[SOLVED] i7-3770 100% CPU Playing Fortnite

LeGaCyGiAnT124

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Nov 11, 2014
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Hello,

I have been trying to resolve my issue with my current gaming setup. Within the last month, I upgraded my processor from an i5-3470 to an i7-3770 within my Dell Optiplex 7010 Mini Tower. Here are my specs to start:

i7-3770 3.4GHz
16GB 1666MHz DDR3 RAM
EVGA GTX 970 4GB GPU
240GB SSD
750W Power Supply

So the issue... Whenever I play Fortnite, I can barely stay above 130FPS average consistently at 1080P with everything on Low settings wise. I have a Sceptre E255B 1080p 165Hz monitor, and would like to atleast get 144Hz, but my game just runs like crap unless I cap at 120FPS. My CPU usage is at 100%, even whenever all of the settings are on low (unless I cap my game at 120FPS, then it's around 80-90 usage in game) My GPU usage is fine while playing. I did run a bench mark test on userbenchmark, and my GPU shows up horribly but my CPU comes up fine, but in game, it's the complete opposite. Can anyone give some insight on why? I have watched others play Fortnite with my same setup, and none seem to have CPU usage as high as I do.

I have all of the latest drivers, tried re-installing windows and Fortnite, updates my BIOS, turned windows power settings to performance, etc, etc, etc.

Please help! Thanks so much.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserR...J0jjGRDTQ28DV7uFS2LO6oAdR8Ns0V1eTYzZeIkT-PPRc
 
Solution
So just as a quick update, I THINK I may have found the issue. In the BIOS settings, there is an option under "Video" for the display. It was set to "All" and I changed it to Nvidia (which is my GPU). I also found another setting in the BIOS for "Hyperthread Control" which was disabled. I enabled that and re-booted the PC. Now when I play Fortnite, with my FPS uncapped, and everything on Low except for the view distance, my GPU is around 65-75% usage, and so is my CPU usage :D :D :D

I think what was happening is the onboard graphics were somehow causing the over-usage or something at the same time as the GPU graphics or they were fighting each other or something? I honestly don't know.

I still only average around 140FPS, but still...
Hello,

I have been trying to resolve my issue with my current gaming setup. Within the last month, I upgraded my processor from an i5-3470 to an i7-3770 within my Dell Optiplex 7010 Mini Tower. Here are my specs to start:

i7-3770 3.4GHz
16GB 1666MHz DDR3 RAM
EVGA GTX 970 4GB GPU
240GB SSD
750W Power Supply

So the issue... Whenever I play Fortnite, I can barely stay above 130FPS average consistently at 1080P with everything on Low settings wise. I have a Sceptre E255B 1080p 165Hz monitor, and would like to atleast get 144Hz, but my game just runs like crap unless I cap at 120FPS. My CPU usage is at 100%, even whenever all of the settings are on low (unless I cap my game at 120FPS, then it's around 80-90 usage in game) My GPU usage is fine while playing. I did run a bench mark test on userbenchmark, and my GPU shows up horribly but my CPU comes up fine, but in game, it's the complete opposite. Can anyone give some insight on why? I have watched others play Fortnite with my same setup, and none seem to have CPU usage as high as I do.

I have all of the latest drivers, tried re-installing windows and Fortnite, updates my BIOS, turned windows power settings to performance, etc, etc, etc.

Please help! Thanks so much.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserR...J0jjGRDTQ28DV7uFS2LO6oAdR8Ns0V1eTYzZeIkT-PPRc
What happens when you increase your settings from Low to High? I have a feeling that at 1080 Low you are forcing almost all the usage on to the CPU.
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

Honorable
Nov 11, 2014
27
1
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What happens when you increase your settings from Low to High? I have a feeling that at 1080 Low you are forcing almost all the usage on to the CPU.

It doesn't make a difference while in game. It only makes a difference when in the lobby of the game from what I can tell.

I have tried turning the settings to the highest they can, and the CPU is still 100%, but the GPU usage does go up.
 
It doesn't make a difference while in game. It only makes a difference when in the lobby of the game from what I can tell.

I have tried turning the settings to the highest they can, and the CPU is still 100%, but the GPU usage does go up.
When looking at task manager and sorting by CPU usage, what do you see? I can see this being a background program running, CPU limitation (not as likely since Fortnite isn't that CPU intensive), or since this is the 3rd post I've seen about this issue today there was an update that has caused issues.
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

Honorable
Nov 11, 2014
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It doesn't make a difference while in game. It only makes a difference when in the lobby of the game from what I can tell.

I have tried turning the settings to the highest they can, and the CPU is still 100%, but the GPU usage does go up.

In lobby with everything on Low and capped at 165FPS on 1080P:

CPU usage is 65-80%
GPU usage is 43-45%

in Creative mode with everything on Low and capped at 165FPS on 1080P:

55-60% GPU
75-85% CPU

The game runs horrible whenever the CPU is 100%, and I was actually getting 100% CPU usage even capping the game at 120FPS in an actual battle royale game. For this try I did cap it at 165FPS and got

45-50% GPU
100% CPU
 
In lobby with everything on Low and capped at 165FPS on 1080P:

CPU usage is 65-80%
GPU usage is 43-45%

in Creative mode with everything on Low and capped at 165FPS on 1080P:

55-60% GPU
75-85% CPU

The game runs horrible whenever the CPU is 100%, and I was actually getting 100% CPU usage even capping the game at 120FPS in an actual battle royale game. For this try I did cap it at 165FPS and got

45-50% GPU
100% CPU
Seems like there is something running in the background on your computer while playing this game. Does this happen on any other game that has similar system requirements?
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

Honorable
Nov 11, 2014
27
1
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Seems like there is something running in the background on your computer while playing this game. Does this happen on any other game that has similar system requirements?

Honestly Fortnite is the only game that I play. I should mention that I am working remotely currently and my citrix connection is up when I posted the results from a few minutes ago, but the game does the same behavior when it's the only thing open as well.
 
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LeGaCyGiAnT124

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Nov 11, 2014
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Only way to do that is to increase the graphics settings. 1080p low will put more stress on the CPU than 1080p ultra.

So when I run Fortnite with everything on Epic (highest settings possible) I get around 110-120FPS average, and the GPU is 85-95% and the CPU bounces between 93-100%. The game doesn't play that badly, but the FPS still aren't up to par with the output I want for my monitor.
 
So when I run Fortnite with everything on Epic (highest settings possible) I get around 110-120FPS average, and the GPU is 85-95% and the CPU bounces between 93-100%. The game doesn't play that badly, but the FPS still aren't up to par with the output I want for my monitor.
At that point you are hitting the limits of what your GPU can push. Doing a GPU, and to a smaller extent CPU, upgrade will be the only way to increase your FPS. Your monitor is FreeSync so in theory you can use either an nVidia or Radeon GPU for FreeSync. With a Radeon GPU you will be assured that FreeSync will work though.
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

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Nov 11, 2014
27
1
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At that point you are hitting the limits of what your GPU can push. Doing a GPU, and to a smaller extent CPU, upgrade will be the only way to increase your FPS. Your monitor is FreeSync so in theory you can use either an nVidia or Radeon GPU for FreeSync. With a Radeon GPU you will be assured that FreeSync will work though.

Yeah I know what you mean. It's just odd that between the lowest I can set the game and to the highest, it's only like a 30FPS difference. I actually just ordered a Ryzen 5 3600, new motherboard, 3000MHz RAM and case a few days ago, but still would like to know why others are able to run the game fine with way less CPU usage than I do.
 
Yeah I know what you mean. It's just odd that between the lowest I can set the game and to the highest, it's only like a 30FPS difference. I actually just ordered a Ryzen 5 3600, new motherboard, 3000MHz RAM and case a few days ago, but still would like to know why others are able to run the game fine with way less CPU usage than I do.
If they have a higher end GPU that will make a huge difference. On 1080p low the Ryzen 3600 should be able to push more frames than your 3770. However, I would still look at upping my GPU to something like a Radeon RX5600XT, the Sapphire Pulse has the vBIOS addition so you will get RTX 2060 level performance. In other words the 5600XT is about double the performance of your current GPU.
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

Honorable
Nov 11, 2014
27
1
10,545
So just as a quick update, I THINK I may have found the issue. In the BIOS settings, there is an option under "Video" for the display. It was set to "All" and I changed it to Nvidia (which is my GPU). I also found another setting in the BIOS for "Hyperthread Control" which was disabled. I enabled that and re-booted the PC. Now when I play Fortnite, with my FPS uncapped, and everything on Low except for the view distance, my GPU is around 65-75% usage, and so is my CPU usage :D :D :D

I think what was happening is the onboard graphics were somehow causing the over-usage or something at the same time as the GPU graphics or they were fighting each other or something? I honestly don't know.

I still only average around 140FPS, but still, the game is way more playable and not stuttering like it was. I will keep tinkering with it but for anyone reading this, take a look in the BIOS and see what your options are set to.
 
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Solution
So just as a quick update, I THINK I may have found the issue. In the BIOS settings, there is an option under "Video" for the display. It was set to "All" and I changed it to Nvidia (which is my GPU). I also found another setting in the BIOS for "Hyperthread Control" which was disabled. I enabled that and re-booted the PC. Now when I play Fortnite, with my FPS uncapped, and everything on Low except for the view distance, my GPU is around 65-75% usage, and so is my CPU usage :D:D:D

I think what was happening is the onboard graphics were somehow causing the over-usage or something at the same time as the GPU graphics or they were fighting each other or something? I honestly don't know.

I still only average around 140FPS, but still, the game is way more playable and not stuttering like it was. I will keep tinkering with it but for anyone reading this, take a look in the BIOS and see what your options are set to.
Enabling Hyperthreading will increase performance 10-20% on Intel CPUs. It also allows for things that don't need as much power to run on the hyperthreads and reserve more for just the CPU itself. Glad that you were able to find out what was going on.
 

LeGaCyGiAnT124

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Nov 11, 2014
27
1
10,545
Enabling Hyperthreading will increase performance 10-20% on Intel CPUs. It also allows for things that don't need as much power to run on the hyperthreads and reserve more for just the CPU itself. Glad that you were able to find out what was going on.

Just as a clarification, "Hyperthread Control" is the same terminology as "Hyperthreading" correct? I believe the answer is yes, just want to make sure for my own knowledge.

Good info to know about the 10-20% increase. Is it possible that it was disabled because my Dell Optiplex 7010 had an i5 previously and that CPU didn't have hyperthreading?
 
Just as a clarification, "Hyperthread Control" is the same terminology as "Hyperthreading" correct? I believe the answer is yes, just want to make sure for my own knowledge.

Good info to know about the 10-20% increase. Is it possible that it was disabled because my Dell Optiplex 7010 had an i5 previously and that CPU didn't have hyperthreading?
In your case Hyperthreading Control is the mechanism that will turn Hyperthreading on or off. With it off your i7 was in essence an i5. It is very possible that it was off before since you had an i5.