What is Bottlenecking My PC – Balanced Gaming PC / High FPS
What is bottlenecking my PC? It is the first question most people look for when their system doesn’t perform as per their expectations. In most cases, a mismatched hardware component is the reason for the PC performance bottleneck. You should find out and understand the limiting performing component to decide whether to upgrade your current system or to build a balanced PC that delivers optimal performance.
By using our PC bottleneck calculator and some hardware monitoring tools, you can detect the limiting performance components of your system for a certain type of task.
Depending on the results of the bottleneck identifying tools, if you decide on upgrading your system, it means replacing the current limiting CPU or GPU with the most compatible one. If you opt to build a balanced PC, then it doesn’t mean buying the expensive CPU and GPU, and that’s it. It means equipping a PC with hardware components ( CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage, power supply, Motherboard) of compatible specifications that enable each other to perform to their full capacity.
What is a PC Bottleneck?
In the PC world, a bottleneck happens when your system can’t perform to its optimal capacity. It usually occurs when one hardware component, among CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, PSU, or motherboard, is weaker or mismatched with the others and can’t perform as efficiently as the others.
This causes a delay in the hardware chain and makes the system slower or less responsive during certain tasks. This kind of issue is called a hardware bottleneck. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the component is old or of poor quality, but isn’t fully compatible with the other parts of the system.
Understanding Hardware Bottleneck and Its Types
The order of system hardware goes like Storage > RAM > CPU > GPU > PSU. It’s not possible for a component in this chain to completely match with all other components because no PC part can deliver infinite performance. You can avoid such a PC bottleneck by tweaking your setup so that all the parts match each other. Every piece pulls in its weight and runs close to max power without holding the others back.
The most important components in hardware bottlenecks are the CPU and GPU. Therefore, PC bottlenecks are usually called CPU-GPU bottlenecks. Let’s talk about how each hardware component can create a hardware bottleneck.
CPU vs GPU Bottleneck- How They Limit Each Other
For any task, it’s the CPU that does all the logical work by calculating operations like audio, netcode, physics, and many other processes in a modern gaming PC. After processing the required operations, it sends a complete list of instructions to the GPU. This list contains every instruction, including textures, shaders, and other visual data to tell the GPU what to render. The GPU then processes all the instructions into visual form.
If your GPU’s taking its sweet time rendering frames, your CPU just kicks back, waiting for it to wrap up before sending the next batch. That’s a GPU bottleneck, ‘cause the GPU’s dragging things down.
Flip it around, and if the GPU’s flying through frames faster than the CPU feeds it data, then the GPU is the one sitting bored, waiting on the CPU. That’s what you call a CPU bottleneck.
RAM and Storage Role in Hardware Bottlenecks
A system with an old HDD can’t transfer data fast and reduces the system’s overall response due to a storage bottleneck. Similarly, 8GB RAM for most modern games can’t handle multitasking or heavy applications, and causes a RAM bottleneck. So the system frequently swaps to storage to play high-end games with that specification.
Role of Motherboard
All the hardware components lie on the motherboard and are connected to each other through PCIe slots. Data is exchanged between these components via these slots. A motherboard with old technology slots slows down communication between the components, then no matter how powerful your CPU and GPU are, your system will still perform poorly.
Up to this point, you may have understood the role of each hardware component in a hardware bottleneck. In an ideal system, no link in the hardware chain limits the performance of any other component since all the components are matched.
Use Our Bottleneck Calculator
Use our full PC bottleneck calculator to find out what is bottlenecking your PC.
Our tool shows the CPU and GPU performance for different games. Input your CPU and GPU type and processor model, choose the game you want to test your system for, and what you expect from your system for that particular game, FPS, resolution, etc.
Our tool will tell you your system performance in terms of
- CPU and GPU utilization,
- What type of bottleneck is there (if any),
- Its severity, and
- What actual FPS will it generate?
Based on the results, you can decide how to fix your system bottleneck.
Besides our tool, you can also try the following hardware monitoring tools to identify which component is causing a bottleneck in gaming.
Windows Task Manager: Lets you peek the real-time stats of your CPU, GPU, and RAM to see how hard they’re flexing.
MSI Afterburner: You can use this tool to check how many FPS you’re getting. See our complete guide on how to check FPS in any game for every method. The stats are shown on-screen.
CPU-Z & GPU-Z: Tell you the detailed hardware specs.
HWMonitor: Keep tabs on your CPU and GPU so they don’t overheat or freak out with random voltage spikes.
RTSS (RivaTuner Statistics Server): Displays real-time FPS and frame timing of your system while playing any game.
Quick Guide: Understanding and Fixing PC Bottlenecks
A PC bottleneck occurs when one hardware component—CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, or motherboard—limits the performance of the others. Most bottlenecks happen between the CPU and GPU, especially during gaming. Using our PC Bottleneck Calculator, you can instantly detect which part is holding your system back, its severity, and the FPS you can expect. Once identified, upgrade only the limiting component or use our “Optimal Component Match” feature to find the most compatible CPU or GPU. A balanced PC isn’t always the most expensive—it’s the one where every part works at full potential.
How to Build a Balanced Gaming PC
No PC is balanced for every task. Every PC always has a bottleneck. What’s balanced for one user might not perform as well for another. The reason is that it depends on what you want to do with your system.
For example, you start building a balanced gaming PC with the type of game, whether it’s a CPU-intensive or a GPU-intensive game. Next, you look for which CPU brand the game is optimized for, Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD. So the point is that if you balance a system for one type of game it is not balanced for another type and that’s how system bottlenecks happen.
For each hardware component, you should consider a few points when building a balanced gaming PC.
CPU
To check CPU bottlenecking the GPU, CPU selection is the first step in building a balanced gaming PC. If your requirement is to stream live while playing a CPU-intensive game, then you need a more powerful CPU compared to that person who plays casually. Your motherboard should also be advanced enough to support the upgraded CPU; otherwise, with an old motherboard, even your upgraded CPU will underperform. And if you replace a motherboard, it means building a new PC.
GPU
In choosing a GPU, the type of game you want to play, the desired resolution, and FPS matter. For a GPU-intensive game, you have to select a powerful GPU, Nvidia vs AMD, or select the right upscaling technology like DLSS vs FSR. But if you want to play a CPU-intensive game, then you can play that game even with a weaker GPU by disabling some settings like ray tracing, detail level, and anti-aliasing in addition to lowering other settings like resolution in the game.
Use the “Find Optimal Component Match” feature of our full PC Bottleneck calculator, enter the CPU you have already selected, and your targeted resolution and FPS, then press “Find Optimal GPU.” You will get multiple options for GPUs that fit perfectly with the CPU and can render according to your set targets.
RAM
For modern games, 8GB of RAM is not enough particularly if you’re streaming or on Discord at the same time, then you need at least 16GB to avoid a RAM bottleneck. While building a balanced gaming PC, always prefer more RAM over faster RAM for better performance.
Storage- SSD/HDD
Replacing the old HDD with an SSD is a straight fix of the storage bottleneck. However, you can try the following temporary fixes to improve performance without any drive replacement.
- Turn on Fast Boot in the BIOS, This will start up your PC faster.
- Defragment your HDD regularly to improve its efficiency, and
- Add more RAM, say 16GB to 32GB or more, so that your PC doesn’t need to use the slow hard drive as much.
Other Hardware
Though the main hardware components are CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage, we can’t ignore the other smaller hardware components like the display, power supply, and motherboard in building a balanced system.
An old monitor can’t support higher refresh rates and higher resolutions, which means that even if you have upgraded your CPU and GPU, but have an old monitor, then still your hardware components can’t perform to their full capacity and you will frequently face resolution bottleneck.
You need a well-matched PSU for an uninterrupted power supply, and an outdated motherboard can’t allow you to upgrade the components because its slots will not support advanced components.
Build a Balanced PC Within Your Budget With Our Bottleneck Calculator
While building your balanced PC, you should keep some points in mind.
- What exactly you want to do with the system. like you want to play any fast game or have a high-resolution display.
- Once you know your goal, disperse your budget accordingly to get those components that can deliver the desired performance.
For example, if you want a HD display, then you should allocate your budget for a powerful GPU and a high-resolution monitor. If you want to play a fast game like Valorant or Call of Duty, then a powerful CPU and a monitor with a high refresh rate are your requirements.
Our advanced PC bottleneck calculator never lets you alone whenever you want to upgrade or build a balanced system for yourself. Start by choosing either the CPU or GPU filters, depending on which part is more important for your goal.
If you are building a balanced gaming PC to play fast games, that requires a powerful CPU, so your starting point should be advanced CPU filters. Select all the bars according to your budget. Then, in the processor model bar, it will show you the options that fall within your budget.
Now scroll down to find the “Optimal Component Match” part of our tool. Select the bar that says “Find GPU for My CPU.” Enter your CPU brand and processor model that you have selected, choose your targeted FPS and resolution, then click on “Find Optimal GPUs.” It will show you some best-matched GPU options, and you can select one.ly compatible with each other but also complementary for the desired performance.
FAQs
Which is worse to have, a CPU bottleneck or a GPU bottleneck?
A CPU bottleneck is worse for both performance and budget perspectives. When a GPU bottleneck triggers, you can immediately manage it by lowering some in-game settings unless the bottleneck is severe or you are using a 10-year-old GPU with a new computer.
Fixing a GPU bottleneck is also easy.
Simply remove the old graphics card and insert the new one.
A CPU bottleneck makes games lag, and fixing it takes a bit more time:
1. Remove the old CPU,
2. Clean and apply thermal paste,
3. Install the new CPU, and
4. Sometimes even replace the motherboard, which is like rebuilding the whole system.
When should I upgrade the CPU?
Consider a CPU upgrade if:
1. The CPU bottleneck is of severe intensity, more than 50%
2. The CPU is below the recommended system requirement for the games on their official Steam page that you want to play.
When should I upgrade the GPU?
You should go for a GPU upgrade if:
You want to play at high frame rates, resolution, and with high graphical quality settings.
Your GPU is of a lower specification than is recommended for a particular game on its official Steam page.
Your GPU bottleneck is of severe intensity, showing more than 50%.
Are HDDs always a bottleneck?
HDD doesn’t always mean a bottleneck. It depends on the purpose for which you use it. If you use an HDD just for storing or watching movies, then it works perfectly. However, for gaming, editing, or for things that need fast data speeds, it will cause a bottleneck.
How to check what is bottlenecking my PC?
With our trusted bottleneck calculator, you can run a system bottleneck test to detect the poorly performing component in your PC.
Final Words
Not a single system is ever balanced; it will always have a bottleneck. What is balanced for some tasks is imbalanced and shows a bottleneck for other tasks. People look for what is bottlenecking their system when they specifically do the same type of task on their system, and it doesn’t perform up to their expectations. Then they really want to detect the limiting component.
The PC bottlenecks are mostly hardware bottlenecks, and within hardware, the CPU and GPU bottlenecks are the most common. With our bottleneck finder, you can not only find the limiting component for a given set of settings but also find the optimal components to build a balanced gaming PC for you.
