Is my CPU bottlenecking my performance?

[daltonb726]

Hello friends, novice PC gamer here. I recently upgrade from my 2070 super to a 4070ti gpu x i9-9900k cpu. With Ray Tracing off, 3440 x 1440p balanced settings my fps ranges between 40-100 fps depending on what area such as the intro village scene. Even when I decrease graphic settings and resolution my performance as well as cap frame rate 60 isn’t getting boosted much and I can even hold 60 fps consistently. Is my cpu holding me back or is typical performance for this card? I figured I’d be able to play games at over 100 with ray tracing off at least when gaming at 3440p. I am using an ultra wide monitor as well so that may be affecting performance.

[Skkooomer Lord]

Yes it is.

AMD's AM5 platform is not too expensive to get into and uses less power than Intel's latest platform but the Intel chips are also awesome too.

Recommend Ryzen 770X with some DDR5 6500 RAM.
Intel 13600K with same RAM speed.

[Keko]

I did a quick check and got this:

"Intel Core i9-9900K is too weak for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti on 3440 × 1440 pixels screen resolution for General Tasks."
"This configuration has 36.2% of processor bottleneck."

You can see more details and what CPUs work better with your GPU here; https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0RM1dN/1/general-tasks/3440x1440/
If you don't want to spend money, I suggest either lowering the resolution, or capping the framerate at 60.

[daltonb726]

Originally posted by Keko:

I did a quick check and got this:

"Intel Core i9-9900K is too weak for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti on 3440 × 1440 pixels screen resolution for General Tasks."
"This configuration has 36.2% of processor bottleneck."

You can see more details and what CPUs work better with your GPU here; https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0RM1dN/1/general-tasks/3440x1440/
If you don't want to spend money, I suggest either lowering the resolution, or capping the framerate at 60.

Luckily I just got this cpu in a couple weeks ago so I can still return it on Amazon and spend a bit more to get a different card that’s more compatible for the 4070ti and gaming at 1440p. I appreciate your help!

[daltonb726]

Originally posted by BLOOD:

Yes it is.

AMD's AM5 platform is not too expensive to get into and uses less power than Intel's latest platform but the Intel chips are also awesome too.

Recommend Ryzen 770X with some DDR5 6500 RAM.
Intel 13600K with same RAM speed.

I was really hoping the i9-9900k would be up to snuff for the 4070ti but I had noticed in some cases I was getting a fps boost in some games if I was in an area that was less demanding while having around same the fps on a 2070 super at 1440p in a more demanding area. I guess that should have been my sign 🤦🏻‍♂️

[BillyZane876]

Easy question to answer yourself. What's the gpu usage % when the fps drops a lot? If it's under 99% then yes, it's a cpu/memory bottleneck.

As a matter of fact, I'm on 12700, ddr4 and 4090. There are some areas where rt is intense so the gpu usage drops to 85% in my case. Typical memory bottleneck I would say, also noticed it in other games as well, even rdr2 when in towns.

However, my fps never droppped under 110. 4k, maxed out, rt high, no upsampling.

[daltonb726]

Originally posted by mihaisterpu:

Easy question to answer yourself. What's the gpu usage % when the fps drops a lot? If it's under 99% then yes, it's a cpu/memory bottleneck.

As a matter of fact, I'm on 12700, ddr4 and 4090. There are some areas where rt is intense so the gpu usage drops to 85% in my case. Typical memory bottleneck I would say, also noticed it in other games as well, even rdr2 when in towns.

However, my fps never droppped under 110. 4k, maxed out, rt high, no upsampling.

Yeah i was getting maybe a max of 60% gpu utilization when going through the intro/village at the beginning of the game with fps ranging between that 40-100 fps. I even tried decreasing graphic settings and resolution as well as locking it 60 fps but performance was inconsistent with dips to the 40s without ray tracing being on.

[BlackRose <3]

40 fps sounds really weird for your system.

I play on 2560x1440 on a 5800X3D and a GTX 1070 and I get 60fps on high settings with most stuff turned on and rain on low.

[Pizza_Force]

Im running 4k at a stable 60fps max settings on a 3080ti with an old i7 8700k. Maybe you need new drivers or something. Perhaps benchmark your machine to make sure your components are running as they should compared to others.

Also set your shader cache to unlimited in case you haven't already. Noticed a bunch of games improve with that on.

[Step]

Originally posted by daltonb726:

Hello friends, novice PC gamer here. I recently upgrade from my 2070 super to a 4070ti gpu x i9-9900k cpu. With Ray Tracing off, 3440 x 1440p balanced settings my fps ranges between 40-100 fps depending on what area such as the intro village scene. Even when I decrease graphic settings and resolution my performance as well as cap frame rate 60 isn’t getting boosted much and I can even hold 60 fps consistently. Is my cpu holding me back or is typical performance for this card? I figured I’d be able to play games at over 100 with ray tracing off at least when gaming at 3440p. I am using an ultra wide monitor as well so that may be affecting performance.

https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/0RM1dN/3/graphic-card-intense-tasks/3440x1440/

Your CPU is bottlenecking your GPU for almost 30% of its power
Remember guys, balance your rig with proper CPU-GPU

Anyway, before you change your CPU for an higher one, you can try enabling DLSS with a mod you can found on internet or here on the guides. Unfortunately, DLSS isn't integrated here..

[Millerlight89]

That cpu will bottleneck your gpu for sure....but here is someone getting well above 60fps in that same scene with the cpu you have and a 3080.....so you should get even a little more even though it will hold you back you should not be dropping to 40 fps. No way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogMbPZg7Hc

[umeng2002]

Make sure Hair Strands are OFF. That kills performance.

[Wrayday]

Turn off AA when you run 4k.

[Millerlight89]

Originally posted by Wrayday:

Turn off AA when you run 4k.

He isn't even running 4k and that is stupid because there are still jaggies at 4k. So no

[StingingVelvet]

Originally posted by Wrayday:

Turn off AA when you run 4k.

Modern games are built with TAA in mind, they usually look weird with it off. Tons of sparkling or jaggies, hair or leaves not blended, etc.

Anyway OP... I'm not an intel guy but I doubt that's your issue. I watched some 4070ti benchmarks just the other day and the RE4 demo at max wasn't getting 60fps at 4k, and your res isn't THAT different. I'd use FSR quality and I bet your problems resolves itself.

No harm checking your GPU usage though, see if it stays below 100% a lot.

[daltonb726]

Originally posted by mihaisterpu:

Easy question to answer yourself. What's the gpu usage % when the fps drops a lot? If it's under 99% then yes, it's a cpu/memory bottleneck.

As a matter of fact, I'm on 12700, ddr4 and 4090. There are some areas where rt is intense so the gpu usage drops to 85% in my case. Typical memory bottleneck I would say, also noticed it in other games as well, even rdr2 when in towns.

However, my fps never droppped under 110. 4k, maxed out, rt high, no upsampling.

My gpu utilization goes between 40 and 60 during gameplay and stays about that when I have the fps drops. I’m going to return my current cpu and get a new cpu/mobo combo since my mobo can’t support the 12900k or 13900k. Do you notice bottlenecking with your 12900k with your 4090? I was thinking of going with the 13900K but it is a bit more pricey but would be worth it.