Compatibility of all components with one another is essential in PC building. So, it is really important to select the right components to avoid any issues in the performance. If there’s a difference in the performances of different components, it results in a bottleneck. Various PC comments can influence performance. So, it is really important to calculate the bottleneck while selecting the PC components. In this article, I will try to explain bottlenecks in simple words and will also tell you about a few good PC bottleneck calculators.
What is the bottleneck?
PC bottleneck is the situation when a computer component hits its limit and limits the potential of other components due to a big difference in the capabilities between the two components. For example, there’s a PC with a slow processor but a high-end GPU. The high-end GPU can only render the graphics as fast as the processor transfers data to GPU. It is an example of a CPU bottleneck. It doesn’t matter how powerful GPU is, its performance is limited by the slow CPU.
PC bottleneck is mainly caused by the performance difference in different parts. The components’ brand, age, or quality doesn’t matter here.
You can easily find bottlenecks in your PC by monitoring CPU and GPU usage. But what if you are building a PC and have a list of CPUs and GPUs to use? In this case, you don’t own the product but want to know if the CPU and GPU will work together without any bottleneck. There are several good Bottleneck calculator software that analyzes the performance of computer processor and graphics card. These tools check the speed between the CPU and GPU to tell you if you will face a PC bottleneck.
Also see: What Motherboard Do I Have?
What is a bottleneck calculator?
A bottleneck calculator is a tool that calculates the bottleneck percentage within your system. It compares the CPU performance and GPU performance individually and then analyzes the performance gap to calculate the bottleneck percentage between pieces of hardware. You will have to select the CPU and GPU before bottleneck calculators work. If the bottleneck is anything beyond 10%, you need to select a different component.
Best PC Bottleneck Calculators
1. PC Builds Bottleneck Calculator
PC Builds is a popular website that helps with PC building. It also offers a Bottleneck calculator where you can check if the CPU and GPU will work together properly. It also lets you select what kind of tasks you will do on your PC.
Select the CPU, GPU, and screen resolution. It will calculate the bottleneck and tell you the exact details. The software calculates the bottleneck based on the CPU and GPU you selected. It also recommends what to improve to reduce the bottleneck and improve the performance.
Here’s the snapshot of the result.
PC-builds bottleneck calculator comes with a good user interface and clearly explains the type of bottleneck. You can test your build for different tasks.
2. CPU Agent Bottleneck Calculator
CPU Agent Bottleneck Calculator is another good online tool for selecting the bottleneck and FPS performance of a build. Select the CPU, GPU, RAM size, RAM speed, and display resolution to find FPS performance and calculate bottleneck.
As soon as you hit the button Calculate FPS and Bottleneck, it calculates the performance and tells you the bottleneck results. This bottleneck calculator also compares the results with another build that you should get to avoid bottleneck and get the max potential of the powerful component you select.
Take a look at the above screenshot, I selected Core-i5 10th Gen with RTX 3080 and 8GB RAM. It shows bottleneck. It also tells you the 13th gen core i9 with RTX 3080 as a recommended system build to avoid any bottleneck and get maximum performance.
How to use a bottleneck calculator while building a PC?
A bottleneck calculator can help you identify potential bottlenecks in your system before you build it, so you can make informed decisions about which components to choose.
Here are the steps to use a bottleneck calculator while building a PC:
Determine the main purpose of your PC: The components you choose will depend on the intended use of your PC. For example, if you are building a gaming PC, you will need a powerful graphics card, while a workstation PC will require a powerful CPU.
Make a list of the components you plan to use: This includes the CPU, graphics card, RAM, storage, and motherboard. Be sure to note the specific models and specifications for each component.
Go to a bottleneck calculator website: There are several online bottleneck calculators available, such as bottleneckcalculatorpc.com or pc-builds.com/calculator. You can also use benchmarking websites like UserBenchmark or PassMark.
Input your component information: Enter the details of each component in the appropriate fields of the calculator. Make sure to choose the exact model and specifications of your components.
Run the bottleneck calculator: Once you’ve entered all your components, click the “calculate” or “analyze” button to get the results.
Analyze the results: The bottleneck calculator will display the weakest component in your system, which may be limiting your PC’s performance. Consider upgrading that component or adjusting your build to avoid bottlenecking.
Make adjustments: Depending on the results, you may need to make some changes to your PC build. For example, if the bottleneck calculator shows that your CPU is limiting performance, you may need to choose a more powerful CPU.
By using a bottleneck calculator, you can ensure that the components you choose for your PC build are well-balanced and capable of delivering optimal performance.
Wrap Up
I added two different bottleneck calculators to find out issuess with your PC build. It is worth noting that Bottleneck calculators give you an estimate of the bottleneck with the CPU and GPU of your build. The best way to find bottleneck is the install the components and check the performance. These online bottleneck calculators use the specs to find out the possible bottleneck. So, these tools may not be always accurate but you get an estimation.
Should you worry about bottlenecking?
Yes, you should. Bottlenecking is not dangerous but it limits one of the components to use its full potential. So, you should try to have a build that uses the full potential of all the components.
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