%100 Cpu Usage

[STARLEE]

It almost always uses 100% CPU. Any solutions?

Specs:
Intel Core i5 13400F 3.30 Ghz
MLD 500GB M500 NVMe Gen4
GoodRam 16GB(2x8) IRDM Crimson White 3600mhz CL18 DDR4
Asus GeForce RTX 4070 Dual White O12G 12GB GDDR6X 192 Bit DLSS 3

Edit: Well... after doing some proper testing, I can easily say that the task manager is showing the CPU usage incorrectly. When I analyze with Msi afterburner and HWMonitor at the same time, the CPU usage is around 70% on average. The average temperature is 78 degrees. When the computer is idle it hovers around 40-50 degrees. As far as I understand, the CPU fan seems inadequate.

Thank you to everyone who tried to help. I also laugh at those who say I need to upgrade the system. I hope this post will be useful in the future for those who have questions in their minds. Peace.

[sdunnyw506]

Yes you honestly could upgrade. Double your RAM. 16gb isn't a lot anymore. Upgrading to a better chip makes a difference.

I have an i9-11900k, nearly 80 gb of ram, and a 4070 TI, and I still get some stuttering on max settings in some areas... and I actually have all settings on max. It also keeps all my parts under 65 deg C.

Also... there is a difference between "near ultra" and actually truly ultra settings.

But honestly, I never understand why this is even discussed. On the whole, better parts equal better performance at higher settings at lower temps. This principle is never going away...

[sdunnyw506]

And to the person posting the screenshots... that does not look good at all.

[catch22atplay]

Mazing87, i'm not assuming anything in regards to dlss or whatever settings you're using. I just find it very odd you'd get such high cpu usage. But cpu usage will go up as resolution decreases. Less strain on the gpu so frees up the cpu to work harder. I don't do 1080p gaming but going from 4k to 2k and using say DLAA no framegen no upscaling cpu will increase as it should. Obviously using DLSS setting will increase cpu as framerate or less strain in placed on the gpu.

Do note that Task Manager usually shows cpu usage at your cpu's base clock. So for a 7800x3d it's 4.2 and boost is 5.0. So calculating cpu usage you need to do 4.2/5=0.84%. So if task manager says it's using 95% it's actually 95*.84=79.8%. Unless you have the error that causes Task manager to be crazy wrong and show 95% when it's only using 50%. But let's assume for the moment it's not doing that and that it's using base clock as most do now. I've no idea if they all work this way. I just know how my last 2 cpu's behaved. Others have reported it works this way.

Let's take my 13600kf as an example and real testing. P cores base clock is 3.5ghz and boost is 5.1ghz. So 3.5/5.1=0.69% approx.

Running a cpu test with 6 p cores threads at 100% load.
Task manager=53%
msi afterburner=37%
53*.69=37%

Now if i then use say 8p core threads and 4e core threads i get this. Note i still have 4 p core threads and 4 e-core threads left.

Task Manager=90%
msi afterburner=68%
90*.75=68%

This one is more complicated as now it factors in the e-cores as well. But i've no idea what it's doing here. It may be using the base speed of the p-core i dunno. So i'm just going to leave it here as i don't want to get a headache trying to figure it out. Adding the e-cores just makes it more confusing.

Note that i was using 2 others programs besides msi afterburner and they all showed the same results as afterburner. Task manager is just horrendous at calculating cpu usage. Don't use it to try to figure out your cpu usage. Use some other program instead.

[Maze]

Originally posted by catch22atplay:

Mazing87, i'm not assuming anything in regards to dlss or whatever settings you're using. I just find it very odd you'd get such high cpu usage. But cpu usage will go up as resolution decreases. Less strain on the gpu so frees up the cpu to work harder. I don't do 1080p gaming but going from 4k to 2k and using say DLAA no framegen no upscaling cpu will increase as it should. Obviously using DLSS setting will increase cpu as framerate or less strain in placed on the gpu.

Do note that Task Manager usually shows cpu usage at your cpu's base clock. So for a 7800x3d it's 4.2 and boost is 5.0. So calculating cpu usage you need to do 4.2/5=0.84%. So if task manager says it's using 95% it's actually 95*.84=79.8%. Unless you have the error that causes Task manager to be crazy wrong and show 95% when it's only using 50%. But let's assume for the moment it's not doing that and that it's using base clock as most do now. I've no idea if they all work this way. I just know how my last 2 cpu's behaved. Others have reported it works this way.

Let's take my 13600kf as an example and real testing. P cores base clock is 3.5ghz and boost is 5.1ghz. So 3.5/5.1=0.69% approx.

Running a cpu test with 6 p cores threads at 100% load.
Task manager=53%
msi afterburner=37%
53*.69=37%

Now if i then use say 8p core threads and 4e core threads i get this. Note i still have 4 p core threads and 4 e-core threads left.

Task Manager=90%
msi afterburner=68%
90*.75=68%

This one is more complicated as now it factors in the e-cores as well. But i've no idea what it's doing here. It may be using the base speed of the p-core i dunno. So i'm just going to leave it here as i don't want to get a headache trying to figure it out. Adding the e-cores just makes it more confusing.

Note that i was using 2 others programs besides msi afterburner and they all showed the same results as afterburner. Task manager is just horrendous at calculating cpu usage. Don't use it to try to figure out your cpu usage. Use some other program instead.

Thanks for the calculations. I have 8 pcores with 12 ecores. When I'm gaming, it uses the boost clock and stays that way steadily, highest temps I've seen is 78c avg. It doesn't use base clock. I also use Hwinfo64, which provides total cpu usage and actual cpu usage that a game or app may run. So yea, the values are different.

I can say that not running task manager while running Starfield did drop the cpu usage somewhat. So from 94% or so down to 82%. That's still too high in my opinion. I'm comparing to other games that are much more intensive... like for example, CP 2077. In a crowded area or heavy action, my cpu usage is 35-39%. for that game. And i have everything maxed, except shadows and no ray tracing. BF 2042, shooter with constant explosions, cpu usage can go up to 56%. That's also maxed.

So I am not sure why Starfield is using an extra 30-40% more cpu usage than a multiplayer game when all I'm doing is walking around NPCs in the city. The FPS dips, I can deal with. The cpu usage, I can't and won't.

[catch22atplay]

Mazing87, are you even using Vsync. Maybe you answered before i can't recall. But for sure your cpu usage for Starfield seems wacky. This is cp2077 with my 13600kf. I can ofc get cpu usage a lot high with lowering graphic settings. But this is what i play at.

Highest cpu usage pic i could find 44%.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3169654921
Another Dogtown shot 32% cpu usage. CPU usage total is 28%-44% but average is mid to high 30s. So 36-37% or so.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3155879465
My 13yo cpu before i upgraded 3 months ago ran Starfield better than cp2077. Starfield only had 1 area where it struggled a little. cp2077 struggled when driving fast where crowds NPCs were. cp2077 is more why i finally upgraded my pc and not Starfield.

[Maze]

Originally posted by catch22atplay:

Mazing87, are you even using Vsync. Maybe you answered before i can't recall. But for sure your cpu usage for Starfield seems wacky. This is cp2077 with my 13600kf. I can ofc get cpu usage a lot high with lowering graphic settings. But this is what i play at.

Highest cpu usage pic i could find 44%.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3169654921
Another Dogtown shot 32% cpu usage. CPU usage total is 28%-44% but average is mid to high 30s. So 36-37% or so.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3155879465
My 13yo cpu before i upgraded 3 months ago ran Starfield better than cp2077. Starfield only had 1 area where it struggled a little. cp2077 struggled when driving fast where crowds NPCs were. cp2077 is more why i finally upgraded my pc and not Starfield.

No I never use vsync. I play up to my monitors refresh rate with freesync turned on. My cpu usage was like this on the other cpu from the other brand. I'm not doing anything unusual or different. Fortunately, I don't have a bunch of programs up when I game, just one or two monitoring software to check for temps or odd behavior. I heard good things about the 13600 chips.

[Hellbishop]

Originally posted by catch22atplay:

So many wrong answers. 13400 should be fine. I was in the lodge and my cpu usage was at 38%. Stepping outside i'm at 55%. And that's with an almost 13 year old cpu. 2560x1440 near ultra settings dlss ultra quality dlaa. I do use vsync at 60hz though and framegen obviously. No idea what the OP is at. Game does NOT require 32gb. Runs fine with 16gb on my comp. Sure more is better ofc.

Thanks for the great advice. Am playing at the same resolution but my settings were much lower on my i7 8700 with a RTX 2060 and 16gb ram. I turned up the settings and the other things you mentioned and now my game is looking even more spectacular then before while still getting the same great performance. Best wishes on your pc and happy to hear your current one is serving you faithfully

Oh just read your other posts on upgrading. Congratulations and happy gaming :)

[catch22atplay]

Originally posted by Hellbishop:

Originally posted by catch22atplay:

So many wrong answers. 13400 should be fine. I was in the lodge and my cpu usage was at 38%. Stepping outside i'm at 55%. And that's with an almost 13 year old cpu. 2560x1440 near ultra settings dlss ultra quality dlaa. I do use vsync at 60hz though and framegen obviously. No idea what the OP is at. Game does NOT require 32gb. Runs fine with 16gb on my comp. Sure more is better ofc.

Thanks for the great advice. Am playing at the same resolution but my settings were much lower on my i7 8700 with a RTX 2060 and 16gb ram. I turned up the settings and the other things you mentioned and now my game is looking even more spectacular then before while still getting the same great performance. Best wishes on your pc and happy to hear your current one is serving you faithfully :coffeeTLD::Pizza::SF_Constellation:

Oh just read your other posts on upgrading. Congratulations and happy gaming :)

Thanks dude. Ya all parts were sitting in the closet for over a year waiting for me to install. New case and everything. The new I5 13600kf system so far is really working well. It hasn't a chance in hell of lasting as long as the 2600k did. But it sure is fast. Having nvme slots now and reading at 7,000mb/s is remarkable. I should have done this a few years back. Nice to see that I7 8700 still working well for ya. Another good cpu.

[Ultrabot]

min spec CPU 2600x, 16b ram, 6750xt @1440p, all high (low crowd) no upscaling or framegen. drops to 50's in cities, vsync on. Performance is fine. It may not have been at launch.

Originally posted by MAz1ng87:

Originally posted by SG:

how much fps were you getting between the two cpus?

The 7800x3d is a great top tier "gaming" cpu. It is as advertised. If you only game, then that's the perfect chip to have. Great cache, and extremely efficient power wise. I was getting around 140ish in some areas. But it spikes up and down a lot down to 75.

I'm hesitant on those x3d chips, I feel like I'm being offered a CPU that's been crippled to get a bigger number @1080p

I'll probably go amd next time over, but we'll see.

[Mephitic]

I am glad you got it sorted OP.

[Hellbishop]

Originally posted by catch22atplay:

Originally posted by Hellbishop:

Thanks for the great advice. Am playing at the same resolution but my settings were much lower on my i7 8700 with a RTX 2060 and 16gb ram. I turned up the settings and the other things you mentioned and now my game is looking even more spectacular then before while still getting the same great performance. Best wishes on your pc and happy to hear your current one is serving you faithfully

Oh just read your other posts on upgrading. Congratulations and happy gaming :)

Thanks dude. Ya all parts were sitting in the closet for over a year waiting for me to install. New case and everything. The new I5 13600kf system so far is really working well. It hasn't a chance in hell of lasting as long as the 2600k did. But it sure is fast. Having nvme slots now and reading at 7,000mb/s is remarkable. I should have done this a few years back. Nice to see that I7 8700 still working well for ya. Another good cpu.

That is what i was thinking of doing but my brother who is in IT did not want to chance a part not working when he builds it with all the parts purchased a year later. I think the 13 series is one of the cpu's he is looking into for my next upgrade later this year along with a 3070 or low number 40 series card. That reading at 7,000mb/s sounds awesome.

LOL i do the same putting things off. Took me two decades to switch internet providers even though my brother had been nagging me to switch over to the one he uses. Finally did during the pandemic and difference is night and day along with top tier support compared to my previous provider.

Yes the i7 8700 is excellent and am still playing most games at high and ultra alongside my RTX 2060. STARFIELD and CYBERPUNK being the only two games i have had to turn it down to high and medium but thanks to your advice i now have some settings on ultra with STARFIELD and it really looks nice. Glad the 6gb vram on my 2060 was not an issue but it also shows how optimized the game is reminding me of the miracle working optimization done with DOOM ETERNAL.

[Pandemic]

Let me shorten this discussion:

The game has a garbage performance, leave it and move on.

[Langkard]

Originally posted by RoastedEgg:

Let me shorten this discussion:

The game has a garbage performance, leave it and move on.

Odd, since I play it in 4K at an average 145 fps. Maybe you should try feeding the hamster powering your system better food.

[PridSnD]

Originally posted by STARLEE:

It almost always uses 100% CPU. Any solutions?

Specs:
Intel Core i5 13400F 3.30 Ghz
MLD 500GB M500 NVMe Gen4
GoodRam 16GB(2x8) IRDM Crimson White 3600mhz CL18 DDR4
Asus GeForce RTX 4070 Dual White O12G 12GB GDDR6X 192 Bit DLSS 3

Edit: Well... after doing some proper testing, I can easily say that the task manager is showing the CPU usage incorrectly. When I analyze with Msi afterburner and HWMonitor at the same time, the CPU usage is around 70% on average. The average temperature is 78 degrees. When the computer is idle it hovers around 40-50 degrees. As far as I understand, the CPU fan seems inadequate.

Thank you to everyone who tried to help. I also laugh at those who say I need to upgrade the system. I hope this post will be useful in the future for those who have questions in their minds. Peace.

For anyone still struggling with this.... I highly recommend this guide. Specifically adjusting the NVIDIA Control Panel options.

https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/starfield-high-cpu-usage/

[Steve]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion