Question My computer isn't using all of my CPU / GPU while gaming

[Sirclassic]

Hello,

my system isn't using all of it's performance.
I have a i9 10900k and a 3070TI plus 32GB Ram
While gaming I get a max CPU utilization of around 51% and on my GPU with 66% (see the pictures)

https://imgur.com/a/mIcBxcp

In Valorant my frames drop to around 250 which I think they shouldn't the same happens with Rainbow Six. I'm run both games at very low settings for more FPS. I tried a FPS calulator online and it says that I should get around 700 to 900 FPS (which isn't realistic for sure but I should get more then 350 FPS no?)

https://imgur.com/a/1zlqcvb

Is there a way to make the game utilize the whole perfromace of my CPU / GPU?
I have already the "Ultimate Performace" as my power plan, also I set the 3D settings, in the Nvidia Control panel, the Power managment mode to "Prefer max performance" and Texture filtering - quality "High performance".
If you have any ideas I whould be very happy if you chould share these with me

Thanks 😀

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Can you please pass on the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:

 

[KyaraM]

Forget that 51% CPU use. It means nothing. Games don't normally use all cores, so some will be idle. If your games uses 4 threads, that means that, depending on how those threads are allocated, between 2-4 cores (depending on if all threads are loaded onto one or two threads of the same core) are loaded, not more. That's why utilization is so low, and no, you can't change that. You need to look at individual core load to see if there is an issue there or not.

In this video, the tester got about 195 FPS in Valorant on this GPU in low settings, starting at around 04:13 in:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rnSvgirgB0


The CPU is different, however, there shouldn't be a big, if any, difference in performance, and as you can see in the overlay, neither CPU nor GPU is running at 100% there, either. Honestly, that FPS calculator seems to be pretty bad, it doesn't even ask for your resolution and the given FPS are nonsensical. Here a different CPU in 1080p low:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--xsvmfn-E4

And the setup of earlier in 1080p, low settings start 05:13 in:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S2L-EaoOoE

This with a 10700k is the only outlier I found with slightly higher FPS:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S2L-EaoOoE

A 12400 got around 300 in 1080p low:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaqvUU9xoTI

In this one you can see quite well that it depends on the scene, too, what FPS you get:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2enRiTm1hs


I would conclude that your FPS aren't so far off from where they should be. And the question is. Will you reallynotice 20-40FPS at those numbers at all?

Edit: GN got 177 FPS in Rainbow Six on the 3070Ti stock at high settings.

 

[geofelt]

You do not want either cpu or gpu to be running at 100%
If that were the case, the game would be limited by cpu or gpu.
As a game runs, it will alternate between being cpu limited as it prepares frames, or graphics limited as it presents them.
There is always some sort of limiting factor.
I think you now have a good balance between cpu and gpu.

The bottom line is... how well is the game playing for you?

 

[hotaru.hino]

CPU utilization just means how much of the sampling period time (usually 1 second) a logical processor had something to do. Games typically don't spawn enough threads to saturate even a 6-core processor with work to do. So if you can't get 100% out of a 6-core CPU, you're going to see even less on a 10 core one (let alone one with 20 threads). You can't make games spawn more threads and if you really want to see 100%, you have to de-tune your CPU, which I'm sure is something you don't want.

As far as the GPU goes, the CPU determines how much FPS you can get, then the GPU can get up to that point, provided the image quality doesn't keep it busy. If you want to see more utilization out of the GPU, then you either have to get a better CPU so the system can churn out more FPS, increase the image quality (if you're already maxed it out in-game, then you can do something like enable DSR and force the game to run at a higher internal resolution), or de-tune the GPU, which again I'm sure is something you don't want.

At the end of the day, ignore the utilization number unless you're having a performance issue. And by performance issue, you're not getting the FPS you want at the image quality you want.

 

[DRagor]

At the end of the day, ignore the utilization number unless you're having a performance issue. And by performance issue, you're not getting the FPS you want at the image quality you want.

By this definition OP definitely has performance issue as he clearly stated wants more FPS then he gets now.

 

[hotaru.hino]

By this definition OP definitely has performance issue as he clearly stated wants more FPS then he gets now.

They're also basing their requirements on some sort of "FPS calculator." And given there's evidence to suggest Valorant can't actually get that high in performance with the hardware they're reporting, the calculator is clearly suspect. Also one could make the argument performance doesn't necessarily just mean "FPS" in a vacuum.

But I mean if we want to say OP wants 700 FPS on Valorant, then yes, the hardware is clearly a problem. :3