High CPU usage, but low GPU usage

[NobleJadeFalcon]

Hello all, 
     I have an ASUS FX505DU (Windows 10 64 bit, AMD Ryzen 5 3550H, GTX 1660 ti, 16 GB ram)   that seems to be experiencing some problems with properly using the GPU in video games.   I hadn't really noticed the problem all that much as I hadn't really been playing any intensive games since I bought it sometime earlier this year.  However, I have been trying to play Cyberpunk.  The problem is this - I am seeing roughly 100 % CPU utilization while playing, but very low percentage usage of my GPU(s).  The integrated graphics actually seems to be being used more than the 1660 ti.  And this is very low utilization of the 1660 - something at or below 10 %.  Also, I noticed that the ram does not seem to be being used properly - only 8 GBs is getting used while playing.  My framerates have been quite bad and it doesn't seem to make a difference what I set the graphics to. I've tried a lot of things - reinstalling windows, reinstalling the drivers, updating the bios, making sure the game is set to utilize the nvidia card, etc.  I did do a stress test using furmark - it, unlike cyberpunk, had no problem fully using the GPU. I am beginning to suspect it might be more an issue with the ram - Cyberpunk is only using 3.8 GBs of ram.  So I pulled up a different game that runs better - Wasteland 3.  I noticed something strange - while the memory usage did not go above 4 GB, the GPU usage went up to about 50 %, not sub-10 % like with cyberpunk (interestingly, cyberpunk uses more GPU during startup than during gameplay).  

[Downkey]

3 minutes ago, NobleJadeFalcon said:

Hello all, 
     I have an ASUS FX505DU (Windows 10 64 bit, AMD Ryzen 5 3550H, GTX 1660 ti, 16 GB ram)   that seems to be experiencing some problems with properly using the GPU in video games.   I hadn't really noticed the problem all that much as I hadn't really been playing any intensive games since I bought it sometime earlier this year.  However, I have been trying to play Cyberpunk.  The problem is this - I am seeing roughly 100 % CPU utilization while playing, but very low percentage usage of my GPU(s).  The integrated graphics actually seems to be being used more than the 1660 ti.  And this is very low utilization of the 1660 - something at or below 10 %.  Also, I noticed that the ram does not seem to be being used properly - only 8 GBs is getting used while playing.  My framerates have been quite bad and it doesn't seem to make a difference what I set the graphics to. I've tried a lot of things - reinstalling windows, reinstalling the drivers, updating the bios, making sure the game is set to utilize the nvidia card, etc.  I did do a stress test using furmark - it, unlike cyberpunk, had no problem fully using the GPU. I am beginning to suspect it might be more an issue with the ram - Cyberpunk is only using 3.8 GBs of ram.  So I pulled up a different game that runs better - Wasteland 3.  I noticed something strange - while the memory usage did not go above 4 GB, the GPU usage went up to about 50 %, not sub-10 % like with cyberpunk (interestingly, cyberpunk uses more GPU during startup than during gameplay).  

Seems like there is a CPU bottleneck. The 3550h is a pretty bad CPU, and it has worse performance then some Zen CPUS.

[BornCZ]

All hints point to CPU bottleneck. Very simply put, your CPU can´t calculate enough frames to fully utilize your GPU. From early reports Cyberpunk 2077 seems to be pretty CPU intensive game.

[NobleJadeFalcon]

8 hours ago, BornCZ said:

All hints point to CPU bottleneck. Very simply put, your CPU can´t calculate enough frames to fully utilize your GPU. From early reports Cyberpunk 2077 seems to be pretty CPU intensive game.

So, I'll probably have to buy a whole new laptop then? One with a better CPU? I am under the general impression that you cannot put new CPUs in most laptops.   

[BornCZ]

Steve from Hardware Unboxed said in his benchmark video for Cyberpunk that even his 5950x was at 40% utilization during play and Ryzen 3600 was peaking over 80%, so your CPU might just not be strong enough for Cyberpunk 2077. Comparing it with performance while playing Wasteland 3 is useless in that regard.

[BornCZ]

Just now, NobleJadeFalcon said:

So, I'll probably have to buy a whole new laptop then? One with a better CPU? I am under the general impression that you cannot put in new CPUs in most laptops.   

Yes, laptop CPUs can´t generally be replaced.

[NobleJadeFalcon]

8 hours ago, BornCZ said:

Yes, laptop CPUs can´t generally be replaced.

Alright, thanks.  I might just have to wait a long time then to play it - outside of the US at the moment and electronics are particularly expensive where I'm at.  

[IkeaGnome]

1 minute ago, NobleJadeFalcon said:

Alright, thanks.  I might just have to wait a long time then to play it - outside of the US at the moment and electronics are particularly expensive where I'm at.  

If you're out of the US right now and happen to be on a military base shipping costs to bases are the same as inside the states.

[xAcid9]

Check whether both CPU and GPU clock speed is boosting properly.

That spec should have similar performance to my current rig if not heavily restricted by thermal and power.

[NobleJadeFalcon]

8 hours ago, xAcid9 said:

Check whether both CPU and GPU clock speed is boosting properly.

That spec should have similar performance to my current rig if not heavily restricted by thermal and power.

Hmmm, I think it is doing that okay.  Buuuut, that does remind me that the computer has always ran a little hot.  I think I might try redoing the thermal paste and see if that helps performance.  

[NobleJadeFalcon]

On 12/11/2020 at 8:18 PM, xAcid9 said:

Check whether both CPU and GPU clock speed is boosting properly.

That spec should have similar performance to my current rig if not heavily restricted by thermal and power.

Okay, so slight update: I changed the thermal paste on both the CPU and GPU.  This seems to have helped the thermals quite a bit (went from a high of 95 C to 85 C), but the problem still persists.  And while I understand Cyberpunk being CPU intensive (with its latest patch it is playable for me - but it feels like playing a game on the 360 near the end of its lifecycle - developers desperately trying to get a better looking game on limited hardware), it is not THAT CPU intensive that it can only use 4 GB of RAM.  My desktop back home has an i7 from 2013 and it handles games much better, if this truly is the issue.  I even tried a different game - Squad, a game I know tends to need quite a bit of ram and it too limited itself to 4 GB.  

ComputerInfo.nfo

[NobleJadeFalcon]

Ooh ooh, I found a video here - 

 Guy has similar laptop specs and is getting much better performance.  Well, at least his is using a much more reasonable amount of ram.