Question Should GPU utilization in games always be more then 90% ?

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Od86x

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Jan 5, 2020
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Hello everyone.

I had a 10700k, paired with an RTX 4070 Ti 12GB. I used to play RDR2 at 1440p. Settings were in Ultra, but my GPU utilization has never been more then 70% .

Now I've bought a Ryzen 9 9950X and same settings, my GPU still never goes above 81% utilization, and
VRAM usage is around 58%.

Is it normal ? Isn't GPU supposed to Utilize like 90-95%?
I don't think my 9950X is holding back the GPU.
It's a workers CPU for productivity, but it still way more powerful in gaming than my old 10700k.

Am I missing something?
 
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No depending on settings and especially on the game the usage can be anywhere, obviously you don't want to buy a 5090 if you only play 20 year old games that would barely make any use of the card, but having a small safety margin of 20% is not a bad thing, it means that you won't have lower FPS in more demanding places in the game or in general in more demanding games.
 
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Hey there,

Od86x said:
Is it normal ? Isn't GPU supposed to Utilize like 90-95%?
Click to expand...
The short answer is yes, ideally it should be running at high 90's(95-100%) usage. This means your GPU cores are maxed out and pushing as many frames as possible. They are designed to do so. So this is not a problem. Some may say, having it at 80% allows some headroom for whatever. This is a misnomer. The card doesn't know much headroom you want, it just wants to pump out frames as fast as it can.

VRAM is a different story. If VRAM is maxed out that can cause stutters or even game crashes.

However, as @geofelt mentioned, the usage will vary from game to game, and also be different in single player than multiplayer online. One game the GPU usage will be high, the other may push the CPU higher. Some games will hardly make the cards fans turn on. Others will have them whirring at full pelt.

For games that you play with lower GPU usage, if you turn the in game settings up, the usage should go higher to max levels. You can use DLDSR to check this, by increasing the resolution to 4k. Or if the game has RT effects, and they are off, then turning them on will push GPU usage higher.

Also, just to be clear, CPU usage at 100% will cause slow down and stutters, as would system ram, if it maxed out as it would be using the swap file.
 
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geofelt said:
When playing games performance depends on both the cpu and gpu.
But, both do not always run concurrently. If either the cpu or the gpu were running at 100%, it would indicate that the other component was the limiting factor.

Is your gaming performance satisfactory?
Do you want more performance?
Click to expand...
Yes, I expect more performance from this cpu. I thought it wuld be huge upgrade from my old 10700k, in terms of gaming.
Satisfaction? No. Can I change cpu in order to squeeze more juice from gpu? I don't have a budget to buy 9950x3d.
Maybe I can spot 9900x3d.
Thank you

Sincerely
Alex
 
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Od86x said:
Yes, I expect more performance from this cpu. I thought it wuld be huge upgrade from my old 10700k, in terms of gaming.
Satisfaction? No. Can I change cpu in order to squeeze more juice from gpu? I don't have a budget to buy 9950x3d.
Maybe I can spot 9900x3d.
Thank you

Sincerely
Alex
Click to expand...
Some games/apps will be like that.

Think of it like this:

Your CPU sends pre-rendered frames (data) to the GPU. The GPU then takes that data, does it's magic and displays the goodness onscreen. The GPU can only display as many frames as the CPU can send the pre-rendered frame data. So, some games will get higher FPS and your GPU will be maxed. Other games, it may be the reverse. And then there are some that will have both low CPU and GPU usage, because the game simply doesn't need that power.

In terms of swapping out the CPU to push the GPU further, you really won't see any difference at the high frame rates we are talking about. The higher res you go, 1440p and 4k, shifts the job to the GPU.

Are you using Vsync or gsync, or any app that limits the FPS? This could also account for low GPU usage. You should run games without both. Does the GPU usage then go higher? Apps like MSI Afterburner/GPU Tweak can cap your FPS too.
 
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For some reason MSI Afterburner, won't show all data. I don't know how to fix issues . Anyway my average FPS in RDR2 is 100.8 . Slightly higher then my 10700k was. I just build new PC and week ago. I always keeping my PC 5- 7 years. So I need a headroom for future. I still have my 4070ti 12gb. But planning to upgrade in Fall for 5080 Ti, if it will come out.
I didn't pay attention for Vsync . But when I turned Vsync off , my Windows game bar stop showing FPS and GPU usage.
I got my monitor set to 165Hz always. I assuming Vsync adjusting fps to the Monitor default Hz.
 
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Ok i turned Up the settings, MSAA X8 etc.
My GPU usage spike near 88% Vrma to 68%.
But my FPS dropped to insanely low . Average - 44 fps.


Turned Down some settings and my GPU usage dropped to around 60%.
Fps jump to average 95fps.
 
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Od86x said:
Ok i turned Up the settings, MSAA X8 etc.
My GPU usage spike near 88% Vrma to 68%.
But my FPS dropped to insanely low . Average - 44 fps.


Turned Down some settings and my GPU usage dropped to around 60%.
Fps jump to average 95fps.
Click to expand...
Which exact game, and which settings? Can you show us a picture of the settings tab?
Od86x said:
For some reason MSI Afterburner, won't show all data. I don't know how to fix issues . Anyway my average FPS in RDR2 is 100.8 . Slightly higher then my 10700k was. I just build new PC and week ago. I always keeping my PC 5- 7 years. So I need a headroom for future. I still have my 4070ti 12gb. But planning to upgrade in Fall for 5080 Ti, if it will come out.
I didn't pay attention for Vsync . But when I turned Vsync off , my Windows game bar stop showing FPS and GPU usage.
I got my monitor set to 165Hz always. I assuming Vsync adjusting fps to the Monitor default Hz.
Click to expand...
The 4070 Ti is still good for 1440p. I wouldn't necessarily get a 50xx card as they aren't really that good, and are very high price.

I think this might be a configuration issues rather than a CPU or GPU issue directly.
 
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