CPU performance impact on 1440p vs 1080p

[HR_Luka]

Hi all,
I am thinking about getting another monitor. I was thinking about 1440p 60hz (trying to find cheap 144hz) or 1080p 144hz, but i have an i5 3330 paired with Gigabyte's G1 Gaming GTX 1070 and in 1080p my GPU usage gets rarely over 35%, but my CPU is always over 70% in games such as Borderlands 2, CS:GO, Life is Strange...

I was just hoping that my GPU would get more used on 1440p (like above 70% in most games) and CPU usage might decrease a bit or even stay the same since there isn't as many instructions to send to the GPU.

Any helpful reply is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
- HR_Luka

 

[sizzling]

Increasing resolution doesn't impact CPU load but you CPU will hold a 1070 back at high fps

 

[CelicaGT]

GPU load will increase, framerate will drop (do you Vsync?), CPU load will drop due to the framerate drop.

 

[Fin1977]

also are you planning on running new monitor and old one as that will impact on the gpu a lot too

 

[madmatt30]

Dude you picked the wrong solution entirely !
CelicaGT is completely & utterly wrong.
Sizzing is bang on the money.
CPU usage has no impact on resolution whatsoever & vice versa.
Resolution is entirely GPU dependant.

Yes CPU usage will remain the same at 1440p as it is at 1080p for you with a 1070, GPU usage will increase exponentially .
1440p has close to 2x the pixel count of 1080p.
At the same settings & fps if a game is using 40% of your GPU at 1080p it'll rise to 70-75% at 1440p

A 1440p monitor is entirely viable for you , a 100htz+ monitor isn't because your old 3330 isn't strong enough to maintain 80fps+ all the time

I'd you're actually happy with framerates & graphical quality on your current screen then upgrading then monitor just because you want to see more gpu usage is entirely nonsensical.
You did however purchase a 1070 which is aimed at 1440p+ gaming at the end of the day.

Borderlands 2, CS:GO, Life is Strange - incredibly easy games to run at 60 fps maxed out at 1080p, my 3 year old 970 can manage all those at 50% load or thereabouts so they're really bad examples.

 

[wyliec2]

Actually CelicaGT answer is quite logical.

Resolution can INDIRECTLY impact CPU usage.

If increasing resolution results in a frame rate reduction due to GPU capability, then the CPU will have a lower framerate to support.

In this case, supporting 1080p only uses 40% of OP's GPU, it is likely it can maintain framerate with the increase to 1440p. If framerate doesn't change, then CPU use does not change.

 

[Kewlx25]

I also have a 1070 and looked up benchmarks for 1440p, and several modern FRS games at Ultra settings decent performance

Nvidia 1070 stock 1440p min/avg
BF4 Ultra: 67/90
Crysis3 High: 43/61
Doom High: 65/83
GTA V Very High: 57/92
Rise Of The Tomb Raider High: 55/63
The Witcher 3 Ultra: 61/70
Overwatch Ultra: 135/142
CS:GO 8x AA 4k: 120/180 <-- was hard to find. Had to look at some YouTube videos. But really, 4k/8xMSAA and hanging out around 200fps

 

[madmatt30]

wyliec2 - while theoretically possible , not going to happen in this case at all.
When you pair a 1070 with a locked ivy i5 & a 1080p monitor you end up with a system where the GPU is never going to be fully utilised - if anything the screen resolution itself could be considered the bottleneck.

 

[U6b36ef]

I was wondering this question and that's why I ended up here after googling it. I thought exactly the same as is the general thought here.

However I think I have been seeing something different on Youtube, that has me confused. Being that I thought I had seen that one particular resolution is more taxing on CPU load. (Don't take this as right though, as I am not sure right now, and that's why I am googling.)

(Basically I have an i5-4690, and think I might buy the i7-4790K for extra clock speed. I think my H97 will let me OC too, since Asus did a BIOS update. Rather than a complete new build.)

Meaning, I might end up with a 1440p monitor, and an i7-4790K. I am hoping the performance boost of the 4790K is not taken away by the 1440p resolution.

I am definitely confused so am going off to check benchmarks on Youtube again. For now though I think you folk are right and I have misunderstood something.

 

[U6b36ef]

This guy has done a video on it.

As he locks frame rate low, CPU work decreases. When he locks frame rate high, CPU load increases. He claiming CPU load is the same at different resolutions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btIKCHMc4Is




This guy says different. He says that lower resolutions result with lower CPU loads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoQD9pDwXM

 

[sizzling]

This guy has done a video on it.



This guy says different. He says that lower resolutions result with lower CPU loads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoQD9pDwXM

I suggest you watch that video again, he is not saying that.

 

[U6b36ef]

This guy has done a video on it.



This guy says different. He says that lower resolutions result with lower CPU loads. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoQD9pDwXM

I suggest you watch that video again, he is not saying that.

I might have written what I said a bit vaguely. However his actual words are, "CPU usage decrease as resolution decreases". At 3.59 in the vid. (With his words on the screen.)

No need for me to watch it again.

 

[teknobug]

I have experienced slightly more CPU usage with 1440p over 1080p myself.