CPU Usage - Please enlighten me

[ElderNoob]

Hi Guys,

 

   I just recently upgraded my PC, but im still in the process of learning things so I'm here to get enlightenment.

 

   Before i have a cheap mobo which previously died and its paired with an i7 6700 (non K). then i sold the 6700 and bought an MSI z370m + i5 8600k and its really awesome. I havent OC'ed it yet as i still don't feel the need to.

 

   My query is this, before with 6700, my cpu usage on games are just like 30-40%, but with the i5 8600k, its like 50-60%, sometimes briefly fluctuates to 90%. Please explain to me what's happening. Is it the hyper threading thing? Because i'm pretty sure all articles I read says its not utilized in games. Also, i5 8600k got 2 more physical cores than i7 6700, so i'm confused as how is it possible..is higher cpu usage a good thing or bad? Another theory i was thinking is that the 6700 is bottle necking the gpu, which im not sure if possible. my GPU is just a lowly 1070 mini (zotac). I only game at 1080p (with gsync). Thanks in advanced for those who will reply, really appreciate the additional knowledge You will bestow upon me. Cheers!

[Carbide X]

I mostly get like 40 % usage on my 1600x and i get very good fps, so dont worry about it

[ElderNoob]

13 minutes ago, Carbide X said:

I mostly get like 40 % usage on my 1600x and i get very good fps, so dont worry about it

Hi Carbide,

 

   Thanks for the reply, I also get good fps and enjoys my 144hz gsync monitor @ 1080p with my current system. I really don't worry much, i just want to learn the basic principle of cpu usage, how it works given different cpu specs. this will help me understand my PC more. 

[YourNewPalAlex]

dude your good. Just kill the superfetch process and you'll be fine

[Carbide X]

2 minutes ago, ElderNoob said:

Hi Carbide,

 

   Thanks for the reply, I also get good fps and enjoys my 144hz gsync monitor @ 1080p with my current system. I really don't worry much, i just want to learn the basic principle of cpu usage, how it works given different cpu specs. this will help me understand my PC more. 

I think i know the answer to ur question but it would take way too long to explain,

[ElderNoob]

27 minutes ago, Carbide X said:

I think i know the answer to ur question but it would take way too long to explain,

No Worries Man, its not obligatory. Maybe someone with more free time might be able to explain it further. thanks  

[FuzzyLogic]

That's kind of strange... Are you getting the same framerates as you were with the 6700, or are they higher now?

[ElderNoob]

11 minutes ago, thegreengamers said:

That's kind of strange... Are you getting the same framerates as you were with the 6700, or are they higher now?

Hi Green,

 

   They are higher now like 10-15 more fps in most games i play. CPU frequency from 6700 is ave 3800 mhz and 4100 mhz with 8600k (non OC'ed).. Same GPU usage @ 98-99% which makes me wonder maybe there's a bottle neck happening on either CPU or GPU.. and also im confused since i was kindof expecting less CPU usage since 8600k have more physical cores than than 6700 (yeah im dumb to think it works like that hahaha thats why i came here).. 

[FuzzyLogic]

9 minutes ago, ElderNoob said:

Hi Green,

 

   They are higher now like 10-15 more fps in most games i play. CPU frequency from 6700 is ave 3800 mhz and 4100 mhz with 8600k (non OC'ed).. Same GPU usage @ 98-99% which makes me wonder maybe there's a bottle neck happening on either CPU or GPU.. and also im confused since i was kindof expecting less CPU usage since 8600k have more physical cores than than 6700 (yeah im dumb to think it works like that hahaha thats why i came here).. 

The CPU usage increase seems reasonable for the higher framerates, and the GPU usage means that the graphics card is holding the CPU back and not letting it reach its full potential. Try turning off gsync, overclocking the GPU, or just sell the 1070 and buy a better graphics card.

 

Thinking that a higher clocked CPU with more cores than another CPU will have lower overall usage while gaming is a perfectly sound assumption, by the way.

[Coachdude]

I'm not entirely sure, but I'm going to give it my best educated guess. The i7 6700 you had previously was a quad core processor, but it had hyper threading, meaning it had 4 cores and 8 threads. The i5 8600K you have now is a 6 core 6 threaded chip. My guess is that games can leverage the two additional cores of the i5 more so then they can the additional threads of the i7, so whilst the two cpus may offer similar throughput, the i7 will deliver less average frame rate as compared to the i5 and therefore be utilized less. I personally have an i7 6700K clocked at 4.5 GHz and I tend to score between an i5 8400 and an i5 8600K in terms of multi threaded benchmarks. But, to sum things up, I think because the i5 always has the two additional cores available to programs, programs tend to be better able to take advantage of them, whilst hyper threading is more of an advanced "Que" so to speak, the resources are not always available for a program to use, hence why the i7 may deliver less frames in a given game as compared to the i5. Now, just because the i7 is being utilized less in a given game or program doesn't necessarily mean it has more headroom to run the game or program any faster, it could just mean that specific program or game just isn't programmed to leverage the i7s hyper threading as effectively as it can say the two more physical cores of the i5. Again this is just a guess, so take what I say with a grain of salt, perhaps someone more knowledgeable will be able to clue us in.