[SOLVED] Low CPU and GPU usage in games?

[tek2ng]

First of all I'm not an expert on computers, my mom bought me this PC for 450€ for christmas 1 year ago off Ebay and it's my first gaming PC and I'm not so familiar with all of tech stuff.

My problem is, in like every game my GPU usage is around 40-60% in open areas and sometimes over 90% when in a building. At first I thought my CPU was bottlenecking my GPU (it probably still is) but I looked up my CPU usage and all 8 cores are around 50-80% but they never go above 80%. In fallout 4 for example I play on max settings, when I'm in a building my FPS are around 120 FPS with a 95% GPU usage, when I go outside the GPU usage drops down to 40-60% and my FPS drop down to as far as 35 FPS in some areas. And as I've said before all 8 cores are around 50-80% in usage but if its a bottleneck shouldn't the CPU usage be over 90%? Another example is in Arkham Knight, on max settings I have around 80-100 FPS when in a building but this time my GPU usage is around 60% but when I'm outside my FPS are around 50 FPS and drop to 35 when I'm gliding with the same GPU and CPU usage as in Fallout 4. Also my temperatures are fine. So what could the reason for this be? I've also stress tested my CPU and it reaches the max usage there.

Here are my specs:
Asus M5A78ML Plus
FX 8350 not OC'd
GTX 1070
16 GB 1600 mhz DDR3 Ram
650w PSU

Here's two screenshots from Arkham Knight:
When in a building:

https://imgur.com/K0yWd3C

View: https://i.imgur.com/K0yWd3C.png

When I'm outside:

https://imgur.com/8Ne2jA3

View: https://i.imgur.com/8Ne2jA3.png

 

[TechyInAZ]

It could still be the CPU, unfortunately CPU and GPU load are somewhat generic, they aren't the most accurate.

I think if you take a look at the per core CPU usage that will paint a better picture. The problem with video games, especially somewhat older titles like the latest batman series, they won't use ALL your 8 cores.

And the FX 8350 is super old, it's a REALLY old CPU now. No offense to your mom, but she did not buy you a good PC for the money.

The best solution I can recommend is to upgrade the CPU, RAM and motherboard, they are all just so old.

Your GPU is modern though, that GTX 1070 is a nice card.

I'd recommend getting a Ryzen 3100 and 16GB of 3000-3200Mhz RAM and a cheap $80 B450 motherboard (or B550 if that is out when you buy it). The Ryzen 3100 will be out in a month, but if you have the money to spare and want something now, go with a $85 Ryzen 5 1600 (it's sometimes dubbed unofficially as the 1600AF).

I hope this helps.

UPDATE: Sorry i didn't realize you had Riva Tuner OSD on with all the per core usage, yeah that's not bad. However again, i can almost guarantee you the CPU is the problem. Game optimization is not great on FX CPUs.

 

[tek2ng]

It could still be the CPU, unfortunately CPU and GPU load are somewhat generic, they aren't the most accurate.

I think if you take a look at the per core CPU usage that will paint a better picture. The problem with video games, especially somewhat older titles like the latest batman series, they won't use ALL your 8 cores.

And the FX 8350 is super old, it's a REALLY old CPU now. No offense to your mom, but she did not buy you a good PC for the money.

The best solution I can recommend is to upgrade the CPU, RAM and motherboard, they are all just so old.

Your GPU is modern though, that GTX 1070 is a nice card.

I'd recommend getting a Ryzen 3100 and 16GB of 3000-3200Mhz RAM and a cheap $80 B450 motherboard (or B550 if that is out when you buy it). The Ryzen 3100 will be out in a month, but if you have the money to spare and want something now, go with a $85 Ryzen 5 1600 (it's sometimes dubbed unofficially as the 1600AF).

I hope this helps.

UPDATE: Sorry i didn't realize you had Riva Tuner OSD on with all the per core usage, yeah that's not bad. However again, i can almost guarantee you the CPU is the problem. Game optimization is not great on FX CPUs.

Just curious, why do you think the PC is not good for that money? She bought in one year ago where the 1070 cost nearly as much as my PC itself and I still can play most modern games on ultra with an average of 50-100 FPS. How good of an PC can you build with 450€?

 

[sizzling]

Just curious, why do you think the PC is not good for that money? She bought in one year ago where the 1070 cost nearly as much as my PC itself and I still can play most modern games on ultra with an average of 50-100 FPS. How good of an PC can you build with 450€?

The problem is the FX series were average performers when first released and the FX8350 is now 8 years old, nearly any entry level cpu today will out perform it. What makes things worse is any cpu upgrade would require a new motherboard and RAM as the FX uses an obsolete cpu socket (AM3+) and DDR3 so this system never had an upgrade path without starting again. The 1070 paired with a FX8350 is a bit unbalanced, strong 1080p gpu with a weak cpu. I don't want to seem mean, just want to help manage expectations. I think its best just to accept the system for the performance it gives and enjoy that.

 

[TechyInAZ]

What sizzling said. I'm really happy you can game on it with those frame rates, but still, you could be getting even higher FPS if your CPU was actually a good entry level CPU.

 

[tek2ng]

What sizzling said. I'm really happy you can game on it with those frame rates, but still, you could be getting even higher FPS if your CPU was actually a good entry level CPU.

I'm planning on upgrading my CPU but what's the cheapest way of upgrading it? I still go to school and I could max spend around 150-200€ for an upgrade but that's way too low am I right?

 

[TechyInAZ]

Well the problem is you have to upgrade the motherboard and the RAM as well, Fortunately AMD CPU's are really cheap right now, but the motherboard and ram will cost an additional 150$.

Since you have good FPS right now, is wait until you have 250$ to spend.