Question My GPU usage isn't always at %100 percent while gaming. Is it an indication of Bottlenecking?

ink123

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Hi, I usually play Triple A games and for most of them, I don't get a stable %100 gpu usage. For example, in Marvel's Spider-Man, in the city, I usually get a GPU usage around %75-90 and it sometimes drops to %60. However, in the same, in indoor areas, my GPU usage is always at %100.

https://streamable.com/2h8mtj

My system:

CPU: I7 4790K
GPU: GTX 1070 TI
MOTHERBOARD: MSI GAMING 5 Z97
RAM: GSKILL 8X2 1600 MHZ DDR 3 RAM
MONITOR: HP 27xq 144 mhz 1440p monitor
 
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Hi, I usually play Triple A games and for most of them, I don't get a stable %100 gpu usage. For example, in Marvel's Spider-Man, in the city, I usually get a GPU usage around %75-90 and it sometimes drops to %60. However, in the same, in indoor areas, my GPU usage is always at %100.

My system:

CPU: I7 4790K
GPU: GTX 1070 TI
MOTHERBOARD: MSI GAMING 5 Z97
RAM: GSKILL 8X2 1600 MHZ DDR 3 RAM
MONITOR: HP 27xq 144 mhz 1440p monitor
Yeah that game has a pretty big, detailed outdoor world, which requires a lot of rendering data to be calculated by your older, slower, 4 core CPU. So your GPU is no doubt waiting to get that data sent.
 

ink123

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Yeah that game has a pretty big, detailed outdoor world, which requires a lot of rendering data to be calculated by your older, slower, 4 core CPU. So your GPU is no doubt waiting to get that data sent.

The game recommends Intel Core i5-4670, 3.4 Ghz or AMD Ryzen5 1600, 3.2 Ghz My CPU is better than the recommended cpu
 
The game recommends Intel Core i5-4670, 3.4 Ghz or AMD Ryzen5 1600, 3.2 Ghz My CPU is better than the recommended cpu
I'm well aware of that, as I play the game myself. You have to realize though that user experience is the only way to tell how optimized a game is, as the suggested spec can be unrealistic. As you can see in my sig, I have an i7- 8700K, and GTX 1080 SC, and even I get a bit of performance issues.
 

Phaaze88

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The cpu determines fps. The gpu can either match that pace, or be slower. The gpu is not faster than the cpu, and its 'turn' does not come before it either.
Plus, as sizzling posted, whole cpu usage is fairly meaningless when games are driven by a single core.
 

ink123

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The cpu determines fps. The gpu can either match that pace, or be slower. The gpu is not faster than the cpu, and its 'turn' does not come before it either.
Plus, as sizzling posted, whole cpu usage is fairly meaningless when games are driven by a single core.

Can you please watch the clip? It shows all of my cores and none of them are hitting %100 usage all the time. Maybe you can say from the clip what is the problem.
 
Can you please watch the clip? It shows all of my cores and none of them are hitting %100 usage all the time. Maybe you can say from the clip what is the problem.
If you mean this clip...
There's really nothing to be concerned about with the usage shown OR the smoothness of the gameplay. You really want to monitor your GPU usage to determine a bottleneck more than CPU usage. When GPU usage is low, it usually means it's waiting for the CPU to send it data.

You're clearly worried about nothing here given the example you've shown.
 

Phaaze88

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Can you please watch the clip? It shows all of my cores and none of them are hitting %100 usage all the time. Maybe you can say from the clip what is the problem.
All it takes is JUST ONE CORE. It doesn't have to sit there to be considered a cpu limitation.

It's a common occurring scenario for users to mistake low gpu utility or performance for 'something wrong with gpu', when it's usually just waiting on something else.
Can't continuously send what it don't got, right?
 

ink123

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I know that my both GPU and CPU are old by today's standards. What I really wanna know is whether it's normal to have %80 GPU usage while having only %60 CPU usage in a game or not. I also experience a similar situation while playing Batman Arkham Knight. However, when I am playing Red Dead Redemption 2, my GPU usage is always around %95-100
 

Zerk2012

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Can you please watch the clip? It shows all of my cores and none of them are hitting %100 usage all the time. Maybe you can say from the clip what is the problem.
The problem is with the game itself and the game engine used. EDIT well older (8 years old) processor that doesn't have the single core performance of more modern hardware. .
Most of the time your card was in the 60/70 area your card can only put out what the processor feeds it.

People freak out over nothing I remember when Watch Dogs was coming out recommended a i7 everybody was spending money to upgrade and I was trying to tell them just wait till the game comes out then decide.

Turned out a i7 only got 6 more FPS then a simple i3 4130.

You can't build a gaming PC that will max everything in it out something will limit the performance no matter what you have. Could be the game itself, CPU, GPU. The part that limits the performance can and will change depending on your parts and what game.
 
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Phaaze88

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People freak out over nothing I remember when Watch Dogs was coming out recommended a i7 everybody was spending money to upgrade and I was trying to tell them just wait till the game comes out then decide.

Turned out a i7 only got 6 more FPS then a simple i3 4130.
That points to the software(game engine) being the problem, which happens pretty often with how busted some of these new titles are at launch.