My CPU is Bottle necking my GPU

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

Well I'd like to start this thread by putting my Computer Gear :

CPU : AMD FX(tm)-8120 Eight-Core Processor 3.1 Ghz

RAM : Kingston Hyper X x1 8GB

GPU : Sapphire HD 7850 2GB (OC EDITION) + 1 Extra Sapphire HD 7850 1GB Crossfire X together.

HDD : 500 GB WD Blue Edition .

Mother Board : GIGABYTE 970A-D3 rev 3.0

Power Supply : XFX PRO 850 Watt ( PRO SERIES ).

CASE : Cooler Master K380 Mid Tower .

Monitor : ViewSonic VG1930VM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay after inspecting my gear , I guess anyone will say that I can pretty much run any game at 1440x900 resolution at a stable 60 FPS right.

well there a lot of FPS troubles that I ran into so i decided to do some investigation .

First of all the problem isn't in my OS and it's not OS related at all neither software related .

I started a Game that Have the Most low fps of all (25) FPS in a specific area .

Tried to play with it's graphics settings from high to low , resolution change as well , and collected all the results and found out that it didn't change from 25 FPS at all .

Then to make sure , I started Open hardware monitor and it logged that When running my game ON any settings, The CPU usage was always under 16% ~ 20% while the GPU usage was always at 90~100% usage and i surfed the web searching for some answers and found out that I have a problem called Bottle necking .

Now what I want from you guys is to confirm , is this correct ? what have i done to identify the problem was correct ? again I'd like to say that this problem has no relation with OS or software problems ( like viruses , programs , running applications and i closed all of them and made sure that I'm virus free before doing all of the above ) .

If you think that what i did to identify the problem was right , then do you mind suggesting me a good Upgrades for my CPU that would fit into my motherboard ?

Also Please Tell me is there any way (Software way) to help reduce that Bottle necking at least temporarily until i buy my new CPU ?

I want a good CPU that will be in range of 200~300$ and it has to be AMD because of the AM3 Socket on my Motherboard .

Thanks in advance .

~Best Regards~

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

a 8150 should be able to push that card to the limit what games bud

firo40 · Sep 11, 2014

The best replacement would be the 8350

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

as for that board yes the 8350 is as good as it gets but depending on the game it wont make much difference

RaDiKaL_ · Sep 11, 2014

A FX-8350 will give you a nice boost indeed, but before going that route consider to change to Intel (specially if you plan to play latest games at high framerates), just check this benchmark in gaming and see how far you want to get fps wise:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6396/the-vishera-review-amd-fx8350-fx8320-fx6300-and-fx4300-tested/5

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

AMD FX 8350 4.0 Ghz will be able to run Perfectly with that card ? and If i redid the testing , will i see the CPU usage reach 90~100% with the GPUS .

It happens to all of my games , I tested it . Graphics Settings Doesn't change the FPS in most of my Games and I already tested it with 3 more games , same result no FPS increase neither decrease at all after changing Graphics Settings , But guys is the AMD FX 8350 Future proof ? for how many years .

Thanks again for your fast response guys .

Alec Mowat · Sep 11, 2014

I would pick up a decent H110i CPU cooler and just overclock the FX8150. The 8350 is a step up, but not big enough to justify the cost.

exroofer · Sep 11, 2014

One of the video cars only has 1 GB of vram. In certain games this will be noticeable. Especially since when crossfired, BOTH cards are only using 1 GB of vram. (it does not add the vram together, it mirrors one card to the other.
Some games do not support crossfire/sli at all, or not very well. In those games setting it to only use one gpu actually makes the game run faster, by a lot.

Also, if your cpu usage is low, and gpu usage is high, the cpu is not bottlenecking the card(s). If the cpu usage was high/maxed, and the gpu usage was low, then that would be a sign of cpu bottlenecking.

Need more info on what games, at what resolution, etc.

Also, try using only the 2 GB card and perform the same tests. Let us know what happens.

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

RaDiKaL_ :

isn't changing to Intel gonna make me change the whole motherboard as well because of the CPU socket ?

If that so , I guess it ain't worth it ? or maybe i will do it in the future , but currently can i do anything about it I'm thinking that i will save to get the AMD FX 8350 , but can't i just OverClock my AMD FX 8120 3.1 Ghz to anything or it's not safe ?

Alec Mowat · Sep 11, 2014

supervirus5 :

Yes, it isn't worth it, and just over clock it. It's baby steps. The i5 won't be a huge boost unless you go with the 4670K, which is going to cost a decent amount with a new motherboard.

exroofer · Sep 11, 2014

You also show one card as an OC version and one not. Are they running at the same speed or different speeds?

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

first are you getting readings from both cards when gaming

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

exroofer :

Tested on "Dragon Nest" , "Path of Exile" , "League of Legends" , "Far Cry 3" , "Watch Dogs"

Maximum resolution is 1440x900 , FPS didn't change for most of the games above although i decreased it's graphics settings a lot and i tired to run them on lower resolution with no hope Around 30~50 FPS . which isn't what i expect it for a 1400x900 resolution , I should be running them on 60 FPS stable all the time on that resolution .

And for the 2GB card , I tried the tests with ever card alone , same result , same FPS , same usage.

you said that If my CPU usage was low and GPU max , then it's not CPU bottle necking, then what can i say about it ? Why doesn't the CPU go to 100% usage to improve the FPS , Why is my FPS under 30 in some old games that run on 1440x900 resolution at lowest settings ?

Thanks for your Information , I'm waiting a reply.

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

low cpu usage with high gpu usually but not always means its the card limiting you but are you sure both cards are running

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

exroofer :

They are the same Models But with different Vram (1GBVRAM and the other is 2GBVRAM) and the OC version is just like the other but already OCed.

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

coolcole01 :

Yeah I'm pretty sure that both of them are running , downloaded Furmark to test and noticed a 30 FPS increase with i enabled Crossfire , when i disabled it the 30FPS decreased .

so I guess both are working right .

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

just remember crossfire does not work unless you are in full screen

supervirus5 · Sep 11, 2014

coolcole01 :

Thanks for your information , but I'm now in a complete loss , Is my cards slow that they are Bottle necking my CPU , or Is my CPU bottle necking the cards or I should change the Cpu + GPUs + Motherboard , to rest in peace ?

I'm really tired since i just bought that new PSU : XFX pro series 850 Watt .

Alec Mowat · Sep 11, 2014

supervirus5 :

Overclock the CPU and see if it makes a difference. The 8350 isn't going to improve performance all that much.

You could also try disabling the SLI and just using the OC card to see if you are getting similar/worse/better results.

coolcole01 · Sep 11, 2014

sounds like something different to me i just built a rig for a guy with two hd 7870 and it could play bf4 with fps (ultra) to spare could you check the ccc settings for anti aliasing and see if you have it set to super sampling ssao should be set to multi for your rig.

My CPU is Bottle necking my GPU

Honorable

Splendid

Splendid

Splendid

Splendid

Honorable

Honorable

Distinguished

Honorable

Honorable

Distinguished

Splendid

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Honorable

Honorable

Splendid

Share this page