I think my 660ti may be getting bottlenecked...

[Shadow2000]

I've had my computer for a few years now and when I first built it I wasn't that computer-savvy, you could say. I had some terrible ATI graphics card that was laying around that didn't need and PCI-E pin power connectors and a FX-4100. Around a year after building it I upgraded to a EVGA GTX 660 Ti SC 3GB. I saw a massive improvement in performance in BF4, which was the game I used to play a lot and still do a bit. Recently, while I have been playing BF: Hardline I have been getting quite varying framerates, sometime it can be in the high 80s and can dip to the 30s (this is on low). I opened up afterburner and noticed my CPU was hovering around 90-100% while my GPU usage was only 60%. I'm pretty sure this is evidence of bottlenecking but I just wanted to check with this great community first before either getting a GTX 970 or a new motherboard and a I7-4790k. Any help would be appreciated.

[dadasmithywinkle]

I've had my computer for a few years now and when I first built it I wasn't that computer-savvy, you could say. I had some terrible ATI graphics card that was laying around that didn't need and PCI-E pin power connectors and a FX-4100. Around a year after building it I upgraded to a EVGA GTX 660 Ti SC 3GB. I saw a massive improvement in performance in BF4, which was the game I used to play a lot and still do a bit. Recently, while I have been playing BF: Hardline I have been getting quite varying framerates, sometime it can be in the high 80s and can dip to the 30s (this is on low). I opened up afterburner and noticed my CPU was hovering around 90-100% while my GPU usage was only 60%. I'm pretty sure this is evidence of bottlenecking but I just wanted to check with this great community first before either getting a GTX 970 or a new motherboard and a I7-4790k. Any help would be appreciated.

Yes, the 4100 is indeed the bottleneck. If you're gonna upgrade and just game, get a 4690K. If you plan on editing, then get a 4790K.

[Shadow2000]

Yes, the 4100 is indeed the bottleneck. If you're gonna upgrade and just game, get a 4690K. If you plan on editing, then get a 4790K.

Ah, thank you for confirming my assumption. I do plan on editing video and already do so I can't wait to get a much faster processor and get better render times

[Weak1ings]

If you are planning on Video editing go for the Xeon E3 1231 V3 which is pretty much the I7 at the price of the i5.  Just know it's locked and has no integrated graphics.

The i7 is nice but expensive.

[dadasmithywinkle]

Ah, thank you for confirming my assumption. I do plan on editing video and already do so I can't wait to get a much faster processor and get better render times

Do what @Weak1ings said. I have the 1230v3 (the old version) and it's like an i7 without the Intel Graphics.

[Shadow2000]

If you are planning on Video editing go for the Xeon E3 1231 V3 which is pretty much the I7 at the price of the i5.  Just know it's locked and has no integrated graphics.

The i7 is nice but expensive.

 

 

Do what @Weak1ings said. I have the 1230v3 (the old version) and it's like an i7 without the Intel Graphics.

 

Thanks for the great help guys! One question; what motherboard should I go with that has SLI capabilities as well as USB 3.0?

 

Edit: I found out it uses the same chipset as the 4790k so I can use the same motherboard I was planning on using; the Gigabyte Z97X-SLI.

[Weak1ings]

Thanks for the great help guys! One question; what motherboard should I go with that has SLI capabilities as well as USB 3.0?

 

Edit: I found out it uses the same chipset as the 4790k so I can use the same motherboard I was planning on using; the Gigabyte Z97X-SLI.

ASrock's Extreme 3 is my choice but ASUS also has great choices too

Most LGA 1150 mobos support Xeons but for SLI, they typically cost $100 atleast.

[TheShadowBlade92]

It could just be hardline, as bottlenecking would mean the cpu is pinned at 100% usage and the gpu usage goes up and down. My friend was playing hardline and found that his Core i7 (mobile, not sure of the exact model) and his GTX 860M would be running the game (1080p60fps) fine, and then it would dip down to 30fps. While the FX-4100 is old, It doesn't appear to be the bottleneck. 

[Shadow2000]

It could just be hardline, as bottlenecking would mean the cpu is pinned at 100% usage and the gpu usage goes up and down. My friend was playing hardline and found that his Core i7 (mobile, not sure of the exact model) and his GTX 860M would be running the game (1080p60fps) fine, and then it would dip down to 30fps. While the FX-4100 is old, It doesn't appear to be the bottleneck. 

I have checked other games (BF4, TF2) they also keep the CPU at 95-100% and GPU at 40-60%. I'm pretty sure it is the CPU