The gaming industry has been booming for the past few decades.
With more capable CPUs and GPUs, developers are creating more intensive games.
While some games rely more on the CPU, others use more GPU.
So, why are some games more CPU intensive than GPU?
So, lets get started!
Are Games CPU Hungry?
Yes, some games use more of your CPU rather than the GPU.
Several games can get really CPU intensive in specific scenarios.
Open-world and strategy games are comparatively more CPU-intensive.
However, most modern games depend more on the GPU than the CPU.
For example, first-person shooter games use more of your CPU while many players play together.
Besides, strategy and simulation games can push the CPU to its limit.
So, what makes a game more or less CPU intensive?
Some of them needcolossal physics calculations.
Contrarily, some games have more intensive graphics.
When a game needs to calculate thousands of physical calculations, it uses more CPU.
High graphical games use more GPU to render the scenarios.
Thats why Minecraft is a more CPU-intensive game.
A CPU-intensivegame can often crash the CPUfor overheating.
And theoverheating CPU sometimes can cause lag.
Why are Some Games More CPU Intensive?
When a game depends more on physics calculations, it is CPU intensive.
Contrarily, everything that involves graphics is done by the GPU.
The CPU doesin-game AIandphysicsfor most games.
Though some practical physics can be offloaded to GPU, for instance,NVIDIAs PhysX.
The CPU also handles thereading and writing of the files.
Alongside this, a CPU is responsible for accessing the underlying graphic library to draw.
Additionally, a CPU coordinates all things, like controlling the GPU, which is CPU-intensive.
Which Games are CPU Intensive?
Among them, most modern games are also GPU intensive because of their high graphical resources.
This section will cover the five most CPU-crushing games.
Consider the following discussion on highly CPU-intensive games to push your processor to its limit.
Here is the list of CPU-intensive games:
Arma 3 is an open-world realistic military tactical shooter game.
The anomaly on the war scene is far more intensive compared to other first-person shooter games.
This game has heavy scripting and AI missions that could stress the CPU even with a high-end GPU.
Some high-end CPUs still struggle to reach aconsistent 60FPSwhile you are in a more CPU-intensive situation in the game.
However, you must tweak the game parameters to ensure the best output while playing Arma 3.
You shouldoverclock your CPU to increase the FPSand get the best result in game.
Arma 3 is asingle-threadedgame.
So, you must ensure the best CPU and clock speed to get high performance.
Total War: WARHAMMER III is also a tremendous CPU-intensive game for several reasons.
It is a real-time strategy game like Civilization style strategy.
Besides, the CPU has to calculate the units movement while in battle.
All of them are highly CPU-intensive.
Total War is improving its game mechanics and graphics with every update.
That means the newer versions are more CPU-intensive as they need to calculate more data for the GPU.
This game can use up tosix coresand produce a ton of heat while running longer.
The Civ series is probably the most famous among strategy games.
This calculation is a substantial CPU-intensive task.
you’ve got the option to also use any older version of Civ games to stress-test your CPU.
However, only the newer version can utilize all of yoursix CPU cores.
Cities: Skylines is a city-building simulation game.
As all we know, simulation games are highly CPU-intensive, which is valid for Cities: Skylines.
This game simulates thousands of things, including traffic, cars, and natural disasters.
And these simulations force the CPU to push its limit.
Besides, the CPU needs to process more data constantly when the city grows with time.
Sometimes, the Cities: Skylines use100% CPUin different circumstances.
Besides, it can utilize up toeight coreswhile processing the game.
The Assassins Creed series has multiple CPU-intensive games, including the Odyssey, Origins, and Valhalla.
These games push the CPU and the GPU to their limit.
Assassins Creed is an open-world game, so the CPU needs to execute numerous tasks simultaneously.
Especially during the fight scenes in the arenas can stress the CPU.
However, the Valhalla is comparatively less CPU-intensive than the older versions.
It uses the latestDirectX 12 rendering APIthat dramatically improves CPU utilization.
Assassins Creed can efficiently utilize up tosix cores.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to know if a game is CPU intensive?
Open Task Manager, launch the game and monitor CPU and GPU usage.
If the game uses more CPU than GPU, it is CPU-intensive.
Do games use 100% CPU?
Several games can use nearly 100% of the CPU while performing massive calculations.
However, ensure the CPU is not getting too hot while using it at 100% for extended periods.
Are all games CPU-intensive?
No, not all games are CPU-intensive.
Mostly open-world, first-person shooter, strategy, and simulation games are highly CPU intensive.
Final Thoughts
When a game uses more CPU than GPU, its a CPU-bound game.
On the contrary, a GPU-bound game uses more GPU than a CPU.
I hope this article answers all your queries on this topic.
Feel free to mention your valuable opinions below.
