The CPU and GPU bottleneck is one of our greatest enemies when it comes to playing on a gaming PC. This phenomenon is very common and, in the best of cases, it will cause us to have lower FPS than normal. It can even go so far as to cause a stuttering problem that hinders our gaming experience. In this article, we’ll take a look at what it is, what causes it, and how to fix it.
Index of contents
- Bottleneck in CPU and GPU, what is it?
- Processor bottleneck, the classic
- If there is a throttle in the GPU, it is usually good
- Other types of bottlenecks
- Causes of the bottleneck in CPU and GPU: not everything is the fault of the hardware
- How to fix the bottleneck
- Conclusions
Bottleneck in CPU and GPU, what is it?
The bottleneck is a phenomenon by which the limitations of one component of our computer prevent the others from giving their full potential, so we will obtain lower performance.
The truth is that there is always a bottleneck, there will always be a component limiting others from giving 100% of their potential, but we could be talking about them staying at 90%, 95% or more. The problem is when that bottleneck becomes exaggerated, especially if it occurs in CPU and GPU.
The phenomenon is very well understood by the analogy with the neck of a bottle: the thin part (the neck) would be limiting everything that can flow from the thick part, which is the rest of the bottle. Well, here, one component is preventing the others from giving it their all. Let us now see the two types of bottleneck there are, that is, in CPU and GPU.
Processor bottleneck, the classic
The processor (CPU) bottleneck is what we typically refer to when we talk about this concept. It occurs when we have the processor at 100% use, which causes the graphics card to be at lower values.
It is worrying, because if we see our GPU at 50% or 60% use, it means that it could be giving us much more. And it is that the processor is in charge of making the draw calls to the graph, that is, it is the one who “asks” it to paint the scenes of each frame. If the CPU can’t handle it anymore, the FPS will be lower than normal.
If there is a throttle in the GPU, it is usually good
In a completely opposite case, we have the bottleneck in the GPU (graphics card), where it will be running at 100% power, leaving the processor in a state of use lower than 90%. This is perhaps even desirable, since it means that the component in charge of rendering each frame is working at maximum performance and, therefore, we are having the maximum FPS possible.
In fact, here we could only reverse the situation by improving the graphics card or reducing the graphics quality, the latter is what to do if you have a stuttering problem or if you notice that the FPS is not enough.
Other types of bottlenecks
This article focuses on CPU and GPU throttling, but other components can also throb. It is a universal concept that not only affects these components, but can basically come from anywhere. For example:
- If our memories have insufficient capacity or speed or are mounted in single channel , they will become a source of bottleneck. You have to be very careful with this, because also the neck they cause is usually accompanied by stuttering.
- If you have a traditional hard drive (HDD), it’s a common cause of bottlenecks in open world games. Due to how slowly the world will load, it may be that neither the CPU nor the GPU are “all the way”. You should install an SSD for PC gaming .
- Base plate. Yes, the motherboard can cause a bottleneck! This is the most infrequentsince it only affects the most basic boards and those with the worst chipset. For example, the Intel H310 chipset can cause bottlenecks due to its slow internal communication bus speed.
Causes of the bottleneck in CPU and GPU: not everything is the fault of the hardware
What causes a CPU and GPU bottleneck? The most normal thing is to blame our choice of components. Is there CPU throttling? The processor is too bad, and that’s it. Well, you don’t have to.
The bottleneck is always the fault of the combination of components and the game we play. Even if we have a very bad processor, it may not make neck in some undemanding games. And, even if the CPU is very good, a poorly optimized game will not be able to take advantage of it.
Therefore, it is important to have a contextualization , and understand that a bottleneck due to the components should occur in any game that is not very “light”. If it only occurs in a specific title, why accuse the components?
Let’s think about the CPU bottleneck: we have, for example, a 4 or 6 core processor that is not very powerful, and it is put at 100% in a game that uses only 1 core. Who do we blame, the processor for being slow, or the game for not taking advantage of the cores? Both, maybe.
How to fix the bottleneck
The first and best way to solve the CPU and GPU bottleneck is definitely to choose the components in a balanced way beforehand. If you’re building a PC and you’re afraid of the bottleneck, just don’t go too far and don’t leave out the processor or graphics card.
For example, for a mid-range computer, a good CPU would be the latest generation with about 6 cores. For the high-end we can think of more sophisticated things, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D or the Intel Core i7-12700K .
The key is to always choose a state-of-the-art processor, because the number of optimizations they receive is simply enormous. Every year, they improve their IPC, they make caches faster, they get better frequencies… in short, they become less prone to causing bottlenecks.
Another solution is to update the components head on. In other words, if after a few years you decide to improve your parts, don’t just stick with the graphics card: check beforehand if your processor will hold up well to your new GPU. That is also why it is important to buy a good CPU from minute 1, because it is more likely that we will want to update the graphics sooner.
Between an 8-core CPU from 2019 and a 6-core CPU from 2022… stick with the latter, it will be better at gaming (and maybe everything)
What if I already have my PC, I already have the CPU and GPU bottleneck problems and I don’t want to change parts? There are several possibilities to solve it:
- Avoid playing with many open programs. Multitasking will overload your processor more than necessary.
- If your GPU can’t take it anymore and you’re experiencing stuttering, then lower your graphics settings until you see that there is no problem. If it’s the other way around, it would be best to do the opposite.
- Choose a high performance power planto play.
- Overclock your CPU or even your RAM as it may also be causing some kind of bottleneck.
Conclusions
The bottleneck, that great enemy that PC players have, is something more common than it seems. It is, in fact, the most normal thing in the world. Between the CPU and the GPU, there will always be one limiting the other. The thing is, that bottleneck can get exaggerated and cause problems, from poor performance to dreaded stuttering.
In general, we distinguish these two types of bottlenecks, in CPU and GPU:
- CPU Throat: The processor is at 100% usage (in those cores used by the game), preventing the graphics card from developing its full potential.
- GPU Throat: The graphics card is working at full capacity and is not allowing the processor to do so. This is considered “good”
Of course, there are many more. RAM or storage may be causing a bottleneck. For example, mechanical hard drives (HDDs) often cause problems in open world games, making an SSD purchase a must.
We recommend reading the best graphics cards on the market and the best processors on the market.
The cause of the bottleneck is nothing more than a combination of what hardware we have and what the game in which the problem is manifesting requires. If our pieces are very unbalanced, then we could be considered the “culprit” of the bottleneck, but in a more balanced computer it is usually the fault of the game and how it is programmed, and there is little to do.
Finally, our recommendations to combat the bottleneck are: choose the components well (both when buying the PC and when upgrading parts), overclock, adjust the graphic settings or change the power plan of the computer.