Weird bottleneck issues, getting more fps at 4k than at 1080?

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promo25

promo25

Commendable
Dec 13, 2016
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1,510
I recently got a great deal on a R9 fury nitro, but I have a weird problem.

My CPU should be bottlenecking it since it's an old FX 8120 overclocked at 4Ghz, but none of the cores reaches more than 70% while playing GTAV for example.

I don't get 60 frames with everything in ultra on 1080p but I get a 10fps increase if I set the GTAV resolution to 4k after enabling oversampling on the AMD drivers. I have a 1080p monitor so there is no visual difference, only fps increase. Why does this happen? It should run worse at 4k and better at 1080p.

I checked the CPU usage while playing and it's 4 cores at 70% and 4 at 30%, I thought when you were at 90% or nearby it meant that you were bottlenecking but it seems like there is plenty of room for the game to use more cpu.

My previous card, a 6950 was always at 100% and CPU was around 60% so no CPU bottleneck. The R9 Fury usage goes from 1% to 100% then 70% then 12%, pretty unstable so I really have no idea of what's going on here. Is it really a bottleneck or is there something wrong with my card/drivers/other hardware like the psu or ram?
Thanks

CPU usage:
2392dc7e0182cd694883eb0c011e1490.png


GPU usage:
b751605adaf6dd87abc7ecbea6e7d384.jpg


System:
AMD FX Series FX-8120 3.1Ghz OC @ 4Ghz
Cooler Master GX 750W V2
Heatsink Noctua NH-U9B SE2
G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 1600 PC3-12800 8GB 2x4GB CL9
Asus Sabertooth 990FX AM3+
Sapphire R9 Fury Nitro OC 4GB HBM
 
Solution
Barty1884
Bottlenecking doesn't necessarily need to be maxed out on GPU or CPU and nowhere near on the other. That's the most common scenario, but pairning a really strong GPU with a mid-level CPU can see neither hitting close to 100%.,

At 4K your R9 Fury can 'take over' in certain situations, limiting the CPU's use - but not consistently. In essence, the R9 Fury is doing all/most of the work at 4K in some situations/scenes, but when the CPU is called in to do it's job, it can't keep up.
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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Bottlenecking doesn't necessarily need to be maxed out on GPU or CPU and nowhere near on the other. That's the most common scenario, but pairning a really strong GPU with a mid-level CPU can see neither hitting close to 100%.,

At 4K your R9 Fury can 'take over' in certain situations, limiting the CPU's use - but not consistently. In essence, the R9 Fury is doing all/most of the work at 4K in some situations/scenes, but when the CPU is called in to do it's job, it can't keep up.
 
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Solution
promo25

promo25

Commendable
Dec 13, 2016
4
0
1,510

Thanks, this makes sense. What can I do to increase the CPU performance? I could overclock it more if I had watercooling, will the performance increase enough to keep up with the fury if I overclock it to around 4.5-4.7Ghz? Is there any AM3+ CPU that will not be bottlenecking with the fury?
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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To improve your CPU performance, the only option would be to OC it further with a decent cooler (you could do it on high-end air like a NH-D15 too, so liquid isn't the only option), but you'd need a bit of luck on the motherboard too for a quality OC - I don't know too much about that board. There's no AM3+ CPU I'd recommend upgrading to. A stable 9590 would get you closer, but requires one of a specific (and small) list of motherboards that truly support it - and that's a heck of a $$ investment to get you 'closer', but still not very 'close'.

You would need an extremely strong OC to pair equally with a R9 Fury (like, record-setting OC!!), but the more you can do to the CPU, the lesser the performance impact will be.
 
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promo25

promo25

Commendable
Dec 13, 2016
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1,510


Well I guess I can wait for Zen and if they're good for gaming get one. If it sucks I'll have to go with intel :/

 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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Yeah, now is not the time to be upgrading. Wait for Zen. Hopefully it offers competition. It might be cheaper/equal performance, or it might force Intel to lower prices etc.

Either way, even if Skylake/Kabylake is the way to go, it won't be any more expensive in a couple of months.

Until then, I'd just suggest you OC the 8120 as far as you can, stable. Investing in something like an NH-D15 wouldn't be a bad idea to accomplish this, and you can always move it to a new build when the time comes.
 
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promo25

promo25

Commendable
Dec 13, 2016
4
0
1,510

Will that noctua or other coolers work with AM4? Because unless its the same size as AM3+ I'll need special brackets or something.



 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
Apr 16, 2015
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I haven't heard much for AM4 and a new socket layout, but Noctua are the people to go with - even if there is a new socket, Noctua will send you the mounting brackets:

We provide mounting upgrades for Noctua CPU coolers free of charge, so if you would like to continue using your Noctua cooler on a new socket, we will send you a new mounting kit at no additional cost. For ordering our mounting kits, a proof of purchase (photo, scan or screenshot of the invoice) of both a Noctua CPU cooler and hardware components corresponding to the specific kit are required.
Click to expand...

http://noctua.at/en/support
 
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