Game keeps exceeding VRAM but neither CPU or GPU usage is at 100% during gaming.

[supersmart07]

So I recently purchased Forza Horizon 3 on my PC. Although my PC isn't even close to the recommended requirements for the game, I managed to run it at 30fps at 720p Low settings. My question is the game kept reminding me that I've exceeded VRAM, but when I fired up MSI Afterburner neither my CPU not my GPU is running at 100%. Is upgrading my GPU the only option? Or should I also upgrade my CPU. Thanks

My PC Specs
CPU: Intel Core i3-2120
MB: ASUS P8H61 PRO
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1333
GPU: MSI NVIDIA GTX 750ti 2GB OC

 

[Shektron]

If the GPU usage is not 100%, then upgrading the CPU is the better option. Low GPU usage indicates CPU bottlenecking, which means that your GPU is capable of delivering more FPS but the CPU is holding it back. So upgrading the CPU to something that has better single-core performance will increase your FPS, but upgrading the GPU will not affect performance. The only thing you can do to increase your GPU usage is increase the detail settings, but your FPS will still stay whatever it is right now(ie, 30 FPS), the game will just look better.

 

[supersmart07]

If the GPU usage is not 100%, then upgrading the CPU is the better option. Low GPU usage indicates CPU bottlenecking, which means that your GPU is capable of delivering more FPS but the CPU is holding it back. So upgrading the CPU to something that has better single-core performance will increase your FPS, but upgrading the GPU will not affect performance. The only thing you can do to increase your GPU usage is increase the detail settings, but your FPS will still stay whatever it is right now(ie, 30 FPS), the game will just look better.

I find the games Microsoft provides are usually quite CPU demanding and my CPU is definitely on the slower side. However in Afterburner the CPU usages bounces between 60% and 90% but never really hit 100%. Does that still indicate bottlenecking? Also does exceeding VRAM=Lower framerate? Thanks

 

[bmockeg]

The vram is low for modern games. You really want 4GB or more. GPU usage is the CPU of the GPU if,that makes sense. You can use less than 100% of GPU processing amd exceed VRAM. With that said you really need a new computer.

 

[Shektron]

If the GPU usage is not 100%, then upgrading the CPU is the better option. Low GPU usage indicates CPU bottlenecking, which means that your GPU is capable of delivering more FPS but the CPU is holding it back. So upgrading the CPU to something that has better single-core performance will increase your FPS, but upgrading the GPU will not affect performance. The only thing you can do to increase your GPU usage is increase the detail settings, but your FPS will still stay whatever it is right now(ie, 30 FPS), the game will just look better.

I find the games Microsoft provides are usually quite CPU demanding and my CPU is definitely on the slower side. However in Afterburner the CPU usages bounces between 60% and 90% but never really hit 100%. Does that still indicate bottlenecking? Also does exceeding VRAM=Lower framerate? Thanks

CPU usage need not be 100% to indicate bottlenecking - this is because the usage is calculated based on the usage of all cores, but the game you are playing may not be using all the cores, so the usage will not be 100% but the CPU will still be the bottleneck, since the cores that the game is using are being used to the maximum power.

Yes, if you are using all the VRAM you have and the game still needs more, then FPS will be lowered because the GPU will have to load textures from the hard drive/SSD, which will slow the rendering down since the GPU will have to wait longer for the textures to be available.