[SOLVED] Why is my GPU usage so low?

[Neoka]

I bought a pc with a intel i5 6600k and a gtx 1060 6gb factory overclocked but for some reason with every game i play i sit at 100% CPU usage and only 20-40% GPU usage. Any tips on how to use my graphics card more and will this give me better frames?

CPU: Intel i5 6600k
GPU: GTX 1060 6gb factory overclocked
Motherboard: Asus Z170 Pro Gaming rev X.0x
RAM: 16gb
SSD: 256gb
PSU: 1000W Cooler Master

 

[RTX 2080]

Please list your full system specs

 

[Neoka]

Please list your full system specs

CPU: Intel i5 6600k
GPU: GTX 1060 6gb factory overclocked
Motherboard: Asus Z170 Pro Gaming rev X.0x
RAM: 16gb
SSD: 256gb
PSU: 1000W Cooler Master

Sorry I don't know a lot about computers so is this all the stuff you need?

 

[dotas1]

What resolution are you playing at and at what refresh rate?
If you are below Full HD (1920x1080) then CPU is the limiting factor and your frames can not change unless you buy a new monitor with higher resolution.

How are your temps of CPU and GPU idle and while playing?

 

[logainofhades]

What titles are you playing? You could be core limited.

 

[Neoka]

What titles are you playing? You could be core limited.

Fortnite and gta are the ones where i don't get the frames I was expecting. I watched videos with the same cpu and gpu to see what I was buying and they ran it a lot faster and smoother

 

[Neoka]

What resolution are you playing at and at what refresh rate?
If you are below Full HD (1920x1080) then CPU is the limiting factor and your frames can not change unless you buy a new monitor with higher resolution.

How are your temps of CPU and GPU idle and while playing?

My monitors pretty bad its 1680x1050 with 60 hertz but I think I play at 1080 not sure though I’ll double check when I get home. How does this affect my frames? Does having a bad monitor affect CPU and GPU usage?

Not sure how to check my temps and I haven't thought about it but I don't think they get too hot.

 

[hotaru.hino]

As you said the CPU is at 100%, that means it doesn't have enough time left over after running the game logic to send enough work for the GPU to hit 100%. This is the CPU bottleneck condition.

So the only solution here is to upgrade the CPU. If you're worried about just the GPU usage, cranking everything to max quality and using DSR to increase the rendering solution will certainly do it.

 

[Neoka]

As you said the CPU is at 100%, that means it doesn't have enough time left over after running the game logic to send enough work for the GPU to hit 100%. This is the CPU bottleneck condition.

So the only solution here is to upgrade the CPU. If you're worried about just the GPU usage, cranking everything to max quality and using DSR to increase the rendering solution will certainly do it.

I did this thing online to see if maybe my cpu wasn’t good enough for my gpu but it said my gpu was underpowered for the cpu so I didn’t think that could be the problem.

I’ll give that a go when I get home but I don’t think there’s a difference in gpu usage whether I’m on low settings or the highest on my pc, the frames just drop

 

[dotas1]

So the only solution here is to upgrade the CPU.

That is NOT true. It's far easier and less fussy to upgrade to a monitor with higher resolution.

CPU limits your fps in lower resolutions, GPU limits your fps in higher resolutions.
CPU will feed GPU with the necessary data which in lower resolutions can not keep up with the GPUs "speed", hence the 100% usage. In higher resolutions , CPU will provide the data fast enough and since the GPU needs to render more pixels, it becomes the limiting hardware.

My monitors pretty bad its 1680x1050 with 60 hertz

You most probably need to upgrade it since that resolution can bottleneck the system but it does not mean that is the root of the problem. Please check your temps as I asked in my previous post. Use HWinfo in sensor mode.

 

[logainofhades]

My monitors pretty bad its 1680x1050 with 60 hertz but I think I play at 1080 not sure though I’ll double check when I get home. How does this affect my frames? Does having a bad monitor affect CPU and GPU usage?

Not sure how to check my temps and I haven't thought about it but I don't think they get too hot.

Lower resolutions are more CPU demanding. That's why when a reviewer does a CPU review, they choose a lower resolution. These days that is 1080p. Few years back it would have been at 720p. Less load is put on the GPU, as you go down in resolution. I do agree that a 4c/4t CPU is holding you back, to some degree, but your resolution is not doing you any favors, either. Your graphics card doesn't have to work all that hard, at your current resolution. I would suspect that with a 1080p monitor, you would see an improvement, with regards to CPU vs GPU usage. 1440p is a bit much, for your GPU. I would definitely start with the easy upgrade, and get a better monitor.

 

[hotaru.hino]

That is NOT true. It's far easier and less fussy to upgrade to a monitor with higher resolution.

Which was something I hadn't considered at the time of writing, But even then, the CPU is still a 4+ year old quad-core and depending if OP wants to continue playing modern games or wants higher than 60 FPS, I'd argue a better CPU is going to be higher on the priority list after that.

There's also the fact that I believe the real question OP wants answered here is "why am I not getting the FPS I'm expecting?" Load balancing is silly to pursue. A low end Core i3 or a Ryzen 3 with a GT 1030 is certainly balanced, but it isn't going to be blazing fast. So if OP wants to bump up the FPS, they're going to have to get a better CPU.

CPU limits your fps in lower resolutions, GPU limits your fps in higher resolutions.
CPU will feed GPU with the necessary data which in lower resolutions can not keep up with the GPUs "speed", hence the 100% usage. In higher resolutions , CPU will provide the data fast enough and since the GPU needs to render more pixels, it becomes the limiting hardware.

No need to info dump, I already know how this works.

 

[dotas1]

Which was something I hadn't considered at the time of writing, But even then, the CPU is still a 4+ year old quad-core and depending if OP wants to continue playing modern games or wants higher than 60 FPS, I'd argue a better CPU is going to be higher on the priority list after that.

There's also the fact that I believe the real question OP wants answered here is "why am I not getting the FPS I'm expecting?" Load balancing is silly to pursue. A low end Core i3 or a Ryzen 3 with a GT 1030 is certainly balanced, but it isn't going to be blazing fast. So if OP wants to bump up the FPS, they're going to have to get a better CPU.


No need to info dump, I already know how this works.

First of all you said the ONLY solution. That was my argue. After that, I do not disagree that down the road CPU will be a good place to start upgrading.

Second of all, the explanation was done for the OP and not for you,as he asked how the resolution affects his frames.

Third, back to the problem, I am asking OP here, do you have the latest windows updates, gpu drivers, BIOS?

 

[Neoka]

I would definitely start with the easy upgrade, and get a better monitor.

Alright I'll look at some monitors. Got any suggestions?

 

[Neoka]

Third, back to the problem, I am asking OP here, do you have the latest windows updates, gpu drivers, BIOS?

I got latest windows update and gpu drivers but I'm not sure what BIOS is

 

[Neoka]

So if OP wants to bump up the FPS, they're going to have to get a better CPU.

https://www.gpucheck.com/gpu/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060/intel-core-i5-6600k-3-50ghz/#:~:text=In terms of memory, the,should not cause any bottlenecks.&text=avoid FPS loss.-,This combination between GTX 1060 6GB and Intel Core i5,match to avoid FPS loss.

Is this saying my CPU is good for my graphics card? Everyone the videos I've watched with similar specs to me run it better and with high GPU usage.

 

[Neoka]

Please check your temps as I asked in my previous post. Use HWinfo in sensor mode.

CPU got to a max of 58 when I was playing rocket league and GPU got to 67

 

[dotas1]

https://www.gpucheck.com/gpu/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060/intel-core-i5-6600k-3-50ghz/#:~:text=In terms of memory, the,should not cause any bottlenecks.&text=avoid FPS loss.-,This combination between GTX 1060 6GB and Intel Core i5,match to avoid FPS loss.

Is this saying my CPU is good for my graphics card? Everyone the videos I've watched with similar specs to me run it better and with high GPU usage.

Do not trust bottleneck calculators, they are awful. Your CPU is fine when paired with a 1060.
We need to find the root of the problem so we need more answers from you.

You were saying that Fortnite and GTA were the problematic games. Those are the ones you play or just the ones with problem? What fps do you get at Fortnite and GTA?
Run a userbenchmark and post the LINK of the results here. I don't trust it when it comes to results but if there a serious issue you can identify it easier with it.

 

[logainofhades]

Alright I'll look at some monitors. Got any suggestions?

Budget?

 

[Neoka]

You were saying that Fortnite and GTA were the problematic games. Those are the ones you play or just the ones with problem? What fps do you get at Fortnite and GTA?
Run a userbenchmark and post the LINK of the results here. I don't trust it when it comes to results but if there a serious issue you can identify it easier with it.

They're just the main ones I play plus rocket league but that doesn't really need much to run. On Fortnite on the highest setting I sit around 70fps when I'm standing and a little lower when I'm moving. On the lowest I get like 120fps but no matter what settings I'm on it always stutters a lot. Also the GPU usage difference is only 13% from the lowest to highest settings. It was at 25% usage for low settings and 38% for the max settings. I get like 45fps for the benchmark on GTA

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/34694115

 

[Neoka]

Budget?

Under $400 NZ preferably

 

[dotas1]

They're just the main ones I play plus rocket league but that doesn't really need much to run. On Fortnite on the highest setting I sit around 70fps when I'm standing and a little lower when I'm moving. On the lowest I get like 120fps but no matter what settings I'm on it always stutters a lot. Also the GPU usage difference is only 13% from the lowest to highest settings. It was at 25% usage for low settings and 38% for the max settings. I get like 45fps for the benchmark on GTA

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/34694115

Some things that stand out from the results:
RAM is propably at default speeds not at XMP and/or not in dual channel. Make sure that you have RAM placed in the correct slots (1 and 3 or 2 and 4) and enable XMP in BIOS.
Your Background CPU usage during the benchmark was a bit higher than expected (26%). Did you have anything else open during the benchmark? If not, scan your system with malwarebytes.

As for the resolution, do you have any other monitor or TV with higher resolution to test your PC and see if the stuttering remains?

 

[logainofhades]

Under $400 NZ preferably

Here is a list of them, to consider. If you are going to spend that much, you may as well get one with a higher refresh rate.

https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/product...1,6,5&i=50&D=120000,280000&X=5231,40292&P=2,4

 

[Neoka]

Some things that stand out from the results:
RAM is propably at default speeds not at XMP and/or not in dual channel. Make sure that you have RAM placed in the correct slots (1 and 3 or 2 and 4) and enable XMP in BIOS.
Your Background CPU usage during the benchmark was a bit higher than expected (26%). Did you have anything else open during the benchmark? If not, scan your system with malwarebytes

As for the resolution, do you have any other monitor or TV with higher resolution to test your PC and see if the stuttering remains?

Does XMP have anything to do with AI overclocking or something? I saw a video and did some research and it talked about using more power and overheating the machine and it might not be safe. I just had a few tabs of chrome and discord open.

I'll have a look around but I don't think I do