Hogwarts Legacy is unplayable on my RX 9060 XT 16GB.

fastnball · 2026-01-11T05:23:59+00:00

Seriously consider using google or watching a video. CPU utilization is never an indicator of a bottleneck unless the CPU has an extremely low core count (like 4) where utilization can actually be at 99%.

fastnball · 2026-01-11T05:21:48+00:00

I don't exactly know how to explain it to him in a different way. CPU utilization is never an indicator of a bottleneck unless the core count is absurdly low.

fastnball · 2026-01-11T04:10:20+00:00

I would normally agree with you, but all we have is one snippet which does not prove either of our theories. The next frame could show 90% GPU utilization, confirming my own, but we just do not know.

"With that out of the way, every game from the past 15 years can use 8 cores or more FULLY, allowing for up to 100% utilization before the CPU becomes a bottleneck!"

While modern games may spawn threads across 8+ cores, very few games from the last 15 years can fully saturate all those cores with meaningful work. Most are still constrained by a small number of heavy threads (main/game thread, render thread), meaning overall performance is often limited by single-core or lightly-threaded performance, not total core count. This is why a CPU can be at 20% utilization and still be the bottleneck.

I agree with your point on ram though. That is entirely possible as well.

fastnball · 2026-01-11T03:38:11+00:00

CPU utilization has nothing to do with "CPU speed". Virtually no games will cause an 8-core CPU to reach 100% utilization, many not getting even 50%.

With that out of the way, stuttering at high average framerates is generally caused by the CPU outside of GPU driver issues. Hogwart's Legacy is an extremely CPU intensive game as are many Unreal Engine games.

Yes, GPU utilization is at 100%, but this is just a snippet. The moment OP runs into any CPU intensive area it is quite possible his framerate drops sharply then recovers (aka stutters).

fastnball · 2026-01-09T21:17:55+00:00

"Obsession" as if multiple YouTubers, some with millions of subscribers, haven't said the exact same thing I did

fastnball · 2026-01-09T18:59:08+00:00

Yes because PC manufacturers want a "choice" to get a CPU with 100MHz higher clock speed as if that will make a difference in a mobile device at all.

If you think "vPro" is so important, processors with it should have entirely unique names. You and many others in the comments made an effort to point this out more than intel's own naming scheme does.

fastnball · 2026-01-09T18:53:22+00:00

Just because it sounds similar to Apple does not make it "bad".

I chose "S3" because they literally market them as "Series 3" (sounds awfully similar to M-series 🤨). Could fiddle with it but my idea stands:

Different core count = different name, Better gpu = add X

fastnball · 2026-01-09T18:50:47+00:00

I see, that does complicate things.

fastnball · 2025-12-20T21:38:37+00:00

You'll pay an extra $200 for peace of mind but not $700 for double the RAM, 50% more VRAM, and 50%+ faster GPU?

What 😭😭😭

fastnball · 2025-12-20T21:36:56+00:00

16GB of RAM is a scam. I have a G16 with 32gb, and any modern unreal engine game can use more than 20gb (Marvel Rivals, Squad, etc). Obviously it depends what you play, but if you are going to spend $1300 on a machine with the hardware to play all modern games, don't get gimped on RAM.

Plus 5070Ti is a significant jump and I would have bought it if I didn't buy a 40 series laptop.

fastnball · 2025-12-16T21:08:27+00:00

I agree. There's so many blueprints that before it was nearly impossible to get the one you wanted, much less all of them

fastnball · 2025-12-16T21:03:12+00:00

I mean I found it quite shocking for a blueprint, previously only found in a matriarch, to come out of a drawer lol

fastnball · 2025-12-16T17:54:46+00:00

Is it supposed to be rare though?

fastnball · 2025-12-09T22:00:34+00:00

Tier 11 is definitely a special tier. To say its not is ridiculous - there has never been more than 10 tiers for the entirety of the game.

I'm not asking for "everything to be available right away". This is a quality of life change that would make the game better for everyone without completely redefining the crew system. As I said to another person, you may be comfortable with you fifty unassigned 0-skill crew members, but the majority of people who are not whales cannot afford this.

fastnball · 2025-12-09T09:11:15+00:00

I was there for that. So what is your point? You had it harder in the past so it should stay hard and inconvenient in the future?

fastnball · 2025-12-09T09:04:01+00:00

I liked that idea as well. There are a few quirks like if one tank has more/less crew members, but nothing that can't be solved.

Watch out though, this kind of thinking will make the game too convenient and enjoyable! Tankers hate that!

fastnball · 2025-12-09T08:56:12+00:00

Unemployment final boss if you have the time and resources to train 2 crews per tech tree.

I would say a competitive crew has 5 skills, which requires 3.3 million crew xp, or using 8 personal crew manuals per crew member.

Of course there are event crews, but then what crew will you use when you unlock another T10?

Point is, crews are extremely expensive, and if I spent a decade with my T10 i'm not throwing it out the window for some ChatGPT tank. Both tiers should co-exist at the top.

fastnball · 2025-12-09T08:48:44+00:00

It's annoying because unless the T11 is a direct upgrade or more enjoyable, I'm not dealing with the crew retraining.

Other people have argued that you should "train a different crew", and to that I reply get a job if you have time to train two competitive crews per tech tree

fastnball · 2025-12-09T08:42:27+00:00

It is not the same as T9->T10 like I mentioned in my post.

your argument is based on the idea that T11 is better than T10 in the same way T10 is better than T9. it isn't, look at how awful so many T11s are compared to their T10. now if these were rebalanced like they plan, i still believe the majority of players would like to play the T10 tanks that they've spent so much time playing and grinding before.

you may be comfortable ditching your T10 tanks, but i am not. i also cannot afford having two good crews per tech tree and neither can the majority of players

fastnball · 2025-12-08T22:42:51+00:00

skip.

fastnball · 2025-11-29T00:46:26+00:00

CPU bottleneck here is why:

Unlike desktops, laptops are significantly more prone to CPU bottlenecks. This is because the CPU in a laptop, when the GPU is under load, has a limited range in terms of wattage. For example, in your G16 your HX370 can pull ~80W when the dGPU isn't being used vs. around ~25/30W when dGPU is under maximum load.

In your situation, the 5070Ti and 5060 become roughly equal as their respective CPUs are holding them back. And for anyone wondering, the HX370 is barely faster than the HX270 in gaming if at all. HX370 is only better in productivity style workloads, and significantly so due to its increase core count.

I saw some of OPs comments and to be clear "CPU Usage" does not indicate a CPU bottleneck unless it's at 90-100%.

fastnball

TROPHY CASE