How to resolve a gaming PC's CPU and GPU bottlenecking

One of the most common queries from PC gamers is how to resolve, or better yet, prevent, CPU and GPU performance bottlenecks. It may be an easy or complicated issue to discuss, depending on who you ask. This guide will help you sort through the many contradicting views that are out there.

We'll go over the fundamentals in this post before delving further into the specifics. You'll be able to update your gaming PC and address CPU and GPU bottlenecks or choose a better setup for your new machine if you keep these pointers and guidelines in mind. Although desktop computers are the main topic of this article since they are often custom designed and readily modified, laptop users will also find some helpful information and a few pointers.

What is the bottlenecking of a PC?

In PC gaming, the phrase "bottlenecking" is often used to describe a particular aspect of the system setup that performs poorly in comparison to the other components. Overall performance falls short of what each piece of gear should be able to do as a consequence. A bottleneck may impact the system's overall performance in games in a modest or severe way.

It's important to keep in mind that your gaming PC is a system made up of several parts that work together to support one another and create intricate sceneries and events with excellent visuals and fluid gameplay. The motherboard, cooling solutions, CPU, GPU, system DRAM, video RAM, cables and connectors, and even power supply all affect how well a system performs overall. In the future, storage devices will also have an impact on system performance in games that make novel use of PCIe 4.0 SSD bandwidth.

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Speaking about the possibility of bottlenecks makes it simple to understand how things might become quite difficult very fast. Because each of these elements has an impact on CPU and GPU performance, you must consider your gaming PC as a whole. In actuality, there will always be some kind of system bottleneck that can be solved by next-generation or better performance components.

Preventing bottlenecks is crucial since they may significantly impair the efficiency of your system's finest hardware. Additionally, there will always be pragmatic justifications for mild or moderate bottlenecks, so you shouldn't constantly worry about the little problems that cause little fps losses. If your system has a small to moderate bottleneck, you may still have an excellent gaming experience, regardless of your budget, hardware preferences, or availability to better hardware.

How to identify a bottleneck in your gaming computer

You may always utilise validation testing to compare your GPU or CPU to reviewers and other users' results if you think your PC is not performing as it should.

A reliable, secure, and cost-free testing tool for quickly evaluating your CPU's single- and multi-threading performance is CPUID's CPU-Z. The results of the 13900K in our test system, both for single and multi-threading, are shown below. A brief internet comparison check reveals that the CPU performs best with its default settings. We also utilise CPUID's HWMonitor, which is another useful tool, if you would want to view more information, such as realtime clock frequencies.

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Validating your GPU follows a somewhat different procedure. To ensure that it is operating appropriately and won't distort the GPU test, you need first measure your CPU. After that, you may choose a GPU test. To lessen the impact of other factors on your final score, you should test at higher resolutions and extreme settings.

Though it costs money, 3DMark from UL Solutions is perhaps the most user-friendly and finest product available. However, it is not free. Alternatively, you might compare your performance against others using the built-in game benchmark tool. Always make sure the game settings you choose for testing match the system scores you are comparing it against.

Finally, keep in mind that, apart from factors like user error and typical testing variation, your system will nearly always generate different results when comparing GPU and CPU ratings to those of other users. Significant score differences are what you should be most concerned about finding.

How to resolve a gaming PC's GPU and CPU bottlenecking

If you find that your test results are below average, your system may be experiencing a bottleneck. While it is possible for a component to be broken or malfunctioning, you should initially presume that the system is not operating at its best.

Gathering a comprehensive system report can help you understand what you have. You may get the hardware information for your computer in a variety of methods. You may use Windows' built-in DXDiag or msinfo32. A few more features of CPU-Z include the ability to see the speed of the system memory (DRAM). However, you will have to determine what kind of CPU cooler you are using on your own.You may start drawing some fundamental conclusions after you have some data on your PC.

CPU and GPU balancing

First of all, there should be some generational parity between the CPU and GPU. It's probably not going to work at its best if your CPU is five years old and your GPU is spanking new. For example, you wouldn't want to combine an Nvidia RTX 4080 with an outdated Intel i5-10600K. Similarly, if you have a Ryzen 5800X3D or higher CPU, an Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti will probably just give you a few extra frames per second. This may not apply if you combined a new low-end or mid-range GPU with an older high-end CPU or GPU. An Intel i9-9900K with an RTX 3060 Ti would be an example of something that should work just well in general. Every situation will be unique.

Without a question, the most crucial part of contemporary gaming PCs is the GPU, which is also where you should invest the most of your budget. It should be matched with the CPU according to the games you play and the framerates you anticipate. Surprisingly, if all you're aiming for is 60 frames per second, most games will run well with an Intel i7 or Ryzen 7 CPU from 2017 or earlier. Most of the work can be handled by the GPU, particularly at higher resolutions and at extreme settings.

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That's a different scenario if your target is 120 fps or above. For high refresh gaming, CPUs from the latest generations of AMD and Intel are noticeably superior. A CPU with six cores or more that is just a few generations old is what you should strive for. If you want a PC that can run future games that are more demanding, eight core CPUs are great. This is so that games can ultimately take use of the extra multi-threading since consoles employ eight core APUs. You should normally aim for a midrange CPU from the current generation or above if your objective is to play most games at 240 frames per second. In particular, the Ryzen X3D models are intriguing.

Try lowering all of the GPU settings to their lowest levels and working your way back up to see what your PC can do in terms of higher settings if you're still not reaching your desired frame rate. While some settings almost entirely use the GPU, others place more strain on the CPU. Sometimes settings affect both the CPU and GPU; you may increase frame rate by decreasing bottlenecks caused by such settings.

Checking how much VRAM your games are using at the resolution and settings you have chosen is another thing to do. More VRAM is needed at higher resolutions and settings. When a game requires more video memory than your graphics card can provide, the system may stutter as it tries to access the slower system RAM to provide the extra resources needed to display the game. If you want a simple indication of how well your components are holding up, you can always check your GPU and CPU utilisation.

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The motherboard and cooling system are two more factors to take into account when determining whether your CPU can operate at peak efficiency. The process of selecting the ideal motherboard becomes a little more involved, but in some games, high-end alternatives may outperform low-end ones by as much as 10%. This may vary depending on a number of variables, including the board's memory timing capabilities, the effectiveness of the power supply, and more. Should your system's performance seem to be lacking, it might be the result of combining a strong CPU with a subpar motherboard.

Liquid cooling helps the majority of contemporary high-end CPUs to sustain lower temperatures and faster clock speeds, which result in greater framerates. About the differences between liquid and air cooling, we have a whole essay. To put it simply, if you would prefer not to use liquid cooling, high-flow air coolers are still useful. On high power CPUs, the major thing you want to avoid utilising are modest stock coolers. A liquid cooler with a minimum 240mm radiator is what you want to utilise.

Examine your RAM

.System memory, sometimes referred to as RAM, is an additional consideration. For the greatest overall experience, CPU manufacturers usually suggest pairing their CPU with a specified speed. Selecting the incorrect DDR4 or DDR5 kit for your CPU might quickly lead to a bottleneck and affect your frame rate. If you run memory at 2400(MT/s) yet your CPU recommends DDR4 3600(MT/s), you'll probably notice that your gaming isn't as fluid as it might be. It's possible that the total fps is declining as well.When it comes to RAM overclocking, you may beyond the official manufacturer's recommended speed suggestion while still maintaining optimal performance. Verify that the system memory kit is operating at its maximum stated speed. It could be operating at a reduced default speed if it was just connected into the motherboard without ever being configured. You should confirm that XMP is turned on for Intel. For the most recent AMD CPU versions, EXPO profiles are comparable; nevertheless, manual RAM overclocking is necessary for earlier AMD generations.A G.Skill DDR5 kit configured with an XMP memory timing profile that satisfies the stated specifications is shown in the example below. Take note Double date rate memory, or DDR4 and DDR5, operates at the predicted 6400 MT/s.AnyBet365 created the image.There is a lot of misunderstanding about RAM since many players mistakenly prioritise capacity above timings and frequencies. But capacity is also crucial. To play contemporary games, you need have at least 16 GB of RAM, and if you can afford it, 32 GB. While gaming, if a PC's memory runs out, you may see stutters and other problems. Finally, an advanced suggestion is to always utilise two stick kits in order to prevent memory timing issues and latency.Verify your throughput settings and connections.Other typical reasons of CPU and GPU bottlenecking that are simple to solve include misconfigured components and non-optimized system settings. Checking that you have the most recent graphics drivers (see our guide forupdating Nvidia drivers), confirming that you have thebest settings for Nvidia Control Panel or AMD Radeon control panel, and making sure Windows or any other program isn't limiting power consumption to improve performance are common settings to check. To enhance gaming performance, follow our tutorial to the Nvidia Control Panel to eliminate common GPU and CPU power limiters.Additionally, make sure the PCIe slot arrangement for the graphics card is optimised. The main PCIe x16 slot is where the graphics card should always be connected in. Its recognition is easy. The main slot is always located at the top of the motherboard, and it has the same length as the graphics card connection interface. Although some motherboards have several slots, the throughput connections are often different. The bandwidth that the card can transmit and receive with the rest of the system is determined by these connections. The gaming PC's performance might be hampered by an incorrect setup.The current highest specification, PCIe 5.0, is a little excessive since it doesn't provide improved performance for modern graphics cards. For best results with contemporary graphics cards, you require a PCIe 3.0 x16 connection at the very least, ideally a PCIe 4.0 x16 connection. Most of the time, this won't ever be an issue since the BIOS or UEFI on your motherboard will automatically choose the optimal setting. Once again, you may quickly verify your connection by using CPU-Z.It is evident from the example above that the graphics card is set up in PCIe 4.0 x8. We may compare the PCIe 4.0 standard to PCIe 3.0 x16 since it provides twice the throughput of the 3.0 spec. Since this system's NVME storage is utilising the other lanes, the design is deliberate even if it may limit performance by 1% to 3%.The majority of graphics cards include inbuilt x16 lanes for maximum compatibility with earlier PCIe upgrades with lower throughput, which is the final item to be aware of. To avoid bottlenecking, certain cards—like the Radeon 6500 XT—must operate on PCIe 4.0 as they only have x8 internal lanes. Plugging the card onto an older motherboard with PCIe 3.0 only will result in a bottlenecked PCIe 3.0 x8 configuration since the card only has x8 internal lanes. Verify PCIe lane compliance to prevent a serious bottleneck like this one.

Upgrade as needed or begin anew

These pointers need to assist you in speeding up your PC or helping you steer clear of expensive errors while creating new systems or updating. It could be possible to resolve CPU and GPU bottlenecking with a few easy modifications to settings or with some less expensive improvements. To prevent bottlenecks in the first place, it is important to understand how gaming PCs operate.

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