I can't quite figure out my bottleneck.

[EunSoo]

Hello! In Overwatch, I get around 60-70fps at 1080p with my i3-6100 and rx 480. I knew that the i3 would bottleneck my GPU but I already had it and if I needed something better I could always get an i5. Recently, I wanted to figure out how much exactly my GPU is being bottlenecked because I kept dipping below 60fps so I played a game while recording GPU and CPU usage and I don't really understand the results, so here is the graph:

My CPU hovered around 40-70%. I thought that if the CPU was bottlenecking then it would be at 100% most of the time but it's well below that during game. I don't really understand how the GPU is doing based on the chart though so maybe its normal. So are these the results to be expected or is something weird going on. Also, I run the game at low settings so I thought I would be getting better fps than a 65 average. 

[yathis]

to be expected, normal

[EunSoo]

1 minute ago, yathis said:

to be expected, normal

ok, but what's the bottleneck and can a i3-6100 and a rx480 just barely be able to maintain Overwatch at low settings? seems fishy to me

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, SCGazelle said:

ok, but what's the bottleneck and can a i3-6100 and a rx480 just barely be able to maintain Overwatch at low settings? seems fishy to me

newest drivers? 

[Princess Luna]

DDU everything already?

[EunSoo]

Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

newest drivers? 

no, Im on 16.6 and they have 17.4.4 out. Ill install that but I doubt thats the issue...

[The Sloth]

Just now, SCGazelle said:

no, Im on 16.6 and they have 17.4.4 out. Ill install that but I doubt thats the issue...

update everything to the newest drivers.

[yathis]

You need to update your drivers man.

[Damascus]

5 minutes ago, SCGazelle said:

no, Im on 16.6 and they have 17.4.4 out. Ill install that but I doubt thats the issue...

Keep that stuff optimized m8.  Overwatch, and most curreny games, are constantly changing, your gpu needs to keep up

[EunSoo]

4 minutes ago, yathis said:

You need to update your drivers man.

I've had a bad experience updating drivers each time it comes out on my 980. Each time I update something breaks (right now its Shadowplay and Nvidia Control Panel that doesn't work.) Because of that, I've stopped installing drivers unless I hear that it addresses a game that I play. I guess that's a bad habit though...

[EunSoo]

13 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

newest drivers? 

 

12 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

DDU everything already?

 

9 minutes ago, yathis said:

You need to update your drivers man.

 

5 minutes ago, Damascus said:

Keep that stuff optimized m8.  Overwatch, and most curreny games, are constantly changing, your gpu needs to keep up

GPU is pinned at 100% in the menu of Overwatch...

 

I'm going to play a game real quick anyway and see what happens

[AlwaysFSX]

CPU usage doesn't have to be at 100% to bottleneck your gpu, so long as your CPU usage is high and gpu usage is under 99%, it's your CPU. Replace it.

[RadiatingLight]

*looks in sig to maybe see rest of PC specs*

... oh boy

[EunSoo]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

*looks in sig to maybe see rest of PC specs*

... oh boy

 

haha, here you go (and yes, i know the PSU is trash)

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XMCDyf
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XMCDyf/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($108.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($69.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($107.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital - Scorpio Black 320GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($37.45 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 480 4GB GAMING X Video Card  ($297.58 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair - 250D Mini ITX Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($38.14 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Samsung - S27D590C 27.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor 
Keyboard: Corsair - Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard 
Mouse: SteelSeries - Rival 100 Wired Optical Mouse  ($32.99 @ Amazon) 
Headphones: Logitech - G230  Headset  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $887.14

[EunSoo]

48 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

newest drivers? 

47 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

DDU everything already?

43 minutes ago, yathis said:

You need to update your drivers man.

39 minutes ago, Damascus said:

Keep that stuff optimized m8.  Overwatch, and most curreny games, are constantly changing, your gpu needs to keep up

that was it! I am now getting avg:120 min:90 (while relive is recording) so I have definitely learned my lesson to install updates. Thanks guys! I wish I could give all you guys best answer but oh well.

31 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

CPU usage doesn't have to be at 100% to bottleneck your gpu, so long as your CPU usage is high and gpu usage is under 99%, it's your CPU. Replace it.

 

my conception of the cpu/gpu bottleneck relationship was much different so good to know. I won't be upgrading the CPU since I was able to get ample fps with that driver update. So while it is still bottlenecking my 480, it works for me. 

[zMeul]

switch the power plan to perf mode and see it it changes anything

[EunSoo]

Just now, zMeul said:

switch the power plan to perf mode and see it it changes anything

its on high performance, but anyway, the problem is solved.