Bottlenecking issues in games with Intel Core i3 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

Hello everyone.
My current system setup consists of:
Intel Core i3 3.1GHz
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 1GB DDR5
3GB RAM

I am encountering an issue where my GPU usage during League of Legends gameplay fluctuates between 30% and 60%.
While I believe this processor should be sufficient to handle the EVGA NVIDIA card, I am uncertain why this is happening.
When I first launch League of Legends, I see about 120 FPS with roughly 70% GPU usage; however, after about five minutes, the performance drops to 50 or 60 FPS on Very high 1680 x1050 settings. 😕
Furthermore, once the game progresses, the GPU usage settles at approximately 30%.

Who cares if you're hitting 60fps on Very high 1680 x1050 settings? Honestly, you might just have Vsync turned on, which would cap your frame rate. Otherwise, in games that lean more heavily on the CPU, you could definitely be looking at a bottleneck here.

Timothy Kim60 said:Honestly, who cares if you're hitting 60fps on Very high 1680 x1050 settings? You might just have VSync turned on, which would cap your frame rate. Or, if you're playing something particularly heavy on the processor, you could be dealing with a CPU bottleneck.

I really don't care about hitting 60 fps, to be honest. And I definitely don't have VSync enabled. I just can't wrap my head around why I'll start a match with a smooth 120-140 fps, only to see it tank down to barely 60 just five minutes later.

Look, not every scene carries the same load. I don't play this particular game myself, but I'd assume you start out solo on screen and eventually move into total chaos—so a drop in fps is perfectly expected under those conditions.

What does your CPU usage look like? If both are pinned at 100%, you're looking at a bottleneck. And what about temperatures? That CPU isn't exactly a powerhouse, and it’s been running for about 8 years now.

Timothy Kim60 said:Not every scene is going to be equally demanding on your hardware. I don't personally play this game, but my assumption is that you might start off alone on the screen, and then things get chaotic later on, so it’s perfectly normal for the fps to drop during those intense moments.

What does your CPU usage look like? If both cores are pegged at maximum capacity, you're dealing with a bottleneck. Also, what are your CPU temperatures? That specific processor isn't anything particularly high-end, especially considering it's about 8 years old now.

I understand what you mean... I've only really tested staying within the base, but regardless of where I am, the fps starts out at a really solid 120-140 for the first five minutes, yet after just two or three minutes, it barely holds at 60.

Look, you really need to check your core load and keep an eye on those CPU temperatures.

Timothy Kim60 said:I would suggest checking the core load first, and then taking a look at your CPU temperatures.

Both cores are sitting at roughly 80-95% utilization, though they occasionally spike to 100%... as for the processor temperature, everything seems perfectly fine, as it doesn't go above 50 degrees.

It’s definitely hitting some CPU bottlenecks; you’d certainly see a higher FPS if you had a more powerful processor. However, that would mean upgrading your entire setup—CPU, motherboard, and RAM all at once.

Timothy Kim60 said:It looks like the CPU is bottlenecking her; she would definitely see higher League of Legends fps if she had a more powerful processor. However, upgrading that would require replacing the entire foundation—the CPU, motherboard, and RAM all at once.

I think I'll skip the hassle with this machine entirely. In about two weeks, I'm picking up a computer from a neighbor who put together a build for me.
Intel Athlon ii x4 645 3.10 ghz
EVGA NVIDIA radeon hd 7750 1 gb ddr5
4 gb ram kingston 1333 mhz
gigabyte motherboard etc..

Either way, it doesn't matter. Thanks anyway.😁

So, you actually buying this thing or what?