30-33% cpu 12900K usage - terrible Watch Dogs Legion performance on 3090 Ti

Hello,its my 3rd topic. Sorry again.

I have some serious problems with gaming performance of RTX 3090 Ti Gigabyte Gaming and 12900K. First of all, I provide my computer specs :

12900K with NZXT KRAKEN X73 ( 50-60C in game )

2x16GB DDR4 KINGSTON DDR4 3600MHZ in GEAR 1

RTX 3090 Ti Gigabyte Gaming

Aorus Z690 Elite DDR4 bios F5

SSD 1 TB NVM PCIE

Seasonic 1300W Prime Platinum

Problem description : While testing WD:Legion performance of installed GPU, I noticed that its usage is abnormally low. In fact, I am unable to reach a “healthy” 99% GPU usage. I thought that it was due to bad optimization.

Let’s evaluate the hardware behavior in this game. Let’s assume that in location “X” .I have 120 FPS at 1080p on Ultra preset with DLSS “OFF” and RT "OFF". The GPU usage stays around ~80%. That’s a terrible disappointment. I up resolution to 1440P and still have the same 120 FPS, but with GPU usage of 90%.

Setting DLSS to “Performance” - the GPU usage drops down to 60-70% and the FPS remains at 120fps.

Msi Afterburner reporting cpu 30-33% usage.

After seeing multiple YouTube videos recorded on same hardware with usage at constant 99% - I became concerned about the situation.

For sure, V-sync and Frame Limiters were disabled. I revealed that the only way to experience full GPU usage (99%) is to max out RT to ULTRA and turn off DLSS, and run the game in native resolution 1440P.

Thats the issue. Now the positive sides. My scores in 3dmark ( port royal , timespy,speedway,cpu profile timespy ) are accurate for 12900K and 3090 ti. ( normal usage ). In Cyberpunk 2077,Quake 2 rtx,Control have good 95-100% usage.

Can someone explain me issue with WD:Legion?

PS:

I reinstalled windows 11 22H2 ,updated msi afterburner, tried 3 versions of drivers,still no go. Other programs are closed in background. Nothing more using cpu.

Take a look at what these games have in common.... They are all Ubisoft titles! Ubisoft is known for shit optimization (especially CPU multi-threading and RAM) and issues with their engines. Snowdrop engine is really good though (The Division games). Don't waste time trying to troubleshoot their games. Just accept the level of performance and try to enjoy it the best you can. Here is a free tip....

Turn off the performance overlay and you will enjoy games a lot more.

oki thank you. So not try to disable ecores?

E cores had issues at the launch of Intel 12th gen, but they have been resolved as far as I know.

ooook

As someone who has spent hours trying to optimize Watch Dogs Legion:

The game looks and performs awful.

Plus CPU performance in that game is undermined by Ubisoft putting 4 different types of DRM in that game. All running at the same time as the game.

Which just goes to show: Ubisoft is more obsessed with stopping pirates (game got cracked either way) than offering legitimate customers a solid experience.

But how you explain me this?

Someone with 12900K and Rtx 3090, tested on 720P watch dogs legion benchmark have 88-90% usage. DLSS OFF, RT OFF . And have more fps than me.

And i have 65-85% usage.

Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00NpdfdnRMI&t=22s

Also i have the same fps on 720P like on 1080P. The same.

Now. Cyberpunk 2077

The same person with 12900K and Rtx 3090, tested on 720P CB2077 benchmark have 90% usage. DLSS OFF, RT OFF, And have more fps than me.

And i have still 80% usage here.

Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p7daf0hDDo

Also i have the same fps on 720P like on 1080P. The same in this game too.

So i am bottlenecked because system need to reformat and clean install ( something broken ) , update bios or maybe because i have DDR4 3600?

Your setup is better than mine. I found disabling the ubisoft connect, or whatever it's called, helped a lot with the newerish ubisoft titles.

@SOedipus: but ubisoft connect must be on to ryn game

I launch game on 1440P. Have 81fps. gpu usage 93%.

Change to 720P. Still 81fps. Usage 60%

Change to 1080P. Still 81fps. Usage 80%

This is not normal? Why i have such bottleneck on 12900K?

I updated bios,formatted disk and still no go.

@sew333: What are your RAM timings? You can check in BIOS or by using CPU-Z. Make sure you enable XMP in your BIOS. Otherwise, you will bottleneck your system and your RAM will only run at DDR4 2133 or 2400 speeds.

I think its windows 11 issue. But i want to be sure and i am downloading after format again Watch Dogs.

I formatted all and installed win 10 22H2. Tested unigine Heaven in 720P and 98% usage. I think now will be fine.

So question why i had issues with usage on win 11 22H2 when somebody not?

Electronics and software can have many different issues. That is why we troubleshoot to find out what they are.

So why windows 11 2H22 was the cause,hmm Bassman my friend?

MS just hasn't optimized it properly. Newer builds of the OS sometimes don't play nice with hardware and it takes a while until the issues are fixed. At least you got the performance back with Win 10.

this statement is quite the opposite

As long as games don't use 99% of CPU / GPU / RAM memory then nothing bottlenecks it.

It is when they get to that percentage you should get worried about.

If you get above 114fps on this graphics settings (including resolution) your PC is fine

You want the GPU at 99 or 100% in an unlocked frame rate scenario. That means the game does not have unnecessary bottlenecks. Of course you want the frame rate to be very high while the GPU is being maxed out.

Who wants unlocked frame rate? for benchmark purposes maybe, but for gaming you have to match it to your monitor refresh rate or else you're just "exhausting" your GPU for nothing.

I had plenty of games running at no more than 70% GPU and CPU no more than 30-40% playing at 1080p at 60fps.

That is potato gaming though. I have a 3440x1440/175hz monitor and 4K/120hz TV. That is why I upgraded form a 3080 to a 4090. I was easily maxing out my 3080 during regular gaming.

Hey. I run Watch Dogs Legion on Win 10 22H2 and usage and fps are beetter. But not perfect. The same gpu usage 77% on 1280x720 P. When i switch to 1920x1080 i have the same fps but higher gpu usage.

But i tested 1440P and now i have 99% usage with DLSS QUALITY and RT ULTRA. When on Windows 11 was 80-90%.

So on windows 10 is better now.

It doesn't matter how you call it, you do not want unlocked frame rate while gaming - some people had various game bugs that fried their GPUs because of that.

If you run your games when your GPU is always at 100% load - you're putting too much graphically demand on it, you'll want your rig to run games as benchmark expected but I have never had my GPU run 100% all the time, In example with my old GTX970 at 2022 when games became sometimes more demanding for my GPU and I wanted it to run high / max graphics - it did started to show 100% load all the time and frame rates started to get low which means my GPU was the bottleneck.

@gerygo: If you are referring to A New World, that was already debunked and was just a defect with EVGA cards that they later fixed. I never heard of a GPU bricking due to unlocked frame rate prior to that. Also, you can have the frame rate unlocked on a high refresh rate display, max out your GPU and still not hit your maximum refresh rate. This is where G-Sync and FreeSync come in handy with no tearing.

Diablo 3 at launch and more games that I do not remember had broken some GPUs due to unlimited fps glitches.

I agree you can have unlocked frame rate and you still won't achieve your monitor's refresh rate - some monitors today come with 360Hz so unless you have a 3090Ti and / or lower the graphics settings you won't be able to get there most of the time with modern titles. (Overwatch 2 and CS GO at exception) - but it still unhealthy for your GPU to be at 100% all the time, it's fine because it's built that way to run at 100% - it is normal but the wear will be higher this way.

Sitting on 3090 ti actually.

So my fps is the same on 720P and 1080P. Switching between resolutions my fps is the same,no performance change. Only gpu usage is changing. The same with DLSS. Switching between DLSS Quality and Performance not affect performance on 720P and 1080P. Only gpu usage is changing. I am somewhere bottlenecked or games issue?

I test 3dmark firestrike and here is normal. On 720P 350fps. On 1080P 250fps.

So scaling between cpu and gpu is broken in my pc, in Watch Dogs Legion.

But why i am bottlenecked? Bios is updated

I found test and on 12900K should be difference in this game between 720P and 1080P.Screens:

@sew333: You are using DDR4. Memory will bottleneck the CPU, which then bottlenecks the GPU. If you had fast DDR5, you would get more fps and higher minimum frame rates.

so cpu is fine?

@sew333: Yes, your CPU is fine as is my 5950X. Both are not the fastest gaming CPUs with DDR4, but they still perform very good.

This shows you the difference...

https://www.techspot.com/review/2351-intel-core-i9-12900k/

"Moving on to Watch Dogs: Legion we have some eye-catching numbers. This is the first example where DDR5 offers a noteworthy performance uplift, boosting the average frame rate from 142 fps to 164 fps, a substantial 15% performance boost.

The 12900K was comparable to the 5900X and 5950X using DDR4 memory, but 15% faster using DDR5, if only DDR5 were just 15% more expensive."

ok but.......

Its test DDR4 vs DDR5 and DDR4 3600mhz shouldnt bottleneck 12900K on 720P.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/intel-core-i9-12900k-alder-lake-ddr4-vs-ddr5/3.html

@sew333:

Dude stop worrying so much would ya? The average difference between DDR4 vs DDR5 for most games is on avg is 3% at 1080p. There are only a few out liners like Farcry 6 or Watch Dogs Legion where you can see up to 20%. At 1440p-4k the differences are even smaller.

Watch Dogs Legion is an AMD bias game anyways, as long as your getting an average of around 105-110fps at 1080p, 95-100 at 1440p and around 65fps at 4k your ok....

You have to judge by the individual game. WD:L is a memory sensitive game. The benchmarks I posted show the difference that DDR5 can make in that game. DDR5 does not make that much of a difference in most games, but makes a big difference in WD:L.

There is no need to worry. Our CPUs still get a minimum 102fps in that benchmark. That is more than enough for a game like that.

Ok . thanks. :) So pc is ok? I mean cpu,ram?

@sew333: Yes, everything is OK. Stop worrying and enjoy your PC. Also, turn off the OSD fps counters. That will make your gaming more enjoyable and immersive. :)