FX 8320 @4.6GHz Low Usage in games?

[MaxTehLegend]

so this is my second PC for when friends come over to play with me in games, but i noticed these really "weird" readings. easier games to run like CS:GO, Overwatch etc run on max settings @ 1080p but get low CPU usage and (for some reason) low GPU Usage. and only able to achieve around 100 fps even though on my intel system (i5 4690K @4.5GHz) it exceeded all the time above 300. games like Battlefield 1 and GTA 5 used only around 50%-60% usage on the FX 8320. while the i5 4690K was always pinned @100%. i did these test with my GTX 980Ti. the CPU will only hover around 35% on the FX 8320 @4.6GHz. and around 40% on the 980Ti. but on the intel system for both CS:GO and overwatch the i5 4690K was maxing itself out @100% usage and 980Ti around 80%. is this bottlenecking on the FX system? and if so. why is the CPU usage so low? wouldn't it be 100% thus making the GPU run around its current usage?

bare in mind, the FX 8320 maxed out @58c on Prime95 for 2 hours. and i5 4690K maxed out @70c for 2 hours.

my ram speeds on the Intel System was 2400Mhz with XMP.

AMD system couldn't exceed 1866Mhz. but i still dont think its the reason why the usage for the FX 8320 is so slow.

and before you ask "why do you need more than 100 fps? surely thats more than enough." for most games yes that may be true. but competitive games like CS:GO require the most amount of frames possible. plus i use a 144hz monitor so its going to help TONS if i can get more than 100 frames.

PC Specs

Intel

Processor: Intel Core i5-4690K @4.5GHz
CPU Cooler: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition
RAM: Hyper Savage 4x4GB 16GB 2400Mhz Dual Channel
Graphics card: EVGA SC+ ACX+ 2.0 GTX 980Ti
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast RM750X

AMD

Processor: FX 8320 @4.6GHz
CPU Cooler: BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0
RAM: Hyper Savage 4x4GB 16GB 2400Mhz Dual Channel
Graphics card: EVGA SC+ ACX+ 2.0 GTX 980Ti
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast RM750X

 

[damric]

Fx-8320 are not optimized for gaming workloads which typically need one very strong core. So basically one of the weak cores is doing majority of the grunt work while the rest are sitting practically idle.

The Fx 8 core is a descent budget streamer, if you like recording your gameplay. If you don't and just game then you would honestly do better with Kaby Lake Pentium. Hopefully AMD will release a new batch of sub $100 Athlons based on Ryzen to compete in that segment.

 

[MaxTehLegend]

Fx-8320 are not optimized for gaming workloads which typically need one very strong core. So basically one of the weak cores is doing majority of the grunt work while the rest are sitting practically idle.

The Fx 8 core is a descent budget streamer, if you like recording your gameplay. If you don't and just game then you would honestly do better with Kaby Lake Pentium. Hopefully AMD will release a new batch of sub $100 Athlons based on Ryzen to compete in that segment.

i have an i5 4690K so i don't think id need a Kaby Lake system to run CPU Bound games at max settings. also wasn't DX 12 designed to utilise all cores for the FX CPU's? because in Battlefield 1 @DX12 it struggles to push past 50 frames @max settings 1080p 70% usage while my GTX 980Ti is hovering around 40-50% still. even with DX12 enabled.

 

[damric]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

 

[MaxTehLegend]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

 

[damric]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

Some settings are more CPU strenuous and some are GPU. You need to experiment.

Here is a good article to read about fine tuning your detail settings to optimize your performance:

http://www.pcgamer.com/what-optimization-really-means-in-games/2/

And also read bottlenecks for beginners.

 

[MaxTehLegend]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

Some settings are more CPU strenuous and some are GPU. You need to experiment.

Here is a good article to read about fine tuning your detail settings to optimize your performance:

http://www.pcgamer.com/what-optimization-really-means-in-games/2/

And also read bottlenecks for beginners.

ok so for CS:GO, what would be the best possible settings @144hz 1080p with a CPU Bottleneck to maximise FPS?, the settings look like this:

 

[Ecky]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

As damric says, the FX has 8 very slow cores. A modern Intel Pentium G4560 has 2 very fast cores, + hypertheading. Each of those cores is close to twice as fast as an FX core. CS:GO only uses 1-2 cores, so on the FX, 6-7 of them sit idle doing you no good, while one core struggles. Despite the Pentium having only 2 cores, you would probably get close to twice the framerate using one.

Lowering settings will never hurt performance. You don't "shift" more work to the CPU, but rather, you lighten the GPU's load. If your GPU isn't what's holding your framerates back from going any higher, lowering settings will not help, but it can never hurt.

 

[MaxTehLegend]

So your CPU isn't fast enough, adjust your settings or updrade. DX12 is much overhyped.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

As damric says, the FX has 8 very slow cores. A modern Intel Pentium G4560 has 2 very fast cores, + hypertheading. Each of those cores is close to twice as fast as an FX core. CS:GO only uses 1-2 cores, so on the FX, 6-7 of them sit idle doing you no good, while one core struggles. Despite the Pentium having only 2 cores, you would probably get close to twice the framerate using one.

Lowering settings will never hurt performance. You don't "shift" more work to the CPU, but rather, you lighten the GPU's load. If your GPU isn't what's holding your framerates back from going any higher, lowering settings will not help, but it can never hurt.

i never said it would never hurt performance, i said it wont gain performance.

 

[Ecky]

i never said it would never hurt performance, i said it wont gain performance.

adjust my settings? wouldn't lowering my settings slow down my games even more since im putting more load on the CPU? and i dont need to upgrade ive already got an intel system, this is just my second PC for lan parties

No. It won't slow down your games if you lower settings.

 

[damric]

FX-8320 is a very poor choice for pairing with a 144Hz monitor. It's just never going to utilize that refresh rate. You would be lucky to get the most out of a 60Hz monitor with modern games on that CPU.

Quite frankly, even the fastest Intel processors are major bottlenecks for 144Hz monitors in most modern games.

 

[MaxTehLegend]

FX-8320 is a very poor choice for pairing with a 144Hz monitor. It's just never going to utilize that refresh rate. You would be lucky to get the most out of a 60Hz monitor with modern games on that CPU.

Quite frankly, even the fastest Intel processors are major bottlenecks for 144Hz monitors in most modern games.

well. my i5 4690K smashes games @144hz 1080p max settings. but yes an FX 8320 is a poor choice but its my first PC Build that i have lying around for a long time.