HIGH CPU USAGE while gaming. Bottleneck?

pheonixrider501

Reputable
Feb 14, 2015
14
0
4,510
Hey guys,

My setup is:

CPU: i5-7600k @4.2 GHz (Boost)
GPU: GTX 1070 (Base clock)
CPU cooler: Cooler Master ML240L 240mm.
RAM: 2x 8GB 3200 MHz G skill trident z
PSU: Antec HCG 750W 80+ Gold.

So I just started playing AC Origins at ultra settings (Shadows HIGH, AA HIGH), I started noticing that my CPU usage is mostly at 100% or 90%+, while my GPU usage is near 70% and sometimes it drops to 50% even in high density areas like cities,etc. (Vsync is disabled). CPU is 100% even at very low setting and only adds 5 to 6 fps.

Due to this I'm getting constant fps drops in high density areas from 60 fps to 40-50 fps.GPU and CPU temps are normal. I've tried DDU and reinstalling GPU drivers. No background apps are running (sometimes chrome takes 20% usage but I force close it while playing).

Screens:
https://imgur.com/a/2DVAlpH

SO, what seems to be the problem? Is there a CPU bottleneck? Should I overclock the CPU to around 4.6 Ghz?

YELP!
 
Solution
For AC: Origins you have a CPU bottleneck, all i5s with only 4 threads have this problem regardless of clockspeed. The game is an absolute CPU hog, and it's been suggested that Ubisoft's double DRM system of Denuvo with VMProtect layered above it might be contributing to the high CPU usage. Unfortunately there isn't anything you can do except upgrade to a CPU with more cores and threads. Overclocking might help a bit, but you still won't get a consistent 60FPS in Alexandria.

roger_hardang

Proper
Jul 12, 2018
70
0
140
if you set all you graphic settings to ultra then you need multiple GPU's an sli or a crossfire ..
an i5 is set to go along with something like 1070 so people here would tell you nothing is wrong with your setup
 
For AC: Origins you have a CPU bottleneck, all i5s with only 4 threads have this problem regardless of clockspeed. The game is an absolute CPU hog, and it's been suggested that Ubisoft's double DRM system of Denuvo with VMProtect layered above it might be contributing to the high CPU usage. Unfortunately there isn't anything you can do except upgrade to a CPU with more cores and threads. Overclocking might help a bit, but you still won't get a consistent 60FPS in Alexandria.
 
Solution
It's called scaling,the game fills up all cores (sadly even if they don't add to the FPS)
You will get ~90% usage even on 12 threads,upgrading your CPU isn't going to fix this,it's just one of these games,you will have to live with it.
13VnOYp.jpg
 


From personal experience while CPU usage remains high, framerates do drastically improve going from a 4 core, 4 thread chip to a 6 core, 12 thread chip in that particular game. For AC: Origins 4 cores, 4 threads are a bottleneck unless you have a fairly low end GPU that can only barely get you 30FPS anyway. 60 or higher requires a CPU with more than 4 threads. It's the usual bad Ubisoft port/game that wasn't really designed for anything more than 30FPS in mind where to get good performance you basically have to brute force the game with high end hardware.
 

pheonixrider501

Reputable
Feb 14, 2015
14
0
4,510
Well I OC'd to 4.7 GHz. Didn't make that much of a difference. Got better Origins benchmark but CPU usage is still 100% at all times and there wasn't much difference in the FPS. Only 2-3 fps increase. FPS drops present as well as before.
 
As you can see from the 2nd benchmark I listed the 99 percentile (lowest FPS) shows significant improvement by going to a cpu with more threads/cores.

We have reached a time where quad cores are now entry level in a few AAA games. As you can see by your 100% cpu usage, the cpu is just saturated in this game. I am a little surprised overclocking didn’t make a bigger difference but then again it will never make up for too few threads/cores.
 
Is your experience single player or multiplayer?
Multiplayer games will be able to use many threads.
Single player, not so much.
Unfortunately it is hard to construct a repeatable multiplayer benchmark.

You might look into the fast sync and adaptive vsync options.
There are trade offs.
I might assume that your monitor is not g.sync capable.