Why does my cpu bottlenecks my GPU???

[Rcr1094]

Hello people.. My pc specs are here;

Amd fx 8350
Sapphire R9 290x Tri-x
ddr 3 1600 mhz
MSI 990 FXA GD65

My problem is that I never see my GPU usage at %100 and I get lower FPS than I should.. My gpu usage is fluctuating between 0-100 constantly, it is really really unstable.. But when I downclock my GPU on MSI afterburner, GPU load hits %100.. I tried to overclock my cpu to 4.4 or 4.5 but my pc shuts itself in short time.. BTW I have a gigantic cpu cooler that barely fits in my pc case.. Here's the solutions I've tried so far;

- Changing my GPU with another one by warranty..
- Uninstalling the gpu drivers by DDU and re-install them
- Installing the latest driver & bios to my MOBO
- Installing the latest GPU drivers
- Re-Installing my OS
- Overclocking my cpu; changes a bit but not much.. GPU load is still unstable, fluctuating between 0-100 constantly.

I searched the internet for a while and found out that many people had issued with these 2 (r9 290x and FX 8350) but I also saw people with no problem with them. and many people can hit %100 GPU usage with these 2??.. I do not know what is wrong and I am running out of options.. After changing my GPU with new one by warranty, I started to think that problem is my cpu.. What do you guys suggest? Thanks.

 

[st3v30]

Ok,try this.
Turn off Turbo Technology in BIOS and in windows set Power Profile to High Performance then try to play.
Also your PSU is fine but is not good with rly High Loads. Power hog like R9 290x need better and more stable PSU.When you card is at full load it pull more then 300W and you add around 100-125W from CPU plus 20-70W from mobo you get past 500W on +12V rail.If you have friend with good PSU ask him to land you for test.
Here is PSU list

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[Rcr1094]

Ok,try this.
Turn off Turbo Technology in BIOS and in windows set Power Profile to High Performance then try to play.
Also your PSU is fine but is not good with rly High Loads. Power hog like R9 290x need better and more stable PSU.When you card is at full load it pull more then 300W and you add around 100-125W from CPU plus 20-70W from mobo you get past 500W on +12V rail.If you have friend with good PSU ask him to land you for test.
Here is PSU list



http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

actually, It is already off and my pc is at high performance.. It would be difficult for me to find PSU right now :/

 

[st3v30]

Do you get those performance only in GTA V or in every other game??

 

[Rcr1094]

Do you get those performance only in GTA V or in every other game??

here is a screenshot from GTA V , you can see all gpu and cpu usages here;http://imgim.com/2015-04-22_00001.jpg

 

[st3v30]

Try this guide for better fps.
http://www.gamersnexus.net/game-bench/1909-gta-v-graphics-optimization-guide

 

[Dragos Manea]

Something is wrong, the gpu is not eprforming 100% the graphics score is very low, should be over 15k but your cpu (physics score) has a great score.

EDIT: The cpu is not bottlenecking you, u can get easy 14k graphic score with that cpu, do you have any firends who has similar videocard as yours? Also not being able to overclock looks like a power supply thing, try to test another power supply with 60 amps on the 12v line.

 

[st3v30]

Yea i also think it is PSU problem.Your r9 290x takes more power than 2 gtx 970 or 2 980 in SLI.
Start saving up money for quality PSU and when you have enough talk to us here we will help you chose one.

 

[Undying89]

Yea i also think it is PSU problem.Your r9 290x takes more power than 2 gtx 970 or 2 980 in SLI.
Start saving up money for quality PSU and when you have enough talk to us here we will help you chose one.

wtf are you talking about? Its a power hungry but you statement is ridiculous :

 

[st3v30]

Yea but that bench was done on Intel CPU and he have AMD FX 8350 who takes much more power and he have OC edition of card what brings us to even more power consumption. Like he wrote at start when he downclock his GPU he get 100% usage so it must be PSU who cant deliver right amount of power.

 

[Dragos Manea]

Well his psu should be enought if it has the amps it says (it stated that it has 64 amps) so lets do the math, 35 amps gpu, 13 amps cpu, 7 amps mobo, and lets say 5 more rest of the system, it should be a close call, so a 70-75 amps psu it is recommended.

 

[Rcr1094]

Ty for the replies guys.. I was only able to solve heating problem on the cpu.. It seems like I put the fans on the cooler on the wrong directions.. I corrected their positions and my cpu is a lot more cooler now.. I overclocked it to 4.6 ghz with 1.42v and it reaches highest 50'c ... But my gpu usage is still under 60 :/ ..
But fps seemed to be better... here is the last I did today: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6732717..

For those who thinks my psu is not enough.. They might be right because I have 4 extra 12mm fans in pc and 2 x 12mm fans on my cpu cooler.. But unfortunately I have no chance to try another one right one :/

 

[Dragos Manea]

in every benchmark the 290x gets over 14k points, i dont know what to say,it seems like a thermal throtling(gpu overheating) or not enought power for your gpu. I really dont know what to say, onyl thing to test is another 290x and see if it does the same. If it doesnt then it is your gpu, if it does it is motherboard or psu (more likely to be psu).

 

[Rcr1094]

in every benchmark the 290x gets over 14k points, i dont know what to say,it seems like a thermal throtling(gpu overheating) or not enought power for your gpu. I really dont know what to say, onyl thing to test is another 290x and see if it does the same. If it doesnt then it is your gpu, if it does it is motherboard or psu (more likely to be psu).

Actually this is the 2nd R9 290X doing the same thing.. Because I returned the first one because of this problem as I said earlier.. I will try to find a stronger PSU like 1000W to see if it works... I will post the results here.

 

[st3v30]

You dont need 1000W PSU you just need quality one that can deliver stable power.
Try to downclock GPU and then test with 3dmark cuz you stated above that when you downlock it you get 100% usage.

 

[st3v30]

Here is video that will help you chose PSU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKnfmeuOmXc

 

[Rcr1094]

You dont need 1000W PSU you just need quality one that can deliver stable power.
Try to downclock GPU and then test with 3dmark cuz you stated above that when you downlock it you get 100% usage.

Yes, it hits %100 GPU usage when I downclock my gpu to the bottom in MSI Afterburner..
Thank you for the video and advice. I will do the test today after 6 hours since I am at work right now Yes,

 

[st3v30]

Dont downlock to the bottom just few MHz.
Reference r9 290x have Core at 800 Mhz and memory at 1250.
Try those values.

 

[Rcr1094]

Dont downlock to the bottom just few MHz.
Reference r9 290x have Core at 800 Mhz and memory at 1250.
Try those values.

well, I tried that too.. result were same.. But I did not run the test, which is what I am planning to do tonight..

 

[st3v30]

Also try to lock your PCIe Bus speed to 100 Mhz manually in BIOS.

 

[Rcr1094]

Also try to lock your PCIe Bus speed to 100 Mhz manually in BIOS.

It is already at 100 mhz as far as I remember.. But I will check and make sure... Thanks.

 

[Rcr1094]

Also try to lock your PCIe Bus speed to 100 Mhz manually in BIOS.

Here is the test and the values of my graphic card in the test.. What I relized that when I downclocked my GPU .. CPU usage went lower and my GPU usage hit %100... It really seems that it has nothing to do with my both CPU and GPU... Maybe it is really mobo or my psu...

Test result: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/6741632?
GPU values: http://imgim.com/7954inciu4069306.png

 

[st3v30]

Those are clocks when GPU is in desktop mode.
Does any of your friends have same card or at last GTX 970 or r9 290 so he can borrow you for test.

 

[Dragos Manea]

Those are clocks when GPU is in desktop mode.
Does any of your friends have same card or at last GTX 970 or r9 290 so he can borrow you for test.

He already tried another r9 290x and has the same issue.

 

[Shark1965]

I noticed on your 3Dmark score that your graphics driver is not approved. Are you using the beta? If so try the 14:12 omega driver. Sometimes beta drivers don't play nice. Since it's a fresh Install have you installed the chip-set driver? Also how much system ram do you have and are you running 32 or 64bit OS? Specs say minimum 4 gigs of ram and 64bit OS. For a quick test on your power supply disconnect fans, disconnect all hard drives but your main drive and your cdrom. Also disconnect any USB drives as they also draw power. Set your CPU back to stock speeds then run 3Dmark and see if it's any better(leave the side of your case off for ventilation). If nothing changes I would have to say your CPU is a bottle neck.

 

[Rcr1094]

I noticed on your 3Dmark score that your graphics driver is not approved. Are you using the beta? If so try the 14:12 omega driver. Sometimes beta drivers don't play nice. Since it's a fresh Install have you installed the chip-set driver? Also how much system ram do you have and are you running 32 or 64bit OS? Specs say minimum 4 gigs of ram and 64bit OS. For a quick test on your power supply disconnect fans, disconnect all hard drives but your main drive and your cdrom. Also disconnect any USB drives as they also draw power. Set your CPU back to stock speeds then run 3Dmark and see if it's any better(leave the side of your case off for ventilation). If nothing changes I would have to say your CPU is a bottle neck.

I just started to use this beta driver for GTA V and it is really cool.. Before that I was using 14.12 omega.. Problem was still there.. I have 8 gigs ram and 64 bit w8.1 OS.. All drivers and bioses are up the date.. I tried many many things in my pc to solve this but nothing worked so far... tomorrow I will try my friend's psu. It is 650W .. I'll see if it make any difference..