CPU and GPU not at full throttle

[ilikegirls]

Hey!

So I just finished building my dream computer fully featured with a GTX 680 and a i5 3570K !

Im really exited about the computer due to it being the most powerful computer I ever built.

there is one thing I seem to have an issue with though, when I play games like bf3 the CPU is at %70 while the GPU is at %80-%90 but never hitting that %100 and thus I sometimes lagg in game.

could someone help plaese?

Thanks again,
Light

P.S. Both are still at stock speeds

 

[abekl]

There's nothing wrong. The game isn't required to peg your cpu or gpu to the floor, even if you are experiencing a little lag.

 

[ilikegirls]

Oh, so nothing is wrong?

 

[abekl]

That's what we're telling you.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

there is one thing I seem to have an issue with though, when I play games like bf3 the CPU is at %70 while the GPU is at %80-%90 but never hitting that %100 and thus I sometimes lagg in game.

That's a good thing. You don't want to maxing out either one actually, since that means it's using every bit of what it can and probably needs more. If it's lagging, it has nothing to do with not having the CPU and GPU at 100%. Are you seeing low FPS or just lag in multiplayer? They're two totally different things.

 

[super-smashman]

Nothing wrong? He said it sometimes caused him to lag...

Something is not right. You have some kind of bottleneck somewhere. Either a thermal is out of control and is throttling back or maybe even your storage is holding it back. BF3 leans very hard on the storage while playing...

When I play, both my cards are fluttering at the 98%-100% range. They are supposed to be going full boar as they are the bottleneck in games.

What settings are you playing BF3 at also? You shouldn't be hitting the 680s 2GB limit at normal resolutions but who knows.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Not saying there aren't any problems at all, but CPU and GPU usage isn't one of them. I very rarely max out my CPU and GPU in games myself, and when I do, THAT's when I experience FPS drops. That's why I'm thinking he doesn't mean low FPS.

 

[super-smashman]

The 680 is monstrous; it should never noticeably drop in FPS unless you have another bottleneck.

You should look at getting an SSD into your system asap. I'm thinking your Hard Drive is holding your silicon parts back.

 

[ilikegirls]

Should I check to see if in single player its at %100?

 

[ilikegirls]

So just ran the game in single player mode and the GPU was at %96-%99...
Does that mean the network is the bottleneck?

How would I solve this problem?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

If you didn't notice any "lagging" in single player, then I'd say that the network is the bottleneck, yes. There's not really any way to fix that, that I'm aware of, other than getting faster internet. Of course, if you already have fast internet, then I don't know what else to tell you.

Multiplayer should be a little less GPU bound though, so it makes sense that the GPU usage was lower then.

 

[ilikegirls]

I check my wireless signal and I get 48mbps so that should be enough?! Shouldnt it?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Go test it on a speed test site, like SpeedTest.net (unless that's what you're talking about). The latency, download AND upload speed all matter. I don't know what's recommended for BF3 though.

 

[ilikegirls]

Oh yeah sorry I should have started with that.
I test that on speed test and I get
14ms
10Mbps doownload while watching a 1080p video on youtube
and 5.3Mbps upload

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Oh yeah sorry I should have started with that.
I test that on speed test and I get
14ms
10Mbps doownload while watching a 1080p video on youtube
and 5.3Mbps upload

Yeah, that should be pretty good then. I don't really know what else to tell you right now, unfortunately.

 

[ilikegirls]

Crap!
Well I'll look into it, but the fact that in single player i use %96+ of the GPU and in multiplayer I dont is by it self something.

thanks for the help though!

I would note that at my friends how the something simulate happened today.
he has a 6950 and at high his gpu is at %95+ but when i put it on medium for better performance it only goes to %70... could this help figure the problem out?

 

[super-smashman]

I would note that at my friends how the something simulate happened today.
he has a 6950 and at high his gpu is at %95+ but when i put it on medium for better performance it only goes to %70... could this help figure the problem out?

You're most likely CPU bound. The graphics card is waiting for the CPU to send the frames to it so it can render and show it. Usually its the other way around.

You have headroom on the graphics card so either overclock the CPU to help it keep up or put a bigger load on the graphics card to try and balance it out.

When all is balanced, your GPU should be the one struggling to keep up in games (99% load fluttering).

 

[ilikegirls]

My CPU is only at %70

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

My CPU is only at %70

That. And it's not exactly easy to make a CPU as strong as a 3570K choke in a game setting anyway (even at stock speeds). You would have to be playing at low resolutions to even come close.

 

[ilikegirls]

Should I be worried about this?

 

[ilikegirls]

Well thanks again to everyone for helping me with this!

 

[noob2222]

My CPU is only at %70

overall?

do you have ANY cores at 100%? overall doesn't mean much as BF3 utilizes 2 cores more than the rest, even in multiplayer. If those 2 are maxed out, then your cpu capped. time to overclock.

 

[ilikegirls]

CPU 3 is the highest and its at %80

 

[ilikegirls]

Best answer selected by ilikegirls.