[SOLVED] Bottleneck?

[MadHacker24]

Hey guys, first time here, I recently upgraded my GPU, I have a GTX 1660 now, however I think I'm experiencing a little bottleneck during my game sessions. Checking on afterburner results that I have constant 100% CPU usage, without any other CPU demanding processes running in the background, and my GPU on the other hand manages to reach 90% only at mush higher resolution and settings, with FPS loss of course. I was considering an overclock but I don't know if my cooler keeps up with that. (Also I have never overclocked before.. so I don't know even where to start, any tips are welcome).

These are my specs:

CPU : i5-4690k 3.5 Ghz
GPU: gtx 1660
MOBO: msi gaming7 z97
COOLER: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
RAM: 16 gigs 1600 mhz
PSU: Corsair VS 650 W

 

[Zizo007]

Hey guys, first time here, I recently upgraded my GPU, I have a GTX 1660 now, however I think I'm experiencing a little bottleneck during my game sessions. Checking on afterburner results that I have constant 100% CPU usage, without any other CPU demanding processes running in the background, and my GPU on the other hand manages to reach 90% only at mush higher resolution and settings, with FPS loss of course. I was considering an overclock but I don't know if my cooler keeps up with that. (Also I have never overclocked before.. so I don't know even where to start, any tips are welcome).

These are my specs:

CPU : i5-4690k 3.5 Ghz
GPU: gtx 1660
MOBO: msi gaming7 z97
COOLER: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
RAM: 16 gigs 1600 mhz
PSU: Corsair VS 650 W

You don't really have a bottleneck but newer games require stronger CPUs in their system requirements. You can OC for better results and your cooler is good for OCing.

 

[86zx]

It really is game dependent some games don’t hardly use the cpu while others need more cpu than gpu, as far as overclocking goes I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to do a little overclock with that cooler I’d watch temps and keep it below 83 degrees though

 

[Zizo007]

You PSU is bad as its a VS model, its the lowest Corsair PSU. Get at least a CX.

 

[WildCard999]

A CPU overclock could help a bit but it does come down to the games and the cooler could give you a decent overclock (4.2 to 4.4 range, maybe higher?). The only concern I have is that PSU as it's really not a good unit for gaming nor overclocking.

Here is your guide for overclocking (its a lot of info but well worth reading).

How To - Intel CPU Temperature Guide

Update: December 17th, 2024 Preface The topic of processor temperatures can be very confusing. Conflicting opinions based on misconceptions concerning terminology, specifications and testing leaves users uncertain of how to properly check cooling performance. This Guide provides an...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[ceriumin]

Hey guys, first time here, I recently upgraded my GPU, I have a GTX 1660 now, however I think I'm experiencing a little bottleneck during my game sessions. Checking on afterburner results that I have constant 100% CPU usage, without any other CPU demanding processes running in the background, and my GPU on the other hand manages to reach 90% only at mush higher resolution and settings, with FPS loss of course. I was considering an overclock but I don't know if my cooler keeps up with that. (Also I have never overclocked before.. so I don't know even where to start, any tips are welcome).

These are my specs:

CPU : i5-4690k 3.5 Ghz
GPU: gtx 1660
MOBO: msi gaming7 z97
COOLER: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
RAM: 16 gigs 1600 mhz
PSU: Corsair VS 650 W

Welcome to Toms Hardware,

Your CPU is a limit, especially to the gtx1660. Recommend to overclock your cpu to around 4ghz. Overclocking is a very delicate and it is better to follow a tutorial. Your PSU might be a limit as well to overclocking but its worth a try. If you can't get much out then either live with it or buy a new cpu.

 

[King_V]

Yes and no - you got improved performance by moving up to a faster video card. But now, instead of the GPU holding the CPU back, it's the other way around.

BUT - that's probably for the one game, for a different game, it might be different.

There is no way whatsoever to get some kind of perfect balance between CPU and GPU. Even if such a thing were to happen, that would be for one game, and another game would have different behavior.

 

[sizzling]

As someone who has recently built a new pc and kept my old one which has an i5 4670k @ 4.3GHz that is basically the same cpu as a 4690k I’d say it’s time for a full upgrade. My poor old i5 was struggling in many modern games, the worst was Gears 5 which was unplayable. Let’s assume you are getting 50fps average in a game limited by your cpu, with a 15% overclock the absolute best increase in FPS you would see is to 57-58 (15%). While it helps your still suffering poor lows.

 

[MadHacker24]

Ok, thank you guys, I'll give it a try .
Have a good one.

 

[Richerd]

hey ik the bottleneck calculator is BS,i wanna know if my pc is bottlenecking

my spec: intel i3 9th gen 4.2ghz, 16 gigs of ram ddr4, RTX 2060
someone please help me with this.

 

[USAFRet]

hey ik the bottleneck calculator is BS,i wanna know if my pc is bottlenecking

my spec: intel i3 9th gen 4.2ghz, 16 gigs of ram ddr4, RTX 2060
someone please help me with this.

1. No, your system is not "bottlenecking" (see #3)
2. The 'bottleneck calculator' is worse than useless. It is dangerously misleading.
3. There is no perfect balance of GPU, CPU, and games. Every system has a 'bottleneck' of some sort. CPU, GPU, RAM, poorly coded game, or even the human running it...

 

[Richerd]

1. No, your system is not "bottlenecking" (see #3)
2. The 'bottleneck calculator' is worse than useless. It is dangerously misleading.
3. There is no perfect balance of GPU, CPU, and games. Every system has a 'bottleneck' of some sort. CPU, GPU, RAM, poorly coded game, or even the human running it...

thank u