on both. The only thing that changes is GPU usage that increases, but it stays below 95% all the time.
I've tried almost everything that this (very good) article suggests:
https://graphicscardhub.com/low-gpu-usage/

Here are my specs:
Intel Core2 Quad 8400
4gb RAM DDR2 800MHz
GTX 460 768MB - EVGA OC edition
Intel DG41RQ Mainboard - Chipset G41

I now its an old PC and I'm thinking about upgrading, but if it would run smoother I could squeeze some life of it while waiting for the RTX 3060 =)

Games that I've tried with similar results:
Tomb Raider 2013
Metro 2033
Hitman Absolution
GTA V
Batman Arkam City
Borderlands
Aliens vs Predator -> This one runs fine with 99% GPU usage but only on DX11. Using DX9 gives me a low GPU usage.

Here's a GPU-Z screenshot

https://imgur.com/a/BCwPq90

View: https://imgur.com/a/BCwPq90

The only thing that I found strange is that my GPU reports the BUS interface as 8.0 1.1 and not x16 2.0 as it should. I know about power saving, but hitting the stress test (?) didn't change the bus interface speed. I'm pretty sure that is not the problem, but I'm far from being an expert..

Here's a screenshot of in-game using MSI Afterburner

https://imgur.com/a/a35xTtI

View: https://imgur.com/a/a35xTtI

Things I already tried without success

• Disable HPET on BIOS
• Using DDU and reinstalling nVidia latest drivers
• Using DDU and installing "old" nVidia driver
• Measure my PSU voltage 12V - 12.12V on idle and 12.05 on load - It's a CoolerMaster 460W
• Used Malwarebytes to search for viruses - none found
• Reseated my GPU 2x -checked that every PSU cable was well seated also
• Cleaned all thermal paste on CPU and GPU, reapplied new ones. Cleaned all the fans.

Next thing I'm going to try is to format my SSD and do a fresh windows install, but was looking for some advice first. Any ideas?

Thanks a lot for the help.

Not trying to talk down on your build, but almost all your hardware is below the recommended system requirements for most of the games you listed. At his point, there are (in my opinion) too many sources of bottlenecks in your system for there to be a cheap/easy way to fix this problem. In addition to a RTX 3060, you should probably get a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD, PSU, etc.

 

[abellote]

Thanks for the reply.
Actually disconnecting my second monitor seams to increase a lot my GPU usage (and performance) - except on Tomb Raider. Could it be that a second monitor is that a load to the GPU, even an old one?

 

[RTX 2080]

Thanks for the reply.
Actually disconnecting my second monitor seams to increase a lot my GPU usage (and performance) - except on Tomb Raider. Could it be that a second monitor is that a load to the GPU, even an old one?

Yes, I would recommend only running 1 monitor when gaming

 

[SteveRX4]

In fact if you could find a lower resolution monitor you would find that your PC would work better again.
When GTX460s cam out most people were gaming at 720p.

 

[abellote]

Thanks for the reply.

It's not that I had low performance, it was more about the fact that I could get more if the gpu ran at >95% usage.

But disconnecting the second monitor really helped my gpu to run more close to 100%. Thanks for the advice.

Even with this old build I am able to run those games at 2560x1080 at 60fps or 30fps in medium/low or sometimes medium/high.

And yes, I know I will have to get a complete new build when upgrading, just hoping I can keep my PSU, case and SSD/HDD