Question Can CPU bottleneck cause stutters in game?

[leeroy_jenkins]

Hello. This is my first time posting, I found so many useful info from this forum so decided to ask. I recently upgraded my GPU and PSU.

Old spec:
CPU: Intel G4560
GPU: GTX 1050
RAM: 12GB
PSU: Corsair VS 450w

New spec:
CPU: Intel G4560 [I know it bottlenecks my GPU, but please bare with me, I'm upgrading incrementally due to budget constraints ]
GPU: RX 5700 XT
RAM: 12GB
PSU: Seasonic GX 650w Gold

I ran two benchmarks:

1. Heavens benchmark: new spec runs much better FPS. Little no to stutters
2. Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail benchmark:
   This game is an MMO and there are sequences where it benchmarks how well a PC can run with a lot of character models & animations around. In non crowded areas, everything performs well with much better FPS just like Heavens benchmark. However in crowded areas, I noticed a lot of stutters much more than previously. As a comparison my old spec ran 25-28 FPS in this area but with little to no stutters.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I'm sort of expecting the new GPU, even if bottlenecked by the CPU should run the same fps as before with no stutters. I'm expecting the behavior to be similar to if I limit the fps to 30. But instead it now stutters heavily and as a result the fps drops as well. So while the average FPS is much higher, that particular area makes it unplayable for me.... I'd prefer lower fps with no stutters honestly.

So as the title said, can a CPU bottleneck cause this? a little bit of explanation would be helpful as I'm very curious about it.

Thanks.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

It certainly can. I experienced this a few years ago when I had an older athlon x2 cpu and upgraded to an nvidia gts 450. Yes that long ago lol. But trying to play battlefield bad company 2 if I remember, And no matter what you changed you couldn’t get things to stop.

The hope you have is crank the visuals up higher and see if that helps balance things as the the gpu has to work harder. Or if you are able to go to a higher resolution that may help as well. But ultimately you want to get a faster cpu.

It basically bolls down to your gpu is giving frames faster than your cpu can process them and load the next parts of the level.

 

[logainofhades]

Yea your CPU is definitely causing stutters. It's a 2c/4t chip in an era where even 4c/4t isn't enough for modern games.

 

[leeroy_jenkins]

Cheers for the replies. I solved it. While it's true that my CPU bottlenecks, it shouldn't cause stutters at least in my case.

What caused the stutters was AMD Adrenalin performance overlay. Which is funny, I used that overlay to know about micro stutters and how much did they occur. But actually it's that overlay that caused the stutters! turned it off and switched to Msi afterburner + Rtss for overlay and it worked flawlessly.

Just another example of AMD software holding it's hardware back. Just glad it wasnt a driver issue. Now I can just go ahead and upgrade the CPU knowing the stutters have gone. I think the stutters would still be there had I upgraded earlier which would have caused me even more confusion... as there would be so many things to check, including new mobo, etc.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Once you get upgraded and get it tweaked, the 5700xt isn’t a bad card. Had one for a bit and it’s pretty close to a 6600xt. For 1080p should be a nice card for you. Older games it should even handle some 1440p.

 

[leeroy_jenkins]

Once you get upgraded and get it tweaked, the 5700xt isn’t a bad card. Had one for a bit and it’s pretty close to a 6600xt. For 1080p should be a nice card for you. Older games it should even handle some 1440p.

True that, I've looked into it's performance before purchasing it. Definitely very good price to performance wise and I will use it for mostly 1080p. Just have to look for a CPU to complement it now!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

As an amd guy, I personally think there’s a lot of value in Intel’s 12th parts. You can pick up a decent z690 board supporting ddr4 for $130 or so.

For example

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162039?item=N82E16813162039

CPU on a budget

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-12400f-core-i5-12th-gen/p/N82E16819118360

So for 250 you could have an i5 and a z690 board which should let you upgrade to 14th generation if desired. I think 32gb ddr4 should run about 50-60. So not bad at all. Of course you could always go ddr5 or higher cpu but gives an idea what’s out there even on a budget.