Low GPU Usage

[phasmantis]

Okay, so I'm sure you've all heard this topic before, but here goes. To start off, here is my system;

Q6600 @3.0ghz, GTX 470 @ 760/1850, 4gb DDR2 800 (Going to DDR3 1333 tomorrow, if the mail comes ;- 700w PSU, GA-P35C-DS3R Motherboard.

So, i am getting around 40-60% GPU usage in games like BC2 and GTA4, resulting in lower than normal frames. My CPU is running around 60-75 load on each core. Now, I would consider my CPU a bottleneck, but some times my GPU will kick up to 80-90 percent GPU usage and the games will run high 60s-80s like butter for about 10 seconds. Then it goes back down. Why am I experience this issue? Any tips, recommendations (I've reinstalled drivers several times), or answers?

Mafia II, on the other hand, runs like a dream with everything maxed and physx set to high. No lag, 60 FPS constant, 70-90 gpu usage... is it just the games? I take that back, it runs at high GPU usage most of the time. Some times it doesn't, and the FPS drops. What is going on =(.

Thanks in advance.

 

[aznshinobi]

I'd recommend upping the OC. Try OCing to around... 3.4-5? Also, I suggest running BC2 at the highest settings possible, that might just minimize the bottleneck a bit =P

 

[phasmantis]

It is at the highest possible! =(

 

[aznshinobi]

what's your screen res?

 

[phasmantis]

1680x1050. I don't think that should be a problem though... I see better results on benchmarks with this card at that resolution. I forced 32x AA and it helped a little, but I can't think of what else to do to make my card stay the workhorse. I know it can, because it does sometimes, (most of the time it does in Mafia II) and also I set it to prefer max performance for 3d applications.

 

[aznshinobi]

Yeah, Sometimes low res can also bottle neck a card so... That's why I asked.

 

[phasmantis]

Hm. Any other ideas?