How can i know if my CPU is bottlenecking my GPU or if it's another issue?

[diegohm]

I have a Geforce GTX 960 4GB windforce and an A10-7700k APU. During gameplay i get 100% CPU usage and around 40% GPU usage, which obviously looks like a CPU bottleneck but how can i know that i need to upgrade or if it's simply another issue with my GPU for example? Is my CPU just to weak compared to my GPU? I'Ve read that disabling HPET in your BIOS or through Command prompt in win 10 did the trick for some people but as it seems it was already disabled in my case in think. My thermal margin according to AMD Overdrive is around 7-14 C during load, while HWMonitor says that my CPU is overheating basically all the time. Which one should i trust more? Do i really need to upgrade my MOBO and CPU?

 

[jojesa]

The A10-7700k and the GTX 960 will work just fine together.
You should not pay too much attention to the CPU load but the quality while gaming.
You should worry if your systems is performing lower that similar configured PCs.

 

[diegohm]

While playing games like Overwatch etc. i get FPS drop to around 40 FPS, which shouldn't be happening right? I also have 100% CPU usage most of the time but my GPU usage won't go above 40%. In single player games like The Witcher 3 however i don't remember having FPS drops. My thermal margin according to AMD Overdrive isn't the best but it's around 10 C.

 

[mdd1963]

Most pre-Ryzen CPUs are all at least partial bottlenecks for all but the very weakest of GPUs, but, most spend way too much time worrying about the subject.

One things for certain...when your CPU is *not* the bottleneck,.... the GPU is.

 

[diegohm]

then why do get FPS drops sometimes when it gets a little more intensive while my GPU usage never goes above 40%? :S

 

[diegohm]

Just to be sure, is there a difference between the GTX 960 and this one ?https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/b3234/gigabyte-gtx-960-windforce-2x-oc-4-gb-rev-1-0
Because the latter is my GPU (use gpu-z) and i have a feeling that people are confusing it for other GTX 960 that performs worse.

 

[jojesa]

When this problem started?

You should keep using AMD OverDrive, since other utilities might not read AMD temperature correctly.

The thermal margin indicates how close the current temperatures is to reach the maximum operating temperature of the CPU/APU.
So, the lower the thermal margin value is, the higher the temperature of your CPU/APU. I would try not to go below 15, since your CPU/APU will throttle to a lower power until it cools down.