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Bottleneck Calculator – Analyze Your PC’s Performance
Welcome to our Bottleneck Calculator! Here we will fine-tune your PC setup by checking bottlenecks CPU and GPU and then giving suggestions to modify it for getting best performance for gaming, editing, building a custom rig or moreover that you want.
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PC Bottleneck Calculator
Analyze your system to identify potential performance bottlenecks
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Bottleneck Analysis Results
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What is a Bottleneck Calculator?
A bottleneck calculator is a tool built for checking the performance of a system by analyzing the CPU, GPU, RAM, etc and then giving overall performance. This calculator is built with different algorithms to compare relative power and capabilities of different hardware components and identify the lower performance issues and potential bottlenecks.
Bottleneck calculators generate a percentage that indicates the severity of bottleneck easily understandable for users, like 10% indicates minor bottleneck while higher than it, 50%, indicates significant performance limitations. So provide all the information about processor, graphic card, purpose of use and screen resolution correctly to get correct output for your system.
CPU Bottleneck
A CPU Bottleneck occurs when the Central Processing Unit (CPU) or processor is working at capacity, while running a heavy game or software, so it is not powerful enough to process data quickly, which leads to underutilization of graphic cards. As a result it becomes a limiting factor, slowing down data processing that affects overall performance causing lower frame rates, slow response, long load time for large files, high temperature, etc.
CPU bottleneck is caused by a number of factors mainly weak CPU, insufficient memory, low storage devices etc. In such a case, you need to improve your pc to a more powerful one or increase the storage or memory that help to alleviate the bottleneck and increase overall performance.
1. Common Problems of CPU Bottleneck
Following are some common problems of CPU bottleneck in your PC:
- Lower Frame Rates: You might hit high FPS but these are unstable because CPU can't process game or AI logics, so suddenly frame spikes may occur.
- Slow Response: While running heavy games or applications, CPU can't process data fast so you may experience slow response or long loading time issues.
- Stuttering and Lag: It causes stuttering and lag, break immersions and frequent pauses while using games or other heavy softwares.
- Underutilized GPU: Usage of GPU is 40% to 70% due to CPU limitations while it must run above 90%.
2. How to Fix CPU bottleneck
- Upgrade CPU: Upgrade your CPU to a more capable one having one more core and high clock speed that can easily support modern overload work.
- Adjust Settings: You must adjust settings of the software or game that is overloaded by decreasing effects and features so that your CPU easily processes them.
- Clear Background Applications: Close all the applications or softwares running in background so that your CPU has full focus on the application or game that you are using.
- Optimize System: Optimize your system by updating the outdated drivers, chipsets and Windows to get full performance.
GPU Bottleneck
A GPU bottleneck occurs when Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is working at its capacity, while running high quality visuals such as games or high softwares, so GPU send data fast but CPU can’t process it fast leading to the drop of visual performance, low frame rates, over heating, etc.
GPU bottleneck is caused by a number of factors, mainly weak GPU paired with a high performance CPU, outdated graphic cards, running high resolution games or softwares. You must improve this bottleneck first by calculating it from our Bottleneck Calculator and then upgrade a more powerful GPU, changing power supply to maintain temperature, optimizing setting, etc.
1. Common Problems of GPU Bottleneck
Following are some common problems of GPU bottleneck in your PC:
- Low Frame Rates: You will experience low FPS even if your CPU is strong, due to the weak GPU.
- Visual Lag: While running high graphic games or software, you will notice image rendering and input lag even if you are not running any background applications.
- High GPU Usage: GPU will work 90% to 100%, while CPU can’t process data due to low GPU commands, so underutilized.
- Long Loading Times: While running large files like 3D modeling or heavy games, you will experience long loading time.
2. How to Fix CPU bottleneck
- Upgrade GPU: Upgrade your GPU to one having more power and compares with the CPU and can run high graphic demanding softwares and games.
- Adjust Graphics Settings: Adjust settings of heavy games and softwares by decreasing resolution quality so that the load will also decrease.
- Activate Performance Modes: To stabilize performance, use softwares like GPU control panels etc.
- Improve Power Supply: Improve power supply to a control overheat and well cooling for getting best performance of GPU.
Important Information About PC Bottlenecks
Understanding Bottleneck in PC Performance
A bottleneck in your PC is the main component that limits performance of your PC. If you have a high end graphic card and you think it will help your PC to give best performance, but have a low end processor, then your expectations are wrong. The CPU does not process data quickly enough to match the performance of the GPU, causing lower fps, stuttering or lag, no matter how powerful your GPU is.
Why I need Bottlenecks Detected
Detecting the particular component of your PC helps you to easily upgrade that particular component, without wasting time and money on the components that do not create bottlenecks in performance of the PC. So it is better to understand the bottlenecks perfectly and then invest for upgrades.
Key Factors Causing Bottlenecks in PC
There are some main key factors that cause bottlenecks in PC:
Quality and age of components
Running background processes
Over workload
Low cooling efficiency
Low RAM capacity and speed
Low storage
Identify Bottlenecks in Your PC
You must know whether your system has bottlenecks with the help of our calculator or by the signs that reveal bottlenecks of different components, low fps, long load time, stuttering or lag, inconsistent performance and more. MSI Afterburner or HWiNFO also helps in detecting bottlenecks for your system, but we suggest you use our Bottleneck Calculator for its detection.
Acceptable VS Bad Bottleneck Levels
Every system has a bottleneck within a limit as it is impossible to clear all bottlenecks of a system. Our calculator shows the determination of the severity of the bottlenecks in percentage, so you can easily determine the level of bottlenecks which is acceptable or bad for your system. Usually, 10% to 20% bottleneck is moderate and does not affect performance much, however higher than 20% is significant and affects performance of the system.
Working of Our Bottleneck Calculator
Our calculator works by analyzing the given information, about CPU, GPU as well as screen resolution with the addition of purpose of use or work load and give the output in percentage figures that indicate the severity of bottleneck level. You can also get suggestions for making your system more stabilized.
Accuracy of Bottleneck Calculator
Our calculator provides useful information rather than perfect predictions as every system has different workload and performance issues, so accuracy of our calculator ranges from 85% to 90% for common combinations. Results are mostly accurate for the gaming scenarios as well as heavy softwares for windows.
RAM Bottlenecks Explained
Insufficient capacity of RAM forces your system to slower storage for virtual memory causing significant slowdowns and low speed causing data transfer bottleneck. For this purpose you need to choose dual channel RAM rather than single channel RAM as it increases speed about 3200MHz which minimizes RAM bottlenecks.
HDD vs SSD vs NVMe
Type of storage affects your system speed and responses whether you are using HDD, SSD, or NVMe as everyone has their own features. Hard Disk Drives (HDD) are slowest causing long time for file loading, stuttering while using heavy game, windows or softwares. Solid State Drives (SSD) are much faster than HDD as it has high reading and writing speed, low loading time and quick response. However NVMe drives which are directly connected via PCIe lanes are fastest of all drives. It is ideal for critical tasks like video editing, gaming and running heavy softwares.
Match your workload from the following table to get best performance for your use;
| HDD | SSD | NVMe |
|---|---|---|
| Slow (100–200 MB/s) | Fast (400–550 MB/s) | Very Fast (2,000–7,000+ MB/s) |
| Long boot times (30–60 sec) | Short boot times (10–20 sec) | Instant boot (5–10 sec) |
| High game load times | Moderate game load times | Very low game load times |
| Sluggish responsiveness | Smooth performance | Ultra-smooth responsiveness |
| High bottleneck risk | Low bottleneck risk | Very low bottleneck risk |
| Best for basic tasks/storage | Good for daily use/casual gaming | Ideal for gaming/editing/heavy tasks |
| Lowest cost per GB | Moderate cost per GB | Highest cost per GB |
Can a Single Upgrade Improve Performance
Performance of every component is directly linked with other so upgrading one component can’t improve full performance as if we CPU is causing a bottleneck and we upgrade it to a high CPU then it will not cause bottleneck however other components like GPU will cause it because CPU will process more data but GPU will limit it. So upgrade the components with a strategy so that other components also work properly to decrease bottlenecks.
Result of Last Month and Today are not Same
As described earlier, our calculator uses AI models and algorithms for processing given information and extracting bottlenecks from your PC, so due to updates of latest information the results may change due to removal of false data and making the result more accurate.
CPU vs GPU Bottlenecks
| CPU Bottleneck | GPU Bottleneck |
|---|---|
| Weak CPU, strong GPU | Strong CPU, weak GPU |
| Stuttering, low FPS, poor multitasking | Low FPS, visual lag, slow rendering |
| CPU usage 100%, GPU underutilized | GPU usage 100%, CPU moderate |
| Lower AI, draw distance, shadows | Lower resolution, textures, effects |
| Upgrade CPU, close background apps | Upgrade GPU, reduce graphics load |
| Shown in bottleneck calculator as CPU limit | Shown in bottleneck calculator as GPU limit |
| Example: i3 + RTX 4070 | Example: i7 + GTX 1050 Ti |
In every PC, CPU and GPU work together so if there is an issue or lower performance in one component than another it directly decreases. CPU and GPU bottlenecks occur when one of these two components limits its performance and it also decreases the performance of overall system efficiency.
Other Bottleneck Detecting Calculators
Game Bottleneck Calculator
Game Bottleneck Calculator is the best tool that analyzes performance issues of your pc for gaming purposes, whether you want to play games with 60 FPS at 1080p or 4k ultra settings, creating a balance between your pc components and the games that you want to play.
It analyzes the performance of a specific game to determine its more dependent, on CPU or GPU. It uses the dataset of Frames Per Second (FPS) from the game, that measures the smoothness of gameplay. Once the calculator determines the bottleneck causing component, it adjusts it by upgrading that component. These calculations are based on assumptions, so this may not always be correct in every case.
Power Supply Calculator
Power Supply Calculator (PSC) works by analyzing all the components used in that computer system and determining the usage of power supply for those components, by information of wattage use of CPU, GPU and other components, to estimate the power consumption of the overall system. This PSC gives the power that is needed by the system to operate components, so convert the measurable alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC).
Without a PSC, the components of a system or PC are under risk of damage from power surges, instability, frequent shutdowns, shorter life span of components, even hardware damage and other issues that may cause serious complications. So it is necessary to choose an appropriate power supply unit (PSU) for stability and longevity of the computer.
FPS Calculator
FPS Calculator works by large databases of Frame Per Second (FPS) records for different types of processors and graphic cards. These data base information along with AI models are analyzed from the FPS calculator to check the performance of different components of the system while running specific games, softwares and applications. This information allows the calculator to estimate the performance of components being used by the system.
Conclusion
For maximizing performance of your PC by removing bottlenecks, it is very important for you to get full performance whether you are an editor, gamer or use a PC for custom rigging. A bottleneck occurs when one component limits the potential of another and overall performance is decreased but now you do not worry about it now. Our powerful Bottleneck calculator easily detects every bottleneck of every system and you can easily solve it by upgrading components by a strategy.
From identifying bottlenecks you can easily upgrade them by the help of our calculator whether you are customizing your old PC to get full performance or creating a new one. Performance is not just by adding powerful parts, it is given with the smart combinations. You can also customize your PC for the load or use that you need by the help of additional tools like Game Bottleneck Calculator, FPS Calculator and Power Supply Calculator etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Bottleneck Calculator?
The calculator that is used to determine bottlenecks of any system is called bottleneck calculator. This calculator gives the results in percentage figures that show the severity of bottleneck ranging from 0% to 100%, out of which below then 20% is considered well but higher may cause significant performance issues.
How does it work?
Our calculator uses AI models and algorithms that calculate the bottlenecks and performance of the system by giving output in result form. After giving the correct information to it, it gives output and explains the severity of bottlenecks with their solutions.
Why do I check for bottlenecks in my system?
For best performance and stable use, it is very necessary to check bottlenecks with the help of our calculator that gives accurate information about the bottleneck of your system. If you do not check it, you may face performance issues, like stuttering, lag, long loading time etc.
What is the CPU and GPU bottleneck?
CPU and GPU bottleneck occurs when one of the components limits the overall performance of the system. A CPU bottleneck occurs when the processor is working too slow to keep up with GPU, in the same way a GPU bottleneck occurs when a graphic card is not powerful enough to keep up with CPU, both leading to lower performance of the system.
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How does RAM affect system performance?
Low storage and single channel RAM can cause slow data transfer and other issues of slowdowns, decreasing the performance of your system. To resolve this bottleneck you need to upgrade RAM having large storage and for getting 50% extra performance, use dual channel RAM.
Which games or softwares are affected by bottlenecks?
Games or softwares that are affected by bottlenecks are due to their working capacity and type of bottlenecks. Strategy games having a lot of units like Civilization or Total War, complex AI and online playing games are affected due to CPU bottleneck. On the other hand, high resolutions demanding games, 3D rendering softwares and high quality video editing softwares are affected due to GPU bottleneck.
What is a game bottleneck calculator?
This calculator is used to determine bottlenecks that lower the performance of the system while playing higher games, usually used by gamers. This calculator analyzes the information given from the user and gives a result explaining the bottleneck and the solution.