[SOLVED] CPU maxing out in games at low settings

BobMcSmith

Honorable
Feb 28, 2017
133
1
10,615
Hello!
I have posted other similar threads, but I believe I have finally isolated the problem. Whenever I go to play games such as MW Warzone or even Fortnite, my CPU runs at 100%, compared to my GPU which only runs at 10%-30%. I have all of the settings turned down to low, and can't seem to solve it. I have a couple theories that are probably wrong, but it can't hurt to ask. Is the MOBO chipset limiting the CPU? Is there some kind of update or compatibility I need? Or is it just that the CPU is simply not as good as the GPU?

i5-7600k
Asus H170 pro gaming
16gb DDR4 Mushkin Enhanced
MSI GTX 1060 6gb
500GB HP EX920

Thanks!
 
Solution
There is nothing wrong. COD MW decimates quad core quad thread CPU’s. That game can use 12 threads. Quad thread CPU’s are struggling these days. Most game settings don’t impact cpu usage, what does impact cpu usage is the FPS. By lowering the game settings all you do is utilise the gpu less as your max FPS which is already capped by your cpu.

Diddly

Distinguished
have you got v-sync switched on? with v-sync off the GPU wil l try and produce as many frames/second as possible - providing the CPU can feed it data quickly enough. If the cpu is maxed out then you need to up the gfx settings to put more load on the GPU or try switching on v-sync - which should reduce the CPU load. try it n medium/high settings and see what difference it makes
 

BobMcSmith

Honorable
Feb 28, 2017
133
1
10,615
have you got v-sync switched on? with v-sync off the GPU wil l try and produce as many frames/second as possible - providing the CPU can feed it data quickly enough. If the cpu is maxed out then you need to up the gfx settings to put more load on the GPU or try switching on v-sync - which should reduce the CPU load. try it n medium/high settings and see what difference it makes
I did a quick NovaBench test and it said that my CPU was preforming worse than it should. Even though the MOBO is compatible with the CPU, could that be the thing holding the CPU back?
Thanks!
Also, by gfx settings you mean graphics effects, correct?
 
Last edited:

vcc98554vn

Great
Apr 18, 2020
146
19
95
I did a quick NovaBench test and it said that my CPU was preforming worse than it should. Even though the MOBO is compatible with the CPU, could that be the thing holding the CPU back?
Thanks!
Also, by gfx settings you mean graphics effects, correct?
Some h170 have weak vrm and your cpu cant boost so the mobo is holding your cpu back
And i dont think that have any bottleneck here
 
There is nothing wrong. COD MW decimates quad core quad thread CPU’s. That game can use 12 threads. Quad thread CPU’s are struggling these days. Most game settings don’t impact cpu usage, what does impact cpu usage is the FPS. By lowering the game settings all you do is utilise the gpu less as your max FPS which is already capped by your cpu.
 
Solution

BobMcSmith

Honorable
Feb 28, 2017
133
1
10,615
There is nothing wrong. COD MW decimates quad core quad thread CPU’s. That game can use 12 threads. Quad thread CPU’s are struggling these days. Most game settings don’t impact cpu usage, what does impact cpu usage is the FPS. By lowering the game settings all you do is utilise the gpu less as your max FPS which is already capped by your cpu.
Thanks!