Question My cpu usage is so high

Twazix

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
17
0
4,510
Hello
I have I5 9600k and RTX 2060, in all games, the cpu usage is 90%- 100% and the gpu usage is 30%-60%.
tested Games : Overwatch - mordhau -rainbow6
 
What are your in game settings at? What resolution are you playing at?

Have you installed ALL of the appropriate chipset, storage controller, network adapter and audio drivers from the motherboard product page?

Do you have the MOST recent motherboard BIOS version installed?

Have you done a CLEAN install of the Nvidia drivers?

Here are the first steps to take when trying to solve these kinds of hardware problems. If you have already tried these steps, all of them, exactly as outlined, we can move along to more advanced solutions.


If there are any you have NOT done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.



First,

make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.


Second,

go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.


IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.


Third,

Make sure your memory is running at the correct advertised speed in the BIOS. This may require that you set the memory to run at the XMP profile settings. Also, make sure you have the memory installed in the correct slots and that they are running in dual channel which you can check by installing CPU-Z and checking the Memory tab. For all modern motherboards that are dual channel memory architectures, from the last ten years at least, if you have two sticks installed they should be in the A2 (Called DDR4_1 on some boards) or B2 (Called DDR4_2 on some boards) which are ALWAYS the SECOND and FOURTH slots over from the CPU socket, counting TOWARDS the edge of the motherboard EXCEPT on boards that only have two memory slots total. In that case, if you have two modules it's not rocket science, but if you have only one, then install it in the A1 or DDR4_1 slot.


The last thing we want to look at,

for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.


If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.


Here are the full instructions on running the Display driver uninstaller and CLEAN installing new drivers.


Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU
 

Twazix

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
17
0
4,510
What are your in game settings at? What resolution are you playing at?

Have you installed ALL of the appropriate chipset, storage controller, network adapter and audio drivers from the motherboard product page?

Do you have the MOST recent motherboard BIOS version installed?

Have you done a CLEAN install of the Nvidia drivers?

Here are the first steps to take when trying to solve these kinds of hardware problems. If you have already tried these steps, all of them, exactly as outlined, we can move along to more advanced solutions.


If there are any you have NOT done, it would be advisable to do so if for no other reason than to be able to say you've already done it and eliminate that possibility.



First,

make sure your motherboard has the MOST recent BIOS version installed. If it does not, then update. This solves a high number of issues even in cases where the release that is newer than yours makes no mention of improving graphics card or other hardware compatibility. They do not list every change they have made when they post a new BIOS release.


Second,

go to the product page for your motherboard on the manufacturer website. Download and install the latest driver versions for the chipset, storage controllers, audio and network adapters. Do not skip installing a newer driver just because you think it is not relevant to the problem you are having. The drivers for one device can often affect ALL other devices and a questionable driver release can cause instability in the OS itself. They don't release new drivers just for fun. If there is a new driver release for a component, there is a good reason for it. The same goes for BIOS updates.


IF you have other hardware installed or attached to the system that are not a part of the systems covered by the motherboard drivers, then go to the support page for THAT component and check to see if there are newer drivers available for that as well. If there are, install them.


Third,

Make sure your memory is running at the correct advertised speed in the BIOS. This may require that you set the memory to run at the XMP profile settings. Also, make sure you have the memory installed in the correct slots and that they are running in dual channel which you can check by installing CPU-Z and checking the Memory tab. For all modern motherboards that are dual channel memory architectures, from the last ten years at least, if you have two sticks installed they should be in the A2 (Called DDR4_1 on some boards) or B2 (Called DDR4_2 on some boards) which are ALWAYS the SECOND and FOURTH slots over from the CPU socket, counting TOWARDS the edge of the motherboard EXCEPT on boards that only have two memory slots total. In that case, if you have two modules it's not rocket science, but if you have only one, then install it in the A1 or DDR4_1 slot.


The last thing we want to look at,

for now anyhow, is the graphics card drivers. Regardless of whether you "already installed the newest drivers" for your graphics card or not, it is OFTEN a good idea to do a CLEAN install of the graphics card drivers. Just installing over the old drivers OR trying to use what Nvidia and AMD consider a clean install is not good enough and does not usually give the same result as using the Display Driver Uninstaller utility. This has a very high success rate and is always worth a shot.


If you have had both Nvidia and AMD cards installed at any point on that operating system then you will want to run the DDU twice. Once for the old card drivers (ie, Nvidia or AMD) and again for the currently installed graphics card drivers (ie, AMD or Nvidia). So if you had an Nvidia card at some point in the past, run it first for Nvidia and then after that is complete, run it again for AMD if you currently have an AMD card installed.


Here are the full instructions on running the Display driver uninstaller and CLEAN installing new drivers.


Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU
I play at 1920x1080 and i installed everything
 
What settings are you using? Are you using presets or custom settings? I have a feeling your high CPU usage is due to very low settings from trying to target high frame rates. Is that about accurate or are you using higher settings?

When you decrease the settings on your graphics card, as you may know, the demands on your CPU go up drastically because it takes less time for the graphics card to do it's job.

Also, where are you reading the 90-100% CPU usage?
 

Twazix

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
17
0
4,510
What settings are you using? Are you using presets or custom settings? I have a feeling your high CPU usage is due to very low settings from trying to target high frame rates. Is that about accurate or are you using higher settings?

When you decrease the settings on your graphics card, as you may know, the demands on your CPU go up drastically because it takes less time for the graphics card to do it's job.

Also, where are you reading the 90-100% CPU usage?
I use nzxt cam, when i use ultra settings it gives more fps than low settings
 
I use nzxt cam, when i use ultra settings it gives more fps than low settings
Yeah, that's called CPU bottlenecking. How much FPS do you get at ultra and low settings, in each game? If the FPS is satisfactory then don't bother trying to justify the usages, just enjoy the performance. If the FPS is not satisfactory, well, either you'll need a faster CPU or you could overclock your current one.
 
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Part of your problem is CAM. I've seen NZXT CAM use up to 20% of CPU resources, BY ITSELF. PLUS, it is horribly well known for sending your private information to NZXT. I'd stop using it unless you have no choice.

What hardware do you have that REQUIRES you to use CAM?

Are you using the CAM overlay? If so, use something else and disable the CAM overlay in the advanced CAM settings.

https://support.camwebapp.com/forum...s/19538782-fully-offline-mode-for-cam-privacy
 
The usage related to the CPU is indicative of how much of your computer's "brain" is in use. When CPU usage is too high, the computer can overheat because it is simply working too hard. High CPU also indicates that you are maxing out on memory, which results in a PC that slows down and often freezes.

That's the biggest bunch of nonsense I've heard here this week. None of it actually, makes sense.

To begin with, NO system, EVER, should overheat from "working too hard". ALL systems should have a CPU cooler that is capable of keeping the CPU within thermal specifications no matter WHAT you are doing on it. Even overclocked, so long as you haven't gone beyond the cooling systems ability to keep thermals in check, that shouldn't happen. If it does, then you have an unrealistic overclock or inadequate cooling. In either case, overheating shouldn't happen and it certainly shouldn't happen just because the CPU is at 80-100% usage.

High CPU usage also has very little relationship with "maxing out memory". If your memory IS maxed out, then yeah, you are probably doing something with high CPU usage BUT you can certainly have high CPU usage with very little overall memory usage. I rarely come within 60-70% of my total installed memory usage and I OFTEN have 90-100% CPU usage when running CPU intensive rendering or other tasks. It also should never cause "freezes". It should use what it has and then if it NEEDS more than it has, yeah, it will likely be slower than it would be if you had a faster CPU and more memory, but it shouldn't freeze unless there are actual problems.

Not during any normal usage anyhow, and gaming is normal usage.
 
No that's called the difference between base and max turbo clocks.
If ultra slows the GPU down so much that the CPU only has to work on 1 or 2 cores you get much higher clocks,that's purposefully bottlenecking the GPU.
Why would ultra "slow down" the GPU? Ultra will be more demanding and will in fact speed up the GPU. Either way, when low settings reduce or keep your FPS constant, that's usually a sign of CPU bottlenecking, since it means that the FPS you got at ultra was already nearly maxing out your CPU, so lowering the settings is not increasing the FPS because the CPU can't keep up, which is essentially CPU bottlenecking. The difference between base and max turbo is just a factor in why the CPU is a bottleneck, along with IPC, memory speed, etc.
 
Why would ultra "slow down" the GPU? Ultra will be more demanding and will in fact speed up the GPU. Either way, when low settings reduce or keep your FPS constant, that's usually a sign of CPU bottlenecking, since it means that the FPS you got at ultra was already nearly maxing out your CPU, so lowering the settings is not increasing the FPS because the CPU can't keep up, which is essentially CPU bottlenecking. The difference between base and max turbo is just a factor in why the CPU is a bottleneck, along with IPC, memory speed, etc.
Ultra settings are harder for any GPU then low settings this results in low settings producing more FPS. (if your CPU can keep up)
Yes if turning down settings doesn't give you more FPS it's very probable that your CPU is bottlenecking.

edit: ok yes I guess ultra settings could just as well cause the GPU to clock higher.
 
Higher GPU clock frequency won't translate as faster or slower in terms of GPU performance though, IF settings have been increased. Higher settings will ABSOLUTELY result in it taking longer for the GPU to render frames which means CPU usage will lower, hence alleviating some of the CPU bottleneck but also reducing the amount of FPS but increasing visual quality.