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Sandy bridge CPUs and source games

S

SuPrEIVIE

Platinum Member
Anybody with a 1155 setup noticing that avg CPU use of valve source games is 60%!? My prior 775 setup only experienced 30% and now its doubled? I have only tried HL2 DM and CSS, but find this way too high for an old game. Usually all games top out at 30%, Mass Effect 2 is the only one as I recall on my 775 that used like 50%+ Everything else is simply 30%. The same continues with 1155 except with source games.
 
Could be how source deals with multiple cores although i dont see why it would differ with sandy bridge compared with any other multicore cpu. Maybe check the settings?

Starcraft 1 used to max out 1 core on my old dual core setup, it needs nowhere near that amount of cpu power to run but it is how it dealt with dual cores at the time, they've patched that now though.
 
Well unless you have vsync turned on, any old game will use 100% of whatever your limiting factor is. In this case I bet it's using 100% of your GPU power, and to push that many frames it needs 60% of your CPU. Assuming you upgraded your GPU too, that would explain why CPU usage is higher than before.
 
Maybe the Sandy Bridge isn’t raising its clocks as high as the 775 because it has a higher IPC, so the percentage seems higher.
 
Valve has upgraded some of their older games to run better on quad cores. If you just went from a dual to a quad and its working harder on the quad then its also doing more. At any rate, 60% usage is within the normal range.
 
was going from a q6600 + 9600gt to 2500k + 5850 and from a 1280X1024 to 1920x1080, however i dont think this matters cause i have tried other games like Fear 2, serious sam hds and they still do 30% like on my older system with same game settings except resolution and i do have vsync on. Only source games are doubling my cpu use.
 
Perhaps the Source engine was running an older DX7/8 code path for your 9600 and is now DX9 with more eye candy even at the same low / medium / high setting.

But this does make a difference as well:
and from a 1280X1024 to 1920x1080,
Click to expand...
 
I found the option thats causing this its the multirender option in advanced section on the video tab, it was set to enable by default and it seems to hog even more cpu, turning it to disabled brought it back to what i expected 30% use. Not sure what it does because i cant tell the difference except for the unreasonable resource use.
 
SuPrEIVIE said:
I found the option thats causing this its the multirender option in advanced section on the video tab, it was set to enable by default and it seems to hog even more cpu, turning it to disabled brought it back to what i expected 30% use. Not sure what it does because i cant tell the difference except for the unreasonable resource use.
Click to expand...

you paid for those megahertz, might as well use them all.
 
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