[SOLVED] gpu usage 30%

Sep 7, 2021
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7
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i7-10750h, gtx 1660ti and 16gb single channel ram, when gaming my cpu is often at 70-90%, however my gpu rarely goes above 30, with a max of 35, this is odd as my cpu should not bottleneck my gpu this much. Any ideas, thanks.
 
Solution
Make sure the Windows power profile allows the laptop to run at max performance when plugged in.
Increasing the graphics quality in game will place more of the load on the GPU.
What are your CPU temps ? since 70-90% load at 2.6ghz is much different than 90% cpu at 4-5ghz.
Using a power ventilated laptop stand to keep the laptop cool while gaming will help with both GPU and CPU performance.
Make sure the Windows power profile allows the laptop to run at max performance when plugged in.
Increasing the graphics quality in game will place more of the load on the GPU.
What are your CPU temps ? since 70-90% load at 2.6ghz is much different than 90% cpu at 4-5ghz.
Using a power ventilated laptop stand to keep the laptop cool while gaming will help with both GPU and CPU performance.
 
Solution
Total cpu usage is fairly meaningless, you need to monitor all cores and threads. It only takes 1 bearing 100% to limit performance while total cpu usage is lower. Single channel can also have a material impact on performance but this vary from game to game.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
Single-channel memory can cost you 30+% in CPU performance. If your CPU is hitting a single-threaded bottleneck in whatever games you are trying to play, then the GPU utilization will only be as high as needed to keep up with the frames the CPU is able to push through.
 
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Sep 7, 2021
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I have fixed my 70% cpu resulting in sub 4ghz clockspeed by simply unchecking bd prochot in throttlestop, temps have still been fine aroud 60-75c, however yesterday i was gaming and noticed my cpu at 4.5-4.7ghZ resulting in very good frames, around 1 hr later, the clockspeed locked at 4.18ghz. On another note every time i play a game regardless of clockspeeds or temps my frames are significantly worse around the 1-2hr mark, was wondering if anyone had any ideas, as always thanks so much. Should mention when i restart the game not even the computer the frames are fixed, however as you could imagine this can be incredibly frustrating especially when playing competitive.
 

Phaaze88

Titan
Ambassador
Hmm...
1)The already mentioned single channel ram hurts.

2)Strict(er) power limits than desktop. It comes with the laptop territory. Throttlestop should help you get around that, but I'm not familiar with using the app, so won't be of any help there.
Some newer Intel 10th gen laptops are voltage locked from the stock bios, and don't have an earlier one to roll back to. <- For undervolting the cpu through Throttlestop.

3)Performance drops off after 1-2 hours consistently? That one may be storage related.
The ram cache - if the drive even has one, aka, a dramless drive - probably fills up within that duration, and slows down, requiring you to clear the cache again by restarting the game(s).
 
Sep 7, 2021
61
7
45
Make sure the Windows power profile allows the laptop to run at max performance when plugged in.
Increasing the graphics quality in game will place more of the load on the GPU.
What are your CPU temps ? since 70-90% load at 2.6ghz is much different than 90% cpu at 4-5ghz.
Using a power ventilated laptop stand to keep the laptop cool while gaming will help with both GPU and CPU performance.
I have windows power plan already optimized with max performance in valorant on max settings it rarely goes above 20%, in fortnite on performance mode the gpu sits at 30-40% if i switch to dx 12 or dx 11 and max out the settings the gpu does go to 100%, however this is not viable as my frames are far worse. Also on another note I noticed today on a program that would not seem that demanding "Microsoft Whiteboard" my cpu was at 30%, don't know if ths is cause to concern just wondering, however right now on google my cpu is at 5%, when ever i launch an application it spikes but I suppose that is normal thanks so much> also playing fortnite right now and noticing gpu usage being between 20 and 30% this just doesn't seem normal
 
Jun 26, 2021
15
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The setting bd prochot you unchecked is the thermal limit on your cpu so its possible to overheat your cpu because it will now no longer downclock when it heats up. So don't worry about what percent something is using unless your having some sort of issues with framerates your computers not always going to run how you think it should. Generally i would think the laptop would be limited mostly by thermals than anything especially if you try and turn things up. Just make sure you are keeping track of the temps of whatever sensors you can with something like hwinfo. Laptops can be tricky depending on the brand or if they have optimus or a mux switch as to how they distribute the power budget between the cpu and gpu, so it might be helpful to list what laptop it is more precisely incase anyone that has one might be able to share their experience. But the single ram stick is always gunna do worse than 2 so if you can upgrade it will for sure improve your experience overall.
 
Sep 7, 2021
61
7
45
The setting bd prochot you unchecked is the thermal limit on your cpu so its possible to overheat your cpu because it will now no longer downclock when it heats up. So don't worry about what percent something is using unless your having some sort of issues with framerates your computers not always going to run how you think it should. Generally i would think the laptop would be limited mostly by thermals than anything especially if you try and turn things up. Just make sure you are keeping track of the temps of whatever sensors you can with something like hwinfo. Laptops can be tricky depending on the brand or if they have optimus or a mux switch as to how they distribute the power budget between the cpu and gpu, so it might be helpful to list what laptop it is more precisely incase anyone that has one might be able to share their experience. But the single ram stick is always gunna do worse than 2 so if you can upgrade it will for sure improve your experience overall.
does that mean that if i have bd prochot disabled, the temps on throttlestop r inaccurate
?Also i don't know if this is relevant but multiple times a day when i tab out of my game or just randomly switch tasks my whole computer freeses and i have to shut it off via the power button