Questions about how multi-threading is handled in games.

I

IG-64

New Member
Ok, I have a PC with a QX6800 processor. I bought this computer mainly for graphic arts with 3ds Max, etc. However, I specifically got gaming parts because I am a gamer as well. When I got The Orange Box I was under the impression that it was a multi-threaded game. However, it was only showing on task manager that it was using basically one core, and that my game wasn't running as smoothly as I thought it should be given my build. The same thing happened with the Crysis demo. I had read on their website that Crysis is multi-threaded and is supposed to detect how many cores are on your computer. I was getting major lag in the game even on medium settings with no anti-aliasing. I checked task manager and it was only using half of one core.
I have asked about this on the forums for each game respectively, and have had mixed responses. But I have noticed a number of people telling me that my processor usage was being bottlenecked by my GPU and RAM. This didn't sound right to me for two reasons: I was under the impression that the added cores were supposed to work regardless; and I have an 8800 GTX with 2GB RAM which isn't the best but I hardly think it's inadequate. So, here are my questions: can my processor be "bottlenecked" by my GPU and RAM? Is the task manager an accurate representation of how multi-threading is being utilized? And should I be worried that my brand new gaming comp is already out-of-date even for the first games made to utilize it?

Sorry for the walls of text, I just wanted to explain the situation.

I'd like to note that multi-threading seems to work fine in 3ds Max, as I'm able to get 100% usage easily according to task manager.
 
The cores will work regardless, Tell me, Did all the games in Orange pack act this way? Episode two is supposed to be quad optimized, though the rest only dual.. are you're driver fully up to date? All official hot fixes applied?

Your situation with crysis might be normal, or at least common. I was checking out the support forums today and saw some people complaining about the same thing, the demo seems optimized for only two cores at the moment, and even then, poorly. I believe it's the drivers fault, even nvidia beta drivers that are optimized for crysis aren't "there yet". Half of one core sounds funky though, you alt-tabbed or ctrl+alt+deleted out, then checked the task manager, it's possible the game halted usage to a certain extant while out of game. To check for certain, keep the TM up and go back into game, then alt-tab back out. The usage graph should show how the core is doing, while in game, along with the others. To increase multi-threading efficiency even more, you can go into the nvidia control panel and turn on threaded optimization.

As for your questions, yes, any taxable component in your Pc can bottleneck another component. A weak GPU, but strong CPU, RAM, etc will not game well, Replace the GPU with any other part to the same effect, though the other parts will still work as they should. Second question, Yes, third, Your system is top of the line. And crysis is the first of a the new generation of games, a generation your system was built for. But going along with being first it's also a testament to the immaturity of the new format. Time will age the function, hopefully, in a more malleable direction. And add to that Crysis is a beast, comparable to oblivion in it's day, it's possible that games will not follow in it's stride for a while to come.
 
Thank you, good reply. I am using that latest Nvidia beta driver for the Crysis demo, so I'm supposing that means my drivers are up to date. To check the CPU usage I was running task manager while playing the games in windowed mode while moving around and stuff. I know Episode 2 might use maybe a core and a half, say 30-40% and I know portal didn't use very much, I haven't tested Team Fortress. As far as I know, there are no official fixes or patches or anything yet.

And yes, Crysis is an incredibly advanced game, and it looks amazing. However, it's very laggy, and it does seem to only use 10% of my processor even at intensive parts, and I have close to no other processes running.

So basically, both of these are technically broken? I guess the technology is so new they're having trouble with it. And, granted, Crysis is just a demo right now.

Thanks for your help. If anyone else wants to add anything, that would be appreciated.
 
The crysis thing is worrying, that kind of CPU usage is not good, considering the support forums are littered with quad users, and most of them report a core 1: 80-100%, Core 2-3-4: 5-10% kind of usage. So you may have a problem.. are you running a 64bit OS? I've heard the demo can run alittle flaky on it.

Did you try to turn threaded optimization on in the NV control panel? Most users report it increases the effectiveness of their multi-cores. Other than that, I'm clueless, at least as of now...
 
I just turned on threaded optimization. It seems to use about 17% now. A few times it briefly went up to 30%, though this could just be because I was viewing a different scene.

And yes, I'm running Windows Vista 64-bit.

It also seems like when I shift my view, or something "new" happens, the CPU usage drops and the game stutters. I don't know that much about the mechanics of a computer, but that sounds like it might be the RAM, but like you said, the cores should work anyway, right?
 
You can try removing a stick, testing, then removing the other. If a stick is actually damaged, who knows what problems could arise? I'm guessing they're pc-6400 though, and that most definitely shouldn't create a bottleneck, should they be operable.

My brains working slightly better now, It might be a PSU problem, but you say it works great in a benchmarking app... that makes me suspect some sort of software nuance, other than hardware. Are audio driver current as well? can you uninstall video drivers, run driver cleaner pro, then reinstall?

http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

I could be way off base, but with the fuskered contraptions, you can never can be certain as of cause. :\
 
I upgraded my sound drivers and reinstalled the nvidia drivers with the driver cleaner like you said, and it's still running at about 17% in the Crysis demo. I doubt the RAM is broken because this is a Dell computer so all the parts were professionally installed. I know that doesn't exclude the possibility of a broken part, but I doubt that is the case. 3ds Max is a RAM-heavy program (the recommended specs call for 4GB) and like I said, it runs fine with the quad-core. I'm starting to think it's just a problem with the games. I guess I'll have to wait for the full version of Crysis to see.
 
It's either game, or the 64bit version of the beta driver, I agree. Wait and see then, hopefully this problem will go away, and isn't a sign of some other underlying discrepancy, doubtful as it may be.

take it easy man! :D
 
Email both nVidia and EA. If they know of the problem and can fix it, they will tell you. If not, they can investigate. If you're using beta drivers it's a good idea to report any problems you have at all. (This is the whole idea of releasing beta drivers.)
 
i run vista 64 bit and i also run the nvidea beta drivers when i play crysis all cores of my cpu are being used but the fourth core is used more than the others it also uses 1.88 gb of my ram, i run the game on high settings but i did notice it ran a little glitchy with the task manager running at the same time without the task manager running it runs really smooth.
 
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