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]

Ask him to bring his GPU also hehe.

 

[Rcr1094]

Ask him to bring his GPU also hehe.

welll his gpu is actually old.. I have already another gpu's for myself such as gtx 470 and hd 7850... I do not run into these issues with them.. only when I install my 290X, does this start to happen..

 

[st3v30]

Is his PSU good one cuz it might burn if you put it in your system if it is low quality.

 

[Rcr1094]

Is his PSU good one cuz it might burn if you put it in your system if it is low quality.

I dont actually know :/ All I know it is 650W psu... I dont even know if it is 80 plus

 

[st3v30]

well that can be huge problem.

 

[bobbybluz]

Personally I'd put a good PSU such as a Seasonic 750-850 watt in for more than one reason. The AMD mobo chipset will also limit performance of a R9 290X, I have a few of them and they do far better in Intel 4790K & Z87/Z97 platforms.

 

[HeroicKevin92]

Look into programs from iobit. Advanced System Care 8 did wonders for my pc that was already 100%. And my Dads eMachine from 2004 that took 5 minutes just to get to the internets home page. Trust me look into it, they give you 3 pc keys to share with anyone. And the prgrams are at such a low price its amazing. TRUST ME, it can't hurt. Goodluck

 

[alsmith]

Look into programs from iobit. Advanced System Care 8 did wonders for my pc that was already 100%. And my Dads eMachine from 2004 that took 5 minutes just to get to the internets home page. Trust me look into it, they give you 3 pc keys to share with anyone. And the prgrams are at such a low price its amazing. TRUST ME, it can't hurt. Goodluck

It sounds like you work for them? This is not something that will be resolved by adding random unrelated software.

 

[Dragos Manea]

Look into programs from iobit. Advanced System Care 8 did wonders for my pc that was already 100%. And my Dads eMachine from 2004 that took 5 minutes just to get to the internets home page. Trust me look into it, they give you 3 pc keys to share with anyone. And the prgrams are at such a low price its amazing. TRUST ME, it can't hurt. Goodluck

It sounds like you work for them? This is not something that will be resolved by adding random unrelated software.

I agree.

 

[Rcr1094]

well that can be huge problem.

I tried a different pc.. I actually tried many many things last night but most of them did not work since my friend's pc is kinda old... What I was able to achieve that I put my graphic card and PSU on his system (since his psu did not run my GPU :/ ). He has a first generation i5 processor and low ram (2gb) .. and result were same.. fluctuating gpu usage....... so I was wrong to blame my CPU maybe.. Rest of the stuff I tried did not work..

This test left me 2 choices... Either my psu is not good or my GPU (2nd same gpu actually since I already returned one and got this one in return) is somehow broken...

 

[Dragos Manea]

well that can be huge problem.

I tried a different pc.. I actually tried many many things last night but most of them did not work since my friend's pc is kinda old... What I was able to achieve that I put my graphic card and PSU on his system (since his psu did not run my GPU :/ ). He has a first generation i5 processor and low ram (2gb) .. and result were same.. fluctuating gpu usage....... so I was wrong to blame my CPU maybe.. Rest of the stuff I tried did not work..

This test left me 2 choices... Either my psu is not good or my GPU (2nd same gpu actually since I already returned one and got this one in return) is somehow broken...

Since i saw your 3d mark scores i told you that is something wrong with your gpu or the power that the gpu receives.

 

[Rcr1094]

well that can be huge problem.

I tried a different pc.. I actually tried many many things last night but most of them did not work since my friend's pc is kinda old... What I was able to achieve that I put my graphic card and PSU on his system (since his psu did not run my GPU :/ ). He has a first generation i5 processor and low ram (2gb) .. and result were same.. fluctuating gpu usage....... so I was wrong to blame my CPU maybe.. Rest of the stuff I tried did not work..

This test left me 2 choices... Either my psu is not good or my GPU (2nd same gpu actually since I already returned one and got this one in return) is somehow broken...

Since i saw your 3d mark scores i told you that is something wrong with your gpu or the power that the gpu receives.

yes, now we are sure of it.. but I have another problem now.. since I put my parts back to my case my system would not start??When I push the power button, lights are up fans start to turn, but the system keeps restarting itself .. nothing comes up the screen.. I think I plugged something wrong. I will try to fix it tonight..

It sucks to have a problem.. Because it raises another problem on the way to fix it

 

[Dragos Manea]

Well now we are sure, it is the psu. This is a dead psu sign 😀. If everything is connected properly and does this be sure it is the psu.

 

[st3v30]

OFC your GPU will fluctuate on his 1st gen i5.That CPU is weaker than yours.
We asked you before have you tested in any other game than GTA V.Games that use little cpu but full GPU are Metro Last Light Redux and Tomb Raider.
Try to test on them.
Here are 2 PSU that are good if you decide to switch your's

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-power-supply-rs850afbag1us

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-power-supply-rs750amaag1s1

 

[Dragos Manea]

I agree a 60-70 amps on the 12v line would be suited for you that means a branded psu with 750W.

EDIT: I personally prefer seasonic, it a very good quality psu.

 

[Rcr1094]

Well now we are sure, it is the psu. This is a dead psu sign 😀. If everything is connected properly and does this be sure it is the psu.

but psu was working fine on the other system?? When I plugged everything back, something went wrong and system would not open..

 

[Dragos Manea]

Well that remains to be seen, after all u had problems no? And we all suspected that is the psu or the GPU.

 

[Rcr1094]

OFC your GPU will fluctuate on his 1st gen i5.That CPU is weaker than yours.
We asked you before have you tested in any other game than GTA V.Games that use little cpu but full GPU are Metro Last Light Redux and Tomb Raider.
Try to test on them.
Here are 2 PSU that are good if you decide to switch your's

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-power-supply-rs850afbag1us

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-power-supply-rs750amaag1s1

Fluctuating issue is visible on every game actually, no matter which hardware it requires... I think the gpu usage should be like stable 40-50 if there is a bottleneck.. But my issue is different because I see 0 as well.. It is never stable...
Here is a video I took with my previous R9 290X that I returned.. Watch the GPU usage please.. You will see what I mean.. This is not an ordinary bottleneck imo..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sURJMLgZlyQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[st3v30]

Use some better monitoring software like MSI Afterburner + RivaTuner Statistics Server.
As you can see your FPS is same and usage hit 0% that is software error.

 

[Rcr1094]

Use some better monitoring software like MSI Afterburner + RivaTuner Statistics Server.
As you can see your FPS is same and usage hit 0% that is software error.

Yes it does the same on MSI afterburner as well FPS is lower than it should but no freezing even if it hits 0 or low usage like 10-20...

 

[st3v30]

Ok after all that i still think it is PSU.
Can you test game in Tomb Raider since that game is mostly GPU bound.

 

[Rcr1094]

Ok after all that i still think it is PSU.
Can you test game in Tomb Raider since that game is mostly GPU bound.

Sure I will.. I will fix my pc tonight and start downloading Tomb Raider..

 

[st3v30]

Ok best of luck.

 

[Rcr1094]

Ok best of luck.

I think I wrecked my mobo 😀 😀 No matter how hard I tried, I am unable to start the system... It just keeps restarting itself even if I take off the GPU and Ram and everything else except cpu and psu... I am sure it is not PSU because it was working on the another system.. and cpu was ok before these processes... Now I will have to get new mobo.. And I am sure it will not be AMD again!

 

[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.

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..

Watched your YouTube video and I seen absolutely no bottleneck happening. Lets say your game uses 2 threads. If there was a bottleneck those two cores would be maxed out. When maxed out your gpu usage would drop because the cpu can't keep up. I didn't see that at all. I think that's the software giving wrong values. As for the no post I would get your PSU tested to see if it's fried before replacing your board and cpu. I have to agree with the others that suggest your PSU is toast. Bring it to a local computer store and have them test it. If you should need a new one make sure it's made by Seasonic as they are the best. I have a rule of thumb when buying a PSU. If the system takes 500 watts to run I buy a 1000 watt PSU. Why the over kill? That's because the PSU runs at it's best efficiency at 50% usage. Plus you will get a few builds from one power supply.