Potential CPU Bottle Necking

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Dec 2, 2015
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Hello,
I have a weird situation going on right now and I'm not sure what to do about it.

My specs are the GTX 980ti (6gb of VRAM), AMD FX-8350 Eight Core Processor, 16gb of DDR3 ram, and a gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 motherboard.

Up until now when playing games I've assumed that the bottleneck on my system is the CPU because it's a mid-budget AMD CPU. Today I decided to look at MSI Afterburner while playing Overwatch and noticed that my GPU was at 100% usage and it was using ~1,500mb of VRAM while my CPU was at ~70% usage. My first thought was that maybe it's just a really high GPU intensive game, but that didn't make sense due to the performance I am getting (If you're familiar with OW I'm getting around 120fps on low...). I've talked to some of my friends running lower-end setups and they are achieving more FPS than I am on about the same settings. Also, if my GPU has 6gb of VRAM then why isn't ~6,000mb of VRAM 100% usage instead of my 1,500mb?

Any help would be appreciated, if you want to know more info on something I didn't mention please ask if it helps solve my problem.

If it is the CPU that is the problem, what would you recommend as a new one? I'm currently looking at the 6700k but I'm not sure.

Thanks!
 
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CTurbo
Well for one, your cpu is far too weak for your video card, but unfortunately it's worse than that. Your motherboard is not good enough for your cpu.


Upgrade your motherboard and cpu.
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What makes a motherboard good? I was under the impression the only difference was chipset and available ports
 
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ItsSpicy

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Hello!

I know how you feel and CTurbo is the lord and savior on this post as well. He is correct regarding the MOBO as I've had the same problem a few years back, pairing the 8350 with an ASUS M5A78L-LE. What solved it for me was a worthy upgrade to an ASUS Sabertooth 990FX, which seemingly fixed my issues with FPS drops and overall stabilized my system.

What I can share is that an Upgrade of the Motherboard could make a pretty significant difference; The "Bottleneck" between the 8350 and 980Ti is something I will leave to someone far more knowledgable than me to answer, given the fact that my 8350 (albeit Overclocked) is running fairly efficiently alongside a GTX 1070, with rare performance dips.
 
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What should I look for in a MOBO? Just hings like compatibility with a 125w CPU (Or however many watts my new CPU would have) like CTurbo said or is there more to it?
 
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ItsSpicy

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Well, it certainly seems like you have a gaming-rig and it would be somewhat beneficial to get a "gaming" mobo (any mobo in the 990FX series is practically built for gaming) that works with your specs. Nonetheless, the two most important aspects i'd say is to have the right supported wattage ( In your case 125W) and the 990FX series of motherboards, if you stick with the AMD FX-8350. Other than that, its ultimately decided by your own needs and preferences, like, if you are going to overclock.

If you switch to intel, just make sure that you have the same socket on the mobo as the CPU, check the supported wattage, and you're pretty much good to go. I think CTurbo is the Go-To guy for any more info regarding Intel questions. :)

A few decent ones that i can suggest for the FX-8350:
(Your current CPU belongs to the AMD AM3+ socket fyi)

MSI 990FXA Gaming
Gigabyte GA-990FX-Gaming
ASUS ROG Crosshair V Formula-Z,
ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R3.0 <- I'm currently having this one equipped. Solid af.
 
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CTurbo

CTurbo

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It's tricky. On one hand, I wouldn't bother getting a new better motherboard for your FX because is still too weak for your 980ti. Don't get me wrong, performance would definitely improve with a better mobo. This is the quickest and easiest thing to do. But if you can afford to upgrade your motherboard AND cpu, that would be best. If not, the Gigabyte GA 970A-UD3P is a great board for a decent price.
 
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ItsSpicy

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^ Yes. Intel or Zen would be wortwhile Saving up/waiting for.
However, I think the "Bottleneck" dilemmas between the 8350 and the 1070-80 (in Your case 980Ti) are somewhat exaggerated, CTurbo is right in the fact that the CPU is a bit weak, BUT, the performance in games are not as impacted as people make it look like. So, whatever fits your budget should decide it.
A mobo that supports efficient overclocking can probably give you another year & 1/2 with the 8350 and reduce the gap between the CPU and GPU.

CTurbo, my 8350 is OC'd to a fine 4.6Ghz running stable, alongside the 1070, and there's actually no issue at all. The only thing that could be notable is that the average framerate in games such as Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield 1 are slightly below in comparison to an i7 6700 by a mere 10-13 FPS.

The RM750x works like a charm btw.
 
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