i5 7600k 100% usage (BF2042)

[gregers05]

I pretty much only play BF2042 lately, once a week if I have time. I recently upgraded my GPU from a Strix 960 to a 3070ti along with case, PSU and RAM (16 to 32gb). I have my i5 7600K OCed to ~4.5 ghz.

When I am running the game, the cpu is maxed at 100% at the menus and the game itself is just unplayable because input lag is so bad. I actually threw away my old keyboard and bought a new one because I though the keyboard wasnt working. The mouse movement is fine.

I realize the cpu is a bottle neck at this point but dont really have it in the budget at the moment to upgrade the cpu and mobo. Is there anything else I can try to get the 100% usage down? I have tried closing out everything running in the background and it helps while on the desktop but in game it didnt help.

There is also a high probability this could be something with the software in the game. I have seen benchmarks with my same setup getting 100+ FPS and I seem to not be able to break 35-40.

If this needs to be moved to another section please do

 

[EarthDog]

To be clear, do you have an i5-7600K or i5-6700K? Sig says one thing, title and text another.

Regardless, those are 4c/4t parts playing a game that can easily use double the amount of cores/threads on that processor. You're literally one generation above the minimum requirement with either chip. The Techspot review that shows ~100 FPS is using an AMD 5950X and 3070 Ti - an 8c/16t monster that's a much newer and faster chip than yours, so that makes sense. But yeah, that old CPU plus new fast GPU, plus a game that easily uses more c/t than you have, I can see why you're getting such low FPS. You're playing at 1080p, I assume?

You can try verifying game files or deleting and reinstalling the game, but if it's the only process running (read: taking up the processes), you may be screwed. 4c/4t parts are old and long in the tooth and will put a glass ceiling on most modern titles. How low depends on how CPU dependent it is. But the obvious thing, if you think it's software/the game, is to delete, reboot, then DL and reinstall the game fresh to see if that helps.

 

[Zerileous]

You could get a 5600 and a low end b550 board for $200, or by going microcenter you could get a little faster CPU https://www.microcenter.com/product...gabyte-b450m-ds3h-wifi,-cpu-motherboard-combo.

 

[EarthDog]

Fired up the game to capture my CPU use on a 13900K... I've got Chrome up with 6 tabs, otherwise, nada.

MP Conquest (forgot which map, lol)... 4090 @ 2560x1440 ~190 FPS (default 'ultra. It likes cores and threads.

 

[gregers05]

To be clear, do you have an i5-7600K or i5-6700K? Sig says one thing, title and text another.

Regardless, those are 4c/4t parts playing a game that can easily use double the amount of cores/threads on that processor. You're literally one generation above the minimum requirement with either chip. The Techspot review that shows ~100 FPS is using an AMD 5950X and 3070 Ti - an 8c/16t monster that's a much newer and faster chip than yours, so that makes sense. But yeah, that old CPU plus new fast GPU, plus a game that easily uses more c/t than you have, I can see why you're getting such low FPS. You're playing at 1080p, I assume?

You can try verifying game files or deleting and reinstalling the game, but if it's the only process running (read: taking up the processes), you may be screwed. 4c/4t parts are old and long in the tooth and will put a glass ceiling on most modern titles. How low depends on how CPU dependent it is. But the obvious thing, if you think it's software/the game, is to delete, reboot, then DL and reinstall the game fresh to see if that helps.

Yeah sorry about that, its the 7600K and at 1080p.

Makes sense, and kind of figured that. Its odd though, I was able to at least play the game and wasnt getting the input lag I am getting after swapping to the 3070ti. My FPS were always low, but was still fine playing. I guess thats whats throwing me off. I upgraded the GPU thinking it would help my FPS out, but instead its about the same FPS and the lag has made it just unplayable. They did do the March update on the game while I had the computer torn apart, so I came back to the game with a new GPU but also on the new update with the game, so thats why its possible it was something within that update. Tempted to throw my old GPU back in there and see what happens.

I have seen the 100% cpu and input usage issue with people that have the best of everything in their machine. It seems to be a somewhat common issue looking through the BF2042 EA Tech issue forums. This makes me hesitant to drop coin on a new mobo and cpu just to have the same issue.

You could get a 5600 and a low end b550 board for $200, or by going microcenter you could get a little faster CPU https://www.microcenter.com/product...gabyte-b450m-ds3h-wifi,-cpu-motherboard-combo.

Yeah thats not a bad option. Whatever I get I would prefer to not have to tear it all apart again in a year or two. Debating making a switch to AMD just because they dont switch sockets constantly like Intel does. Makes it easier to upgrade the CPU down the road.

Fired up the game to capture my CPU use on a 13900K... I've got Chrome up with 6 tabs, otherwise, nada.

MP Conquest (forgot which map, lol)... 4090 @ 2560x1440 ~190 FPS (default 'ultra. It likes cores and threads.



View attachment 362017

Geez thats crazy you are still getting 84% with that CPU. Whats 190 FPS like?

 

[EarthDog]

Makes sense, and kind of figured that. Its odd though, I was able to at least play the game and wasnt getting the input lag I am getting after swapping to the 3070ti. My FPS were always low, but was still fine playing. I guess thats whats throwing me off.

The extra throughput/processing your cpu has to do with the MUCH faster video card is likely the straw that breaks the camel's back. An update may have something to do with it, but it was always core/thresd heavy. I'm not at all surprised people are seeing 100% use...look how it lights up a 13900k.

 

[Zerileous]

I think swapping back could be illustrative. Overall I think the focus on CPU "bottlenecking" is overblown, but pairing components with significantly different capabilities is the perfect situation for it. I do think a struggling CPU can have a greater impact on playability. Less consistent frame times feels worse than a steady but lower FPS.

You can easily prove it's CPU limited by switching GPUs. It could also be a driver issue. If you're upgrading from the same vendor (i.e. Nvidia) it shouldn't, but if your GPU was a similar age to the rest of the system, I could see it happening. You might try to remove the drivers with DDU and a clean install.

I would also suggest testing with a game you'd expect to do well (Doom, CS:Go, anything that should be easy), to confirm expected performance. You could also try a different newer title if you already have one to see if the problem persists.

You could also try loading the GPU higher with settings, it won't improve your FPS but may help with consistency.

On to upgrades, my previous suggestions were super budget conscious. Especially the board is pretty bare bones. It will run a 6c CPU fine but lacks in features. Additionally I targeted AM4 so you could use your new DDR4 memory and basically just swap n go.

For an upgrade with more legs, you would need to move to socket AM5 and 7000 series and DDR5. Unlike AM4 which was used for a chunk of time, AM5 may phase out as soon as 2025. Additionally it is important to note that same socket does not equal support. AMD ran into a headache with BIOS issues trying to support many generations on the same board, idk if they will go there again. I think 2-3 gens per board is the most you could expect, more would be a nice bonus. I think they'll still be a little longer lasting than Intel's 2 generations, but don't expect to upgrade the CPU 5+ years down the line.

Be ready for sticker shock especially with motherboard prices. There are also some issues that have cropped up with EXPO (the new AMD XMP equivalent), they should all be resolved but you'll need to make sure that your BIOS is up to date, and verify that SOC voltage is not set too high after enabling EXPO.

 

[gregers05]

The extra throughput/processing your cpu has to do with the MUCH faster video card is likely the straw that breaks the camel's back. An update may have something to do with it, but it was always core/thresd heavy. I'm not at all surprised people are seeing 100% use...look how it lights up a 13900k.

yeah that makes sense. Its crazy how people with higher end CPUs are still maxing them out on this game. Definitely something EA needs to address. Ive tried all sorts of different settings and it doesnt make a difference one way or the other.

Post magically merged: May 25, 2023

I think swapping back could be illustrative. Overall I think the focus on CPU "bottlenecking" is overblown, but pairing components with significantly different capabilities is the perfect situation for it. I do think a struggling CPU can have a greater impact on playability. Less consistent frame times feels worse than a steady but lower FPS.

You can easily prove it's CPU limited by switching GPUs. It could also be a driver issue. If you're upgrading from the same vendor (i.e. Nvidia) it shouldn't, but if your GPU was a similar age to the rest of the system, I could see it happening. You might try to remove the drivers with DDU and a clean install.

I would also suggest testing with a game you'd expect to do well (Doom, CS:Go, anything that should be easy), to confirm expected performance. You could also try a different newer title if you already have one to see if the problem persists.

You could also try loading the GPU higher with settings, it won't improve your FPS but may help with consistency.

On to upgrades, my previous suggestions were super budget conscious. Especially the board is pretty bare bones. It will run a 6c CPU fine but lacks in features. Additionally I targeted AM4 so you could use your new DDR4 memory and basically just swap n go.

For an upgrade with more legs, you would need to move to socket AM5 and 7000 series and DDR5. Unlike AM4 which was used for a chunk of time, AM5 may phase out as soon as 2025. Additionally it is important to note that same socket does not equal support. AMD ran into a headache with BIOS issues trying to support many generations on the same board, idk if they will go there again. I think 2-3 gens per board is the most you could expect, more would be a nice bonus. I think they'll still be a little longer lasting than Intel's 2 generations, but don't expect to upgrade the CPU 5+ years down the line.

Be ready for sticker shock especially with motherboard prices. There are also some issues that have cropped up with EXPO (the new AMD XMP equivalent), they should all be resolved but you'll need to make sure that your BIOS is up to date, and verify that SOC voltage is not set too high after enabling EXPO.

all good suggestions I will have to try when I get some time to mess with it.

Thanks for the suggestions on CPU and mobo. Ive been window shopping a bit and letting myself acclimate to the prices lol. I'll let it soak for a bit and then I'll eventually accept it and buy something.

I actually ended up returning the DDR4 memory as it didnt help and I figured I would likely have to upgrade to DDR5 anyways. I'm just keeping my eye out and will scoop up parts as I find them on sale for a good deal. I'll probably throw my old GPU back in for the time being after I try testing with the different games like you suggested.