Hey everyone! I'm struggling with a frustrating issue on my PC where I'm getting lower FPS in some games even after recent upgrades. I just installed a new RX 7700 XT GPU and upgraded my RAM to 32GB at 3200 MT/s, but I'm still not hitting the performance I expected. For example, in *Death Stranding* on max settings, I'm only averaging around 69 FPS. It's strange because my GPU usage never seems to go above 90%. I started suspecting a CPU bottleneck, but my Ryzen 5 3600 CPU also isn't maxing out. In another game, REMATCH, my friends are at 35-50% CPU usage while I'm at 75%, and I'm still getting over 100 FPS. I'm not experiencing the typical stuttering associated with a CPU bottleneck, but there's this annoying little choppiness, especially in open-world games when I zoom in. The only parts I haven't replaced yet are my CPU and my 650W PSU. I know my CPU isn't top-tier, but can the bottleneck really be that severe? Let me know if you need benchmark info or anything else. Thanks for your help!
3 Answers
Have you tried using DDU to uninstall your old GPU drivers? That might help. It's true that the Ryzen 3600 could hold the RX 7700 XT back a bit, but it shouldn't be this drastic of a difference in FPS.
Total CPU usage can be misleading. You can be CPU bottlenecked while still not hitting 100% usage. Many games struggle to use all cores effectively. Often, only a couple threads get super high usage, causing the bottleneck without full utilization.
Fair point, but it still seems odd that my CPU is the bottleneck here when other setups with the same specs are easily getting much higher FPS.
You should look at the per-core CPU usage. Overall usage isn’t the best indicator since most games don’t load all cores evenly. You might notice some cores are getting maxed out while others are underused—this could be the issue.
Thanks for the tip! What tool would you recommend to check core usage? And if that is indeed the problem, would replacing my CPU be the only solution?
I recently restarted Windows, so I don't think there are old drivers left. But I get what you're saying. Just how much can the CPU limit my GPU?