High cpu and ram usage?

[Maku]

is it normal to have a cpu usage of 70%-88% when afk running on field/exploring? far from towns and even without players nearby? also ram usage goes 60% aswell
In game settings are High for Texture then Remastered for Graphics.
My pc specs are -
Ryzen 5 5600x
3060Ti
16gb ram
Gpu temps are 75 below and cpu temps are 65 below, no background apps. checked the task manager for abnormal usage of other processes but found none.

[r.linder]

CPU usage depends on the amount of threads the system is actually using. There's no problem there as long as you're not constantly running at 100% usage.

It makes sense that you're using 60% of your RAM, because the OS will use 2~4 GB by itself, and BDO ideally should have at least 8.

So TL;DR, this is pretty much normal, maybe a little high, but not problematic. I have a 10850K (10 core 20 thread), and the game is using around 40% of my CPU's threads (and I have it limited to only using 10 since it's more consistent performance, game hates hyper-threading), and 32GB RAM, the game is using over 4GB. Keep in mind that usage percentages add up a lot, even if other processes and services are using a tiny amount, it all adds up.

[kitty]

game needs alot of CPU power to process big world and other players, it's OK to have high CPU usage even if you don't do anything in game, it still has to compute and draw all surrounding objects and players/NPCs.

[Maku]

Originally posted by 乇丂匚ㄖ尺ᐯ乇:

CPU usage depends on the amount of threads the system is actually using. There's no problem there as long as you're not constantly running at 100% usage.

It makes sense that you're using 60% of your RAM, because the OS will use 2~4 GB by itself, and BDO ideally should have at least 8.

So TL;DR, this is pretty much normal, maybe a little high, but not problematic. I have a 10850K (10 core 20 thread), and the game is using around 40% of my CPU's threads (and I have it limited to only using 10 since it's more consistent performance, game hates hyper-threading), and 32GB RAM, the game is using over 4GB. Keep in mind that usage percentages add up a lot, even if other processes and services are using a tiny amount, it all adds up.

Thank you so much for this info. now i wont be worried to much.
my cpu usage goes 50%-65% most of the time but there are times it will go up to 70%-88%, due to sudden fps drops i mostly check cpu usage of black desert using task manager. btw how do you limit the usage of threads for black desert?

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Maku:

Originally posted by 乇丂匚ㄖ尺ᐯ乇:

CPU usage depends on the amount of threads the system is actually using. There's no problem there as long as you're not constantly running at 100% usage.

It makes sense that you're using 60% of your RAM, because the OS will use 2~4 GB by itself, and BDO ideally should have at least 8.

So TL;DR, this is pretty much normal, maybe a little high, but not problematic. I have a 10850K (10 core 20 thread), and the game is using around 40% of my CPU's threads (and I have it limited to only using 10 since it's more consistent performance, game hates hyper-threading), and 32GB RAM, the game is using over 4GB. Keep in mind that usage percentages add up a lot, even if other processes and services are using a tiny amount, it all adds up.

Thank you so much for this info. now i wont be worried to much.
my cpu usage goes 50%-65% most of the time but there are times it will go up to 70%-88%, due to sudden fps drops i mostly check cpu usage of black desert using task manager. btw how do you limit the usage of threads for black desert?

Here's a couple of things you can do to lower the load on your CPU from the game:

1. Disable as many UI elements that you're comfortable parting with, such as the icons next to the minimap that are rarely used, the quest widgets, icons at the bottom of the screen like the black spirit, mailbox, challenges, etc. All these little things take up a tiny bit of CPU and it all adds up.

2. If you're comfortable with combat, disable Attack Decisions. This does take up a little bit of CPU, so removing that could help. Also, while grinding mobs, disable Auto Arrange in your inventory. I've found that at least on Ryzen it has a noticeable impact and introduces some microstutters.

3. Switch the minimap from 2D to 3D mode, or disable it entirely. The 2D minimap has the largest impact out of anything on your UI because it's loading so many icons that are all taking up CPU and ultimately harming performance, at the very least causing some microstutters. Personally I'm used to using the 3D minimap now, it's not that bad even though some people hate it.

4. The best setting for Effects Optimisation to lower the load on the GPU while not ruining the visuals, is to put it just a bit left of the center towards Performance. On my screen, it lines up with the left-hand edge of the Apply button at the bottom of the window.

5. Lastly, Black Desert's engine was developed during a time when there were only monolithic CPU designs by Intel, and AMD was on the edge of bankruptcy due to FX not doing well. As a result, it doesn't mesh as well with Ryzen processors because those are not a monolithic design as they use clusters of cores called CCXs, and in some cases use more than one chiplet, called CCDs, which contain their own CCXs. This design introduces issues with some game engines and it gives Intel a clear edge.

I went from a Ryzen 9 3900X to an Intel Core i9-10850K, and my frames practically doubled over the AMD CPU after overclocking the Intel to 5 GHz, at least for 1080p.
My 3900X averaged around 100 frames in Heidel at 1080p, while my 10850K averages 170 at 1080p. I have not tested the 3900X at 1440p because I don't have it anymore, but the gap would be smaller, but my 10850K still gets up to the 144 FPS cap of my 1440p monitor, while the 3900X would be roughly the same, because it was heavily CPU bound at 1080p. There is nothing you can really do about this gap, you're bound by your CPU design and architecture, however, 5000 series holds up quite a bit better as it's around 20% faster than 3000 series.

Now, you asked how you can limit thread usage. There are multiple ways you can do that, and the way that I personally do it is through Process Lasso. Here's a step by step guide:

1. Download and install Process Lasso, and run it.

2. At the top of the window, click on Options, then hover over CPU, and slide on over to CPU affinities and click on it.

3. When Black Desert isn't running (it doesn't apply when the game is open already, you need to relaunch for it to take effect because it uses the launcher executable, has to be done this way because of Easy Anti-Cheat), type in blackdesertlauncher.exe into the box that says Process Match, and select even numbered threads (i.e. 0, 2, 4, etc.). I highly recommend that you start from the last even numbered threads, not the first, because the first ones are more likely to be scheduled for other processes and you may not get the most consistent performance.

4. Click on Add to list, and then OK. Now you can run the game, and it will only use the threads that you set.




Optional: I recommend going through the CPU priorities too, and setting the priority of blackdesertlauncher.exe and blackdesert64.exe to High. The game seems to have slightly better performance on High priority than any other setting, but it's not necessary.




Now, why did we just limit thread usage, why the even numbered threads, right? The odd numbered threads are the extra threads per core added in when AMD's Simultaneous Multi-Threading (or Intel's Hyper-Threading for their CPUs) is enabled. BDO's engine surprisingly hates multi-threading to the point that you can reduce a lot of performance issues on the CPU side just by disabling it, or doing what we just did, which was setting the game to only using those even numbered threads which are the "original" threads that perform a little bit better than those odd numbered threads.

In case you're wondering if this will flag EAC, it won't, I've used this method since the game started using EAC, and it's never flagged Process Lasso.