Is my i7 7700K bottlenecking my RTX 3080?

[ivan0590]

Hello.
I was lucky enough to buy the ASUS TUF RTX 3080 OC one week ago and I decided to stick with my i7 7700K, since I didn't expect any bottleneck and I don't want to expend more money right now.
First, I decided to use 3DMark to make some tests. The results weren't bad and on MSI Afterburner the GPU load was 100%.
After that, I tested the GPU with the two games I play the most, which are Insurgency: Sandstorm and Escape From Tarkov. In both games, the GPU load was between 35% and 55%. It never reached 100%. Also, the CPU load was between 60% and 85% the last time I played.

My resolution is 1440p.
So, it seems like I'm getting a bottleneck. Am I right or could be something else?

[SavageNeo]

2 minutes ago, ivan0590 said:

Hello.
I was lucky enough to buy the ASUS TUF RTX 3080 OC one week ago and I decided to stick with my i7 7700K, since I didn't expect any bottleneck and I don't want to expend more money right now.
First, I decided to use 3DMark to make some tests. The results weren't bad and on MSI Afterburner the GPU load was 100%.
After that, I tested the GPU with the two games I play the most, which are Insurgency: Sandstorm and Escape From Tarkov. In both games, the GPU load was between 35% and 55%. It never reached 100%. Also, the CPU load was between 60% and 85% the last time I played.

My resolution is 1440p.
So, it seems like I'm getting a bottleneck. Am I right or could be something else?

yes 7700k is bottleneck for 3080. at 1440p only small bottleneck but it is stil there

[Skiiwee29]

if GPU usage is 95-100% used and CPU is less than 100% used, you're fine. 

[ivan0590]

4 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

if GPU usage is 95-100% used and CPU is less than 100% used, you're fine. 

But that is not the case. GPU load is never between 95-100% in games.

[Kilrah]

2 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

if GPU usage is 95-100% used and CPU is less than 100% used, you're fine. 

But if you read his post, in games it's not.

 

The 7700K had a pretty short useful life (had one). 

[Skiiwee29]

1 minute ago, Kilrah said:

But if you read his post, in games it's not.

 

The 7700K had a pretty short useful life (had one). 

 

1 minute ago, ivan0590 said:

But that is not the case. GPU load is never between 95-100%.

even still its not bottlenecked since the CPU is not pegged at 100%. Likely something else is in play preventing full utilization of GPU, such as frame limiting, Vsync etc.. 

[Kilrah]

12 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

even still its not bottlenecked since the CPU is not pegged at 100%.

It's not pegged at 100% because the game isn't able to make use of all the threads/gain from hyperthreading.

CPU not running at 100% is never a valid way to say a system isn't bottlenecked.

 

But yeah you want to look for frame capping as well, OP didn't mention what fps he was getting.

[ivan0590]

16 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

 

even still its not bottlenecked since the CPU is not pegged at 100%. Likely something else is in play preventing full utilization of GPU, such as frame limiting, Vsync etc.. 

Well, I don't know what could it be.

I never use Vsync and Escape From Tarkov has a frame limiter of 120, but I rarely get that much fps. In some maps I have 30-60 fps (Tarkov is not well optimized) and the GPU load won't reach 100%.

And in Insurency: Sandstorm there is no frame limiter and I have stable 100-120fps with ultra settings.

[Skiiwee29]

Just now, ivan0590 said:

Well, I don't know what could it be.

I never use Vsync and Escape From Tarkov has a frame limiter of 120, but I rarely get that much fps. In some maps I have 30-60 fps and the GPU load won't reach 100%.

And in Insurency: Sandstorm there is no frame limiter and I have stable 100-120fps with ultra settings.

Make sure your windows Power plan is set to High Performance.

Spoiler

Make sure your GPU is set to prefer Maximum performance in Nvidia Control Panel.

Spoiler

 

[ivan0590]

24 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Make sure your windows Power plan is set to High Performance.

  Hide contents

Make sure your GPU is set to prefer Maximum performance in Nvidia Control Panel.

  Hide contents

 

The power plan was already on High performance. But, the power management mode in Nvidia Control Panel was on Optimal power.

I have changed it to Prefer maximum performance, but sadly nothing has changed. GPU load is still under 100%.

[Skiiwee29]

3 minutes ago, ivan0590 said:

The power plan was already on High performance. But, the power management mode in Nvidia Control Panel was on Optimal power.

I have changed it to Prefer maximum performance, but sadly nothing has changed. GPU load is still under 100%.

what was your GPU previously? Have you DDU'd your old drivers yet? If not, give that a try. 

[ivan0590]

1 minute ago, Skiiwee29 said:

what was your GPU previously? Have you DDU'd your old drivers yet? If not, give that a try. 

My previous GPU was an ASUS ROG 1080ti OC.

I previously reinstalled the drivers from GeForce Experience and selected the correct installation option in the process, but nothing changed. Is this what you mean with "Have you DDU'd your old drivers yet?" ?

[Skiiwee29]

Just now, ivan0590 said:

My previous GPU was an ASUS ROG 1080ti OC.

I previously reinstalled the drivers from GeForce Experience and selected the correct installation option in the process, but nothing changed. Is this what you mean with "Have you DDU'd your old drivers yet?" ?

No, DDU completely NUKES the drivers 100%. The "Clean install" feature is a gimmick and doesn't actually erase everything. I would give that a shot. Make sure you download the new proper drivers from Nvidias website prior to rebooting into safe mode and running DDU and disconnect your internet to prevent windows from re-installing after you reboot back up before you have a chance to install the drivers you downloaded. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

1 hour ago, Kilrah said:

It's not pegged at 100% because the game isn't able to make use of all the threads/gain from hyperthreading.

CPU not running at 100% is never a valid way to say a system isn't bottlenecked.

 

But yeah you want to look for frame capping as well, OP didn't mention what fps he was getting.

Linus really needs to get this into the average consumer's head with a video explaining it properly once again #Refresher

 

Spoiler

DX9 we were used to seeing a SINGLE Core/Thread(or2Max) at 99% Load, the rest of the 4/6/8 cores were IDLE, yet this is a CPU bottlenecked scenario, the game can't ask for more CPU power, it only has ONE LANE to work with on this Highway, even with a 2080Ti/3070/3080/3090.

Even games that use 4cores8threads, Windows could very well be balancing that load badly,..1-2Cores at 80-100%Load and the rest are minimally used again..
100% CPU (total) is not Required for Bottlenecking.
4C8T at 50% is Fully Tapped 100%, The Hyperthreading is a QUEUING system minimizing gaps in the chain, squeezing 1's and 0's into smaller spaces at high frequency, once your 4C8T hits around 75-85% (more Extreme Gaming loads) watch the GPU plummet.

 

[ivan0590]

1 hour ago, Skiiwee29 said:

No, DDU completely NUKES the drivers 100%. The "Clean install" feature is a gimmick and doesn't actually erase everything. I would give that a shot. Make sure you download the new proper drivers from Nvidias website prior to rebooting into safe mode and running DDU and disconnect your internet to prevent windows from re-installing after you reboot back up before you have a chance to install the drivers you downloaded. 

I have done it but the GPU keeps being under 100%. I must say that I note I slightly improvement when I play Insurgency: Sandstorm. The GPU load went between 60% and 80% this time. 

This is what I did:

1- Downloaded DDU. It's the first time I downloaded it, I didn't know the app. That explains my previous confusion.

2- Downloaded the drivers from Nvidia's website.

3- Unpluged the ethernet cable from my PC.

4- Restarted in safe mode.

5- In DDU I selected the first option (clean and restart). 

6- Started windows in normal mode and installed the Nvidia drivers.

7- Changed the power management mode in Nvidia Control Panel to Prefer maximum performance.

8- Pluged the ethernet cable again.

[Skiiwee29]

7 minutes ago, ivan0590 said:

I have done it but the GPU keeps being under 100%. I must say that I note I slightly improvement when I play Insurgency: Sandstorm. The GPU load went between 60% and 80% this time. 

This is what I did:

1- Downloaded DDU. It's the first time I downloaded it, I didn't know the app. That explains my previous confusion.

2- Downloaded the drivers from Nvidia's website.

3- Unpluged the ethernet cable from my PC.

4- Restarted in safe mode.

5- In DDU I selected the first option (clean and restart). 

6- Started windows in normal mode and installed the Nvidia drivers.

7- Changed the power management mode in Nvidia Control Panel to Prefer maximum performance.

8- Pluged the ethernet cable again.

Correct steps. 

[ivan0590]

4 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Correct steps. 

Great, thanks

Now, do you have any idea why the GPU load is still under 100%?

Do you think there is a bottleneck or could be something else?

Should I test the GPU with other games more GPU demanded, like BFV for example?

[Skiiwee29]

4 minutes ago, ivan0590 said:

Great, thanks

Now, do you have any idea why the GPU load is still under 100%?

Do you think there is a bottleneck or could be something else?

Should I test the GPU with other games more GPU demanded, like BFV for example?

Yes, lets get a set of different games to test in. 

[ivan0590]

1 hour ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Yes, lets get a set of different games to test in. 

I have installed BF5, put it in ultra, and play it for 5 minutes.

 

During that time, the GPU load was 40-70%, with some spikes of 1 second at 90-100%.

The CPU load was 90-100% all the time.

And the fps were between 30 and 70.

 

It seems to be a bottleneck, what do you think?

[Kilrah]

Yep.

[ivan0590]

I installed COD: WARZONE and played one of the tutorials.

The results were similar to BF5. The CPU load was always at 100% and the GPU load was 50-80%.

This time I didn't monitor the fps, I forgot. But it didn't feel bad.

 

So, it must be a bottleneck. I don't find any other reason that I know.

Maybe I could format my hard drive and reinstall windows to try to fix it. But I really doubt this would solve anything.

I will probably have to wait for November 5 and buy the new Ryzen 7 5800x. Damn, I was hoping to do that next year. It's too much money 

The things that one must do in order to play Ciberpunk 2077 in all its glory 

[i_build_nanosuits]

Of course it does.

[i_build_nanosuits]

50 minutes ago, ivan0590 said:

 

The things that one must do in order to play Ciberpunk 2077 in all its glory 

What is it with people and that game? How do you know if it's even gonna be worth playing? For what we know the gameplay could be bad, story could be boring , performance and optimization can be shit, it could riddled with big and issues...it could be short, it could be boring....plenty of things I can think of why you wouldn't build a PC for game that may end up not even to be a good game...

[HardStroke]

40%-50% cpu and 90%-100% gpu is a normal usage rate

if the cpu is higher there is a bottleneck

oc you 7700K to 5GHZ it will help a bit

[Mark Kaine]

If you didn't buy the most expensive nasa computer out there you'll always be 'bottlenecked' somehow, and even then... 

 

Whats important is are you happy with the performance, do you want more, and how many fps do you really need? 

 

 

There are diminishing returns for that too, especially if your monitor doesn't have unlimited refresh rate (which is most likely your limiting factor anyway)