How to test CPU bottlenecking?

[popcornade]

Is there a way to measure cpu bottlenecking, I've managed to fit a 780ti in a bottom spec mac pro 2006 with two xeon 5130's at 2ghz (booting windows 10) but only get 30-60 fps in cs:go and heaven benchmark.

I've also checked whether the card is running in the 16x slot and it is.

 

Is this a cpu bottleneck or something else?

[SeanAngelo]

1 minute ago, popcornade said:

Is there a way to measure cpu bottlenecking, I've managed to fit a 780ti in a bottom spec mac pro 2006 with two xeon 5130's at 2ghz (booting windows 10) but only get 30-60 fps in cs:go and heaven benchmark.

I've also checked whether the card is running in the 16x slot and it is.

 

Is this a cpu bottleneck or something else?

check the cpu graph usage.

[popcornade]

I've done that and it's hovering between 50 to 70% during gameplay

[Rolling Potatoe]

ehh, look at the cpu and gpu usage?

If the gpu usage is high and cpu cores are used near 100% then there is a cpu bottleneck.

You could also change the cpu frequency or amount of cores and look if it affects the framerate.

[Samfisher]

CPU bottleneck would show CPU maxed out and GPU usage lower than expected.

[popcornade]

I'm running furmark now and ill take a screen shot after a minute or two.

[popcornade]

Here's a print screen of a couple minutes of burn in:

[popcornade]

7 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

CPU bottleneck would show CPU maxed out and GPU usage lower than expected.

avg 50-60% cpu usage and 99% gpu usage

[Mug]

Just now, popcornade said:

Here's a print screen of a couple minutes of burn in:

Could you give us a breakdown of it on a core level} (right click -> change graph to -> logical processors)

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, popcornade said:

I'm running furmark now and ill take a screen shot after a minute or two.

Furmark is GPU torture test. It isn't going to use your CPU at all. That's like testing a CPU bottleneck with Unigine Heaven.

 

Turn on MSI Afterburner, enable the on-screen display, fire up a game, and play for a bit. Keep an eye on your CPU and GPU usage (shown in %). If the Cpu hits 100% usage, it indicates that the CPU is at its maximum capacity, yet the game needs more, hence holding back the system and becoming a 'bottleneck'.

Your mileage may vary, depending on both your hardware and the games you play. For example, in Far Cry 4, while my GPU is pegged at 100%, my i3 4160 barely hits 50%. However, in the city of Novigrad in The Witcher 3, my CPU usage gets as high as 90%, and hits 100 as soon as I lower my graphics settings.

[Samfisher]

Just now, popcornade said:

avg 50-60% cpu usage and 99% gpu usage

And what program was doing this?  Play a game you usually play.

[crystal6tak]

To answer your question, yes...

 

Searched up your CPU, released in 2006, one generation behind nehalem (apparantly named "core-based", wut?) running at a mere 2ghz... Sure you got 4 of those cores but they're weaker than a mid ranged smartphone lol. (And it ain't gonna drive a 780 Ti I'll tell you that)

 

And it's usless using synthetic benchmarks. They're designed to lower CPU overhead as much as possible. So the fact you're getting subpar performance on unigine heaven goes to show just how bottlenecked your 780 Ti is lol.

 

In any case, whenever your GPU is not at 99-100% usage even though it's possible (so, like, the program is optimized enough for that), there's a bottleneck somewhere. And that's likely your CPU.

[popcornade]

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

And what program was doing this?  Play a game you usually play.

that was in furmark, ill test in cs go right now.

[popcornade]

4 minutes ago, Mug said:

Could you give us a breakdown of it on a core level} (right click -> change graph to -> logical processors)

I've only got two 'logical' cores but will do.

[Samfisher]

Just now, popcornade said:

that was in furmark, ill test in cs go right now.

I can tell you right now that there is already a CPU bottleneck.  Furmark uses almost no CPU resources to run and it's already at high levels of CPU usage for you. CSGO isn't really demanding but sure.

[popcornade]

 

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

I can tell you right now that there is already a CPU bottleneck.  Furmark uses almost no CPU resources to run and it's already at high levels of CPU usage for you. CSGO isn't really demanding but sure.

Although it's not demanding I only get 25fps average which is why I'm using that as an example.

[popcornade]

Print screen after a bit of cs go at 25 fps.

[Samfisher]

3 minutes ago, popcornade said:

Print screen after a bit of cs go at 25 fps.

 

The clock speed is the limiting factor by far

[popcornade]

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

The clock speed is the limiting factor by far

true but it's not even being fully utilised that's where i'm being stumped

[Samfisher]

Just now, popcornade said:

true but it's not even being fully utilised that's where i'm being stumped

Probably thermal throttling really.

[popcornade]

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

Probably thermal throttling really.

nope checked that too 65 deg is the tj max but it never hits 65 usually 60

 

[Samfisher]

What was your GPU usage during the test?  Core clocks?

[popcornade]

6 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

What was your GPU usage during the test?  Core clocks?

around 600mhz and 20-30% usage

[Samfisher]

1 minute ago, popcornade said:

around 600mhz and 20-30% usage

And there we go Classic signs of a CPU bottleneck right there.  No idea about why CPU isn't 100% used but it's very clear it's the bottleneck.

[popcornade]

2 minutes ago, Samfisher said:

And there we go Classic signs of a CPU bottleneck right there.  No idea about why CPU isn't 100% used but it's very clear it's the bottleneck.

oh yep i'm seeing it now, 100% cpu usage and low gpu usage, crap I thought I could use this as a secondary smurfing pc