Updated Ultimate Bottlenecking Manual Edition 2.0
Updated Ultimate Bottlenecking Manual Edition 2.0
Welcome back good people to revision 2.0 of the ultimate bottlenecking guide! It has been overdue for a long while now...but I was finally able to find time to bring it together!
I have streamlined the new spreadsheets tremendously vs. the old bottlenecking spreadsheets. Several improvements include grouping up all non overclockable chips into one name, putting all graphics card models into one spreadsheet, and making everything easier to read.
Difficulties In Measuring Bottlenecks:
The reason why bottlenecking is so confusing is because it's
on a game to game basis and a frame rate basis
. Games A, B and C bottleneck, but X,Y and Z don't but if you have a FPS of 200fps or more on those games, the results could be the complete opposite. This is why narrowing down which CPUs bottleneck which GPUs can get extremely difficult.
****************************************************************************
I’ve broken down the type of bottlenecking in 4 colors:
Black = No bottlenecking issues.
Magenta = CPU bottlenecking GPU
only
in a worst case scenario.
Blue = CPU bottlenecking GPU only in more advanced/CPU intensive games (like Crysis 3).
Red = CPU bottlenecking GPU
in all gaming applications.
Resolutions (In the spreadsheets, each category presume a specific resolution):
GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Category = 1440P
GeForce GTX 1080 Category = 1440P
GeForce GTX 1070 Category = 1440P
GeForce GTX 1060 Category = 1080P
****************************************************************************
Intel Bottlenecking Chart
AMD Bottlenecking Chart
****************************************************************************
What is Bottlenecking?
Bottlenecking is where one component is hindering another components performance/efficency.
Truth be told, there is ALWAYS a bottleneck in a computer. Like a CPU being bottlenecked by a GPU -- yeah that’s legit -- but that isn't always a bad thing. When one component is not at 100% utilization, that means it’s being bottlenecked by something whether it’s temps, fans, software utilization etc.
Why Do GPUs Get Bottlenecked by CPUs (When Gaming)?
In a gaming oriented computer, the CPU is the 2nd most important component in your system. The CPU’s job is to send pre-rendered frames to the GPU.
The contents of pre-rendered frames are basically anything not related to what the GPU will render.
A good example of this is the positioning/location of AI and the positions of your teammates and enemies.
While pre-rendered frames aren’t as hard to render as fully rendered frames, it still takes quite a bit of power from the CPU to render them out --of course this depends on the game engine--. This is why you still need a powerful central processing unit for any kind of modern or advanced game you want to play.
Bottlenecking is Also Affected by Frame Rate:
Supahos
, another member here at TH, describes this subject very accurately:
Supahos :
Every CPU is capable of only a certain number of frames in every game. The resolution and settings have very little effect on CPU sided FPS limitations. This is why if you drop graphical settings in simple games your FPS doesn't go up. The CPU was the hold up and the lowered settings don't help your CPU.
As an example, if you are playing League of legends at 720P with a GTX Titan XP, your CPU is holding you back from more frames. (I don't care if you're running a 7700K overclocked at 5.2GHz, it's still the weakest link.) That same system playing Battlefield 1 at 4K ultra settings would make the Titan "bottleneck" the 7700K.
Every GPU has a maximum number of frames it can render at any given setting/resolution. Higher the settings or resolution the less FPS it can possibly render.
Okay so where does the bottleneck come in?
In any given game and setting whichever is lower for maximum possible frames (CPU or GPU) is the fps you'll get roughly.
A GTX 1070 at 1080P in League of Legends will most likely get the same FPS as a GTX Titan XP, since the CPU was the hold up to begin with.
Conversely, a 7600K at 4K max settings paired with a GTX 1070 will have the same FPS as a 6950X paired with a 1070. Because the GPU is the bottleneck in that instance.
I’d really appreciate your input on my latest charts. I’m looking for confirmation whether my assumptions about each CPU’s bottleneck are accurate. Your thoughts in this thread would be incredibly valuable!
I’d consider going back to Ivy-Bridge or Sandy-Bridge, as many people still use them. Just observing all those red Haswell chips, I find the i7’s performance misleading. My 3770k never exceeds 55%, and my gtx970 stays under 63% unless I switch to a 4K DSR. Since the i7-4790k is bright cherry red, it seems my 3770k might be struggling with everything. Still, I’m well above 60fps in all games, and I can hit 300fps in CS:GO. Since I’m not playing BF1, GTA5, or Witcher 3, maybe a bit more clarity on the limits would help. A 970 is pretty similar to a 1060/3Gb, and 1080p isn’t a big deal for most games—only for the ultra new and intense titles. Even at ultra settings, GTA5 should average 60-80fps at 1080p. That’s what people will focus on.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but claiming the i7 will always slow down everything is likely to upset others. With so many posts urging people to wait, they probably don’t need to upgrade. The i7-4790k remains a solid CPU, just as strong as the i5-8600k for most tasks.
For AMD, the Ryzens offer similar performance per IPC compared to Haswells, so a Ryzen 5 1600 should perform similarly to an i7-4790k on most things. Yet a Ryzen 5 in the 16xx range is a different story—only bottlenecked in extreme cases, but the i7-4790k is consistently red and struggles with everything. That’s confusing.
It's important to understand that there are additional elements influencing performance perceptions. Are there other applications operating in the background that consume memory or CPU resources? Is Windows or another program actively downloading data, consuming network bandwidth? Does the CPU cooling system function correctly to avoid overheating and throttling? These are just some of the considerations I had in mind. Thank you for sharing this. If others see it, it might help address concerns about system bottlenecks.
Karadjgne would consider going back to Ivy-Bridge or Sandy-Bridge, as many people still use them. Observing all those red Haswells, I find the i7 models misleading. My 3770k rarely exceeds 55%, and my gtx970 stays under 63% unless I switch to a 4k DSR. Since the i7-4790k is bright cherry red, it seems my 3770k might be limited by other components. Still, I maintain over 60fps in everything I play, and can hit 300fps in CS:GO. Since I’m not playing BF1, GTA5, or Witcher 3, perhaps a bit more clarity on the limits would help. A 970 is pretty similar to a 1060/3Gb, and 1080p isn’t a big hurdle for most games—only the ultra new and intense graphics or CPU-heavy titles. Even at ultra settings, GTA5 should average 60-80fps on 1080p. That’s what people will focus on.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but suggesting that i7 could become a bottleneck is likely to surprise some. With so many posts advising patience and upgrades, most users don’t need to upgrade now. The i7-4790k remains a solid CPU, just as strong as the i5-8600k for most tasks.
For AMD, the Ryzens offer similar IPC to Haswells, so a Ryzen 5 1600 should perform comparably to an i7-4790k on most workloads. However, a Ryzen 5 in the 16xx range is significantly slower, only really affected in extreme cases. The i7-4790k, on the other hand, is consistently bottlenecked across the board... I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.
Actually, Ryzen’s IPC falls between Skylake and Haswell, and while clock speeds are similar, the real difference lies in performance consistency.
Thank you for your feedback—I’ve made some adjustments.
There seems to be an issue with the Intel chart for your Skylake build. It lists a bottleneck only with the GTX 1070, but not with the GTX 1080 or GTX 1070 Ti. The error indicates there should be no i5-6700K in the list; it should be i5-7600K instead.
The "worse case scenario" refers to the most challenging situation where performance is limited, such as when the CPU struggles to keep up with the GPU's demands. This could happen if the system's resources are heavily constrained or if there are significant delays in data transfer between components.
Unknown user:
Can someone explain the "worse case scenario" and what it could mean?
"CPU bottlenecking GPU only in a worst case scenario."
These situations happen with very demanding games like Ashes of the Singularity. Large RTS titles and some open world games such as Star Citizen or World of Warcraft also consume significant CPU power, making it wise to opt for a more powerful CPU and lower graphics settings if possible.
Anything with pre-recorded effects or scripts across titles like Skyrim, Minecraft, and GTA:V can cause significant CPU strain. Mods such as ENB add extra load, especially on systems with multiple threads. On my i7, even with vanilla single-thread performance, I’m currently at around 50-55% usage on six threads. With an i5, the load dropped noticeably after removing ENB and several mods to maintain a stable FPS above 50.
I still like some clarification on my last question. Here's it as simple as possible:
i5-6600K + GTX 1060 = no bottleneck
i5-6600K + GTX 1070 = bottleneck under worst case scenario
i5-6600K + GTX 1080 = no bottleneck
How come GTX 1070 produces minor bottleneck while much weaker GPU (GTX 1060) doesn't? Same with i5-7600K too.
And since i'm planning to upgrade my GTX 1060 to GTX 1070, i'd like to get some heads-up in this matter.