Marvel Rivals, the highly anticipated hero shooter from NetEase and Marvel Games, has quickly captivated players with its fast-paced action and iconic roster. However, beneath the dazzling superheroics, a more vexing issue has emerged: unexpectedly high CPU usage, a problem plaguing a wide spectrum of PC setups, from modest rigs to high-end machines.
This intense demand on processors has left many players scratching their heads, wondering why a seemingly optimized game is pushing their hardware to its limits.
The roots of Marvel Rivals‘ CPU hunger appear to be multifaceted, stemming from a combination of technical design choices, specific in-game settings, and common PC performance factors.
Unpacking the Processor Predicament:
One of the primary technical culprits lies in the game’s approach to shader compilation and memory management. Reports suggest that Marvel Rivals‘ default settings can lead to significant memory consumption, particularly for systems equipped with 16GB of RAM or less.
When system memory becomes scarce, the CPU is forced to shoulder the burden of managing these resources, resulting in noticeable performance degradation such as severe FPS drops, stuttering, and even outright game crashes. NetEase has acknowledged this challenge, even introducing an “experimental feature” designed to adjust when shader compilation occurs and to alleviate memory pressure.
Beyond memory, certain CPU-intensive graphics settings are proving to be significant bottlenecks. Options like shadows, ambient occlusion, and crowd density, when set too high, can overwhelm even robust processors. Players have widely reported that dialing these settings down to medium or low can significantly help in balancing the load between the CPU and the GPU, thereby improving overall performance.
Furthermore, background processes and software conflicts are exacerbating the issue. Running multiple applications simultaneously, such as web browsers, voice chat clients like Discord, or streaming software, can inherently keep CPU usage elevated as the processor juggles numerous demanding tasks. While this is a common challenge across many games, it becomes particularly noticeable in Marvel Rivals due to the game’s already considerable CPU demands.
The ever-present specter of outdated drivers and underlying system issues also plays a role. Using out-of-date CPU or GPU drivers can significantly worsen performance problems, including high CPU usage. Regular updates from hardware manufacturers like Intel, AMD, and Nvidia often include crucial optimizations for new game releases, making driver maintenance a vital step for players.
Finally, some players have even pointed to the possibility of memory leaks, where Marvel Rivals gradually consumes more and more RAM over extended play sessions. This escalating memory consumption can force the CPU to compensate increasingly, sometimes leading to system instability and crashes after prolonged gameplay.
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Beyond the Individual Rig:
Crucially, the high CPU usage in Marvel Rivals isn’t an exclusive problem for older or less powerful systems. Numerous reports from players with relatively modern hardware – including setups with Intel Core i7-9700 CPUs and Nvidia 2080 Super GPUs – indicate consistent CPU usage spikes of 90-100% during gameplay.
This widespread nature of the issue strongly suggests that the problem is more deeply rooted in the game’s optimization rather than isolated to individual hardware limitations.
Empowering the Player: What You Can Do
While NetEase continues to work on long-term solutions, players are not entirely without recourse. Several immediate steps can be taken to mitigate the high CPU usage:
- Adjust In-Game Settings: Prioritize lowering CPU-heavy options such as shadows and crowd density. Conversely, if your GPU can handle it, keep GPU-intensive settings like textures high to maintain visual fidelity.
- Close Background Applications: Before launching Marvel Rivals, take a moment to close any unnecessary programs running in the background to free up valuable CPU resources.
- Update Drivers Religiously: Ensure both your CPU and GPU drivers are updated to their latest versions. These updates frequently include performance optimizations and bug fixes crucial for new titles.
- Experiment with New Features: Leverage the “Switch Shader Compilation Mode” experimental feature within the game’s settings. This can potentially offload some CPU tasks and help in reducing memory usage.
- Stay Tuned for Fixes: Keep a close eye on official announcements and patch notes from NetEase. As the developers continue to refine Marvel Rivals, future updates are likely to include further optimizations for performance and memory management.
The bottom line is that Marvel Rivals‘ surprisingly high CPU usage is a complex issue born from a confluence of technical factors, from shader compilation timing and memory management to specific graphics settings that place unusual demands on processors.
While NetEase is actively addressing these concerns, proactive players can take meaningful steps to alleviate the burden on their CPUs, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable battle experience in the Marvel universe.
Written by:
Christian