"CPU, GPU, RAM" low % usage

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ranij93

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I have already asked this question some days ago but never got an answer.

it is a question that i thought about some times.

Example, i am running a game like on 1920x1200.. and the fps are around 30-40 fps while the GPU usage is around 40%, CPU usage arround 50% and ram is 50%.. how come the GPU,CPU.. ect ect doesn't run with higher % :eek: . can there be something bottlenecking? or is it normal that the games doesn't run with 100% usage?


I'm not sure if it's normal or maybe it is my power supply that is bottle necking. The power supply brand is almost unknown, havn't seen the brand anywhere ealse. It's named "Titan" and it shoud have an output with 560W

Im runnin g a ATi 4870 with an AMD Phenom x3 @ 2.52Ghz and 3Gb ram ddr800.. 3 HDD's & 1 dvd-drew


Thanks -Rani :sol:
 
X3 = 3cores, game single threaded uses 1 core to the max OS and other back ground programs use 50% another core = total 50% CPU usage!
CPU bottleneck, if you can overclock your CPU a little and see increase in fps then you have confirmed.
 
I wouldnt really look into what % cup/gpu useage your getting. Programs dont always need to use 100% of everything to rn properly. You seem to be getting acceptable performance from your system, so whats the problem?
 

ranij93

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My phenom x3 8400 is overclocked from 2.1 @ 2.52. not the best overclock but it doesn't run stable if i go higher. /:

Yeah. but in somegames i get "Low fps" while the system runs in a really low & usage both with GPU and CPU.. its kinda anyoing when the game isn't really playable and seeing that the pc isn't even trying.. o.0. . like crysis, grid, dirt... Yeah maybe it's because of the single treaded..
 
or maybe it is something else entirely. If you believe those components arent running to their full potential, maybe there is a bottleneck down the path...think hard drive...not able to load fast enough. A typical symptom of this is stuttering/low fps for short bursts. You may just need to start from a clean slate and reinstall windows, this often speeds things up.
 

ranij93

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I'm pretty sure it isn't the HDD. im running Raid 0 and it runs arround 120mbs. and yeah could be my cpu. but the cpu only pushes 50% ?? confusion :/
 
LOL!!! Again, I have to laugh........
Please understand the question...... the OP has put us up to.....
If his CPU was slow..... it'd be Maxed out....... he's getting a usage of only 50%
His question is , he is wondering why doesn't everything touch 100%, his doubt is that the CPU can run only at 50% of it's actual Load Carrying Capacity.....

Ok. Try this for a change, and send us the results here.....
Install Crysis
I hope you're using 2 Monitors
On One open the Task manager not on the primary one but the second one
Then start GPU-Z which you'll get from http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

Start it too on the secondary monitor.....

Now start Crysis on the primary monitor and play it for about 1/2 an hour.....
Keep watching the load on both the graphs in the GPU-Z and Taskmanager Performance Tab.
It is going to touch 100% on both.....

Incase you don't have a secondary display, download Prime95 from http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=103 for a CPU stress test

And for the GPU
http://www.geeks3d.com/20100419/tool-furmark-1-8-2-available/
Furmark

Now install them both, when you run the CPU Stress test remember to keep your eye n the Task Manager and check for 100% use, and when you run Furmark remember to keep your eye on GPU usage thru GPU-Z....

They're both going to be 100% if everything is fine with your system..... :)

And if you doubt the HDD's try Crystal DiskMark.... from http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskMark/index-e.html

That'll give you the exact details for your HDD read/write performance....
Keep us posted.......

 
Another point I'd like to know is, what Mobo are you using with your Phenom x3, cos your RAM is DDR2 and plus it's 3GB..... that's a really bad number if it's 2 + 1 or 1+1+1 it ought to be even and in the same capacity and same timing, of course the same manufacturer would be a plus point.....
 
If the games he's playing are only using 1 or 2 cores then his CPU usage would never be 100% ( Providing there's little else he's using his PC for whilst gaming)

Running P95 will stress his CPU (and maybe RAM depending on the setting he chooses) to the Max, and Furmark will stress his GPU to the Max.... Trouble is Prime95 is multi-threaded and will use all cores I have a feeling the games the OP is playing doesn't

Furmark uses hardly any CPU power at all, its not representative of a real game, I just loaded up MSI Kombuster (very similar to Furmark) and my CPU usage was between 0-1 %.

alyoshka you may have a point about the memory as it might be running in single channel mode which would reduce performance.
 

ranij93

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Asus M4A78 PRO is the motherboard. The Ram dimms are 1024mb x2 + 512mb x2 Dual channel.. all the dimms are PC-6400 .. yes it's the same manufacturer with the same timing :)
 
Furmark wasn't there for the CPU :) It's there for the GPU so I guess, we already cleared that out right?
He's playing games like Crysis, Dirt etc etc
Dirt Is not multi threaded but Dirt2 is.....
Crysis is certainly Multi threaded (Post 1.2)

So while playing Crysis he should get a 100% CPU usage and GPU 100% too
 

ranij93

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Too bad i'm living at my school, and do not have space for my second monitor, but I do have a Logitech G15 that i have programs that shows both the CPU, Ram and GPU usage.. I have tested prime 95 for my cpu and it does run 100% and stable..

i'm going to run the tests in about 15 mins.. and let you guys know : D
 
So that clears the CPU out meaning it can and does run at it's max given the right applications.... :)

After you've run the tests and got the results, I'd like you to remove the 2X 512MB Modules from your rig and run the tests again, and compare the 2 results..... :)
Would also like you to share the results with us.
 
I cant remember if Crysis uses 2 or 3 cores, I have a feeling its 3 though I could be wrong

@OP load up Task manager, Go to the performance tab. Now load up Crysis and play for awhile, then alt+tab to the task manager and check to see if the CPU usage is at 100%.
 

ranij93

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Downloading a patch some how i can't run crysis 1920x1200. i'm going to install the patch and see if it works. And yes ill check the cpu/gpu usage, on the G15 while i'm playing
 

ranij93

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Okay so i ran some of the benchmarks / tests. FurMark did push both my CPU & GPU up to 100%.. After that i tested Crysis at 1920x1200 all medium. It ran with arround + - 70% GPU usage when there was "no action" like when i saw no enemies.. When i saw some houses and enemies the GPU usage went down to around 30-40% and the Fps did drop all the way down to 25+..

Here is a photo of the tests and some of the system info..
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/4419692/img/Anonymous/PC.png


Now i'm going to take out the two 512mb dimms and test again :)
 
Can you report the CPU usage during Crysis? was it at 100% all the time?

Sounds to me like when you saw some houses + enemies the CPU had alot more work to do and so bottlenecked the GPU even more (causing the GPU usage to go from 70% to 30-40%).
 

ranij93

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Yes im sorry.. i forgot to it. The cpu usage was arround 20% while i had 50fps + and when i saw buildings and enemies the cpu went a bit up. to arround 30-50%..

Now i tested crysis with out the two 512mb dimms. and i noticed right away that the fps are a bit lower. and in the FurMark it scored 180 points less.
 
You need to account for other limiting factors that could be limiting performance: getting data from RAM, the Hard Drive, or other external media will leave the CPU waiting at idle while the necessary data is being read in. If you have a slow HD/RAM, that can the performance. [Thats the primary reason we can't run super-old games at several hundred FPS, because even though the CPU may be capable, the reading/writing to/from the HD and RAM is still the primary bottleneck for those games].

Then, of course, you also can get into the situation where a game either isn't threaded, or doesn't see any benifit from threading, in which case while a particular CPU core is maxed out, the CPU as a whole remains untaxed. I noticed you gave a general %usage for the CPU as a whole; are any individual cores maxed out?
 

ranij93

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Yeah, i did watch the which core used what. And in crysis all the core ware used the game, crysis is a multitreated game so yeah.
 


Very strange that your CPU usage is so low, Crysis maxes out my HD5850 and uses about 70% of my Core i7 920@ 4Ghz

I'm pretty sure your CPU usage should be higher, Crysis is a very demanding game for both the CPU and GPU.
 

ranij93

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Okay guys.... i found out what might been the problem. I'm both happy and feel retarted... The memory was not installed correct in Dual Channel.. In this motherboard Its not like A,B,A,B its AA,BB /: so i have installed the 512mb and the 1024 dims together..

But do i need to Format or what do i need to do? to get it booting up with the Dual channel?
 

Kari

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just install them in the correct slots, it should autodetect it. If not there might be a BIOS setting for it. Use CPU-Zs memory tab to see the wether it's in single or dual channel mode
 

ranij93

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Kinda werid, now the computer wont boot on to windows. I have tried to set the Dimms as they ware, but still wont boot /: i can get onto Bios and there are no Ram settings
 
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