Question GPU not at 100% in Cyberpunk games

[maxwlrt]

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

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

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.

 

[Gururu]

Also the game itself has become a master class in GPU optimization, so your GPU is plenty beefy at 1440. If you went to 4k I am sure it would be at 100%.

 

[SkyNetRising]

I notice that my GPU rarely goes up to 100%, as if it were limited.
On Cyberpunk, I play in full ultra, dlss + frame gen 2 as well as ray tracing.

What DLSS settings are you using?
Try turning DLSS off and watch GPU usage shoot to max.

 

[JayGau]

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.

 

[wcbhkids]

CPU bottlenecking. Upgrade CPU or increase graphics settings/turn off upscaling.

 

[maxwlrt]

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.

Thanks for your reply ! I understand better now and everything seems logical. I have a 165hz ecrn and I think I'm using G-synch, would you advise me to disable it or not? Thanks !

 

[JayGau]

Thanks for your reply ! I understand better now and everything seems logical. I have a 165hz ecrn and I think I'm using G-synch, would you advise me to disable it or not? Thanks !

No keep G-sync on. I was just wondering that if you had a 144 Hz monitor and using V-Sync, you would have been capped at ~144 Hz (which is good to prevent screen tearing). I personally always use G-Sync and if the frame rate of a particular game can reach my monitor max refresh rate, I also enable V-Sync. Actually, the lowest input latency (without screen tearing) is achieved with G-Sync + V-Sync + Nvidia Reflex, according to this guy.

Edit: if you "think" you are using G-Sync, you are likely not. To make sure you are using it, first make sure your monitor's VRR is enabled (G-Sync or FreeSync) and then open the Nvidia control panel and go the G-Sync tab. There, you have to enable it in both sections (top and bottom of the page) and click on apply. Plenty of people think they are using G-Sync but they actually aren't because they haven't done all those steps.

 

[maxwlrt]

No keep G-sync on. I was just wondering that if you had a 144 Hz monitor and using V-Sync, you would have been capped at ~144 Hz (which is good to prevent screen tearing). I personally always use G-Sync and if the frame rate of a particular game can reach my monitor max refresh rate, I also enable V-Sync. Actually, the lowest input latency (without screen tearing) is achieved with G-Sync + V-Sync + Nvidia Reflex, according to this guy.

Edit: if you "think" you are using G-Sync, you are likely not. To make sure you are using it, first make sure your monitor's VRR is enabled (G-Sync or FreeSync) and then open the Nvidia control panel and go the G-Sync tab. There, you have to enable it in both sections (top and bottom of the page) and click on apply. Plenty of people think they are using G-Sync but they actually aren't because they haven't done all those steps.

I'll look into that when I get to the PC, thanks for the info!

I also wanted to know if it might be interesting to look at the 1% low to see if my bottleneck might or might not be “important”, what do you think? If so, how many FPS would I need to get to still have a good experience? Thanks

 

[JayGau]

I'll look into that when I get to the PC, thanks for the info!

I also wanted to know if it might be interesting to look at the 1% low to see if my bottleneck might or might not be “important”, what do you think? If so, how many FPS would I need to get to still have a good experience? Thanks

The 1% low is very important to look at if you have some "smoothness" issues, like stuttering. If you have a steady average frame rate but the 1% low frequently drops to very low values you will feel these drops since the latency increases for a brief moment. It feels like a short pause and can be very annoying, even if they are as short as a blink of an eye (micro-stuttering). But if the game feels very smooth all the time it's not something you should be worried about. But if you do get stuttering, getting a faster CPU can definitely help mitigating the 1% low fluctuations.

About your second question, there is no universal FPS threshold to have a good experience. It really depends on the person's preferences and sensitivity. Some people are fine with 30 FPS while some others need above 100 FPS. I personally have a hard time when the frame rate drops below 80 FPS, but above 120-130 FPS I no longer see much difference while other people say they can clearly feel the lower latency at 200+ FPS (like esport pros). And when you add frame gen into the equation it becomes even more complicated: it artificially adds frames but they are not dependent of your input (mouse, keyboard, controller), so 145 FPS with frame gen doesn't feel like 145 FPS although the game looks smoother.

 

[helper800]

I say turn off frame gen and keep DLSS quality, should see fps drop and more graphics card utilization. Frame genhas more GPU and CPU overhead if I recall properly. I also really detest the look and feel of frame gen. Lets say you are getting 60 fps without frame gen, and 100 with frame gen. The 100fps with frame gen will feel like you are getting 50 fps because it has more GPU and CPU overhead for double the amount of "frames." I my opinion 60 fps is better than 100 fps that feels like 50 fps that also adds visual artifacting.

 

[Zerk2012]

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

All that is normal you have no problems.

 

[JayGau]

I say turn off frame gen and keep DLSS quality, should see fps drop and more graphics card utilization. Frame genhas more GPU and CPU overhead if I recall properly. I also really detest the look and feel of frame gen. Lets say you are getting 60 fps without frame gen, and 100 with frame gen. The 100fps with frame gen will feel like you are getting 50 fps because it has more GPU and CPU overhead for double the amount of "frames." I my opinion 60 fps is better than 100 fps that feels like 50 fps that also adds visual artifacting.

I also don't like frame gen in general and prefer by far DLSS upscaling, but for some reason it's very good in Cycberbunk. I really feel the game smoother with FG on and it doesn't add much input lag nor artifacts. Maybe it's because Cyberpunk was the Nvidia's demo for ray tracing new techs so they worked very hard to make frame gen close to perfection in this game. But in most other games it indeed feels worse than when it's off even thought the frame rate is higher.