FPS drops and 90% usage in-games

[Wonski]

Hello,
First off, I read a lot of topics on the matter, but my case seems to be something different. I searched for help on polish speaking forums, but couldn't find an answer so I'm here First of, the fps drops happen in pretty much all games, excluding League of Legends. Even on low-medium settings in GTA V, I get constant 100+ fps with drops to 15-20 for 2 seconds. My spec:

I5 2500 3.3 GHz
Gigabyte GTX 970 mini-OC 4GB
12 GB RAM (one stick 8 GB Ballistix, one 4GB Goodram)
ASRock H61M-VG3
Corsair VS 550W
Windows 7 64bit
3 HDD (one 80GB system, 500GB Samsung, 1TB WD blue)
AVG antivirus

As I post, I scan with malwarebytes for malware. Run memtest when I bought the 8GB stick for 15 minutes with zero errors, can repeat the process for longer if necessary.

The strange thing is that even if I set the settings in GTA to 1500 VRAM, my GPU uses 3,5 GB VRAM and is used for 50-65% when my CPU is used in 90+%. Temps - CPU 63-67 degrees and GPU 63C.

 

[Vic 40]

The strange thing is that even if I set the settings in GTA to 1500 VRAM, my GPU is used for 50-65% when my CPU is used in 90+%. Temps - CPU 63-67 degrees and GPU 63C.

Sounds like a bottleneck on the cpu side. Did you refresh the paste on the cpu cooler already? Or clean the pc entirely ... Maybe temps spike and the cpu throttles.

 

[Multipack]

If your CPU is at 90%+ usage and your GPU is only 50%+ then you have a bottleneck issue. Also, mixing different RAM is never a good idea, but VRAM refers to your GPU RAM, not your system RAM.

 

[Wonski]

I changed the paste, like 2 months ago. So I guess it shouldn't be the fault. I know about the RAM, but I bought matching CLs and everything. The only difference is the company that made it and the fact that one is 1600 and the other is 1300 MHz, but I changed it in BIOS to use the 1300 MHz on both (besides memtest said there were no errors). Looking at benchmarks my I5 2500 is similiar to I5 4460. Two of my friends both have 4460, and a GTX 970 (one MSI and the other Gigabyte G1 gaming) and they both can play GTA on high/ultra with constant fps (about 50). So what's the difference? I looked up a lot of posts about my i5 2500 and gtx 970, it should run just fine, without any fps drops. That's really strange, because I also get 40-50 fps but then suddenly it drops to 20 for 2 seconds and it's really bizzare for me. Even when I lower the settings. The fact is something is not right (Stardew Valley also having drops is another indicator and don't tell me that that game is so demanding that it's causing the CPU to bottleneck 😀 )

 

[Multipack]

If your GPU is much better than your CPU, it will bottlenecvk regardless of game, as the CPU fails to keep up with the GPU not the game itself. That's why a balanced system is most important.

 

[Wonski]

So the only solution to this would be buying a new CPU?

 

[Multipack]

Unfortunately that is pretty much the only solution, although you could get a 2nd gen k chip 2nd hand and OC it to the max maybe if you wanted to go down an economical route. Underclocking the GPU could also be an option, but nobody likes hearing that the hardware they have needs to be replaced nad I hope you can find a simpler solution to your problem.

 

[Wonski]

Darn, thanks for the help anyways. So for my LGA 1155 the best cpu would be i7 2600K? 3770k is much more expensive. Or is it better to wait and change my mobo, socket and cpu? I'm streaming, so would like an i7.

 

[Multipack]

Yeah the 2600k or the 3770k would work with your current setup. Whether it'd be worth it depends on what you can get in your area, possibly 2nd hand, because as you say they still arent too cheap and it may be worth investing in a new system, but the full list of supported CPU's for your board can be found here http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H61M-VG3/?cat=CPU

 

[Wonski]

Okay, but I'm still not convinced if it's a good purchase or should I change my socket. Anyways, thanks for the help!

 

[Multipack]

Changing socket will obviously be better, but it all depends if you are looking to save money etc. Go with the best you can afford!

 

[Vic 40]

I wanting to keep an eye at budget look at an used i7 2700K or i7 3770(K). There are some Xeon's you can look at as well,
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H61M-VG3/?cat=CPU
Like the 1270/1240/1230 in this list.

 

[Wonski]

Ok, thanks for the reply, didn't really know that my 2500 could bottleneck this card.

 

[Vic 40]

It's abit of a surprise to me too,but the cpu vs gpu usage says this. You also say you stream (if memory serves me well) so this will have an impact too on the total performance.

Did you play without the AVG running? Just disable it for a test.
Friends have Windows 7 too? Seems that later versions of windows can give a performance boost as well.
Tried with just the 8gb stick of ram?

 

[Wonski]

AVG always on, friends have win 7 too, haven't tried with only 8 GB, but I tested all 12 GB for 7 hours with memtest and there were no errors, so it should be good I guess? Between win 7 and 8, isn't it like only ~5 fps difference?