CPU Bottleneck?

xanderxxz · 14 Jun 2012 at 18:02

Simple question, do i have a bottleneck?

fx 4100
gtx 560 ti 448 (oc to be more like a 570 now)
8 Gb Ballistix ram
500Gb wd caviar green hdd

Please resize image to a maximum 1024 pixels wide.

Batman arkham city benchmark used.

Martini1991 · 14 Jun 2012 at 18:05

If you're not running the gimped DX11.
Then yes it looks like a CPU bottleneck.

trickynickyuk · 14 Jun 2012 at 20:54

sorry but i disagree looking at those pics he isn't bottlenecked what is it you are trying to run

Martini1991 · 14 Jun 2012 at 20:56

trickynickyuk said:
sorry but i disagree looking at those pics he isn't bottlenecked what is it you are trying to run

His GPU usage is all over the place and isn't reaching 100%, how isn't that a CPU bottleneck?
Some of his CPU's cores are also maxing out by the looks of it.
If it's the borked Arkam City DX11 then that could explain the dodgy GPU usage and likely the rather large CPU usage.

Nuclear Fusion · 15 Jun 2012 at 01:20

I agree with martini here, it looks very much like a CPU bottleneck to me- for comparison, my 6850 (yeah I know it's not a very powerful card, I'm upgrading it soon!) is always at 100% GPU usage when playing games, and the CPU is at around 30%. Your GPU usage is fluctuating massively, which is consistent with the GPU having to wait for information to be supplied by the CPU. In any case, I could have predicted a 4100 would bottleneck a 560 448, as I'm sure you are now aware, Bulldozer CPUs are not very good for gaming. Overclocking it (if you haven't already) will help a bit, or perhaps consider getting a Z77 board and a 3570k if you are willing to spend some money upgrading.

xanderxxz · 15 Jun 2012 at 11:33

Thanks for the replies. Yea so im not running dx 11 in batman, plus i know the bulldozers are pretty awful.
Its overclocked to 4.6 GHz and i kinda want to go higher cos temps arnt that bad but its already at 1.38 v and thats kinda the safe limit isnt it?
also would a Phenom II X4 965 or fx 8100 give me better results?

Martini1991 · 15 Jun 2012 at 11:46

You're best off upgrading away from AMD.
Phenom II 965 would be better but not massively, and the FX8 wouldn't change much.

4.6GHZ is a pretty high clock, I'm surprised to see that level of bottlenecking.

Leeroy123 · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:02

Yeah i agree, looks like a bottleneck and as martin says upgrade away from amd .

Marine-RX179 · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:21

xanderxxz said:
Thanks for the replies. Yea so im not running dx 11 in batman, plus i know the bulldozers are pretty awful.
Its overclocked to 4.6 GHz and i kinda want to go higher cos temps arnt that bad but its already at 1.38 v and thats kinda the safe limit isnt it?
also would a Phenom II X4 965 or fx 8100 give me better results?

While Phenom II is has better gaming performance than FX, it's not hugely though.

Your FX4100 at 4.6GHz is roughly equal to the gaming performance of Phenom II X4 at 4.0GHz (which is the average max overclock), so changing CPU won't really help.

xanderxxz · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:35

Alright so i guess this is lesson learned in amd vs intel.
So is there no amd processor which would get rid of this bottleneck, that would not require me to buy a new mobo?

Martini1991 · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:39

xanderxxz said:
Alright so i guess this is lesson learned in amd vs intel.
So is there no amd processor which would get rid of this bottleneck, that would not require me to buy a new mobo?

Not at this moment there isn't.
Could go for an i5 3550 or something with a H77/Z77 board.
Wouldn't cost much more than a straight purchase of an FX8 after selling your current board and CPU.

xanderxxz · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:53

Really trying not to cough up the cash for intel, so do you think further overclocking would do the trick?

Martini1991 · 15 Jun 2012 at 12:55

Can't see you getting much more out of the FX4.
Buying an FX8 won't do much.
Even if you do OC the FX a little more, you're delaying the enviable.

spixelspixel · 15 Jun 2012 at 13:06

Just because gpu usage isn't 100 percent doesn't mean there is bottleneck. Not all games constantly utilize 100 percent of the gpu, especially if vsync is enabled.

Lordgrayone · 15 Jun 2012 at 13:14

i would say its a bit off both....game is borked and CPU bottleneck
Try a diferent game/benchmark

Martini1991 · 15 Jun 2012 at 13:17

spixelspixel said:
Just because gpu usage isn't 100 percent doesn't mean there is bottleneck. Not all games constantly utilize 100 percent of the gpu, especially if vsync is enabled.

I agree.
However, look at the GPU usage, all over the place, combined with the load of the CPU cores, it's a CPU bottleneck by the looks of it.

Tazzfalcon · 15 Jun 2012 at 13:30

This is somewhat concerning to me given my specs.

Marine-RX179 · 15 Jun 2012 at 13:42

spixelspixel said:
Just because gpu usage isn't 100 percent doesn't mean there is bottleneck. Not all games constantly utilize 100 percent of the gpu, especially if vsync is enabled.

That only applies if the frame rate is reaching 60fps and holding there. But with low GPU usage combined with low frame rate, CPU bottleneck is the always the most likely answer.

Rooster212 · 15 Jun 2012 at 14:50

My friend had a similar issue yesterday, he got a second 6950 and it bottlenecks on his Phenom Black Edition @4.1ghz, his second GPU doesn't get above 70% load at any time.

xanderxxz · 16 Jun 2012 at 22:39

my fps isnt too bad, i can play batman on high detal, no physx, low fxaa, and everything but dx11 on. but im just allitle dissapointed that i payd for this card and i cant use it to the full. will try a bit more of an overclock, then start saving up for 2500k.

Last question, dose anyone know the safe voltage for an bulldozer, and does anyone have any suggestions how far over this i can go, Thanks for the replies too