Question GPU not at 100% in Cyberpunk games

Feb 26, 2025
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Hello everyone,
I recently added an RTX5070 ti to my setup, so here's my complete configuration (I'm playing in 1440p):
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (8 cores / 16 threads)
Graphics card: RTX 5070 Ti
RAM memory: 32 GB DDR4 (Corsair, max frequency 3200 MHz XMP)
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI
Power supply: Corsair RM850X (850W, Gold certified)
CPU cooling: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX (Watercooling 360 mm)
Storage: SSD NVMe: Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb
NVMe SSD: Samsung 990 Pro 2Tb

I did a test on time spy and got a good score (22938) and reached 100% on GPU. But on Cyberpunk, I notice that my GPU rarely goes up to 100%, as if it were limited.
Yet the CPU doesn't reach 100% either (it's at 76%). So why can't I push my GPU harder in games? On Cyberpunk, I play in full ultra, dlss + frame gen 2 as well as ray tracing. I guess I have a CPU bottleneck, but do you think it's significant or “light” enough?

Please let me know if you need more information! Thank you and have a nice day

https://postimg.cc/62H3rnnQ
 
Your cpu is working really hard during the game. I believe your gpu is just not being utilized because it is waiting for the frames to be sent to it. If you are getting 146 fps and not suffering any stutters or lag I would just let it be. Or you could try different settings, higher or lower, and see if the gpu puts out more effort.
 
It's important to understand that the CPU will never reach 100% when gaming even if it's bottlenecked because games are not designed to fully utilize all the cores (unlike the GPU that is specifically built to be fully utilized in games).

Your 76% usage is very high and suggests your CPU is pushed to its limit but it's not really surprising: you are using DLSS, which means the game is rendered at a lower resolution, so even harder on the CPU, and ray tracing too, which is also CPU demanding (most people think it's only demanding for the GPU but it's not true, the CPU also contributes to RT calculations).

What is your monitor refresh rate? Are you using a fps cap or V-Sync (which would cap your FPS to your monitor refresh rate)?

Anyways, 146 FPS looks pretty good to me.