Limited GPU power but heavy CPU activity in GTA 5
Limited GPU power but heavy CPU activity in GTA 5
I've been experiencing sudden and temporary FPS fluctuations in GTA 5 story mode. Usually I maintain around 60-65 fps, but it often drops to 40-45 fps.
I’ve checked numerous forums where others are facing the same issue and tried various solutions—such as switching to fullscreen, disabling VSync in-game, adjusting power settings to prioritize performance, and ensuring the integrated GPU isn’t in use.
Despite using the GeForce recommended settings and following advice from users with similar configurations who run at maximum graphics, the problem persists.
My system specs are an i5-9600k, GTX 1060 with 6GB RAM, 16GB of memory, GTA installed on a NVMe SSD, playing on a 2560 x 1440 monitor at 165Hz.
Any suggestions or fixes would be greatly appreciated.
I performed some tests using Afterburner to track GPU and CPU activity.
My frame rate was typically around 60-65 fps, with occasional drops to about 40-45 fps for roughly a second.
When this occurs, GPU usage decreases to approximately 50% for one second before returning to full capacity. CPU usage remains unaffected.
Afterburner Monitoring
The screenshot shows two noticeable drops—one around one-fifth and another near the end.
Does anyone have any insight into what might be causing this?
60-65 fps is quite typical for your setup. GTA V tends to be quite demanding on the CPU, often using about 40-45% of a 9900k. occasional frame drops to around 40-45 fps usually happen when there are many NPCs active, which can strain the processor. In your situation, there shouldn't be any significant problems.
Want higher frame rates? Try these configurations...
Advanced Settings: Disable all options. Adjust Extended Distance Scaling and Extended Shadows Distance to 0%.
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Screen Type: Fullscreen
FXAA: Enabled
MSAA: X2
NVIDIA TXAA: Disabled
VSync: Disabled
Pause Game On Focus Loss: Enabled
Population Density: 0%
Population Variety: 0%
Distance Scaling: 60%
Texture Quality: Very High
Shader Quality: High
Shadow Quality: High
Reflection Quality: High
Reflection MSAA: Disabled
Water Quality: Very High
Particles Quality: Normal
Grass Quality: Normal
Soft Shadows: Sharp
Post FX: High
Motion Blur Strength: 0%
In-Game Depth Of Field Effects: Disabled
Anisotropic Filtering: X16
Ambient Occlusion: High
Tessellation: Normal
These adjustments will push your performance to its limits while keeping visuals top-notch. Even with a weaker machine, you should see significant gains—my i5 runs at 3.0 GHz and consistently hits 95-115 FPS outside city areas or during flight, and around 65-85 FPS inside city or demanding scenes in Story mode at 1440p. You’ll likely match or exceed those numbers with a comparable K i5.