Hey everyone, I'm having some trouble understanding my PC's performance during gaming. I have a Ryzen 5 processor matched with a 5060 graphics card, 32GB of dual-channel RAM, and I'm running Windows 10 IoT LTSC with SysMain disabled. I've been playing games like Valorant and Arc Raiders, but I've noticed that my GPU usage hovers around 60-65%, while the CPU usage spikes between 75-89%. This seems odd to me because I've seen others with similar setups getting much higher GPU usage (upwards of 90%) and much lower CPU usage (around 40%). I'm concerned that I might have a bottleneck somewhere, but I can't pinpoint it, especially since the only difference in setups seems to be my motherboard. Any insights would be really appreciated!
5 Answers
I have a similar setup with a Ryzen 5 and 2060S, and I noticed the same trend in Arc Raiders. My CPU runs a bit hotter than my GPU, which sits around 60°C. You're definitely not alone in seeing that high CPU usage.
Is Vsync or any FPS cap enabled? Those settings can limit how much your GPU is working, potentially leading to higher CPU usage without maxing out your GPU.
Check out this gameplay video where a guy with a 5600X and 5060 runs at low settings. He gets 300+ FPS with his GPU at around 33% usage. It's normal at lower settings for the GPU to not be fully taxed. If you want higher GPU usage, raise the graphics settings, but be prepared for a possible drop in FPS.
What resolution are you playing at? If it's 1080p, that could be why the CPU is handling more load than the GPU. At higher resolutions like 1440p or 4K, the GPU often takes over more since there's more visual data to process. Also, remember that certain games are just more CPU-dependent than others.
I get that! So should I just bump up the graphics settings to take more advantage of the GPU, even if I'm playing competitively at 1080?
First, take a look at your temperatures. If they're good, like CPU around 55°C and GPU at 60°C, then you're in decent shape. But are you getting the FPS you expect? Sometimes, even if the CPU is working harder, it might not be affecting your gaming experience much.
Yeah, after switching to dual-channel RAM, my FPS improved and temps stayed steady. Just a bit of stuttering in Arc Raiders though.
I have Vsync turned off for testing purposes, but I usually cap my FPS to keep it stable.