Why does this happen?

t99

Honorable
Jul 16, 2014
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I play some games and notice that the fps will be lower than desired, but yet the gpu is not running constantly at 100%, same with the cpu. Is this just poor optimization in some games? A few games I've noticed lately (don't want to give exact game names as to cause issues with a 100% unrelated post) will have large fps drops while the gpu / cpu usage is not at 100%. For example I can get 80fps in most of a game and then in a specific area it drops to 40fps. Getting the 80fps only uses 80% gpu and 80% cpu. Now in these few areas it will drop to 40 no matter what resolution or settings and the gpu / cpu usage will not rise in order to try to get higher fps. I would think the usage would rise higher, say to 100% so I can get more fps?

Does not appear to be a power issue because often in heavy areas when getting 80+fps I see 100% usage at around 160w which from what I've read is normal for an rx 480. If the CPU usage were at 100% and the GPU is sitting at 70% I would think ok cpu bottleneck is causing the fps to cap out, but neither is at 100% when I experience this.
 
Solution
Some games are just coded to use more cpu resources than others.
Besides increasing your resolution, there is no guaranteed way to make your gpu max out 24/7.
Big open areas? That task is generally left to the cpu, especially with other players around. When you put the resolution to 720, you made it even harder for the cpu.
 
MERGED QUESTION
Question from t99 : "Anyone get short flash green screen after playing destiny 2?"



Post only ONE thread per topic please. Thanks.
 


I don't really see how these 2 things are related. This post is about multiple games in general where I simply used destiny 2 as an example, but it is something I noticed in many games. this is about gpu usage being low despite the fps not being at their desired levels, why doesn't it simply push further to try to achieve the higher fps..

the other one is 100% different in every possible way and the 2 post have literally nothing to do with each other other than destiny is the example game I used in this post. they aren't even post in the same category because they are completely different questions with nothing in common other than the example game used. there is a green flashing sreen after playing destiny, this has nothing to do with gpu or cpu usage and i'm not trying to ask people with this specific gpu. I am trying to ask other people who play destiny 2 on pc if they experience this green screen flashing after they are done playing..

So now that the post which had nothing to do with this one is merged, how are people who play destiny 2 on pc suppose to see it? I honestly don't see how you come to this conclusion to post this as I already mentioned. I just realized after that it seems to be all merged into here. I guess now just have to hope someone randomly sees it since it's all linked together in a category that has absolutely nothing to do with the post.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't see the connection here. If I had posted in the same category, ok perhaps I could make the title longer, but they are posted in different categories because they are different situations. I will remove destiny 2 as the example game from this post as it's not relevant to the question in any possible way, it's simply an example of a game that could be replaced with about 5 others.
 


when I see this in a few games the gpu and cpu are not pushed constantly to 100%. if it were requiring more cpu and the gpu was not at 100%, but the cpu was then it seems like it would be the cpu is a bottleneck, but that's not the case. I was playing homefront 2 and some areas the fps will dip to low 50s, but the usage of the cpu / gpu are not pushing a constant 100%. this just seems strange to me. it seems like the computer should push the hardware as far as it can possibly go unless I am achieving the desired framerate. why would it simply settle with say 80% on the cpu, 70% on the gpu and 53fps when I want it to do whatever is needed to hit 60fps. seems like pushing further would move the fps up?

 
An oversight or some lazy programming here and there, it's nothing unusual.
If you were expecting a constant 60+ fps in all your games with an I5 4460, then you set your expectations a little high.

As for the green screen issue, are you overclocking the 480(current settings may not actually be stable)? Fresh install of the latest drivers?
Or could be the cable plugged to the card is defective - test with a spare cable, if one is laying around.
 
Same system, same game, same topic as far as I'm concerned. There is absolutely no reason that those who are helping you with one specific issue related to the same system and same game cannot help you with the other, especially since it's almost certain that the two are related. You are not going to run multiple threads on so closely related a topic. End of story. Likely you solve this issue and there will not be the other, likely same, issue.

Further attempts to complain can be directed to the community staff if you don't like the decision.
 


It's almost always the CPU holding things back when the GPU is below 90% usage (without a fps cap) and it does not require the CPU to be at 100%. It doesn't even require 1 core to be at 100%. CPU tasks are not typically things that run in parallel. They handle linear tasks, so while one core is maxed out, other cores will be left unused, or used for other tasks that don't max out their cores, resulting in less than 100% usage. Even then, on the 1 core that is holding back the GPU, it may not need to operate at 100% while the GPU is rendering, but is slammed between frames, while it loads up the instructions for the next frame. It would still be the CPU holding things back, but it's not operating at 100%.

The CPU side of things is extremely complex, and even when it is the bottleneck, is almost never is at 100% usage.
 
Solution
Probably might help if you bothered to post your system specs. At least, if you want somebody to actually be able to help you sort out your issue. Rather than going on and on about merging your two threads, it also would likely be helpful if you posted what, if anything, you have actually done to try and resolve the issue.

Have you bothered to update your motherboard bios to the latest version that is not newer than the end of December, since most the bios releases since December are completely buggy due to the microcode changes released to deal with the speculative execution bugs known as Meltdown and Spectre? If you do not have the latest bios version prior to the end of December installed, I would do that.

If you have installed a bios update that is newer than December, I would flash back to the version prior to that.


Have you done a full clean install of the GPU card drivers? And I don't mean just an "install" or "updated to the latest drivers". I mean a CLEAN install using the DDU?

*Graphics card CLEAN install tutorial using the DDU*


If not, I would do THAT.


It's probably also a good idea to check your motherboard product page and see if there are newer chipset drivers available.

These are all things that could, or might not, be factors.

As I said, knowing your system specs and listing what you have tried previously to resolve the issue would also be helpful to these members who are trying to help you.

 
Everything runs great for the most part and is up to date as much as I want for right now. Did not post system specs because I do not see how they are relevant here. Perhaps I could have worded the initial post better. I was looking mostly for information about it being a possible bottleneck which was explained by "bystander". I assumed that because the cpu was not at 100% maxed out that it was not a bottleneck, but if it's possible the cpu can be at 90% or lower and still be a bottleneck, that actually makes a lot of sense here. The other thing I was looking for was relating to if it could simply be an issue of optimization. Where the fps are simply going to dip no matter what. Maybe some areas of games simply have issues with them and it is what it is.
 
System specs are relevant to EVERY post, EVERY time, regardless of WHAT the issue is, unless it's not computer related at all or is single application specific.

Your premise, based on what bystander has said is totally accurate. It CAN be a bottleneck without seeing 100% CPU usage and optimization on a specific title CAN be a problem, relevant, as well. This is part of the reason why the system specs are always important.

If you are running a GTX 1060 with an FX-4300 then the chances are HIGH that you have a bottleneck and are CPU resource limited whereas if you are running a GTX 1070 with a threadripper CPU it is completely unlikely that you are seeing a CPU bottleneck at all. Even knowing what card you are running and at what in game settings helps to identify that because if you are running a Haswell i5, for example, that might not be the best performer available right now but you are running a GTX 1060 at ultra settings, it would be a lot less likely that your problem was actually a "bottleneck" rather than something else like a fubared driver framework or poor hardware support from a problematic bios version.


Also, keep in mind for the future that moderators can still see your deleted posts, so you probably don't want to post and then delete something you would prefer that they didn't see. Just sayin'. Not a problem with that ^^ one you deleted, but in case you ever decide to post that ******** moderator is a *********** asshat, and then delete it, we can still see it. Just FYI. :)
 


The only reason that game was mentioned is that I simply used it as an example. We could replace that game with a different one, they are not related to each other and I did remove any trace of destiny 2. I will just have to pay more attention to these little things like specific game names when they are not relevant. I used the name, purely as an example because I did not see how it was an issue, but now I know despite being unrelated, simply having the same games name in 2 unrelated post automatically ties them together no matter what. That's on me, I should not have assumed that someone would read 2 100% completely unrelated post and somehow tie them together. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't see how anyone could come to this conclusion.

I am really just trying to understand.. A post about gpu / cpu usage not maxing out while fps is lower than ideal / possible cpu bottleneck (that is what this post is actually about, it's not about destiny or any specific game, those are just examples) and then a post about some weird graphical glitch in a SPECIFIC game.. How are the 2 somehow related? They literally have nothing to do with each other. It sounds like you jump to the conclusion that they must be related simply because I used Destiny as an example in this post.

It's almost like if someone posted "I like apple pie, do you have a recipe" and then they also posted "signs of food poisoning possibly from eating fruit. I ate an apple and 2 oranges". Then someone tied them all into one simply because both post mention the word apples. One is posted under -recipes - desserts and the other under -illness - food poisoning..

Someone then tosses the food poisoning question into the same category as the dessert recipes despite both post being completely different. Now anyone looking for info on food poisoning or perhaps to answer questions about it won't see it because it's mixed in with desserts.

We can agree to disagree about this. I was bothered because I don't see the connection, not even in the slightest of ways and it feels like you jumped the gun on trying to link these 2 unrelated things. I don't see how people who might experience the same issue with the green screen will see that post now that it's linked into a totally different area under - hardware - gpu..

that is my last response about this and not trying to be an ahole about it.


 


thanks for the info
 
I've seen approximately, lets see, if I figure that about half of the 715 graphics card solutions I've been awarded here were due to driver issues, and they were, then that makes about 357, give or take, that had poor CPU and GPU performance in games, plus some kind of graphical glitch or issue, or failure to fully load games, or systems that simply crashed during games or ten other things, often ALL of them in some form or another, at the same time, that were ONLY due to driver related problems.

That's how they are related. I was going to try and help with your issue, because I felt kind of bad about lumping your two threads together when it wasn't ABSOLUTELY certain that they were the same issue, even though I believe them to be, but since you still seem to want to just go on and on about it after three PMs and two visits to the subject in here, I will bid you adieu and hopefully one of these other folks can help you out. Good luck.